BOSTON (TIP) : Indian American professor Anantha Chandrakasan, dean of the School of Engineering and the Vannevar Bush Professor of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, has been named as MIT’s first chief innovation and strategy officer. He will continue to serve as dean of engineering, a role he has held since 2017.
As chief innovation and strategy officer, Chandrakasan will work closely with MIT President Sally Kornbluth to advance the ambitious agenda that she has laid out in the first year of her presidency, according to a press release.
He will collaborate with key stakeholders across MIT, as well as external partners, to launch initiatives and new collaborations in support of these strategic priorities.
In his new role, Chandrakasan will help develop and implement plans to advance research, education, and innovation in areas that Kornbluth has identified as her top priorities — such as climate change and sustainability, artificial intelligence, and the life sciences. He will also play a leading role in efforts to secure the resources needed for MIT researchers to pursue bold work in these key areas. “I am thrilled and honored to help advance President Kornbluth’s vision for MIT in this new role,” Chandrakasan says. “Working closely with faculty, staff, and students across the Institute, I am excited to help shape and launch initiatives that will accelerate research and innovation on some of the world’s most urgent needs. My hope is to enable our researchers with the support, resources, and infrastructure they need to maximize the impact of their work.”
“I was immediately impressed by Anantha’s can-do attitude and his clear interest in working with us to develop and advance our priorities for the Institute,” Kornbluth says.
“With his signature energy, creativity, and enthusiasm, he has a gift for organizing complex initiatives and ideas and making sure they move forward with alacrity. Combined with his strategic insight, deep knowledge across many subject areas, and terrific record in raising funds for important ideas, Anantha is uniquely suited to serve MIT in this new role, and I’m delighted he has agreed to take it on.”
Working closely with MIT’s existing programs in entrepreneurship, Chandrakasan will develop strategies to accelerate innovation across the Institute, the release stated. These efforts will aim to grow and support these programs while identifying new opportunities to support student and faculty entrepreneurs and maximize their impact. In addition to examining ways to advance research, entrepreneurship, and collaborations, Chandrakasan will work with Provost Cynthia Barnhart and Chancellor Melissa Nobles to advance new educational initiatives. This will include developing new programs and tracks to optimize students’ preparation for a variety of career paths. “In many ways, this role is a natural extension of the significant work Anantha has already been doing to help shape strategic priorities on an Institute level,” Barnhart says. “All of MIT stands to benefit from his extensive experience launching and building new programs and initiatives.”
As dean of engineering since 2017, Chandrakasan has implemented a variety of interdisciplinary programs, creating new models for how academia and industry can work together to accelerate the pace of research.
This has resulted in the launch of initiatives including the MIT Climate and Sustainability Consortium, the MIT-IBM Watson AI Lab, the MIT-Takeda Program, the MIT and Accenture Convergence Initiative, the MIT Mobility Initiative, the MIT Quest for Intelligence, the MIT AI Hardware Program, the MIT-Northpond Program, the MIT Faculty Founder Initiative, and the MIT-Novo Nordisk Artificial Intelligence Postdoctoral Fellows Program, the release stated.
Chandrakasan has also played a role as dean in establishing a variety of initiatives beyond the School of Engineering. He was instrumental in the 2018 founding of the Schwarzman College of Computing, the most significant structural change to MIT in nearly 70 years.
He also has served in leadership roles on MIT Fast Forward, an Institute-wide plan for addressing climate change; as the inaugural chair of the Abdul Latif Jameel Clinic for Machine Learning in Health; and as the co-chair of the academic workstream for MIT’s Task Force 2021.
Before becoming dean, Chandrakasan led an Institute-wide working group to guide the development of policies and procedures related to MIT’s 2016 launch of The Engine, and also served on The Engine’s inaugural board.
Prior to becoming dean in 2017, Chandrakasan served for six years as head of the Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science (EECS), MIT’s largest academic department. As department head, he led the development of initiatives that continue to have an impact across MIT.
He created Rising Stars in EECS, an academic career workshop that rotates amongst various universities and has become a model for similar efforts in other disciplines.
Under his leadership, EECS also launched the SuperUROP program as well as Start6, which has since become StartMIT, a program supporting students interested in entrepreneurship, the release stated.
Tag: Boston
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Indian American professor Anantha Chandrakasan named MIT’s first chief innovation and strategy officer
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2 Indian-origin men arrested for committing Visa fraud in US
BOSTON (TIP): Two Indian-origin men have been arrested and charged with one count each of conspiracy to commit visa fraud in the US.
Rambhai Patel, 36, and Balwinder Singh, 39, allegedly staged armed robberies so that “victims” could apply for immigration benefits, the US Attorney’s Office for the District of Massachusetts said on Friday, December 29. Patel was arrested in Seattle on December 13, 2023, and following an initial appearance in the Western District of Washington, he was ordered detained pending trial. Singh was also arrested on the same day in Queens, and had his initial appearance in the Eastern District of New York.While Singh appeared in federal court in Boston on Friday afternoon, Patel is expected to appear at a later date in the same court.
According to the charging documents, beginning March 2023, Patel and his co-conspirators, including at times, Singh, set up and carried out staged armed robberies. These were carried out at eight convenience/liquor stores and fast food restaurants across the United States, including at least four in Massachusetts.
It is alleged that the purpose of the staged robberies was to allow the clerks present to claim that they were victims of a violent crime on an application for U non-immigration status (U Visa).
A US Visa is available to victims of certain crimes who have suffered mental or physical abuse and who have been helpful to law enforcement in the investigation or prosecution of criminal activity.
In the course of the alleged staged robberies, the “robber” would threaten store clerks and/or owners with an apparent firearm before taking cash from the register and fleeing, while the interaction was captured on store surveillance video.
The clerks and/or owners would then wait five or more minutes until the “robber” had escaped before calling police to report the “crime”.
The “victims” are alleged to have each paid Patel to participate in the scheme. In turn, Patel allegedly paid the store owners for the use of their stores for the staged robbery. The charge of conspiracy to commit visa fraud provides for a sentence of up to five years in prison, three years of supervised release, and a fine of $250,000.
Sentences are imposed by a federal district court judge based upon the US Sentencing Guidelines and statutes which govern the determination of a sentence in a criminal case.
The details contained in the charging documents are allegations, and the defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law, the attorney’s office said.
(Source: IANS) -
Indian American Apsara Iyer named President of Harvard Law Review
BOSTON (TIP): The Harvard Law Review has elected Apsara Iyer as its 137th president, making her the first Indian American woman to head the prestigious publication in its 136-year history.
The 29-year-old Harvard Law School student, who has been investigating art crime and repatriation since 2018, succeeds Priscila Coronado.
“Since joining the Law Review, I have been inspired by her (Priscila’s) skillful management, compassion, and capacity to build vibrant, inclusive communities. I am so grateful that we ‘Volume 137’ inherit her legacy, and I am honored to continue building on this important work over the next year,” Iyer said in a statement announcing her appointment.
Iyer graduated from Yale in 2016 with a B.A. in Economics and Math, and Spanish. Her dedication to archaeology and indigenous communities led her to pursue an MPhil at Oxford as a Clarendon Scholar and, in 2018, to join the Manhattan District Attorney’s Antiquities Trafficking Unit (ATU), a Harvard Law Review release said.
At the ATU, she investigated art crime, coordinating with international and federal law-enforcement authorities to repatriate more than 1,100 stolen works of art to 15 different countries.
Iyer enrolled at Harvard Law School in the fall of 2020, where she is a student in the International Human Rights Clinic and member of the South Asian Law Students Association.
Committed to fighting illicit antiquities trafficking, Iyer took a leave of absence from Harvard Law School in 2021-22 to return to the DA’s Office, where she worked on an international antiquity trafficking investigation and rose to be the deputy of the ATU.
“Apsara has changed the lives of many editors for the better, and I know she will continue to do so. From the start, she has impressed her fellow editors with her remarkable intelligence, thoughtfulness, warmth, and fierce advocacy. The Law Review is extremely lucky to have her lead this institution,” Iyer’s predecessor, Coronado, said.
The Law Review, founded in 1887 by future Supreme Court Justice Louis D. Brandeis, LLB 1887, is an entirely student-edited journal with the largest circulation of any law journal in the world.
Former President Barack Obama was the journal’s first Black president. -
Sadhguru calls upon youth to see danger to world from growing population and inequal distribution of wealth
BOSTON(TIP): “One of the biggest problems in the world is migration. It’s estimated nearly 1.5 billion people will migrate in next 5 to 10 years’ time. What is the solution for this? The problem is – nearly 80% of the world’s investment goes to cities. We have to create business friendly environment for all. We have to invest in various areas and create livelihood”, said Sadhguru on February 17, at the 16thedition of India Conference, one of the largest student-run conferences focusing on India in the USA. It is jointly organized by students of Harvard Business School and Harvard Kennedy School.
One of the most enlightened persons of our time, Sadhguru said population growth and inequal distribution of wealth must lead to migration, and no walls or barriers could stop the influx.
Sadhguru answered questions from panelists and the audience on a number of issues at the session “Youth and Truth with Sadhguru.
Asked to comment on the subject of rape, Sadhguru said, “We have to deal with it in a sensible way. This is not a social issue – it’s a human issue. This debate has to come”.
On democracy in America, Sadhguru said he believed there is no democracy in the United States. “It’s feudalism”, he said. “My father was a Republican so am I. Same for the Democrats. How is it democracy? Every citizen has the right to express own opinion. I don’t want to take any political side. If one individual can move million votes – that means we are going back to feudalism not democracy. The idea of democracy and secret ballot is that every person will decide on his/her own and cast the vote. Political party membership should be taken away. Political parties should not enroll members because people are voting for you without looking at what you have done. Every five years we must evaluate what politicians have done – should I give them another chance or not. I support this party and I will vote for them without judging their work – this is feudalism. This destroys fundamental democratic fabric”.
On the issue of marriage and relationship between man and woman, husband and wife, Sadhguru quipped; “Be it marketplace or marriage – for any relationship to sustain it has to be beneficial for both parties. Unless it benefits both, the business won’t last long”.
The India Conference is one of the largest student-run conferences focusing on India in the USA. It is jointly organized by students of Harvard Business School and Harvard Kennedy School. The 16th edition of the Conference was organized on February 16th and February 17th, 2019 in Boston. The theme was ‘India at an inflection point’.
A statement on the conference said, “At the 16th edition of India Conference at Harvard, we aim to bring together India’s thought leaders for a weekend of discussions and brainstorming sessions to unravel the exciting opportunities that lay ahead for our country. The conference has a strong legacy of bringing together politicians, business leaders, entertainment professionals, public intellectuals, spiritual leaders, government officials, philanthropists, and many other leaders to meaningfully discuss key issues, solutions and opportunities in the context of India’s path to global leadership.
“This conference will bring together great business leaders, entertainment professionals, government officials, philanthropists and many other leaders to engage in conversation about India’s path to global leadership. In the past, we have been fortunate to host Amartya Sen, Omar Abdullah, Azim Premji, Kamal Hassan, Ravish Kumar, Karan Johar, and Sabyasachi Mukherjee among many other influential speakers. Our 2018 conference had over 1000 attendees and was a resounding success”.
The 2019 conference was no less star-studded and was very well attended. The 2 -day conference witnessed the presence of dozens of intellectuals and social activists from India and the US who dealt with dozens of issues. The young students deserve highest appreciation for organizing a great India conference, with the theme “India at an inflection point”.
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Inferno in Boston after explosions: homes burn after multiple gas blasts; at least one killed, 12 injured
ANDOVER, MA(TIP): Dozens of explosions, apparently triggered by a natural gas pipeline rupture, rocked three communities near Boston on Thursday, September 13, killing at least one person, injuring 12 and prompting the evacuation of hundreds, officials said.
The blasts left dozens of homes and other buildings demolished or engulfed in flames as firefighters from some 50 departments raced for hours from one blaze to another and utility crews rushed to shut off gas and electricity in the area to prevent further ignitions.
Police drove up and down streets with bull horns telling residents to vacate their homes immediately.
Fire investigators suspected “over-pressurization of a gas main” belonging to Columbia Gas of Massachusetts led to the series of explosions and fires, Andover Fire Chief Michael Mansfield told a news conference.
Columbia Gas, a unit of the utility giant NiSource Inc (NI.N), announced earlier on Thursday that it would be upgrading gas lines in neighborhoods across the state, including the area where the explosions occurred. However, it was not immediately known whether any work was being done in those communities at the time.
“Columbia Gas is investigating what happened on its system today,” NiSource spokesman Ken Stammen said.
The U.S. Department of Transportation’s Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) said it was sending a team to support the state’s emergency response efforts.
The former head of the agency, Brigham McCown, called the series of gas explosions “unprecedented, at least in recent memory.”
“I can’t think of a series of natural gas-related incidents like this,” McCown, who led PHMSA under President George W. Bush, told Reuters by telephone. “We have had similar issues on a much smaller scale.”
He said the National Transportation Safety Board was also sending a team headed by its chairman, Robert Sumwalt, to investigate the disaster.
Live TV images showed firefighters battling blazes in the former mill towns of Lawrence, Andover and North Andover, about 25 miles (40 km) north of the Massachusetts capital.
The streets were darkened after nightfall with power cut off to the area as a precaution.
Lawrence General Hospital said on its Facebook page it treated 13 people for injuries ranging from smoke inhalation to blast trauma. One of those patients, who was in critical condition, was transported to Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston. Officials told Reuters that patient later died.
At least three people, including one firefighter, were hurt in Andover, the town said in a statement, but it was unclear whether any of those individuals were among the patients treated in Lawrence, some of whom were later released.
“This has been an overwhelming event,” Mansfield told reporters, saying that fire companies responding to blazes were putting one house fire out only to discover another house on fire as they finished their work. “This event is not over tonight. This event will probably go on.”
Massachusetts State Police said a total of 70 fires, explosions or investigations of gas odor had been reported. Some 50 fire departments responded to the emergency, said John McArdle, fire chief of Plaistow, New Hampshire, which sent a tower ladder and engine crew to the scene.
State police urged residents served by Columbia Gas to evacuate their homes. Lawrence Mayor Dan Rivera said residents in the southern part of the city had been asked to leave their homes whether or not they were Columbia Gas customers, due to planned power cuts.
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SHARK SKIN INSPIRES DESIGN FOR BETTER DRONES, PLANES
BOSTON (TIP): Harvard scientists have developed a new structure inspired by shark skin that could improve the aerodynamic performance of planes, wind turbines, drones and cars.
The study published in the Journal of the Royal Society Interface sheds light on a decades-old mystery about sharkskin.
Sharks and airplanes are not actually all that different.
Both are designed to efficiently move through fluid (water and air), using the shape of their bodies to generate lift and decrease drag, researchers said.
The difference is that sharks have about a 400 million- year head start on the design process, they said.
“The skin of sharks is covered by thousands and thousands of small scales, or denticles, which vary in shape and size around the body,” said George Lauder, professor at Harvard University in the US.
“We know a lot about the structure of these denticles – which are very similar to human teeth – but the function has been debated,” said Lauder.
Most research has focused on the drag reducing properties of denticles but Lauder and his team wondered if there was more to the story.
“We asked, what if instead of mainly reducing drag, these particular shapes were actually better suited for increasing lift,” said Mehdi Saadat, a postdoctoral fellow at Harvard, who holds a joint appointment at the University of South Carolina.
For inspiration, they turned to the shortfin mako, the fastest shark in the world. The mako’s denticles have three raised ridges, like a trident.
Using micro-CT scanning, the team imaged and modelled the denticles in three dimensions. Next, they 3D printed the shapes on the surface of a wing with a curved aerodynamic cross-section, known as an airfoil.
“Airfoils are a primary component of all aerial devices,” said August Domel, a PhD student at Harvard.
“We wanted to test these structures on airfoils as a way of measuring their effect on lift and drag for applications in the design of various aerial devices such as drones, airplanes, and wind turbines,” said Domel.
The researchers tested 20 different configurations of denticle sizes, rows and row positions on airfoils inside a water flow tank.
They found that in addition to reducing drag, the denticle shaped structures significantly increased lift, acting as high powered, low-profile vortex generators.
Cars and planes are equipped with these small, passive devices designed to alter the air flow over the surface of a moving object to make it more aerodynamic.
Most vortex generators in the field today have a simple, blade-like design.
Source: PTI
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The 2017 South Asian Spelling Bee Boston & New Jersey winners announced
METUCHEN, NJ (TIP): Continuing its quest for the best speller in the community, the 2017 South Asian Spelling Bee (www.SouthAsianSpellingBee.com) traveled to Massachusetts and New Jersey this past weekend with stops in the Boston and New Brunswick.
With a huge turnout this year as well, the Bee attracted some top talent as well as young and new spellers that competed for the coveted prizes and titles.
In the Boston Regional, Sravanth Malla (13) of Haverstraw, New York was the regional champ, Anmol Dash (12) of Buffalo Grove, Illinois, was the first runner up, and Richa Juvekar (13) of Westford, Massachusetts, was second runner up.
In New Jersey, Sujata Choudhury (10) from Cherry Hill, New Jersey was named regional champ, Abhilash Patel (9) from Harriman, New York was first runner up, and Agranya Ketha (13) of Montville, New Jersey, was the second runner-up.
The event is open to children of South Asian descent up to 14 years of age. It gives South Asian children a chance to test their spelling skills in their core peer group. Interested spellers need their parent or guardian to register them online at www.southasianspellingbee.com.
Organized by Touchdown Media Inc., the South Asian Spelling Bee is celebrating its 10th anniversary this year and with regionals being held in 8 locations across the United States. Apart from Boston and New Jersey, regional centers include Chicago, Seattle, Washington D.C. Metro, Charlotte, the Bay Area, and Dallas. All events will be free to attend and open to the public. An international regional in Accra, Ghana was conducted earlier this year, from where spellers of South Asian descent will qualify for the finals.
“For the past nine years, the Bee has consistently provided a firm platform for the community to come together and hone their craft. It’s become a family activity that contributes towards the overall development of the child. We are proud to enter our Tenth consecutive year and look forward to engaging some of these wonderful spellers,” said Rahul Walia, founder of the South Asian Spelling Bee and CEO of Touchdown Media Inc.
The top two spellers of each regional competition will advance to the finals to be held in New Jersey in August. Champion’s grand prize of $3,000 will be awarded to the winner at the finals.
This year, the Bee is proudly powered by Kawan- the world’s most popular Roti paratha brand returns as the powered by sponsor and as always, SONY Entertainment Television Asia is the exclusive broadcast partner for the South Asian Spelling Bee and will be airing the series across 120 countries.
“Kawan is proud to return as a sponsor and we have tremendous faith in contributing towards crucial family time for the community. We look forward to getting to know the spellers and their families through this wonderful journey,” said Tim Tan, Managing Director Kawan Food.
“Year over year, the South Asian Spelling Bee has made for great programing that gels with our ethos of compete family entertainment. We are all about family values and encourage platforms such as these that highlight the talent of our community,” said Jaideep Janakiram, Head of North America, Sony Entertainment Television-Asia.
For a complete schedule, registration and any other information, please visit: www.SouthAsianSpellingBee.com.
Find us on Facebook at South Asian Spelling Bee and you can follow us on our Twitter handle at Spell South Asian.
About Sony Entertainment Television Asia:
Since its launch on the Indian subcontinent in 1995, Sony Entertainment Television (SET) has enjoyed rapid success, leading to the establishment of European, North American and African feeds known as SET Asia. SET and SET Asia are now available in over 150 countries. The channels offer their viewers a distinctive blend of entertainment programs twenty-four hours a day, including, soap operas, dramas, sitcoms, concerts, movies, and game shows. For more information, visit www.setasia.tv.
About Touchdown Media Inc.:
Touchdown Media Inc. is a specialized South Asian advertising and promotions firm based in New Jersey. Now in its 11th successful year, Touchdown has helped clients- both mainstream and otherwise, reach out to the lucrative South Asian market, Touchdown Media represents more than 35 years of collective experience in this niche market. As a full service ad firm, Touchdown has helped many clients achieve their media and marketing goals within the South Asian Diaspora in the US.