INDIAN-AMERICAN DR. ABHAY DESHPANDE NAMED AS THE DIRECTOR FOR NEW RESEARCH CENTER TO RESOLVE UNIVERSE MYSTERY

 

Physicist Dr. Abhay Deshpande has been appointed to lead the Center for Frontiers in Nuclear Science (CFNS), a new research center formed to lead the efforts to resolve one of the deep mysteries of the Universe. For the last 5 decades, physicists have known that protons and neutrons, the building blocks of the entire visible universe, are formed out of quarks and gluons. The interactions amongst quarks and gluons are governed by a theory called Quantum Chromodynamics (QCD). However, exactly how the interactions happen inside protons and neutrons to make them what they are: how their properties emerge from the collective interactions of quarks and gluons, is still a mystery, and one of the most challenging problems in physics today. A new collider accelerator facility called the Electron Ion Collider (EIC) is needed to address some of these questions.

 

Two world class research organizations, Stony Brook University, a top public university in the US, and one of the premier nuclear physics labs of the US Department of Energy, The Brookhaven National Laboratory, have come together under the leadership of Dr. Deshpande, to form this Center. A generous grant from the Simons Foundation and a complementary one from the University/NY State together, have made this Center possible. 

 

Most difficult problems in Physics have in the past been solved by the collective wisdom and effort of a great many scientists working together, on research problems. With his new role, Dr. Deshpande hopes exactly this to happen. The Center will be the hub for scientists around the world interested in helping the realization of the EI Collider, and eventually solving the mystery of matter. 

 

Dr. Deshpande, who dedicated his entire life to understand aspects of nature that were most intriguing to him. The problem of the proton and neutron structure emerging from quarks and gluons has been on his mind for the last 25 years. During these years, he has performed experiments at CERN (the European Nuclear & Particle Physics Laboratory) in Geneva, Switzerland, at the German national laboratory called DESY, in Hamburg, Germany, and in the past few years he has been experimenting at the Brookhaven National Laboratory in Upton, NY and at the Thomas Jefferson Laboratory in Newport News, Virginia. What he learnt in all these experiments has resulted in the proposal for the Electron Ion Collider which he hopes to help realize in the next decade.

 

Abhay grew up in Vile Parle, Mumbai. He is a graduate of Parle Tilak Vidyalaya, and the Mumbai University. He did his M.Sc. from IIT Kanpur and Ph.D. from Yale University in New Haven, CT.  This doctoral thesis was focused on understanding some of the rarest decays in (the Universe) of a particle called Kaon, which carries some very strange quarks.

 

INDIAN-AMERICAN BIO-MEDICAL SCIENTIST, DR. VIKAS SUKHATME NAMED DEAN OF EMNORY UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF MEDICINE

 

Physician and scientist, Dr. Vikas P. Sukhatmehas been appointed as the dean of the Emnory University School of Medicine. Sukhatme will also serve as the Chief Academic Officer of Emory Healthcare and as a Woodruff professor.

 

Sukhatme currently serves as the Chief Academic Officer and Harvard Faculty Dean for academic programs at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center (BIDMC) in Boston, as well as being the Victor J. Aresty professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School.

 

His research spans numerous areas of medicine in fundamental science and clinical care and he has a doctorate in theoretical physics from Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

 

Sukhatme also has a medical degree from Harvard Medical School in Health Sciences and Technology. After moving to Harvard Medical School and BIDMC as chief of the Renal Division in the Department of Medicine, he received an appointment in the hematology-oncology division.

 

According to Alan Garber, provost of Harvard University "Vikas is a superb researcher with remarkable breadth and sophistication, all in the service of improved human health. He has a deep, discerning intellect and is dedicated to the success of his colleagues and students. Emory is fortunate to have attracted him as dean."

 

Sukhatme also is an entrepreneur, having co-founded several biotechnology companies based on discoveries from his laboratory.

 

SIX INDIAN-AMERICANS SELECTED AS DAVIDSON FELLOWS

 

Six Indian-Americans are among the twenty people selected as Davidson Fellows by the Davidson Institute for Talent Development at an award ceremony held on September 27 in Washington, D.C.

 

The Davidson Fellows program seeks to recognize young people who have developed significant projects that have great potential to benefit society. Scholarships of $50,000, $25,000 and $10,000 were awarded for projects in science, technology, engineering, mathematics, literature, music and philosophy.

 

Rishab Gargeya who won a scholarship of $50,000, is an incoming freshman at Stanford University. He created a smartphone app that uses artificial intelligence to detect basic eye-care issues. It would help people diagnose themselves in seconds so they can accurately monitor their own vision and get medical attention, accordingly.

 

 Among the other scholarship winners were

-       Arjun Ramani for his project, "Fast Sampling of Stochastic Kronecker Graphs

-       Manan Shah for "Deep Learning Assessment of Tumor Proliferation in Histopathological Images for Categorical and Molecular Breast Cancer Severity Diagnosis"

-       Arvind Sridhar for "Engineering Injectable, Conductive Hydrogels Doped with Graphene and Graphene Oxide Nanoparticles for Post-MI Cardiac Tissue Engineering and Robust Drug Discovery: A Computationally-Aided Investigation for Enhancing Therapeutic Efficacy."

 

Bob Davidson founder of the Davidson Institute stated, "We are thrilled to recognize the 2017 Davidson Fellows not only for their incredible projects, but also for the journey they forged to reach this point."  He felt that it was gifted students such as these who "will be among the pioneers who will solve the world's most vexing problems."

 

TWO EXECUTIVES NAMED 2017 MIDDLE EAST AND SOUTH AISA EISENHOWER FELLOWS

 

Two Indian executives, Sanjay Podder and Sanjay Sridhar, are among the 22 leaders in government, business and civil society named as 2017 Middle East and South Asia  (MESA) Fellows by Eisenhower Fellowships

 

The MESA Fellows group includes thought leaders in conflict resolution, health, education, women's empowerment, communications, engineering, climate change, food manufacturing and public services. This fellowship organization brings together innovative leaders from across geographies and sectors, and visionaries who tackle big challenges to better the world around them.

 

The Fellows, who hail from 11 countries across the two regions, will embark on a six-week fellowship in the U.S., engaging in a transformative exchange of knowledge and ideas with the leading minds in their fields.

 

Podder leads research and development for social good and software engineering at Accenture Labs in Mumbai. A graduate of the Advanced Management program at UPenn's Wharton School, as well as the Executive Education program at Dartmouth College's Tuck School of Business, he is passionate about using data science to accelerate social transformation in areas such as gender inequality, malnutrition and the exclusion of people with disabilities.

 

Podder's objective is to develop Accenture Labs as a leading platform for "technology for good" in India, enabling innovators to leverage the power of a connected world and improve lives.

Sridhar is an architect, planner and urban governance professional, working to address the effects of climate change by helping megacities in South and West Asia to collaborate and exchange ideas about how to reduce the sources of greenhouse gas emissions. Previously, he worked for the World Resources Institute, where he led the urban development program for India.

 

On his fellowship, Sridhar will meet with leaders in climate change mitigation about how to make the political case for sustainable cities in the developing world. Additionally, he hopes to identify best practices in key areas of transportation, water and solid waste and set up peer-to-peer partnerships between cities in the U.S. and South and West Asia

 

INDIAN-AMERICAN TEEN, SOJAS WAGLE WINS INTERNATIONAL BRAIN BEE

 

Indian American Sojas Wagle, 15, of Arkansas won the 19^th edition of the World Brain Bee and a prize of $3,000, a trophy, and the right to represent the Brain Bee worldwide. This is a neuroscience competition for teenagers.

 

A sophomore at the Har-Ber High School in Springdale, Sojas studied diligently for the last two months.

 

In second place was Milena Malcharek of Poland, and Elwin Vethamuthu, 17, of Malaysia, also of Indian origin, came third.

 

Sojas, was jubilant about winning.  "It happened so fast, it's so surreal. I'm happy that my hard work paid off." he said. 

 

INDIAN AMERICAN COUPLE PLEDGES USD 200 FOR USD UNIVERSITY

 

An Indian-American doctor couple has committed a whopping USD 200 million to a Florida-based medical college for development of research in medicine and healthcare science. The amount, which includes a USD 50 million gift and USD 150 million as investment, is the largest philanthropic gift in the history of the Nova Southeastern University (NSU), the institution said in a statement.

 

The commitment of USD 200 million by Cardiologist Dr Kiran C Patel and his wife pediatrician Dr Pallavi Patel will significantly expand the programs of NSU in osteopathic medicine and healthcare sciences, it said.

 

The Patel Family Foundation's commitment includes a USD 50 million gift and an additional USD 150 million real estate and facility investment in a future 325,000 square-foot medical education complex that will be part of NSU's new Tampa Bay Regional Campus, in Clearwater, the statement said.

 

The USD 50 million gift is one of the seven-largest to any Florida university in history.

 

According to the university, the money would be used to develop the campus that will house a new site for NSU's College of Osteopathic Medicine, as well as its existing programs in the Tampa area.

 

"I feel that it is more important than ever to advance the current state of health care. It is rare for someone to have the opportunity to impact the world in this way, and, as an immigrant to the United States, I am particularly honored to be able to make a difference," said Dr. Kiran Patel.

 

"This partnership will benefit thousands of patients, students and doctors. Over the next 20 years, NSU will train thousands of new doctors and other health care professionals who will directly touch millions of lives, making a real difference," Dr. Pallavi Patel said.