Amarpreet Singh Sawhney is a prominent Sikh engaged in promoting and propagating Sikh religion andSikh identity. He did his B.Tech. in Chemical Engineering from IIT Delhi and then went to USA where he
got a Ph.D. and M.S. in Chemical Engineering from the University of Texas at Austin. He is presently the the
President, CEO and founder of Ocular Therapeutix, which focuses on sustained ophthalmic therapies with
proprietary tailored hydrogels to improve patient experience and outcomes. Dr. Sawhney was previously
the founder and CEO of Confluent Surgical (acquired by Covidien), the Chairman of MarketRx (acquired
by Cognizant), and technology founder of Focal, Inc. (acquired by Genzyme) and Access Closure, Inc. Dr.
Sawhney’s innovations are the subject of over 100 issued and pending patents. He is a role model not merely
because of his enterprenourship, but also because he is rendering a great service to Sikh community by being on the board of EcoSikh. EcoSikh was launched in 2009 as the Sikh response to a call by the United Nations
to World Religions to save Earth’s environment. Since then, It has facilitated many projects in Punjab and
around the world through its two staff members in India and one in Washington. It also launched Sikh
Environment Day (March 14) celebrations in 2010 and over 1500 Sikh gurdwaras, educational institutions,
schools and colleges have joined this movement. EcoSikh has also started initiatives for the city of Amritsar
and Nanded in India. As the Sikhs believe in “Sarbat ka bhala” or “beneficence for all living things”, so
ecological consciousness is by definition an obligation for every Sikh. EcoSikh is doing an excellent job of
raising and reminding Sikhs of this important obligation and galvanizing them into action. This was amply
in evidence at the EcoSikh annual gala event which drew a large crowd of supporters and highlighted the
tremendous momentum that has gathered around this movement, in the short time since its inception. The
very fact that Amarpreet Singh Sawhney is environmentalist is proved by his words and actions. In one of
Amandeep Singh
Sidhu
Amarpreet Singh
Sawhney
Baba Sewa Singh
500 Sikh 17 Role Models
his speeches he refered to role played by his family foundation to save the leopards in the state of Gujarat
and efforts to plant native plants and trees which are bringing back the natural ecosystem in Gujarat. This is
now being noticed by the State authorities who are starting to help him in this pioneering work. Thus, as an
enterprenur, an environmentalist and a gursikh promoting Sikh thought he is a role model in this regard.
