The Bengali in Joe Biden’s cabinet
That US President Joe Biden’s cabinet includes Kamala Harris is by now a universally known fact. What is not so well known, perhaps, is that the cabinet includes two other members of Indian origin, and one of them is a Bengali.
Born in Kolkata, Majumdar earned a degree in mechanical engineering from IIT Bombay, and then a PhD from University of California, Berkeley. ‘Arun’ to his friends, Majumdar has been a professor at Arizona State University and the University of California.
When Biden takes oath as the President on January 20, Harris will be sworn in as Vice-President. Popular US publications ‘Washington Post’ and ‘Politico’ have let it be known that of the two Indian-origin members in the cabinet, Vivek Murthy is likely to be assigned the post of Secretary, Department of Health and Human Services, while Biden-Harris have their sights set on Arunava Majumdar for the post of Energy Secretary. Point to be noted, a secretary in the US administration is the equivalent of a minister in the Indian cabinet.
Born in Kolkata, Majumdar earned a degree in mechanical engineering from IIT Bombay, and then a PhD from University of California, Berkeley. ‘Arun’ to his friends, Majumdar has been a professor at Arizona State University and the University of California. In 2009, the Senate approved then President Barack Obama’s proposal to appoint him as the founder-director of the Advanced Research Project Agency-Energy (ARPA-E).
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At present, Majumdar is the Jay Precourt Provostial Chair Professor at Stanford University, where he teaches mechanical engineering and material science, and also functions as co-director of the Precourt Institute of Energy. Additionally, he is associated with such institutes as the American National Academy of Science.
Having served as Energy Under-Secretary earlier, Majumdar is now set for a crucial cabinet appointment. However, any appointment to the US cabinet requires approval from the Senate. Whether the USA does end up appointing a Bengali Energy Secretary remains to be seen.
Original article on Bongodorshon.
https://www.bongodorshon.com/home/story_detail/arunava-majumdar-in-biden-s-cabinet-in-usa
