Prof Subhash Khot Wins $500,000 US Science Award

Indian-American computer scientist Subhash Khot, most well known for his "Unique Games Conjecture", has received the prestigious

National Science Foundation's (NSF) $500,000 Alan T. Waterman Award. The award is given annually to an outstanding young researcher in any field of science and engineering supported by the NSF. The honor includes a grant of $500,000 over three years for scientific research or advanced study in any field of science. An Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay graduate, Khot is associate professor at the New York University's Courant Institute of Mathematical Sciences. A theoretical computer scientist, he works in an area called "Computational Complexity" which seeks to understand the power and limits of efficient computation.

Khot has made significant inroads to identifying "computational intractability" or problems that cannot be solved fast. He has uncovered a problem about probabilistic games called "the Unique Games Problem". His work shows that it lies at the core of a variety of intractable computational problems, NSF said. Khot has received an NSF Career Award, a Sloan Foundation Fellowship, and a Microsoft New Faculty Fellowship.

With his colleagues at NYU, Princeton, Rutgers University, and the Institute for Advanced Study, he is part of a $10-million NSF "Expeditions in Computing" grant under which the researchers are seeking to bridge fundamental gaps in our understanding of computational intractability.

Khot did his doctorate in computer science from Princeton University in 2003. Currently, an associate professor in the Department of Computer Science at the Courant Institute, Khot was previously an assistant professor at the Georgia Institute of Technology (2004-07). 

Democrat Masarrat Ali Gets Party Ticket For Texas State Elections 

Masarrat Ali, a biotechnologist-entrepreneur and a first-generation immigrant has become the first Indian Indian-American and first Muslim to get a party ticket in state level Texan elections. Masarrat Ali is the Democratic candidate for District No. 122 (in San Antonio) for the Texan House of Representatives (the lower house). The elections are in November and Ali has a tough job. District 122 in San Antonio, Texas has been held by Republicans for 18 years. Texas is a Republican-leaning state and Ali is a newcomer to politics. Son of a tailor from the village of Jhansi, UP, the eldest of nine siblings, Ali's education progressed from the Islamia school to the Hindi-medium Government Intermediate College and then Aligarh Muslim University. Everything Masarrat did after graduation, Masters in Biochemistry from Aligarh in 1977, PhD from the Central Drug Research Institute, Lucknow, in 1981, post-doctoral fellowships at the University of Paris, France where he was research assistant professor till 1984, the Louisiana State Medical University in New Orleans and Pennington Biomedical Research Center in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Masarrat Ali traded academics for entrepreneurship after he moved to his current residence, San Antonio, in 1993. That year, while he was doing his research on breast cancer at the University of Texas Health Science Center, his thesis supervisor, also an Indian, told him that research published only in papers or journals was "meaningless." That prompted Ali to do a "crazy" thing. He quit his comfortable job as an assistant professor, and started the Alpha Diagnostics International (ADI). ADI sells biotechnology laboratory equipment. Always a Democrat voter, in 2004, Ali was among those who founded the Texas Muslim Democrat Caucus. Masarrat is currently the Caucus's vice-president.

Imagin Asian Theater Reopens As Big Cinemas Manhattan

BIG Cinemas, India’s largest cinema chain, a division of Reliance MediaWorks Limited and a member of Reliance ADA Group, strengthened its global footprint with the reopening of ImaginAsian Theater as BIG Cinemas Manhattan in Midtown East - New York.

BIG Cinemas Manhattan strives to bring the best of movie going experience and customer service to its patrons. After undergoing major renovations over the past months, including aesthetic, audio and visual enhancements, the theater now features brand new and comfortable recliner seating, remodeled restrooms, expanded lobby with an updated concession stand, LCD screens and box office, as well as BARCO 2k digital projection in the auditorium.

The theatre will host several premier and special shows in keeping with its aim to provide a distinguished programming plan to its patrons.

New York has a large and affluent Asian Indian population with over three hundred thousand Indians having a strong affinity towards Indian movies and BIG Cinemas Manhattan will now provide a destination for a luxurious cinematic experience.

Commenting on the occasion, Mr. Anil Arjun, CEO of Reliance MediaWorks, that operates the BIG Cinemas brand of cinema chain world-wide, said, "New York with its fast-growing and prosperous population of Indians, is the epicenter of growth for us and we see considerable opportunity here in the exhibition infrastructure space starting with the redevelopment of BIG Cinemas Manhattan. The theater has undergone some remarkable changes and we are proud to present it as such a distinguished movie destination with best of amenities, services and film programming."

Similarly to the strategy in India, BIG Cinemas is setting up standalone properties and cinemas in malls in the US. Also, existing properties are being taken over, renovated and operated by BIG Cinemas while taking advantage of their already considerable infrastructure and brand value.

In US, BIG Cinemas has aggregated a network of over 188 screens in 27 theaters across East Coast, Midwest and West Coast that now regularly screen Hindi, Tamil, Telugu and Punjabi movie features, in addition to Hollywood. BIG Cinemas accounts for 30- 35% of Hindi films box office collections, and over 75% of Tamil and Telugu box office collections from the US.

BIG Cinemas has been awarded the "Entertainment Retailer of the Year" honor at the India Retail Forum 2009 and has also been awarded ‘International Exhibitor of the Year 2008’ by CineAsia 2008 at Macau. 

MoneyGram International Official ICC World Twenty20 Money Transfer Partner

MoneyGram International (NYSE:MGI), a leading global money transfer company, announced an agreement with the International Cricket Council for its sponsorship as the official money transfer partner at the ICC WorldTwenty20 West Indies 2010 cricket event to run April 30 to May 16. Cricket is among the largest sports attractions in countries that rely on remittance services including India, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Pakistan, as well as countries in Southern Africa and the Caribbean.

MoneyGram’s decision to sponsor the most favorite and crucial game among remittance receiving countries was made to connect with its customers and increase its brand awareness among the millions of cricket fans across the globe. The campaign includes chances for cricket fans to win a dream package to attend the West Indies event and games on May 8. Winners will be selected from 10 countries, including one winner from the U.S.

"When cricket teams and fans from around the world arrive in the West Indies our brand will prominently greet them and further deepen awareness among people who use money transfer services to meet their financial needs," said Juan Agualimpia, chief marketing officer for MoneyGram International. "This sponsorship will help us reach millions of expatriates as well as their family and friends that are viewing the games."

The event is expected to host cricket fans from around the world and its broadcast has the potential to reach another billion people at home, especially in Europe, South Asia, Southern Africa, the United States and Canada.

"Cricket is a huge part of the lives of millions of our customers. Our goal is to match the value of our brand with the passion of cricket fans to support our growth," Agualimpia said. "For example, South Asia is among our most important markets and one in which we are growing rapidly. Over the last year, in India alone, we built our network to 22,000 agent locations countrywide. While in 2008 India was the receiver of $52 billion sent to the country (data by Word Bank), last year over 100 million Indians watched the Twenty20 championships."  

Western Union® Transfers important to Indians connecting back home 

The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU), a leader in the money transfer segment of global payments, continues to be a top choice to connect with loved ones, friends and family in India. Western Union provides a fast, reliable and convenient global money transfer service, with an Agent network of more than 56,000 in India and more than 46,000 in the U.S.

In the 2000 U.S. Census, it was reported that 1.6 million Indians were located in the U.S. That number is expected to increase in the 2010 U.S. Census. "Traditionally, most Indians maintain strong contact with family, loved ones and friends back at home. Additionally, many provide funds to these contacts for celebration of special holidays like Diwali, or for gifting occasions such as birthdays or weddings. Some relatives back home count on receipt of money transfers to help them pay for their basic needs such as housing and food," said ArtiKumar Caprihan, Vice President - USOB Product to South Asia, Middle East and Europe. Western Union has provided its services in India since 1993 with three convenient channels for U.S. consumers to transfer funds: visiting a participating Agent location, through a telephone money transfer by calling 1-800-435- 2226 or by using online services at westernunion.com/india