Ardem Patapoutian is awarded the 2021 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine,  the first Armenian to do so!  He shared the award with Dr. David Julius who, together and separately, discovered how our bodies feel the warmth of the sun or the hug of a loved one. Dr. Patapoutian is a professor of Neuro Science at Scripps Institute in California.

Armenian immigrant Vahe Karapetyan revolutionized street food in the U.S. by designing the first mass-produceable food truck in 1968, enabling diverse cuisines to go mobile. His company, Vahe Enterprises, now employs 90 people. Dedicated to supporting his community, Karapetian funds Armenian institutions and created mobile emergency units during the 2020 Nagorno Karabagh war. He received the Ellis Island Medal of Honor in 2015.

Aline Kamakian’s father had a dream to open a restaurant in Lebanon that celebrated his Armenian culinary heritage. Unfortunately he died when she was 17 years old. She took a job with an insurance company to finance her university education and graduated with a Master’s degree in both Finance and Marketing. She began working as an insurance broker and soon opened her own brokerage firm. In 2001 Aline opened her first restaurant, Mayrig, (Little Mother) in downtown Beirut. It has become a favorite place to gather and eat for both locals and tourists.