INDIAN AMERICAN SCIENTIST SANGEETA BHATIA DEVELOPS CHEAP PAPER TEST TO DETECT CANCER

MIT scientist Sangeeta Bhatia has developed a cheap, simple, paper test that can detect cancer, circumventing expensive approaches such as mammograms and colonoscopy. 

The diagnostic, which works much like a pregnancy test, could reveal within minutes, based on a urine sample, whether a person has cancer, MIT said in a statement announcing the amazing breakthrough, adding that while this approach has helped detect infectious diseases, the new technology will allow non-communicable diseases to be detected using the same strategy. 

Dr. Bhatia, John and Dorothy Wilson Professor of Health Sciences and Technology and Electrical Engineering and Computer Science Professor at MIT and a researcher at the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, explained that the paper test essentially relies on nanoparticles that interact with tumor proteins called proteases, each of which can trigger release of hundreds of biomarkers that are then easily detectable in a patient's urine. 

"When we invented this new class of synthetic biomarker, we used a highly specialized instrument to do the analysis," said Dr. Bhatia. "For the developing world, we thought it would be exciting to adapt it instead to a paper test that could be performed on unprocessed samples in a rural setting, without the need for any specialized equipment. The simple readout could even be transmitted to a remote caregiver by a picture on a mobile phone." 

Cancer rates in developing nations have climbed sharply in recent years, and now account for 70 percent of cancer mortality worldwide. Early detection has been proven to improve outcomes, but screening approaches such as mammograms and colonoscopy, used in the developed world, are too costly to be implemented in settings with little medical infrastructure. 

The MIT nanoparticles are coated with peptides (short protein fragments) targeted by different matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs). These particles congregate at tumor sites, where MMPs cleave hundreds of peptides, which accumulate in the kidneys and are excreted in the urine. 

In the original version of the technology, these peptides were detected using an instrument called a mass spectrometer, which analyzes the molecular makeup of a sample. However, these instruments are not readily available in the developing world, so the researchers adapted the particles so they could be analyzed on paper, using an approach known as a lateral flow assay - the same technology used in pregnancy tests.     

INDO-CANADIAN T.V. PAUL WRITES A NEW BOOK ON PAKISTAN

Dr. T.V. Paul, James McGill Professor of International Relations in the Department of Political Science at McGill University, Montreal, Canada has written a new book, "The Warrior States: Pakistan in the Contemporary World," released by Oxford University Press on Feb. 3. In this new book, Dr. Paul tackles what may be the world's most dangerous powder keg and untangles a fascinating riddle-why can't Pakistan progress? 

Paul identifies the fundamental source of Pakistan's lack of progress in his book as "a geostrategic curse and the hyper realpolitik ideas that the country's elite hold in creating and maintaining a semi-feudal society," according to a press release. 

Since its founding in 1947, Pakistan has been the center of major geopolitical struggles-the U.S.-Soviet rivalry, the conflict with India, and most recently the post 9/11 wars. No matter how ineffective the regime, massive foreign aid continues pouring in from major powers and their allies with a stake in the region. 

The reliability of such aid defuses any pressure on political elites to launch far-reaching domestic reforms that would promote sustained growth, higher standards of living, and more stable democratic institutions.

In his book, Paul tackles the questions: Why has Pakistan emerged as a "failing state," a state that cannot provide minimum law and order, control various competing societal forces, and survive economically without external support?

He also asks: Why does it remain a heavily militarized warrior state with narrowly defined national security concerns while several military-ruled countries in Asia and Africa have become democratic?

In an effort to "encourage the Pakistani elite and informed public to think hard on the nation's strategic and economic choices that were made in the past 65 years and the consequences that they have generated internally and externally," Paul executes a thoroughly researched argument that clarifies the true cause of Pakistan's failure to process, added the publicist's notes.

Credit: India West

INDIAN AMERICAN ABRAHAM PANNIKOTTU TO DEVELOP ZERO PRESSURE TIRE FOR THE US MILITARY

Getting a flat tire is never convenient. In a war zone, it can be deadly and very dangerous. While special operations vehicles have been loaded with extra armor to protect troops in Iraq and Afghanistan, the tires remain vulnerable to attacks by improvised explosive devices (IED). The unique carbon fiber multiple hoop tire design by American Engineering Group may be the key to a new Zero Pressure Tire that could keep military vehicles running faster and longer after an attack.

Indian American Abraham Pannikottu owned American Engineering Group (AEG) has received a $1 million Phase II project grant from the US Department of Defense (DOD) to develop a tire that will continue running even after being shredded by roadside bombs or gunfire. Though military vehicle tires are now equipped with run-flat inserts, the DOD wants to upgrade to a zero pressure tire that's better at carrying heavier loads and can quickly move soldiers out of harm's way.

When engineers at American Engineering Group began working on tire designs, they settled on a flexible multiple carbon fiber hoop structure - which functions like air inside a tire. Along with carbon fiber multiple hoops for strength, the design allows shrapnel and high-caliber bullets to pass through the tire. During project phase I testing in 2011, the tire continued to run well - keeping the same functional road performance - even after receiving several rounds of gun shots.

Zero pressure tires have been around for a long time, with major drawbacks such as bumpy rides and overheating. The American Engineering Group (AEG) prototype dissipates heat and has the tire flexibility and strength to support the heavy military pick-up weight while providing a relatively smooth ride.

In a 5,000-square-foot lab in Akron, Ohio, AEG works on different combinations of polymeric elastomeric materials to make the multiple carbon fiber hoops that are bonded to the carcass of the tire. Finding the right combination of hoop dimensions and materials is the challenge. A softer material provides good durability and flexibility but wears out sooner. A harder material lasts longer but also generates more heat.

Eventually, zero pressure tires will be tested by the military at Proving Grounds to demonstrate results of mine blasts and handling during obstacle encounters. Since the tire is still under development, there's no price tag. AEG is expected to develop a tire that costs the same or less than current military tires.

"AEG's motivation and driving force for this project are that AEG gets the privilege to be of help to save lives of our soldiers," said Abraham Pannikottu, Operations Manager at AEG who is also a Life member of GOPIO.

AEG started its operation in Akron, Ohio in 2000. The companyhas patents pending for the Zero Pressure tire technology. This tire company will help with manufacturing of commercial tires. As for commercial applications of the zero pressure design for run-flat tires, AEG is focusing its current efforts on the pick-up truck. However this technology eventually could be used on all-terrain vehicles, as well as mining and construction vehicles.

Indian-born Abraham has a mechanical engineering degree from Sardar Vallabhbhai National Institute of Technology (Surat, Gujrat). He later completed graduate studies in polymer science at the University of Akron. He has written several research articles on engineering applications of rubber. His group is also working on new innovative product such as US National Football League Helmet and Implantable Cost-effective Titanium Hip & Knee.

In 2006 Pentagon honored Pannikottu & his engineering group for designing an airless tire for the Stryker armored vehicle. This Pentagon award was for exceptional performance that exemplifies the goal of bringing innovative technologies to the soldier.

SOUTH AFRICAN NRI RECOGNIZED WITH PRESTIGIOUS INTERNAL AWARD

Prof. Suprakas Sinha Ray (42) recently bagged one of the most prestigious international awards for polymer processing. Ray, director of the CSIR/Department of Science and Technology (DST) National Centre for Nanostructured Materials (NCNSM) received the Morand Lambla Award (MLA) from the International Polymer Processing Society (IPPS) at its 29th conference in Nuremberg, Germany.

Prof. Ray joined South Africa's Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) in 2006. At the time, there was little research activity in his field and he was tasked with putting together a group of researchers in the field of nanotechnology in 2007; the team has grown to about 50 staff members.

In remarking that centre had started from nothing in its 6-yr history. Prof. Ray's team is one of the most active research groups, thanks to unbelievable support from the CSIR and the DST. Nanotechnology in polymer science is used to improve the properties of plastics, to make them tougher, more   impermeable and less flammable.

"One of our big projects is to develop optimal nanostructure materials to reduce the weight of a car. Conventional composites (used for the dash board, etc.) consist of 30% to 40% fillers, for example, glass fiber, but if we use nanotechnology, the composite can be stronger with only 3% to 5% filler, reducing the total weight. Due to the rising fuel costs, every manufacturer works towards fuel efficiency and the way to do this, is by reducing weight'

For this Award, the 7 member jury looked at the researchers' work over several years, with impact over the last five years being most important. They also consider quality of publications & impact factor of journals where it was published. 

Another prestigious recognition Ray had enjoyed was that he was rated one of the world's top 50 high impact chemists in 2011 out of approximately a million chemists who were recorded in journal publications indexed by Thomson Reuters. After receiving his PhD at the University of Calcutta, India in 2001, he completed three years of postdoctoral research at the Toyota Technological Institute in Japan.

When the CSIR offered him a job, Ray and his wife, Jayita Bandyopadhyay (MSc in nuclear physics and a PhD in chemical engineering) had been living in Canada where he was a postdoctoral scientist at the chemical engineering department of the University of Laval in Québec City.

INDIAN AMERICAN VINCE CHHABRIA CONFIRMED FEDERAL JUDGE

Indian-American attorney Vince Chhabria, who has represented San Francisco in defense of its health insurance law, adoption rights of same-sex couples and other major cases, has won Senate confirmation for a federal judgeship. Chhabria, 44, who presently serves as the deputy attorney of San Francisco City, will become California's first federal judge of South Asian descent.

The Senate vote on March 5 was 58-41, with four Republicans joining Democrats in approving President Barack Obama's nomination of Chhabria. A University of California Berkeley Law School graduate, he fills the last of three vacancies on the Bay Area's 14-member U.S. District Court.

"While I had high expectations when I started here nine years ago, I never dreamed I would be lucky enough to work on so many exciting cases, for so many dynamic clients, with so many dedicated and high-caliber public lawyers," said Chhabria.

He began his legal career by clerking for Judge Charles R. Breyer of the US district court for the Northern District of California from 1998 to 1999.

The South Asian Bar Association of North America and the South Asian Bar Association of Northern California have applauded Chhabria's historic confirmation to the U.S. district court.

The lone Indian-American member of the US House of Representatives, Ami Bera, the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus chair, Judy Chu, and CAPAC chair emeritus, Mike Honda, also applauded Chhabria's confirmation.

INDIAN AMERICAN SCIENTISTS HONORED WITH IEEE AWARDS

Dr. Sanjay Madria, a professor in the Department of Computer Science at Missouri University of Science and Technology, is a recent recipient of the IEEE Computer Society's Golden Core Award. The Golden Core Award is a plaque awarded for long-standing member or staff service to the society.

Madria's research revolves around resource management, data management, security and handling attacks in wireless sensor networks, mobile ad hoc networks and cloud computing. In the Web and Wireless Computing Lab, the Indian American researcher has small miniature devices called motes that can self-organize themselves to create a wireless sensor network and can send data to a given base station. While Madria received his B.S. degree from Delhi University, he earned his master's degree as well as his doctorate degree from the Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi. 

Two Indian American professors have received a 2014 IEEE Technical Field Award in their respective fields.

The IEEE Andrew S. Grove Award, which recognizes outstanding contributions to solid-state devices and technology, was presented to Dr. Sanjay Kumar Banerjee, a Cockrell Regents Chair professor of electrical and computer engineering and director, Microelectronics Center at the University of Texas, Austin, "for contributions to column-IV MOSFETs and related materials processing."

Dr. Balaji Prabhakar, a professor at Stanford University in Stanford, Calif., received the IEEE Innovation in Societal Infrastructure Award "for his demonstration of the innovative use of information technology and distributed computing systems to solve long-standing societal problems, in areas ranging from transportation to healthcare and recycling."

The award recognizes significant technological achievements and contributions to the establishment, development, and proliferation of innovative societal infrastructure systems through the application of information technology with an emphasis on distributed computing systems.

Credit: India-West

INDIAN AMERICAN ASHOK VARADHAN APPOINTED CO-HEAD OF GOLDMAN SACHS' SECURITIES

Indian-origin Ashok Varadhan has been appointed co-head of the Goldman Sachs' securities division, the largest and most profitable of the global investment bank's four units.

Varadhan, 41, is currently the head of macro trading in Goldman's Securities Division and will join Isabelle Ealet and Pablo Salame as co-head of the Securities Division.

In an internal memo, Goldman's Chief Executive Lloyd Blankfein said Varadhan has been an "effective voice on a number of firmwide, regional and divisional committees", including the management committee, growth markets operating committee and firmwide risk committee.

"As a long-tenured leader in the Securities Division, Ashok has demonstrated dedication to our clients and a deep understanding of our business," Blankfein said.

As co-head of the securities division, which generates the most revenue and profit for Goldman, Varadhan would build on Goldman's client franchise across its fixed income, currency and commodities and equities businesses.

A Duke University graduate, Varadhan joined Goldman Sachs in 1998 in Swaps Trading and after heading the dollar derivative trading, he ran North American interest rate products and became global head of foreign exchange in 2007.

He was named managing director in 2000 and partner in 2002.

He is the son of eminent Indian-American academician Srinivasa Varadhan, a Chennai native who is Professor of Mathematics at the Courant Institute of Mathematical Sciences at New York University.

The senior Varadhan was awarded the Abel Prize, considered equivalent to the Nobel Prize and awarded for outstanding scientific work in the field of mathematics.

The securities unit is the largest of Goldman's four divisions and people who have co-headed the unit previously have gone on to assume top-ranking positions at the bank.

It includes the bank's fixed-income, currency and commodities operations as well as its equities unit.

Varadhan serves as Vice Chairman of the US Treasury Borrowing Advisory Committee. He also serves on the Board of Directors of DUMAC, which manages Duke University's endowment.