Sunita Williams all set to travel to space in 2012 

The NASA announced that astronaut Sunita Williams will be traveling to space again in June 2012. This Gujarati origin fortyfour year lady was born in Euclid, Ohio. Flight engineers Japanese astronaut Akihiko Hoshide and Russian cosmonaut Yuri Malenchenko will accompany Williams. William will the commander of the International space station in October 2012. Chosen by NASA in the year 1998, June, Sunita Williams served as a flight engineer overseas the International space station. She was introduced with the crew of STS- 116 on December 9, 2006, docking with the station on December 11, 2006. Being a member of the Expedition- 14 crew Williams made a world record for females with four spacewalks totaling twenty-nine hours and seventeen minutes. Astronaut Peggy Whitson broke the record in the year 2008 with her five spacewalks. Williams broke the previous record by Shannon Lucid and set up a new record for females of 195 days in space. 

PREETA BANSAL APPOINTED TO KEY POST IN OBAMA ADMINISTRATION

President Barack Obama has appointed eminent Indian American lawyer Preeta D Bansal as Vice-Chair of the Council of the Administrative Conference. Bansal is currently the General Counsel and Senior Policy Adviser for the Office of Management and Budget. Her appointment comes along with several others to the Council of the Administrative Conference of the United States (ACUS). ACUS, a public-private partnership, is designed to make government work better, and the members of the Council are committed individuals from distinguished backgrounds who are devoted to enhance the efficiency, effectiveness, and transparency of the government, Obama said. "I am pleased that these outstanding individuals will lend their talents to ACUS's vital mission of providing nonpartisan, practical assessments and recommendations to improve agency procedures and operations," the US President said in a statement. 

Nisha Desai Biswal appointed to key USAID post 

President Barack Obama has nominated Indian- American Nisha Desai Biswal as Assistant Administrator for Asia in the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). Incidentally, Raj Shah, who is the highest-ranking Indian-American in the Obama Administration, heads USAID. Biswal is currently a Majority Clerk for the State Department and Foreign Operations Sub-committee in the US House of Representatives. Announcing her nomination among several others, Obama said, "I am grateful that these impressive individuals have agreed to join my administration. I am confident they will serve ably in their new roles and look forward to working with them in the coming months and years." In her present position, she has jurisdiction over the State Department, USAID and other aspects of the international affairs budget. With a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Virginia, Biswal provides staff support to Appropriations Committee Chairman David Obey and Subcommittee Chairwoman Nita Lowey in managing the appropriations and oversight of the US international affairs budget. 

Indian American doctors praised in the US Congress 

The contribution of Indian American doctors was commended in the House of Representatives by an influential US Congressman for their dedication in rural and underserved areas of the country. "As the past co-chair of the Congressional Caucus on India and Indian Americans, I have seen first hand the professionalism and success of Indian American doctors from rural and medically underserved areas to cities across South Carolina," Congressman Joe Wilson said in his speech on the floor of the House. "I rise to commend the American Association of Physicians of Indian Origin (AAPI) for their successful 28th Annual Convention," he said.

"I was honored to join AAPI members from around the country at a reception on Capitol Hill, where nearly 500 physicians from 27 states had registered to make their voices heard in Congress," Wilson said.

It is a historic period for South Carolina where State Representative Nikki Haley, a very successful legislator of Indian origin is now a nominee for Governor, the Republican Senator added. 

SIAEA organizes cruise for networking on the Hudson 

Notwithstanding the World Cup Soccer final and the hot humid weather, hundreds of members of the Society of Indo American Engineers and Architects (SIAEA) and their families joined the annual dinner cruise on the Hudson River in July. It was a fun filled evening where socializing and networking went hand in hand. Ravi Shenoy, president of the Society said, “There was a renewed enthusiasm and zeal among the members to take the society to the next level. We have been able to take the membership drive to 160 new members joining the elite group,” adding, “there is potential to improve and net in the younger generation of engineers and architects.” Shenoy gave details of the new concept of increasing the networking. “Town hall style grass root meeting were held in Parsippany and Edison in New Jersey and Queens, in New York. For the first time we held such a meeting in Stamford Connecticut. These meetings were a huge success.”

President-elect Nayan Parikh who takes over from Shenoy next year is also keen to expand the scope and horizon of the Society. Speaking about the future of the engineers and architects vis-à-vis the economic situation Parikh said, “By the year 2012 there will be tremendous growth in the industry and these engineers and architects will be amongst the highest paid individuals in the country. Right now US was way behind China and India so far as providing new infrastructure was concerned but things are set to change soon.” He was also happy the way the Obama stimulus money was being used judiciously in New York State. “I myself am a beneficiary of this,” he said.

Uday Durg, program executive of the Lower Manhattan projects with the MTA Capital Construction, who was also the guest of honor for the evening, said, “the idea is to provide a better working relationship between the Minority Owned Business Enterprise (MBE) and the government projects. We encourage contractors to work with our organization with a new vision and it is good to see that these MBEs already have a head start on this front.” 

WLP Interns Discuss… 

On July 14, the Washington Leadership Program partnered once again with NetSAP and the Atlantic Council of the United States to accommodate a discussion of “The Role of the Diaspora in South Asia.” Panelists included Sara Shroff, Senior Director of Change our World, and Sonal Shah, Founder of Indicorp as well as the Director of White House Office on Social Innovation. The event was effectively moderated by the President of Dev Ex International Development, Raj Kumar.

Both panelists highlighted the importance of a global identity. Shroff began the discussion by emphasizing the importance of whom and what makes up the diaspora. For her factors such as affinity, economic aspects, such as remittances, and the networks one has plays a big role in the engagement that will occur from both sides of the diaspora. Shroff concluded her thoughts by outlining six models she believed could lead to successful engagement. These included: philanthropy, leadership platforms, business professional networks, volunteer corps, direct investment, and policy making.

Shah continued the discussion by stressing the need for importance to be placed on the social sector and fixing problems. She stated, “Our [South Asians] role in the civic sector is not just voting, it is participating.” In her discussion, Shah highlighted three components that were essential to success. First, that understanding how the legislative process works is key to making a difference. Second, that the politics of South Asia is beginning to change, and that the most productive communities and agencies are those that share information and communicate. Finally, she spoke about the importance of diasporas working together and identifying common issues to fight.

Finally, Shah described the objectives of her organization Indicorps and that the idea was to serve with communities to get a better understanding of your own identity. Ultimately, she stated, the goal is to leverage one’s identity to be a better person. The presentation by both women invoked profound and difficult questions regarding issues such as immigration and the role of affinity within the diaspora. 

Aruna Miller runs For Seat In Md. State Legislature 

Andhra Pradesh-born transportation engineer Aruna Miller is running in the Democratic primary Sept. 14 for a District 15 seat in the Maryland House of Delegates.

Her campaign platform emphasizes improved transportation planning for Montgomery County’s congested roadways and increased funding to K-12 education.

The Montgomery County Education Association and the Montgomery County National Organization have endorsed her for Women, two influential groups in the county.

Married with three children, including one child in college, Miller has over 20 years experience in the transportation engineering sector and currently works for Montgomery County. She is married to David Miller, a software engineer at Hughes Network Systems, who, she said, is “very supportive” of her campaign.

Miller has fundraised for Democratic Party presidential candidates in the past. In December 2006, she was elected an at-large member of the Montgomery County

Democratic Central Committee, where she helped initiate voter education drives. Miller also chairs Serving Our Communities, an initiative encouraging volunteerism in healthcare, education and the environment. She serves on the board of directors of the Montgomery County Public Schools Educational Foundation, which has awarded more than $1 million in scholarships and over $900,000 in grants to worthy and needy students.

Miller came to the U.S. in 1972 when her father, Ramarao V. Katragadda, who died about 10 years ago, came to this country to pursue a master’s degree in mechanical engineering at the City College of New York.

Her family settled in Poughkeepsie, N.Y., where her father was employed by IBM. After he was transferred, the family moved to St. Louis, Mo., where she attended high school and received a B.S. in civil engineering from the Missouri University of Science and Technology. Her mother currently lives with her and her family.

Miller favors “reducing the carbon footprint,” smart-growth initiatives and “probusiness tax policies” to attract businesses to move to Montgomery County. 

[ By VRN ]