The Indian Panorama

Tag: Illinois

  • A tiny particle’s wobble could upend the known laws of Physics

    Evidence is mounting that a tiny subatomic particle seems to be disobeying the known laws of physics, scientists announced Wednesday, a finding that would open a vast and tantalizing hole in our understanding of the universe. The result, physicists say, suggests that there are forms of matter and energy vital to the nature and evolution of the cosmos that are not yet known to science. “This is our Mars rover landing moment,” said Chris Polly, a physicist at the Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory, or Fermilab, in Batavia, Illinois, who has been working toward this finding for most of his career. The particle célèbre is the muon, which is akin to an electron but far heavier and is an integral element of the cosmos. Polly and his colleagues — an international team of 200 physicists from seven countries — found that muons did not behave as predicted when shot through an intense magnetic field at Fermilab.

    The aberrant behavior poses a firm challenge to the Standard Model, the suite of equations that enumerates the fundamental particles in the universe (17, at last count) and how they interact.

    “This is strong evidence that the muon is sensitive to something that is not in our best theory,” said Renee Fatemi, a physicist at the University of Kentucky.

    The results, the first from an experiment called Muon g-2, agreed with similar experiments at the Brookhaven National Laboratory in 2001 that have teased physicists ever since.

    At a virtual seminar and news conference Wednesday, Polly pointed to a graph displaying white space where the Fermilab findings deviated from the theoretical prediction. “We can say with fairly high confidence, there must be something contributing to this white space,” he said. “What monsters might be lurking there?”

    “Today is an extraordinary day, long awaited not only by us but by the whole international physics community,” Graziano Venanzoni, a spokesperson for the collaboration and a physicist at the Italian National Institute for Nuclear Physics, said in a statement issued by Fermilab. The results are also being published in a set of papers submitted to several peer-reviewed journals.

    The measurements have about one chance in 40,000 of being a fluke, the scientists reported, well short of the gold standard needed to claim an official discovery by physics standards. Promising signals disappear all the time in science, but more data are on the way. Wednesday’s results represent only 6% of the total data the muon experiment is expected to garner in the coming years.

  • AAPI’s Past President Dr. Suresh Reddy Runs for Office as Trustee of Town of Oak Brook, IL

    AAPI’s Past President Dr. Suresh Reddy Runs for Office as Trustee of Town of Oak Brook, IL

    CHICAGO, IL (TIP): “With the objective of giving back to the community, utilizing my talents, skills and experiences for the greater good of the community, which has always been my passion, I have decided to run for political office: to be a Trustee of my hometown, Oak Brook, a suburb in the state of Illinois,” Dr. Suresh Reddy, Immediate Past President of American Association of Physicians of Indian Origin (AAPI) announced.

    Declaring that “My nomination for Trustee has just been confirmed,” Dr. Reddy added, “I am among the six candidates running to be Trustees for the three openings that are being contested on April 6th, when the voters in the city will go to polls.” Having a population of nearly 10,000 people, the city of Oak Brook is located 15 miles west of the Chicago Loop and is served by a network of major federal, state, and county roads including the Tri-State Tollway system, the East-West Tollway and the Eisenhower Expressway. One of the affluent communities in the nation, Oakbrook’s adjacent neighbors include the communities of Villa Park, Elmhurst, Lombard, Oakbrook Terrace, Westchester, Westmont, Clarendon Hills, Downers Grove, and Hinsdale.

    Dr. Reddy comes with immense experiences and proven leadership. Dr. Reddy grew up in the suburbs of Hyderabad in Southern India. A financial conservator, Dr. Reddy, always had a passion for “uniting and bringing people together.” Recalling his childhood, the dynamic leader says, “It all started during my childhood with bringing neighborhood kids together to play “gully cricket” and also bringing people together in college to organizee events, demonstrations, and educational tours. Bringing opposing parties to the table for resolving issues has always been my strong strength since my schooling days.”

    Not being satisfied with his achievements, Dr. Reddy says, “I always had a strong passion for bringing a positive outlook and g giving back to the community. I got involved in several alumni activities and have facilitated to raise funds to build a million-dollar alumni educational center for my Alma Mater.”

    Dr. Reddy completed his advanced medical training at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center/Harvard Medical School and has stayed on Harvard Faculty for more than a decade where he had also served as Chief of Interventional Neuroradiology. Subsequently, Dr. Reddy and family moved to Chicago which has now become his home. “Now that I call Oak Brook my home, I would like to contribute and serve my community by participating in public service,” says Dr. Reddy. What motivates him to take on yet another challenging role for the betterment of the community? “My mantra is: If you don’t lead, someone else will lead you. If you don’t pick the right leader, the wrong leader will pick you, and as my good friend US Congressman Raja Says, and if you are not on the table, you will be on the menu”, says Dr. Reddy. Leading an organization that represents more than 100,000 physicians and Fellows of Indian Origin in the US, being their voice and providing a forum to its members to collectively work together to meet their diverse needs, has been a major challenge. Dr. Suresh Reddy, as the president of American Association of Physicians of Indian Origin (AAPI), has been right on task and has devoted the past one-year leading AAPI to stability and greater heights. (At the conclusion of his year long term in July 2020, Dr. Reddy fulfilled the promise of working in unison with other arms of AAPI and long-term planning and financial stability, which was not an easy feat with the ongoing pandemic.)

    He has devoted a greater part of his life to numerous initiates within the United States, in addition to serving his people back in India. As part of his community service, Dr. Reddy has facilitated and organized numerous health camps and workshops, with special emphasis on CPR training, obesity prevention in conjunction with Chicago Medical Society. During the Covid Pandemic, Dr. Reddy facilitated more than a hundred webinars and health awareness events. He facilitated honoring of more than 10,000 nurses who work selflessly in the line of duty against Covid in over 100 hospitals in over 40 states including Alaska. He led a campaign donating blankets to the needy during the last winter and would like to do the same this winter.

    Under Dr. Reddy’s leadership, AAPI has been actively involved in community awareness programs like Obesity prevention, sharing medical knowledge at the Global Health Summit, team building activities such as the Share a Blanket program, medical education programs such as CPR training, social networking programs including 3 trips to the continent of Antarctica, morale building programs like mentoring a future medical student, and India heritage programs like Independence Day celebrations.His foresight and leadership were appreciated as AAPI became the first major organization to call for ‘universal masking’. AAPI provided free masks to thousands of health care workers.  AAPI has also stood against racial discrimination. “We are proud to say that for all our Doctors ‘all lives matter,’” he added. Present Mayor of Oak Brook Dr. Gopal Lalmalani and Trustee Mr. Moin Saiyed of Oak Brook have been strongly supporting Dr. Reddy

    His wife Leela, who was born and raised in Greenville, South Carolina has a Master’s Degree in Health Management and Policy. Previously, she was a Director of Network Health Boston, an HMO Health Plan in Boston prior to moving to Chicago. Their son, Rohun is currently doing his JD/MBA at Kellogg School of Management /Pritzker School of Law at Northwestern University.

    Committing himself to ensure and work tirelessly to keep Oak Brook a strong village, living up to its name as a model village around the nation, Dr. Reddy says, “We would like to continue and strengthen many programs and services the city offers to all sections of the people. More than ever, Fiscal conservatism and wise spending, has become the most important attribute for a financially secure future. Hence I request you to give me a chance to perform my public service with utmost integrity and dignity to the office.”

    Dr. Reddy is urging the residents of Oak Brook to sign up for “Mail in ballot”. Given the Covid situation and keeping everyone’s safety in mind, “mail in ballot” is the right approach.

    If you are a registered voter, please apply online for the mail in ballot at: https://www.dupageco.org/Election/VoteByMail/ Once you apply, please text me or email me, so that I can make sure you get your “mail in ballot”.

    Email: reddyforoakbrook@gmail.com

  • Vaishnav Samaj of Midwest (VSM), Shreejidwar Haveli celebrates 10th Patotsav (Anniversary) in a traditional way including Chappan Bhog Manorath

    Vaishnav Samaj of Midwest (VSM), Shreejidwar Haveli celebrates 10th Patotsav (Anniversary) in a traditional way including Chappan Bhog Manorath

    CHICAGO, IL (TIP): Vaishnav Samaj of Midwest (VSM), Shreejidwar Haveli, Addison, Illinois celebrated 3 days their 10th Patotsav (Anniversary) in a grand fashion, including hosting Chappan Bhog Manorath. The historical celebration was attended by more than 3000 vaishnavs.  This is the first Haveli in Midwest to complete 10 years.

    Dignitaries and faith leaders from US and India attended the occasion.  World renowned Yuvavaishnavacharya Pujya Goswami 108 Shri Vrajrajkumarji Mahodayshri graced the occasion and provided discourses on Path of Grace, Sharnagati (surrender to God) and Power of Efforts to help improve one’s daily life, as well as better the communities around us through selfless service. Pujya JejeShri Vrajrajkumarji Mahodayshri in discourses addressed the audience that Vaishnavism (a sect of Hinduism) is not just a religion but a way of life.  He clarified that Pushtimarg in Vaishnavism is a krupa marg (grace of God).  In this Lord Shri Krishna’s grace plays a major role in devotee’s life and God does krupa on everyone.  He also illuminated that by doing Brahma-sambandh we surrender ourselves to Lord Shri Krishna and total surrender (mental, physical and spiritual) is the path to achieve higher enlightenment.  In power of efforts he emphasized the goal to keep clear conscience and move forward with a vision that leads to the betterment of the community. Much of his lectures focused on storytelling and providing real life examples so that attendees can relate to the messages.

    The event was also attended by Hon. Raja Krishnamoorthi (U.S. Representative for Illinois 8th congressional district), Hon. Tim Schneider (Illinois State GOP Chairman), and Hon. Nimish Jani (Schaumburg Township Trustee).

    In addition to discourses, the three days of celebration included various cultural, educational and entertainment events to keep the audience engaged.  Planning for the celebration had been ongoing for past 2 months with the help of over 100 volunteers.  Every day after discourse all the attendees were treated to a Mahaprasad. Raas Garba was organized by Nalini Parikh on the evening of June 15th and was attended by over 500 participants. Chappan Bhog manorath was organized on June 16th, that encompassed preparation of over 1000 kg of 56-different sweets placed on a stage (16’ x 28’) inside the Haveli to offer it Lord Shri Krishna.  Chappan Bhog is a major celebration in Vaishnav culture and Shreejidwar Haveli performed it with grand elegance.

    Vallabh Youth Organization- Education (VYOE) also took part in the event and organized children’s Dashavatar Musical Cultural show on the evening of Saturday, June 16th.  In the show 70 VYOE students enacted Lord Vishnu’s Dashavatars (10 avatars) in front of a packed audience of over 2000 people. On Sunday, June 17th, VYOE hosted the graduation ceremony of their students with over 100 students graduated in the presence of Pujya JejeShri Vrajrajkumarji Mahodayshri.

    VSM leadership (Dr. Umang Patel, MD -Chairman and Mr. Jyotin Parikh, R.Ph -President) mentioned, “This has been a very successful event.  The unity of Vaishnavas and dedication of volunteers was the main reason for the success of this event”.  The visionary VSM leaders and generous donors have greatly helped in the progress of the haveli that has impacted the growth of Vaishnava community in the Midwest region.

    (Photograph and Press release by Asian Media USA)

               

  • Indian American Illinois University student Pravin Varughese ‘s murder case Trial begins

    Indian American Illinois University student Pravin Varughese ‘s murder case Trial begins

    ILLIONOIS(TIP): Lovely Varughese, the mother of Indian American Pravin Varughese will finally see the man accused of killing her son after four years as the trial begun on June 4th.

    Gaege Bethune, who faces a charge of first-degree murder in the death of Pravin Varughese, appeared in the court on Monday, June 4thto face the trail. His final pre-trial hearing was held last month.

    Varughese, a student of Southern Illinois University was on his way home from a party, but he never reached his townhouse near the campus.

    The teenager placed a desperate call to a friend around 12.30 a.m., during which he reportedly sounded out-of-breath.

    Varughese’s body was found in the woods in an area roughly three miles from the SIU campus after an intense search for nearly six days.

    The accused Bethune, a resident of Eldorado, Illinois, is not a student of Southern Illinois University, where Varughese was a student at the time of his death. But the indictment report says he admitted that he delivered “multiple punches to the head and face, rendering (Varughese) ‘dead weight.’”

    After the final pre-trial hearing Lovely Varughese had told media “I’m pretty confident on the evidence they have, and I’m just waiting for the jury to hear the evidence.”

    She had also added that the family was all prepared for the trial of Gaege Bethune.

    According to the statement provided by Bethune to police, he gave Varughese a ride on a frigid February night. He also admitted that he was drunk but said the deceased was the first to start an altercation and refused to get out of the car. 

    He also added that when the Illinois state trooper approached, Varughese escaped into the woods.

    The case was almost closed after the Jackson County State’s Attorney Michael Carr approved the police finding that Varughese died of hypothermia.

    After the relentless follow-through of Lovely Varughese, who even accused the Illinois police of foul play, a second autopsy was conducted, and it revealed that there were at least three major injuries to his head from blunt trauma, and his eye was badly damaged. The victim also looked to have tried some sort of a defensive move.

    In March 2015, Carr stepped down from the case and turned it over to Patrick Delfino, a special prosecutor in the Illinois State Appellate Court.