New York:

In addition to Chowdhry, Secretary General of the United Nations Kofi Annan, journalist Walter Cronkite, three Nobel Prize winners and four Pulitzer Prize winners are among the 2003 class of 187 fellows and 29 foreign honorary members elected this year to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.

"It gives me great pleasure to welcome these outstanding and influential individuals to the nation''s oldest and most illustrious learned society," says Patricia Meyer, American Academy president. "Election to the American Academy is an honour that acknowledges the best of all scholarly fields and professions. Newly elected fellows are selected through a highly competitive process that recognises those who have made pre-eminent contributions to their disciplines."

Chowdhry is honoured for her accomplishments in the field of engineering sciences and technologies. According to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, Chowdhry was appointed "for engineering contributions in the fields of catalysis / surface science, electronic ceramics, high temperature superconductors, and electronic packaging that have been of great value to the engineering community and her company. As a senior member of a global company, she serves as a mentor and role model for women in technical positions."

"I am honoured and, quite frankly, humbled to be a part of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and its storied history," Chowdhry says. "In my career, I have been fortunate to work side by side with the best and brightest people the world has to offer. DuPont has provided me unique opportunities to grow and flourish both personally and professionally. This honour is a tribute to the outstanding people, engineering, and science of DuPont."

As vice president of CR&D, Chowdhry, 55, has a blend of experience in both business and technology leadership roles. She joined DuPont in 1977, working 11 years in research and management roles in CR&D. From 1988-99 she held various business and technology leadership positions in electronics and chemical solutions businesses. She also has served as director of engineering technologies.

Born and raised in Mumbai, Chowdhry came to the US in 1968 with a BSc in physics from Indian Institute of Science, Mumbai University. She earned her MSc from the California Institute of Technology in 1970. She was awarded her PhD in materials science from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in 1976.

For work ranging from catalysts to superconductors, she was elected to the National Academy of Engineering in 1996. She has also served on advisory boards of engineering schools at MIT, University of Pennsylvania, Princeton University and the University of Delaware. Chowdhry and her husband, Dr Vinay Chowdhry, live in Kennett Square, Pa.

The American Academy was founded in 1780 by John Adams, John Hancock and other scholar-patriots "to cultivate every art and science which may tend to advance the interest, honour, dignity and happiness of a free, independent and virtuous people."

The academy has elected among the finest minds and most influential leaders from each generation, including George Washington and Ben Franklin in the 18th century, Daniel Webster and Ralph Waldo Emerson in the 19th century, and Albert Einstein and Winston Churchill in the 20th century. The current membership includes more than 150 Nobel laureates and 50 Pulitzer Prize winners.