Israeli inventor, founder of SanDisk, to be honored by Obama

Dr. Eli Harari, the Israeli founder of the SanDisk flash storage company, has been named as one of the 2014 recipients of the U.S. National Medal of Technology and Innovation.

He will receive the medal at a White House event later this year. Nine people -- seven individuals and one team of two -- will receive the medals this year.

In a statement naming this year's medal recipients, U.S. President Barack Obama said, "These scholars and innovators have expanded our understanding of the world, made invaluable contributions to their fields, and helped improve countless lives. Our nation has been enriched by their achievements, and by all the scientists and technologists across America dedicated to discovery, inquiry, and invention."

According to the White House, the National Medal of Technology and Innovation "recognizes those who have made lasting contributions to America's competitiveness and quality of life and helped strengthen the nation's technological workforce."

In a statement on its website, SanDisk said the company "is bringing flash memory to enterprise storage and transforming the data center by helping enterprises achieve high performance, low-latency data access and scalability. Flash memory is on track to become the most widely used memory technology in the world over the next decade."

Sanjay Mehrota, co-founder, president and chief executive officer of SanDisk, said: "We're now connected in ways that would not be possible without the technologies that Eli helped pioneer, and we're well positioned to take on new market segments such as enterprise data centers. Eli has had a profound impact on the entire technology landscape, and in doing so, has truly changed the world as we experience it today. His lifelong intellectual and technical achievements are well-deserving of the National Medal of Technology and Innovation."