A scientist of Indian-origin earned the prestigious Lemelson-MIT Prize worth $500,000 in the United States for his groundbreaking innovations to create solutions to improve lives globally.

The 46 years old Ramesh Raskar, who hails from Nasik, India is founder of the Camera Culture research group at the MIT Media Labs and an Associate Professor of Media Arts and Sciences.

A media release said that, "Raskar is the winner of the 2016 $500,000 Lemelson-MIT Prize for his groundbreaking inventions, commitment to youth mentor-ship, and dedication to improving our world with practical yet innovative solutions."

According to the announcement, seeking to catalyse change on a massive scale by launching platforms that empower inventors to create solutions to improve lives globally, Raskar combines the best of the academic and entrepreneurial worlds to achieve milestones in improving the lives and health of people in industrial and developing societies.

Raskar is the co-inventor of radical imaging solutions, who has Raskar is the co-inventor of radical imaging solutions including Femto-photography.

Stephanie Couch, the executive director of the Lemelson-MIT Program, said that, "Raskar is a multi-faceted leader as an inventor, educator, change maker and exemplar connector. In addition to creating his own remarkable inventions, he is working to connect communities and inventors all over the world to create positive change.”

"Everyone has the power to solve problems and through peer-to-peer co-invention and purposeful collaboration, we can solve problems that will impact billions of lives," he said.

The annual Lemelson-MIT Prize honors outstanding mid-career inventors improving the world through technological invention and demonstrating a commitment to mentor-ship in science,  engineering, and mathematics (STEM).

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- Nandini