TEN INDIAN-AMERICANS ELECTED MEMBERS OF THE NATIONAL ACADEMY OF ENGINEERING

 

Out of the 83 new members and the 16 foreign members that the National Academy of Engineering (NAE) has elected, 10 are Indian American and two are from India, according to a press release.

 

Election to the National Academy of Engineering is among the highest professional distinctions accorded to an engineer, according to a press release.

 

The Academy honors those who have made outstanding contributions to "engineering research, practice, or education, including, where appropriate, significant contributions to the engineering literature" and to "the pioneering of new and developing fields of technology, making major advancements in traditional fields of engineering, or developing/implementing innovative approaches to engineering education."

 

The new Indian American members are: Lallit Anand, Amit Goyal, Sanjay Jha, Ajay P. Malshe, Jayadev Misra, Raj Nair, Chandrakant D. Patel, Mukul M. Sharma, Chanan Singh and Bipin V. Vora.

 

The two members from India are Ashok Jhunjhunwala and Sushil K. Soonee.

 

Anand is a professor of mechanical engineering at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

 

Goyal is the director of research and education in energy, environment and water institute, and 'Empire Innovation' professor at the University of Buffalo.

 

Jha is the chief executive of Globalfoundries Inc. in California.

 

Malshe is the founder, executive vice president and chief technology officer at NanoMech Inc.

 

Misra is the Schlumberger Centennial chair emeritus in computer science and a professor emeritus at the University of Texas in Austin.

 

Nair is the executive vice president and president of North America at Ford Motor Co

 

Patel is the chief engineer and senior fellow of HP Inc. based in Palo Alto, California.

 

Sharma is the W.A. "Tex" Moncrief Jr. Centennial chair in petroleum, geosystems and chemical engineering as well as a professor at the UT Austin Cockrell School of Engineering.

 

Singh is a regents professor and Irma Runyon chair professor at the department of electrical and computer engineering at Texas A&M University.

 

Vora is the founder and principal consultant of Vora International Process Corp. in Naperville, Illinois.

 

Jhunjhunwala is a professor at the Indian Institute of Technology in Madras.

 

Soonee is an adviser, retired chief executive officer and founder of Power System Operation Corp.

 

According to a press release, the newly elected class will be formally inducted during a ceremony at the NAE's annual meeting in Washington, D.C., on Sept. 30, 2018.

 

 

INDIAN-AMERICAN BUSINESSMAN RATTAN KHOSA DONATES $5 MILLION TO UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO BUSINESS SCHOOL TO HELP ASPIRING ENTREPRENEURS

 

An Indian American businessman has donated a whopping USD 5 million to the University of Chicago to help aspiring entrepreneurs in their pursuit of innovation.

Rattan L Khosa, 79, gifted the amount to the varsity to launch a student entrepreneurs programme after his name at the Polsky Center.

Mr. Khosa, a Kashmiri who came to the US in 70's and secured a research fellowship from the University of Maryland, had just USD 3.75 in his pocket when he joined the varsity.

He started his company AMSYSCO in 1981 from the basement of his home. After nearly four decades, Mr. Khosa has grown it into a highly profitable venture that provides post-tensioning systems on commercial structures and occupies a 55,000 square foot facility.

"Starting a business from a scratch is like jumping off a cliff in the middle of the night while blindfolded, hoping that there is a safety net down below," Mr. Khosa said.

"I know from personal experience that everyone needs help at some point in their lives. No one has succeeded on their own," he said.

When more than 80 per cent of companies fail within the first year even those with ample funding it's clear that there is much more to a startup's success than just money, Mr. Khosa said.

"I don't simply want to provide the money for this new programme, I plan to serve as a thought leader, mentor and guide for these aspiring entrepreneurs, so that my years of experience, my struggles and my successes may serve as an additional resource to help them succeed," he said.

"Rattan's leadership, generosity, and success will serve as an inspirational example to our most promising entrepreneurial students," said Madhav Rajan, Chicago Booth Dean and George Pratt Shultz Professor of Accounting.

 

He said the "transformational commitment" will greatly support the school's mission to influence and educate current and future leaders.

"His new gift will enhance Booth's reputation as the destination for aspiring Entrepreneurs," said Starr Marcello, executive director of the Polsky Center and adjunct assistant professor of entrepreneurship at Chicago Booth.

 

 

INDIAN-AMERICAN STUDENTS NAMED CHURCHILL SCHOLARS IN SCIENCE, MATH AND ENGINEERING

 

At least six Indian American and South Asian American students were named Feb. 13 among the 2018-2019 Churchill Scholars by the Winston Churchill Foundation of the United States.

 

The latest group of scholars is the foundation's largest since it announced the first three awards in 1963.

 

Among the 15 scholars were Aswini Krishnan of U.C. San Diego, Aishwarya Nene of the California Institute of Technology, Vikram Sundar of Harvard University, Anna Thomas of Stanford University, Joseph Kannarkat of the University of Pittsburgh, and Yousuf Khan of the University of Maryland.

 

Vikram Sundar of Harvard University, by way of Saratoga, Calif., was among the Indian American students named 2018-19 Churchill Scholars. He will study chemistry at the University of Cambridge as part of the scholarship program.

 

Aswini Krishnan of U.C. San Diego was among the recently-named Churchill Scholars by the Winston Churchill Foundation. She will study biological sciences.

 

Aishwarya Nene of CalTech was among the six South American students named scholars, which accounted for nearly half of the 15 students named Churchill Scholars. She will study translational biomedical research.

 

Joseph Kannarkat, a student at the University of Pittsburgh, was named a Churchill Scholar, earning the lone Kanders Scholarship award. He will study public policy.

 

Anna Thomas of Stanford University will study information engineering at the University of Cambridge, as she was chosen a Churchill Scholar for 2018-2019.

 

The scholarships were established at the request of the British statesman and Prime Minister Winston Churchill to fulfill his vision of scientific exchange between the United States and the United Kingdom. The goal of the scholarships is to advance science and technology on both sides of the Atlantic, helping to ensure prosperity and security.

 

 

INDO-AUSTRALIAN ACTRESS GERALDINE VASWANATHAN IN THE COMEDY SHOW "BLOCKERS"

 

Indo-Australian actress Geraldine Viswanathan will be seen opposite WWE superstar John Cena in "Blockers," a new R-rated comedy about teen sexuality, parental anxieties and consent. The film opened April 6. "Blockers" had its premiere at the SXSW Film Festival in Austin, Texas in March.

 

The Los Angeles Times wrote: "Viswanathan shines as Kayla, the all-American star athlete whose confidence leads a trio of teenagers (including Kathryn Newton and Gideon Adlon) into every overprotective parent's worst nightmare: a sex pact to lose their virginity on prom night."

 

The LA Times wrote that Viswanathan and Cena together create an outrageous comedy with "a relatable parent-child dynamic. Cena is the perennial dad-coach training his daughter to be strong and confident in sports terms, the only language he knows, and Viswanathan is a self-possessed young woman developing a curiosity for life experiences beyond the goal posts."

 

Their onscreen chemistry is a result of "the warm mutual admiration the two share from the nearly three-month Atlanta shoot last year: Viswanathan's ebullience softens Cena's more serious-leaning stoicism," the LA Times said. Kay cannon, a writer on "30 Rock" and the "Pitch Perfect" franchise cast the two in their roles.

 

"While raunchy comedies have historically treated women as one-dimensional objects, 'Blockers' is about destigmatizing sex and enabling young women to assert ownership of their own bodies and choices," wrote the LA Times.

 

"[Kayla] just wants to let loose and have a night to remember, and I think she gets a little ahead of herself," said Viswanathan. "There are so many movies that are in this vein but they're from the male perspective."

 

Viswanathan, 22, grew up in Newcastle, Australia, where she competed in equestrian events. She has just finished the TBS comedy series "Miracle Workers." After a post-"Blockers" stint in Los Angeles, Viswanathan told LA Times she is giving New York a try. "I have two suitcases right now," she said. "That's my life, so I'll see where I end up."

 

 

OVER TWO DOZEN INDIAN-AMERICAN STUDENTS ARE 2018 US PRESIDENTIAL SCHOLARS

 

Twenty six Indian-American and South Asian-American students have been selected for the prestigious 2018 Presidential Scholars Program. This program was established in 1964, by executive order of the President, to recognize and honor some of the nation's most distinguished high school seniors.

 

The White House Commission on Presidential Scholars selects scholars annually, based on their academic success, artistic excellence, essays, school evaluations and transcripts, as well as evidence of community service, leadership and demonstrated commitment to high ideals.

 

These students are:

Aditya Sivakumar, Anika Mittal, Advait Patil, Siddharth M. Mane, Isani Singh,
Sidhika Balachandar, Neeharika Kothapalli, Sreya Vangara, Neha Seshadri,VeenaThamilselvan, Vinjai S. Vale, Deven Singh, Nithya S. Adusumilli,
Ronak Bhagia, Nidhi T. Mahale, Shreyah Mohanselvan, Aryaman Khandelwal,
Pranshu Suri, Sonesh Patel, Syamantak Payra, Kanishka Ragula, Kavya Kopparapu,

Mihir Patel, Marissa Sumathipala, Vinitha Joseph,Mansi Totwani,

 

The award ceremony was held on June 24, when each honoree received a Presidential Scholar Medallion.

 

 

TWO INDIAN-AMERICANS WIN PAUL & DAISY SOROS FELLOWSHIP FOR NEW IMMIGRANTS

 

Two Indian-Americans, Aseem Mehta and Suchita Patil Nety are among the 30 Paul and Daisy Soros Fellows for 2018. These Fellowships are granted to outstanding immigrants and children of immigrants in the United States.

 

Mehta, who is studying law at Yale University, is focusing on legal strategies to support social movements. He works at the Worker and Immigrant Rights Advocacy Clinic.

 

He has worked as a Fellow with Immigrant Justice Corps, where he advocated against deportation of immigrants in New York and South Texas. He also worked with the Urban Justice Center to advocate for fairer treatment of welfare recipients and helped to facilitate a campaign to bring leaders to the forefront of the fight for "net neutrality" with the Stanford Center for Internet and Society.

 

Nety's award will go towards getting her medical degree in biological engineering at MIT and Harvard University at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and Harvard University.

 

After earning a BS in chemistry from Caltech, she has worked with protein-based reporters for ultrasound imaging and has won several awards, including Caltech's highest honor for undergraduate academics and research.

 

Nety plans to complete MD and PhD degrees, after which she hopes to serve patients as a medical oncologist while developing molecular tools to engineer robust and safe cell-based therapies.

 

 

TEN INDIAN-AMERICANS NAMED 2018 GUGGENHEIM FELLOWS

 

Ten outstanding and accomplished Indian Americans have been named 2018 Guggenheim Fellows by the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation's board of trustees, which awarded a total of 173 Guggenheim Fellowships to a diverse group of scholars, artists and scientists.

 

The Indian-American recipients of this fellowship are given below.

 

Astronomy-Astrophysics

Shrinivas R. Kulkarni is a George E. Hale Professor of Astronomy and Planetary Science at California Institute of Technology. He has an MS in physics from the Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi, and a Ph.D. in astronomy from the University of California, Berkeley. Kulkarni's research involves identifying emerging areas of astronomy or using new methodologies that can be applied to existing areas of research.

 

Neuroscience

Aniruddh Patel is a cognitive neuroscientist at Tufts University, where he conducts research on the effect of music on the brain at the Department of Psychology. Patel has a graduate degree in biology from the University of Virginia and a Ph.D. in organismic and evolutionary biology from Harvard University.

 

South-Asian Studies

Archana Venkatesan is an associate professor of comparative literature and religious studies at the University of California, Davis. She received her A.A. from De Anza Community College, and her B.A, M.A. and Ph.D. from the University of California, Berkeley.

 

Choreography

Aparna and Ranee Ramaswamy are artistic directors, choreographers, and principal dancers of Ragamala Dance Company. As choreographers, their creative vision merges the rich traditions and deep philosophical roots of their Indian heritage with their hybrid perspective as first-generation Indian-Americans.

 

Film Video

Parvez Sharma has made award-winning films about faith, identity, religious extremism, and social justice. With a filmography encompassing three continents, two of his best-known films are 'A Jihad for Love' and 'A Sinner in Mecca'. 

 

Nandini Sikand is a filmmaker, dancer-choreographer, author and cultural anthropologist. She is an associate professor at an interdisciplinary film and media studies program at Lafayette College, PA.

 

Photography

Pradip Malde teaches at the University of the South, Sewanee, TN. He is currently working in rural communities in Haiti, Tanzania and Tennessee, designing models for community development through photography.

 

Poetry

Srikanth Reddy is the author of 'Voyager', which was named one of the best books of poetry by The New Yorker. A graduate of the Iowa Writers' Workshop and the doctoral program in English at Harvard University, he is currently an associate professor of English at the University of Chicago.

 

Fine Arts

Mequitta Ahuja's works have been widely exhibited at such venues as the Brooklyn Museum, Studio Museum in Harlem, Saatchi Gallery, Minneapolis Institute of Art, Crystal Bridges, Baltimore Museum of Art and the Grand Rapids Art Museum.

 

While naming these talented awardees, Edward Hirsch, president of the foundation, stated, "It's exceptionally satisfying to name 175 new Guggenheim Fellows. These artists and writers, scholars and scientists, represent the best of the best."

 

 

INDIAN-AMERICAN PROF. ARUN VARSHNEYA NAMED HONORARY FELLOW OF BRITISH SOCIETY OF GLASS TECHNOLOGY

 

Dr. Arun Varshneya, a retired New York-based Alfred University professor of glass science, was named as an honorary Fellow of the British Society of Glass Technology.

 

Varshneya is currently president of Saxon Glass Technologies in the Ceramic Corridor Innovation Center in Alfred. It specializes in strengthening glass for various industries.

 

He is a distinguished life member of the American Ceramics Society and a winner of the President's Award from the International Commission on Glass. He has doctorate degrees in materials science from Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio.

 

INDIAN AMERICAN SCHOLARS AND INNOVATORS ELECTED TO THE AMERICAN ACADEMY OF ARTS AND SCIENCES

 

Gita Gopinath and Gurindar Sohi, both Indian-Americans along with Nepalese-American, Parag A Pathak were elected to the American Academy of Arts & Sciences.

 

This academy strives to generate ideas and offer recommendations to advance the public awareness in arts, citizenship, education, energy, government, the humanities, international relations and science.

 

Gopinath is the John Zwaanstra professor of International Studies and of Economics at Harvard University. Her research focuses on International Finance and Macroeconomics. Before joining Harvard, Gopinath was an assistant professor of economics at the University of Chicago's Graduate School of Business.

 

She has a bachelor's degree in economics from the University of Delhi, master's degrees in economics from the Delhi School of Economics and the University of Washington, and a doctorate in economics from Princeton University.

 

Sohi is currently the John P. Morgridge professor and the E. David Cronon professor of computer sciences at the Department of Computer Sciences and Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at the University of Madison.

 

His research has been in the design of high-performance computer systems. He has co-authored several papers and patents that have influenced both researchers and commercial microprocessors. Sohi has a doctorate in electrical and computer engineering from the University of Illinois.

 

Pathak is a professor of economics and microeconomics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology Department of Economics. He has an undergraduate degree in applied mathematics and a Ph.D. in business economics from Harvard University. He serves as a faculty research associate and co-director and founder of the working group on market design at the National Bureau of Economic Research.

 

 

INDIAN-AMERICAN AND SOUTH-ASIAN-AMERICAN STUDENTS NAMED 2018 GOLDWATER SCHOLARS

 

Over a dozen Indian-American and South-Asian-American students in the US were among the 211 students honored as 2018 Goldwater Scholars by the Barry Goldwater Scholarship and Excellence in Education Foundation.

 

The scholarship program, honoring Sen. Barry Goldwater, was designed to encourage outstanding students to pursue careers in the fields of mathematics, natural sciences and engineering.

 

Mika Jain, of Stanford University, is studying physics and astronomy. He plans to get a doctorate in biophysics or applied physics and later teach at the university level.

 

Nitya Mani studies mathematics and computer science at Stanford University. She plans to obtain a doctorate in mathematics and have a research-focused career in academia.

 

Engineering student at the University of Southern California, Nina Singh plans a medical degree/doctorate in biomedical engineering and to work as a professor at an academic hospital.

 

Life Sciences is Trisha Dalapati's interest. Currently she is studying at the University of Georgia and her career goals include achieving a medical/doctorate degree in infectious diseases.

 

Ojas Pradhan, University of Iowa is an engineering student. He aims to earn a doctorate degree in chemical engineering and later conduct research

 

As a CISE student at Harvard College, Meena Jagadeesan hopes to earn a doctorate in theoretical computer science and later conduct research on algorithms.

 

Physics and astronomy are Vaibhav Mohanty's subjects at Harvard. He plans to earn a doctorate in theoretical physics and to conduct research in condensed matter physics and soft matter/biophysics.

 

Meenakshi Chakraborty is a Life Sciences student at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Chakraborty's goal is to pursue a doctorate degree, followed by a research career.

 

Another Life Sciences student is Edridge D'Souza of the University of Massachusetts Amherst. He plans to be a research scientist in the field of genomics after earning a doctorate.

 

Bioengineering is Minhal Ahmed's area of interest. A student of Northeastern University, he intends to pursue a medical degree/doctorate degree in bioengineering with a focus on neuroscience.

 

Kritika Singh, also of Northeastern University, intends to pursue a medical/doctorate degree in chemical biology. She plans to conduct research at the nexus of chemical biology and engineering.

 

Aditya Mohan of Johns Hopkins University plans to get a doctorate in tumor immunology and oncolytic virology. Mohan hopes to conduct research and leverage synthetic biology principles to create and innovate new cancer immunotherapies.

 

Mathematical Sciences student at the University of Maryland, Tanay Wakhare aims to get a doctorate degree in combinatorial number theory and explore problems at the interface of combinatorics and number theory.

 

Pranav Warman, a Life Sciences student at Duke University, would like to get a doctorate in computational neuroscience and pursue a research and teaching career.

 

Engineering student at Duke University, Shomik Verma wants to pursue a doctorate in mechanical engineering, focusing on energy. He hopes to conduct research in energy and teach at the university level.

 

Zoheb Hirani, a chemistry student at Trinity University, hopes to get a doctorate in chemistry. Later, Hirani wants to conduct research in enzyme design for the production of fuels and work in industrial chemistry in energy.