McLean, Va. (September 22, 2023) – The Center for Excellence in Education (CEE), a nonprofit dedicated to nurturing science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) excellence through national and international programs for students and teachers, announces the 2023 recipients of the Medal for Leadership and Commitment to Excellence in Education.
Admiral Bobby R. Inman, USN (Ret.) served in the U.S. Navy from November 1951 to July 1982, retiring with the permanent rank of admiral. On active duty he served as director of the National Security Agency and as deputy director of Central Intelligence. He is Emeritus Professor, Lyndon B. Johnson Centennial Chair in National Policy at The University of Texas at Austin, having retired from the UT Faculty in 2021. He also served as interim dean of the LBJ School of Public Affairs in 2005 and again from January 2009 to March 2010.
After retirement from the Navy, Inman was chairman and CEO of the Microelectronics and Computer Technology Corporation (MCC) in Austin, Texas and chairman, president, and chief executive officer of Westmark Systems Inc., a privately owned electronics industry holding company. Inman also served as chairman of the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas. His primary business activity since 1990 has been investing in startup technology companies, serving as managing director of Gefinor Ventures and Limestone Capital Advisors. He served as a Trustee of the American Assembly and currently serves as a Trustee of Caltech, the California Institute of Technology. He previously served as chairman of the Center for Excellence in Education’s Board of Trustees. Inman is an elected fellow of the National Academy of Public Administration. He received his BA degree from the University of Texas at Austin.
Gayle E. Wilson’s earliest science achievement was being selected as one of the top 40 finalists in the Westinghouse Science Talent Search. She went on to receive her degree in biology at Stanford and was selected to Phi Beta Kappa.
Gayle Wilson’s career has been primarily as a community volunteer, a role in which she has been recognized as a leader and innovator. Her dual concentrations have been on early childhood health and the encouragement of those who show potential in math and science.
As California’s First Lady (1991-1999) Gayle served as the catalyst for the establishment of the California State Summer School for Math and Science, known as COSMOS. Since 2000 this four-week residential program located on four University of California campuses has served over 1000 academically talented high school students each summer. She is the chairman emeritus of the Advisory Board and primary fundraiser for COSMOS.
Gayle was chairman of and currently serves as a member of the Ralph M. Parsons Foundation Board of Directors. She served as a member of the board of Gilead Sciences, Inc., a bio-pharmaceutical company specializing in HIV/AIDS and Hepatitis drugs. She is a Life Trustee of Caltech, the California Institute of Technology, and she is a founding member of the San Diego chapter of ARCS (Achievement Rewards for College Scientists).
Sanjay Palsamudram hails from India and is an entrepreneur, investor, and mentor in the technology industry. He co-founded SmartPlay, a leading chip design and embedded software company with a global presence which was acquired by Aricent in 2015. He has held various executive, management, and technology positions at Texas Instruments and Sun Microsystems in the USA.
Currently, he is the co-founder, Managing and General Partner of SV3 Global Ventures, a Mauritius-based private fund that has invested in deep-technology companies with successful exits. He serves on the board of several of these investee companies and other premier Indian venture capital funds.
Inspired by CEE’s RSI program, Sanjay founded an initiative: “KaLiSu” – Karnataka Learning Initiative for Science for Undergraduate students in collaboration with IBM and the Indian Institute of Science to promote hands-on research for government-run high school girl students from tier 2 and tier 3 cities of Karnataka, India. He’s also an advisor to the Indian Institute of Science’s Center for BioSystems Science and Engineering department designing industry-ready graduate school curricula. He is an active resident mentor at the Indian Institute of Management Bangalore’s, NSRCEL, a flagship non-profit business incubator advising health care and deep-technology start-ups.
Sanjay was invited to present policy recommendations that accelerate the growth of the Indian start-up ecosystem to the Honourable Prime Minister of India during the “Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav,” an event marking the 75th anniversary of India’s Independence. He was invited to speak at the Lithuania-India Tech and Innovation Summit, among many other prestigious events and seminars.
“Admiral Inman, Gayle Wilson, and Sanjay Palsamudram have been extraordinary supporters of CEE and STEM education,” said Joann P. DiGennaro, President of the Center. “Their assistance over the years has provided invaluable guidance to the success of our STEM programs.”
The awards will be bestowed at CEE’s 40th anniversary celebration October 13-15, 2023, at the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard in Cambridge, Massachusetts. The event will celebrate 40 years of success by CEE’s impactful STEM education programs: the Research Science Institute at MIT, USA Biolympiad, Teacher Enrichment Program, and STEM Lyceums.
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About the Center for Excellence in Education
CEE, a nonprofit 501(c)(3) charitable organization, was founded in 1983 by the late Admiral H.G. Rickover and Joann P. DiGennaro, President of the Center. The Center’s mission is to nurture high school and university scholars to careers of excellence and leadership in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM), and to encourage collaboration between and among scientific and technological leaders in the global community. CEE sponsors the Research Science Institute (RSI), USA Olympiad (USABO), Teacher Enrichment Program (TEP), and STEM Lyceums. For more, visit www.cee.org.
Media Contact:
Tom Flavell, (703) 448-9062 ext. 237