Sharad Ramanathan Named a 2011 Pew Scholar

Sharad Ramanathan

Indian-American Sharad Ramanathan, assistant professor ofmolecular and cellular biologyat Harvard University, is among 22of America's most promising scientists,who have been named PewScholars in the Biomedical Sciencesby the Pew Charitable Trusts.

He will receive $60,000 a yearfor four years from the program. Hesaid, "I am delighted to be nominatedas a Pew Scholar and am verymuch looking forward to beingpart of the Pew community."

In announcing the award onJune 14, 2011, the Pew CharitableTrusts wrote: "Dr. Ramanathanwill investigate howsingle nerve cells in the wormC. elegans direct behavior, suchas moving the animals in a certaindirection, such as left orright.

While the nerve cells havebeen mapped in the worm, little is known regardinghow an input signal leads to a motoroutput.

The Pew Scholars Program in the BiomedicalSciences provides funding to young investigatorsof outstanding promise in sciencerelevant to the advancement of human health.So far, the program has invested more than$130 million to fund over 500 Pew Scholars.Past scholars include three Nobel Prize winners,MacArthur Fellows and recipients of theAlbert Lasker Medical Research Award.

Indian American to lead MIT's largest academic department

Anantha P.Chandrakasan

Chandrakasan has been named the new leader of the prestigious Massachusetts Institute of Technology's (MIT) largest academic department Chandrakasan, the Joseph F. and Nancy P. Keithley Professor of Electrical Engineering, will head the Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science (EECS), Cambridge, Massachusetts- based MIT announced recently.

Chandrakasanwill take over therole previously heldby Eric Grimson,who was namedMIT's chancellor in February.EECS is the largest academicdepartment at MIT; nearly 30percent of undergraduatesmajor in the department's programs.Chandrakasan, who earnedhis BS (1989), MS (1990) andPhD (1994) in electrical engineeringand computer sciencesfrom the University of Californiaat Berkeley, joined the MITfaculty in 1994. His researchinterests include micro-powerdigital and mixed-signal integratedcircuit design, wirelessmicrosensor system design,portable multimedia devices,and energy efficient radios.

MGM has appointed Indian-American Roma Khanna to the post of President Television Group and Digital

Roma Khanna

Gary Barber and Roger Birnbaum, Co-Chairman and Chief Executive Officers of MGM announced on June 7, 2011.

Khanna joins the company after recently working with NBC Universal, where she served as President of Universal Networks International & Digital Initiatives. Khanna will oversee all television sales, production, acquisitions,licensing, content

creation and digital initiativesfor MGM worldwide. She willalso oversee all existing franchisesand partnerships, as well asguide the creation of new franchiseand content opportunities throughthe MGM library and IP. She will report toBarber and Birnbaum.

Navin C. Nanda appointed distinguished professor

Navin C. Nanda

The University of AlabamaSystem, Boardof Trustees, has appointedNavin C. Nanda, M.D., professor of Medicineand director of the EchocardiographyLaboratory, distinguishedprofessor duringits June 17, 2011 meeting.Nanda, a member of theUAB faculty since 1984,also is a senior scientist in the centers forHealth Promotion, Aging, Minority Health Behaviorand Cardiovascular Biology.

Mullainathan named ACFPB Assistant Director

Sendhil Mullainathan

Sendhil Mullainathan hasbeen named Assistant Directorfor Research of the ConsumerFinancial Protection Bureau(CFPB) created pursuant to Title Xof the Dodd–Frank Wall Street Reformand Consumer ProtectionAct.

The CFPB is building an Officeof Research to support its commitmentto evidence-based policymaking.The research office willproduce new findings that deepenour understanding of the problemsthat consumers, firms, and marketsencounter. It will also help theCFPB conduct rigorous policyevaluations, which in turn will helpmaximize our effectiveness in addressingthese problems and minimizeunintended consequences.

Mullainathan is an economics

professor at Harvard and a researchassociate at the National Bureau ofEconomic Research. Prior to joiningthe CFPB, Mullainathan was aco-founder of the Abdul LatifJameel Poverty Action Lab and aboard member of the Bureau forResearch and Economic Analysisof Development.

He has received a MacArthurFoundation "genius award," aswell as numerous other grants andfellowships, including from theNational Science Foundation, theOlin Foundation, the Sloan Foundation,and the Russell Sage Foundation.

Federal CIO Vivek Kundra to serve joint fellowship at Harvard

Indian-American Vivek Kundra, the U.S. chief informationofficer at the White House for the past two and a halfyears, will serve a joint fellowship this fall at Harvard University.Kundra will split his time between the ShorensteinCenter on the Press, Politics and Public Policy at HarvardKennedy School (HKS), and the Berkman Center for Internet& Society at Harvard University. In addition to carrying outindependent research at the Berkman Center, Kundra will collaboratewith the center in its research activities in the areas ofcloud computing, open data, and open government. At theShorenstein Center, Kundra's research will focus on the implicationsof digital media and technology on governance.MGM Appoints Roma Khanna Presidentof Television Group and Digital

[ BY A STAFF REPORTER ]