INDIAN AMERICAN NITIN NOHRIA BECOMES DEAN OF HARVARD BUSINESS SCHOOL

 

Harvard Business School has appointed Indian-origin Nitin Nohria as its 10th Dean, making him the first member from the community to occupy the post in the prestigious institution's 102-year old history. Nohria, the Richard P Chapman Professor of Business Administration at Harvard Business School (HBS), will take up his new role on July 1, President Drew Faust said on Wednesday. A scholar of leadership and organisational change, Nohria has previously been the School's senior associate dean for faculty development and chair of its organisational behaviour unit.

A current co-chair of the HBS Leadership Initiative and member of the HBS faculty since 1988, Nohria succeeds Jay Light, who in December announced his plans to retire at the end of the 2009-10 academic year after five years as dean and four decades of service on the HBS faculty.
"At a pivotal moment for Harvard Business School and for business education more generally, I'm delighted that Nitin Nohria has agreed to lead HBS forward. He's an outstanding scholar, teacher and mentor, with a global outlook and an instinct for collaboration across traditional boundaries," Faust said.

On his appointment as Dean, Nohria said, "I feel a profound sense of responsibility for continuing Harvard Business School's proud legacy of groundbreaking ideas and transformational educational experiences. With business education at an inflection point, we must strive to equip future leaders with the competence and character to address emerging global business and social challenges".

He said as the school enters its second century, he is looking forward to working with the faculty and students "to forge a vision for Harvard Business School that will enable it to remain a beacon for business education for the next 100 years". Nohria received his bachelor of technology degree in chemical engineering in 1984 from the IIT Mumbai, which awarded him its distinguished alumnus medal in 2007.

He received his Ph.D. in management in 1988 from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology's Sloan School of Management, where he earned the outstanding doctoral thesis award in behavioral and policy sciences. He joined the HBS faculty as an assistant professor in 1988, was appointed associate professor in 1993, was promoted to tenure in 1997, and became the Richard P. Chapman Professor of Business Administration in 1999. "Nohria will be a wonderful dean of Harvard Business School," said Light.

"He is widely respected within our extended community as a perceptive scholar of leadership and as a thoughtful and able academic leader.

 

SOUTH AFRICAN INDIAN IMTIAZ SOOLIMAN WINS TOP NATIONAL AWARD

 

Imtiaz Sooliman, an Indian origin man, received the Order of the Baobab in Silver award, from South African President Jocob Zuma, "for his excellent contribution through the Gift of the Givers Foundation to humanitarian aid in South Africa and humanitarian relief missions in various countries."  Sooliman set up the 'Gift of the Givers Foundation' over a decade ago which has since provided humanitarian aid to people in countries all over the world which have been torn apart by war or natural disaster. The Foundation's most recent effort was in providing aid to the victims of the earthquake which killed over 250,000 people in Port-au-Prince, Haiti. It was with the help of Sooliman's team that the first survivor of the disaster was founded.

 

Sooliman received the Order of the Baobab in Silver from President Jacob Zuma at a function in the Presidential Guest House in Pretoria on April 27, 2010. The awards are given out to deserving recipients each year to mark the public holiday of Freedom Day, April 27, when South Africa's first democratically elected President Nelson Mandela was sworn into office in 1994. The Order of the Baobab recognizes South African citizens who have contributed to community service, business and economy, science, medicine and technological innovation

 

THOMAS ABRAHAM ELECTED AS MAYOR PRO-TERM

 

Sugar Land, Texas - The city of Sugar Land was founded in the mid 1800s as a sugar plantation, and the City was incorporated on Dec. 29, 1959, encompassing only 2,265 acres. Today, the many awards winning city has land area over 15,000 acres with ETJ and population over 110,000 with ETJ limits.

 

Thomas Abraham, the forth term councilman for the At-Large Position was elected as a Mayor Pro-Tem for the city of Sugar Land on Tuesday May 1^st, 2010 during the council meeting. Mayor Jimmy Thompson nominated Thomas Abraham for the position which was seconded by Councilman Russell Jones. The motion was passed unanimously by 7 votes. He is the first Asian American selected as a Mayor Pro-Tem in the history of Sugar Land, while the city has celebrated the 50^th Anniversary last year.

 

A successful businessman, Thomas Abraham has also set several records in his political carrier. He is the first elected official for the Indo-American Community, not only in Greater Houston Area but in the entire State of Texas. As a first Asian-American, he has been elected as a President of Texas Municipal League Region 14, which serves the needs of more than 1,100 cities and towns. In addition, at present, he serves as a President of Sugar Land Development Corporation, Chairman of Sugar Land Reinvestment Zone No. 3, and a Board Member on the Houston-Galveston Area Council. A great honor was bestowed to him to meet Prime Minister of India Mr. Manmohan Singh, President Bush, Vice President Dick Cheney and other high ranking officials at the White House. 

 

Councilman Abraham and his wife, Sarah and two children, Bryan and Lauren have lived in Sugar Land since 1989.

 

INDIAN AMERICAN GIRL ANAMIKA VEERAMANI IS THE NEW SPELLING CHAMPION

 

No theatrical flourishes for Anamika Veeramani. She kept her hands behind her back and rattled off the letters of every word she was given - until she was crowned the spelling bee champion.

 

The 14-year-old girl from North Royalton, Ohio, won the 83rd Scripps National Spelling Bee on Friday, acing the word medical word "stromuhr," a device that measures blood flow and speed, to claim the winner's trophy and more than $40,000 in cash and prizes. Anamika became the third consecutive Indian-American bee champion, and the eighth in the last 12 years. It's a run that began when Nupur Lala won in 1999 and was featured in the documentary "Spellbound."

 

Anamika was one of the favorites among the 273 spellers who began the three-day competition, having finished tied for fifth last year. She stood deadpan while the audience cheered, not cracking a smile until the trophy was presented. There was a three-way tie for second. Adrian Gunawan, 14; Elizabeth Platz, 13; and Shantanu Srivatsa, 13, were all eliminated in the same round.

Anamika survived the round by spelling "juvia" - a Brazil nut - and then had to wait for a nerve-racking 3-minute commercial before spelling the championship word.

INDIAN AMERICAN HIGH SCHOOL STUDENT RAINA JAIN WINS BIO-GENEIUS CHALLENGE

 

Raina Jain, a junior from Freedom High School in Bethlehem, Penn., has won the sanofi-aventis International BioGENEius Challenge, a competition for high school students who demonstrate an exemplary understanding of biotechnology through science research projects. Fourteen students from the U.S., Canada and Western Australia competed in this year's event. Jain will receive an award of $7,500.

 

Winners were announced at the 2010 BIO International Convention keynote luncheon last month held in Chicago. The BIO International Convention is the largest global event for the biotechnology industry drawing an estimated 14,000 to 20,000 attendees each year.  The convention attracts the biggest names in biotech, offers key networking and partnering opportunities and provides insights and inspiration among the major trends affecting the industry. 

 

Jain's project titled, "Engineering Glass Bone Implants to Enhance the Adhesion of Precursor Osteoblast Cells," looked at whether cells adhere better to rough or smooth surfaces of Bioglass, an implant material that turns into bone over time. Bioglass is used in surgical applications and is commonly found in dental and ear implants. Jain found that cells adhered better to smoother surfaces, resulting in improved implant performance and mobility. This finding provides insight into developing better bone implants in the future.

 

Students were evaluated not only on the quality of their research and display but also on their responses to questions relating to their scientific knowledge and potential commercial applications of their research. The panel of judges included scientists, researchers, educators and key members of the biotech industry who selected the first- through fourth-place winners. 

 

Third Place: Anirudh Saraswathula from Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology in Oak Hill, Va., received a $2,500 award for his project titled, The Implementation of Functional Pancreatic Endoderm Derived from Human Spermatogonial Stem Cells In Vivo.

 

Other Indian Ameircan winners include the following students: Shaina Hasan from Hamilton High School in Chandler, Ariz., was named a finalist for her project titled, EGFR and mTOR Inhibitors on Cell Proliferation in Glioblastomas.

 

Prithwis Mukhopadhyay from Woodbury High School in Woodbury, Minn., was named a finalist for his project titled Rood Additive or Carcinogen?  Carrageenan Inhibits ASB Activity and Induces Cell Invasion Involving RhoA Activation and MMP-9 Secretion

 

BRITISH INDIANS ELECTED TO HOUSEOF COMMONS

 

Candidates of Indian origin in the British general elections augmented their presence in the House of Commons. In two significant upsets, Alok Sharma in Reading West and Paul Uppal in Wolverhampton South West unseated Labor candidates. The former erased a 12% deficit from the 2005 elections to storm into the House of Commons.

Valerie Vaz of Labour claimed a maiden victory at Walsall South to join her brother Keith Vaz  of the same party who retained Leiscester East in the British parliament. These Goan siblings become the first brother-sister amalgamation in the House of Commons since the 1950s.

Valerie and Priti Patel of the Conservatives, who triumphed by a massive margin at Witham, become the first women of Indian descent to enter Britain's directly elected national legislature. Patel's success was no surprise as she had been granted a rock solid Tory constituency.

But really noteworthy is Marsha Singh's achievement, who has uninterruptedly represented Bradford West - often referred to a little Pakistan - since 1992. Ceaselessly - including on this occasion - his opponents have thrown contenders of Pakistan extraction at him. But the electorate has remained undeterred, rewarding him now with an increased majority.

 

INDIAN AMERICAN BOY WINS NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC BEE

 

Thirteen year old Aadith Moorthy from Florida  has won the 22^nd annual National Geographic Bee - courtesy his knowledge about Haiti. By correctly answering that Cap-Haitien is the largest city in northern Haiti that was renamed following Haiti's independence from France, Aadith Moorthy received a 25,000-dollar college scholarship, a free trip to the Galapagos Islands and a lifetime membership to the National Geographic Society.

 

Grinning on stage after the win, Moorthy said that he'd felt confident all along, reports National Geographic News. He said, "I wanted to win--that was my goal," adding that he "thought the questions would be harder."

 

INDIAN AMERICAN NAMED TO HEAD US GOVERNMENT AGENCY

 

The Obama Administration has named Indian-American Kshemendra Paul as the new Program Manager of the Information Sharing Environment (PM-ISE). PM-ISE is an agency that facilitates the sharing of terrorism-related information within various US government wings. Paul will replace Thomas McNamara, who retired from the position in July 2009. He moves to the new position after spending the last three years as the chief architect of the Office of Management and Budget. This agency has assumed a major role as the Obama administration is focused on organizing and streamlining the huge terrorism related data available with various agencies and departments of the US government. Paul will now work in the Office of the Director for National Intelligence and will be the co-chairman of interagency meetings with the National Security staff. He will be responsible for developing standards, policies and processes to improve how the federal government shares terrorist information with state and local law enforcement agencies. 

 

Mr. Paul has over 23 years of experience in strategic planning, enterprise architecture, organizational management and systems development. Before joining the civil service in 2005, Mr. Paul was Group Architect and Product Manager with the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (previously NASD). Prior to that, he was an active entrepreneur, co-founding Local Eyes (sold to AOL) and founding Andelina (sold to FoundryOne). He has participated as a member of senior management for a variety of other technology product and service companies. He holds both Bachelor's and Master's Degrees in Electrical Engineering, and an additional Bachelor's degree in Mathematics, from the University of Maryland, College Park.

 

BRITISH INDIAN DOLAR POPAT APPOINTED IN THE HOUSE OF LORDS

 

British Indian Dolar Popat has been elevated as a Conservative Peer in the House of Lords. Dolar's arrival in the Upper House will take his rise from a mere waiter in a London restaurant to one of the highest offices in the country. He was the personal choice of David Cameron, the new British Prime Minister who has known Dolar for some time.

 

Lord Popat who is known as simply "Dolar" by many, is someone who has gone the extra mile for the Hindu community and his adopted country, Britain. He is a Ugandan Asian who arrived for studies and could not return as Asians were expelled by General Idi Amin; the despot leader of Uganda who felt that by expelling his hard working Asian community he would give the indigenous population a head start. As a matter of fact, by removing the hardworking and enterprising community, he plunged Uganda into an unparalleled crisis.

 

The country has only started to recover now after the dictator was deposed and the present government allowed the Asians an honourable return back to the country of their birth in order to help build Uganda's shattered economy.

 

They say one man's poison is another man's meat. Britain under the then Conservative Government, received these beleaguered and destitute Ugandan Asians with open arms. These Asians, as we know, worked hard and transformed the British economy. They became successful as a result of the British sense of tolerance and fair play. Today, Britain without the Asians will not be the Britain as we know it. The Asians have brought colour, pageantry and culinary delight to every corner of the country and have become invaluable assets to the nation in every sense of the word.

 

Dolar has never forgotten this act of kindness by the then Conservative Government and set about repaying his debt to the Party. He by chance met Sir Rhodes Boyson MP through one of the community leaders, Mr Shantoo Ruparell MBE in 1980. The rest, as they say is history and Dolar has been working for the party quietly and diligently ever since.

 

PIO DR T. VIDHYA PERSAUD ACHIEVES HIGHEST AWARD IN ANATOMICAL SCIENCE EDUCATION

 

Guyana born PIO Dr. T. Vidhya Persaud who lives is Winnipeg, Canada, was honored by Anatomy Society with the highest Award for Achievement in Anatomical Science Education

 

Dr. T. Vidhya (Vid) Persaud's distinguished career as an educator was recognized by the American Association of Anatomists (AAA) at the society's Annual Meeting in Anaheim, CA.  Dr. Persaud was presented with the 2010 Henry Gray/Elsevier Distinguished Educator Award, the AAA's highest award for human anatomy education in the anatomical sciences, broadly defined to include gross anatomy, embryology, histology, and neuroanatomy.

 

Dr. Vid Persaud joins an elite group of educators in the field of anatomical sciences. His nomination and selection by the AAA Award Committee, chaired by Anna Lysakowski, is a true testament to his commitment to excellence within his profession.  Dr. Persaud is widely published with extensive research contributions in the areas of embryology, developmental biology, and teratogenesis including 25 books and monographs, 35 book chapters, and 160 primary research papers.  He trained 25 fellows and graduate students, all of whom have achieved academic excellence in their own careers. His expertise in normal and abnormal development led to invitations to serve on 8 journal editorial boards, more than 35 professional appointments, and almost 40 visiting professorships. He has been a member of 14 professional societies or associations, serving as the president of 3 of these organizations.

 

Dr. Persaud studied in London, England and in Germany, receiving his MD (summa cum laude) from the University of Rostock, Germany, in 1965. After completing his internship in Berlin, he returned to his native Guyana, where he worked as a government medical officer. After completing his PhD in anatomy at the University of the West Indies, Jamaica, he served there as a Senior Lecturer. In 1972, Persaud accepted an academic appointment in the Dept. of Anatomy and Cell Science, Faculties of Medicine and Dentistry at the University of Manitoba, Canada where he dedicated the next 30 years to his faculty and discipline. In 1977, just five years later, he succeeded Keith Moore (also a recipient of the Henry Gray/Elsevier Distinguished Educator Award) as chair of that department.  For the next 16 years, Dr. Persaud worked tirelessly in this position, developing the department into one of the premier units not only at the University of Manitoba  (the largest university in the province of Manitoba), but also throughout Canada and abroad.

 

TRIBUTE TO JAMES RAMNATH'S COMMUNITY SERVICE IN TRINIDAD

 

Born of Indian parents  on June 3, 1910 in Trinidad, James Ramnath dedicated his life to service to his community is ways that helped nurture education at a time when such community service was rare. On the 165^th Anniversary of Indian Arrival in Trinidad & Tobago, recognition is given to James Ramnath for his selfless efforts in fostering community spirit, education and the national good for a period of eighty-five (85) years. His son Ralph Ramnath said that, "He has given his life to, and served his country, his fellow man and God in a manner that few people can and ever will". James Ramnath passed on February 2, 2009.

 

Founding the Cumuto-Guaico Welfare Association in 1944, he motivated the members and delivered moral, financial, spiritual aid to many an institution and remained at the helm until his demise in 2009. Original appreciation letters have been tendered as evidence spanning a period of six decades of dedicated and un-rewarded national service.  Similarly, his dedication to education is equally thought-provoking. He started teaching in the Primary School System as a pupil-teacher in 1924, graduated from the Naparima Teachers Training College in 1932, served in many primary schools around the country until 1950 when he was appointed Principal or rather Headmaster of the Cumuto C.M. School. He retired in 1970, continuing to serve as Supervisor on various school boards. His formal service in the field of education is a staggering forty-six (46) years.

 

NEW JERSEY INDIAN-AMERICAN STUDENTS WIN NASA COMPETITION

 

Two Indian-American students are among the winners of the prestigious 2010 No Boundaries National Competition jointly sponsored by NASA and USA Today newspaper. The winners excelled in the fields of science, technology, engineering and math (STEM), according to a press release from NASA. The purpose of this completion was for students to create a project that will attract teenagers to work at the space agency. 

 

Neil Montwani and Elka Chowdhury and their team mates Kristine Baltazar and Jenna DiRito from Saddle Brook Middle School in Saddle Brook, NJ won the completion with their entry "Let's Get Materialistic," noted the press release.  Their team focused on a career in material engineering. They won the competition with an old-fashion black-and-white art portfolio.

 

The winning students from New Jersey copped a cash prize of $2,000, while their teacher received $500 from USA Today. NASA will provide the first-place winners with a VIP guest tour of the agency's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md.  Alotta Taylor, who is NASA's manager for education at the agency's Space Operations Mission Directorate, stated that teaching about STEM careers through an actual example is important to attract young people to careers in the space science.   

 

SEVEN INDIAN AMERICANS AWARDED THE ELLIS ISLAND MEDALS

 

Seven Indian Americans were honored by the National Ethnic Coalition of Organizations. They were among the 95 outstanding individuals named during the 24^th Annual Ellis Island Medals of Honor recipients, held on May 8th annual gala awards dinner in the historic Great Hall on Ellis Island.

 

The seven NRIs who received the prestigious awards are Rao Anumolu, president and CEO of ASR International Corp.; Suraj Bhatia, president of Technology Consultants Service International Inc.; Sudhir K. Gupta, vice president of operations for Lockheed Martin Space Systems Company; Shekhar Mitra, senior vice president of Global R & D for Procter and Gamble; Dr. Hemant Patel, former president of the American Association of Physicians of Indian Origin; Kappana Ramanandan, Community Health Advisory Committee, Public Health Foundation of Connecticut.

 

Bhatia served many years as a Rotarian both locally and internationally, until he was installed as the 53^rd district governor for Rotary District 7490 June 18^th 2009. Gupta served as the vice president of operations for Lockheed since 2001. Mitra is a life scientist who became the first Asian to be senior vice president of Global R & D at Proctor and Gamble, where he blazed the trail in creating strategic partnerships in many countries and with leading institutions. A research scientist, Ramanandan, who bought over Hydrox Laboratories, used his skills to develop several new products in the early 1980s. Having served the Hartford area for over 30 years, Srinivasan was named top doctor by Connecticut magazine in 2010. He founded the Free Public Health Clinic for Uninsured Patients in the Hartford area.

 

INDIAN AMERICAN NIKKI HALEY WINS REPUBLICAN PRIMARY IN GUBERNATORIAL RACE

 

South Carolina State Assembly woman Nikki Haley won the Republican primary in run-off with 49% of the vote in a four-way race for the Governorship of South Carolina.

 

Washington DC based Indian American Conservative Council made the following statement:

 

"Nikki Haley is poised to become the next Governor of the great state of South Carolina, and we are going to be there every step of the way with her," said Council Chairman Dino Teppara.  "Many of our members worked incredibly hard to support Governor Bobby Jindal, a poised and focused government reformer in both 2003 and 2007.

 

"We are on the brink of history.  Nikki is set to do something the political class doubted she could do.  When Bobby Jindal first ran for Governor of Louisiana in 2003, few people believed he could win.  But many of our members supported him from the start.  Similarly, groups like the Asian American Hotel Owners Association (AAHOA), joined our efforts early last year when Nikki set out on her historic campaign of reforming South Carolina's government.  We were by her side in 2004 when she first ran for office, defeating the longest-serving statehouse member."

 

"In this run-off, the choice is clear.  Nikki brings the bold leadership we need to direct South Carolina onto the path of transparency and good government," Teppara continued.