Six eminent foreign nationals, including scientists and philosophers, are among 108 personalities chosen for the coveted Padma awards this year.

Aerospace scientist Satya Atluri, who is a distinguished professor at University of California in the department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, is the recipient of Padma Bhushan for this year.

Alumnus of Indian Institute of Science, Atluri is among 100 researchers from across the world who were highly cited in engineering during 1980-2000, Atluri's profile on University of California mentions.

Born in Odisha and an almunus of Cuttack's Ravenshaw college, 75-year-old Indian-American theoretical physicist Jogesh Chandra Pati is another recipient of Padma Bhushan.

Visiting professor at Stanford University, Pati is known for explaining nature of various electromagnetic forces and their varying strengths.

A leading post-structuralist and literary theorist 80-year-old Gayatri Chakravorty Spivak is among 24 Padma Bhushan awardees announced for this year. She is known for her essay 'Can the Subaltern Speak?' and translation of noted French philosopher Jacques Derrida's 'De la grammatologie'.

Social worker and Gandhian Jharna Dhara Chowdhury, who runs Noakhali Ashram School in Bangladesh, is among 80 Padma Shri awardees.

In her seventies, Chowdhury who is known as Jharna di never met Gandhi but was influenced by noted Gandhians like Charu Chowdhury, Devendra Narayan Sarkar, Madan Mohan Chattopadhaya and Ranjan Kumar Dutta.

79-year-old Japanese Professor Noboru Karashima, known for his work on Tamil scriptures, is a Professor Emeritus in University of Tokyo, Japan. He also serves as Professor Emeritus at the Taisho University, Japan. He is a recipient of Padma Shri.
London-based Christopher Pinney, an anthropologist and art historian, has been chosen for Padma Shri.