Officials from Kazakhstan at IUPUI This Week

For the past month, 32 Kazakhstan officials have been visiting Indiana University-Purdue University in Indianapolis to attend a training program on public administration, notes Alfred Ho (left), associate professor in the School of Public and Environmental Affairs.

Tomorrow and Thursday they will make some project presentations and compare Kazakhstan with the U.S. government/social/economic systems.

They will do their presentations in the Room 274 of the IT building. "Please feel free to join us if you have time and would like to exchange some ideas with the visiting officials," Dr. Ho says.

Here's the schedule for tomorrow (1 August):
9:30 a.m.-10:30 a.m. -- A comparative study of the taxation system
11 a.m.-noon -- A comparative study of the social insurance system
1 p.m.-2 p.m. -- strategies to finance economic development / high tech industrial development
2:30 p.m.-3:30 p.m. -- e-government strategies

And, for Thursday (2 August):
9:30 a.m.-10:30 a.m. -- gender equity issues
11 a.m.-noon -- social policies on youth

University of Indianapolis Athens Campus

The University of Indianapolis has a campus in Athens, Greece, that was chartered in 1989 to offer a quality American educational experience there. The Athens Campus includes 30 undergraduate and eight graduate programs.

In 1998 the University established a center in Tripolis, Greece, and in 2002, became a Cisco Networking Academy, offering courses in networking in cooperation with Cisco Systems.

The Athens Campus is located at the foot of the Acropolis and is the only wholly owned branch campus of a U.S. university operating in Greece. It is accredited by the North Central Association of Schools and Colleges, and is also a founding member of the Association of American Colleges in Greece.

The University sponsors the Odyssey in Athens study abroad program designed to provide American college students with a rich cultural experience in the birthplace of Western civilization while taking accredited upper level courses in their chosen fields of study alongside Greek and other international students.

The University also cooperates with AHEPA (the American Hellenic Educational Progressive Association) to sponsor "The Journey to Greece Program", a study tour that provides students with six transferable university credits. The required core course is Modern Greek Language, Society & Culture. For a second course, students will then choose between Greek Art, Architecture and Archaeology, or Olympics – the Origins.

Check it out here.

Discord on Dairies of Dutch Dreams

"Peter van der Vegt knew he'd be 'milking 70 cows for the rest of my life' if he continued to work at his family's dairy farm in the Netherlands, where milk production ceilings and land shortages add as much as $40,000 to the cost of a cow.

"'I wanted a challenge; I wanted to live the American dream,' van der Vegt said. So, in 1999, he moved to Angola, Ind., to run a 600-head dairy operation set up by Vreba-Hoff Dairy Development, a company run by six second-generation Dutch siblings from Michigan and three of their cousins in the Netherlands....

"Cecilia Conway (left) of Vreba-Hoff Dairy Development and her siblings have helped almost 50 Dutch families set up large dairies in Michigan, Indiana and Ohio over the past decade. (Photo By Kari Lydersen -- The Washington Post)"

Read the rest of the article in The Washington Post here.

Building a Culture of Inclusion

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Mumbai-Based Mastek Buys Indy-Based Vector Insurance

Indianapolis-based Vector Insurance Services LLC has been acquired by MajescoMastek of Edison, N.J., for an undisclosed price, according to The Indianapolis Business Journal.

Vector, led by founder and CEO Harold Apple, has 30 employees providing policy acquisition, administration, and processing to customers in the North American life insurance industry. MajescoMastek is the U.S. subsidiary of Mastek, a technology giant headquartered in Mumbai, India.

Dow AgroSciences Profit Surges on Latin American Gains

Strong demand in Latin America for pesticides and other Dow AgroSciences products caused profit for the Indianapolis-based agricultural arm of Dow Chemical Co. Inc. to spurt 29 percent in the second quarter, according to The Indianapolis Business Journal.

Much of the $208 million in earnings was driven by Brazilian soybean and corn growers as well as by sugar cane farmers who ramped up production to feed ethanol plants.

Swiss Independence Day is August 1!

But members of the Swiss Club of Central Indiana will be celebrating a little early.

They're gathering from 2-6 p.m. tomorrow at the Westfield home of the Honorary Swiss Consul tomorrow for an independence celebration.

If you'd like more information, call 317:217-1645.

Rose-Hulman to House International Partnership

An international partnership created to expand education to meet the increasing need for engineers to work in the rapidly growing field of wireless technology has moved its operations to Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology, according to the institute's news bureau.

The Global Wireless Education Consortium (GWEC) which was created 10 years ago and previously located in Arlington, Virginia will be headquartered in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering (ECE) at Rose-Hulman.

GWEC will continue to serve as a central point of contact for new teaching materials, recruitment opportunities for business and industry, and internships for students, according to GWEC Chief Operating Officer Fred Berry, who is a professor and head of the ECE department.

Berry noted that discussion is underway to conduct the first GWEC Summit in 2008.

Indy's International Cuisine

As Terry Kirts reports in the 25 July issue of NUVO Newsweekly, the best reason to get out your world atlas: new international cuisines:

"A good number of the recently opened eateries both downtown and elsewhere have been offering food from countries not already represented in the pantheon of Indy’s international restaurants. No longer are we just a city of Italian, Mexican and Chinese places. Alongside risotto and taquitos, we now have bacalao, churrascaria and pupusas. Besides BARcelona Tapas, Brazilian Grill on West 86th Street has introduced an entirely new concept of dining with its succulent grilled meats served tableside from giant rodzios. Latin American eateries like Guatelinda have come out from under the Mexican shadow to offer authentic dishes such as plantains stuffed with black beans, pupusas and tamales wrapped in banana leaves. More common cuisines, such as Indian, are turning up in some unusual settings, such as Tadkaa, which offers plenty of Bollywood and Indian pop, as well as vodka cocktails and a full range of Indian beers. With a Somali coffeehouse just east of the airport, Filipino food available in Beech Grove and a new Cuban café called TaTa’s planned for West Market downtown, you’ll want to rush your application for a passport so you can get it stamped all around this increasingly diverse city. Need some help navigating your way? The best local Web site for checking up on restaurants, both ethnic and otherwise, is still Indy Ethnic Food."

Hill-Rom to Sell Products in Japan

Batesville-based Hillenbrand Industries, Inc., announced that its medical technology subsidiary, Hill-Rom, has entered into a distribution agreement with Paramount Bed Co., Ltd.

The agreement will allow Paramount Bed to distribute certain Hill-Rom hospital bed systems in Japan.

Paramount Bed is Japan’s leading innovator and maker of medical beds and patient support prevention and therapy systems.

Rose-Hulman's Fuel-Efficient Vehicle

Achieving a personal best -- 1,972.9 mpg -- Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology's Efficient Vehicles team finished among the top third of 60 competitors in the Shell Eco-Marathon's United Kingdom competition -- an event where engineers and scientists of the future have gathered for over 30 years in search of automotive fuel economy.

Rose-Hulman was the only entry from the United States at the Rockingham Motor Speedway near Corby, England. Overall, the team placed 10th in the gasoline fuel division and 18th among all competitors.

The best mileage performance was achieved by team Microjoule, from France, with a mileage of 10,516.9 mpg, short of the team's world record of 10,705 mpg set in 2004. The best collegiate entry came from Britain's Bath University, a perennial top contender, at 5,958.8 mpg.

More information about Rose-Hulman's Efficient Vehicles team is available here.

IU Gets a Vice President for International Affairs

Patrick O'Meara (left)has been named to the newly created position of Vice President for International Affairs at Indiana University by President Michael A. McRobbie, according to the IU News Bureau.

O'Meara is an internationally renowned scholar of international development and African politics. He has been serving as dean for international programs at IU Bloomington since 1993 and has been at IU since the 1960s.

With the promotion, O'Meara will continue to have oversight of international programs at all eight IU campuses, and he will have principal responsibility under McRobbie's direction for implementing a new, university-wide international strategic plan. He will provide leadership and coordination of all international directions and initiatives.

Gov. Daniels Leads Delegation to Asia

Governor Mitch Daniels heads east next week on a mission to attract new jobs and investment from Japan and Taiwan, reports Inside INdiana Business.

The 78-person state delegation includes six members of the Indiana General Assembly and seven mayors; representatives of three Indiana universities (including Patrick O’Meara, newly-designated vice-president of International Affairs for Indiana University); 25 business leaders; 23 local economic development officials and longtime Nationalities Council of Indiana supporter Theresa A. Kulczak, executive director of the Japan-America Society of Indiana.

In addition to Governor Daniels, the state will be represented by Secretary of Commerce Pat Miller, IEDC President Mickey Maurer, and Agriculture Department Director Andy Miller.

It's a quick trip: the state delegation will depart Indianapolis on 30 July 30 and return on 7 August.

The governor will meet with government leaders in Taiwan and Japan as well as business leaders from potential investors including Toyota, Mitsubishi, and Fuji Heavy Industries, among others.

The delegation will also host three business seminars for potential investors, visit the Tochigi Prefecture (Indiana's sister-state in Japan) and tour the World Expo in Nagoya, Japan. The trip will conclude with a reception for Japanese business leaders prior to the Indianapolis Colts versus Atlanta Falcons pre-season game at the Tokyo Dome.

Prof. Edwin C. Marshall Appointed to Diversity Post

Indiana University President Michael A. McRobbie has announced the appointment of Professor Edwin C. Marshall as vice president of diversity, equity and multicultural affairs.

Marshall, a professor and associate dean for academic affairs and student administration at the IU School of Optometry, replaces Vice President Charlie Nelms, who has resigned to become Chancellor at North Carolina Central University in Durham.

New Bilingual Newspaper to Debut This Week

The Times of Northwest Indiana will print the first issue of a new bilingual Spanish/English newspaper Wednesday, according to Inside INdiana Business.

VIVA Los Tiempos will be a free, weekly publication that will bring local, state, national and international news and information to the Hispanic population in northwest Indiana.

IU shines at International Supercomputer Conference

Indiana University's "Big Red" supercomputer is again ranked among the world's fastest, according to a report in UITS Information Technology News.

IU accomplishments in advanced cyberinfrastructure are attracting attention and acclaim at the International Supercomputer Conference held last week in Dresden, Germany.

"Big Red" placed 30th on the June 2007 list of the world's 500 fastest supercomputers unveiled today at the conference, and Indiana University's Data Capacitor team, with partners from Technische Universitaet Dresden, demonstrated impressive performance on a distributed transatlantic Lustre file system designed to move large amounts of scientific data quickly and easily.

“Big Red is one of the most powerful supercomputers in existence in the world and it is the fastest ever in the history of the State of Indiana,” said Brad Wheeler, Indiana University chief information officer and dean of information technology at IU Bloomington.

Teaching About Asia

The Summer 2007 Teaching about Asia Seminar will be held on the Bloomington campus of Indiana University next week (16-21 July) under the auspices of IU's East Asian Studies Center.

Participants will be Social Studies and Humanities Teachers for grades 6-12. The instructor is Paul B. Watt, Ph.D., Professor of Asian Studies and Chair, DePauw University.

The East Asian Studies Center of Indiana University, with the National Consortium for Teaching about Asia, is engaged in a national multi-year program to improve the teaching of East Asia in America's schools.

The East Asian Studies Center assists in the coordination of teaching, research, and outreach activities on East Asia. Established in 1979, EASC links the expertise of I.U.'s East Asian area specialists to the local and national needs of business, education, and government.

Purdue Collaborates with Korean Institute

Research teams from Purdue's Discovery Park and the Korean Institute of Science and Technology are collaborating on a $4.5 million project to develop molecular imaging and nanotechnology tools to simultaneously diagnose and treat cancer and chronic and infectious diseases, according to the Purdue News Bureau.

The Korean Institute of Science and Technology, also known as KIST, and Purdue developed a research proposal utilizing the complementary strengths of both institutions' internationally renowned research groups.

In conjunction with this project, Purdue's Discovery Park will hold an international conference on 14 September in the Burton D. Morgan Center for Entrepreneurship. More than 20 Korean researchers on this project will attend, along with other international scholars in the growing field of molecular imaging and theragnosis. The first event took place in Seoul in September 2006.

New Dean of School of Technology at Purdue Calumet

Niaz Latif (right) was approved as dean of the School of Technology and professor of mechanical engineering technology at Purdue University Calumet by the Purdue board of trustees on 6 July.

Dr. Latif earned his Ph.D. from the University of Missouri—Columbia and an M.S. from South Dakota State University; both degrees are in Agricultural Engineering. He holds a B.Sc. in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Chittagong in Bangladesh.

Dr. Ejeta Named Distinguished Professor

Gebisa Ejeta (left) was named the Distinguished Professor of Agronomy in the Department of Agronomy at Purdue University by the board of trustees 6 July.

Ejeta has been a professor at Purdue, his alma mater, since 1984. His research group focuses on the genetic analysis and breeding of sorghum for resistance to the major biotic and abiotic stresses including drought, plant diseases and the parasitic weed called striga. The research also includes the nutritional quality of sorghum, its potential for use for alternative energy, as well as management and exploitation of genetic resources and influence of gene flow in crop species.

Ejeta earned a bachelor's degree in plant sciences from Alemaya College in Ethiopia in 1973 and master's and doctoral degrees in plant breeding and genetics from Purdue in 1976 and 1978.

South Africa and Senegal Featured at Black Expo

Summer trips to South Africa and the West African nation of Senegal by Expo staff will be reflected in art exhibits and economic forums at the 37th annual Indianapolis Black Expo, according to The Indianapolis Star.

The cultural event kicks off Thursday and ends 22 July.

See website for a schedule of events.

July Ethnic Hoosier Newsletter

The July issue of The Ethnic Hoosier has been posted to the Nationalities Council's website.

The July meeting of the NCI begins at 7 p.m. tonight in the Max Kade Room of the Athenaeum, 401 East Michigan Street, Indianapolis.

Everyone is welcome!

Indy's Irish Fest

Don't forget to mark your calendars for Indy's Irish Fest!

It'll be 14-16 September in Military Park, downtown Indianapolis.

Mercy for Nigeria

"An Evening with the Mercy Foundation" is set for 21 July in the Indiana Historical Society, 450 West Ohio Street, Indianapolis.

Proceeds benefit the Mercy Foundation, started by Dr. Mercy Obeime (medical director of St. Francis Neighborhood Health Center) to increase awareness about HIV/AIDS and obesity in Nigeria.

The foundation sponsored a medical mission to Auchi, Nigeria, last May and plans trips to Uromi, Edo State, Nigeria 16-26 August and to Afikpo, Nigeria, in November.

Dr. Hendrie Receives Award for Geriatric Psychiatry

Scotland native Hugh Hendrie (left), M.B., Ch.B., D.Sc., has been honored with the prestigious Jack Weinberg Memorial Award for Geriatric Psychiatry from the American Psychiatric Association. He received the award at the 2007 APA National Meeting in San Diego on 21 May, according to the I.U. News Bureau.

The Jack Weinberg award was established in 1983 in honor of the late Jack Weinberg, M.D., past president of the APA and a pioneer in the field of geriatric psychiatry. The annual award honors a psychiatrist who has demonstrated special leadership or who has done outstanding work in clinical practice, training, or research initiatives in geriatric psychiatry anywhere in the world.

Hendrie, who served as chairman of the IU School of Medicine's Department of Psychiatry from 1975 to 2000, is an internationally respected researcher in psychogeriatrics and the epidemiology of dementia. His work focuses on risk factors for Alzheimer's disease and other aging-related brain diseases, especially in African-Americans and Africans. While chairman he developed and also directed a section of geriatric psychiatry, one of the first in the United States.

Hendrie received his M.B., Ch.B. and D.Sc. from the University of Glasgow. He also holds a diploma in psychiatry from the University of Manitoba and a M.S. from Wayne State University in Detroit.

Hendrie is a past President of the American Association for Geriatric Psychiatry and the Geriatric Psychiatry Alliance and a fellow of the Royal College of Physicians of Canada and the Royal College of Psychiatry, as well as a distinguished life fellow of the American Psychiatric Association.

Columbus Connects with China

Columbus Mayor Fred Armstrong (right) has just returned from a trade mission to China and says he has at least four solid leads, reports Inside INdiana Business.

Armstrong and three other people went on the 17 day trip and met with about 35 Chinese companies that are looking to invest in the United States.

Armstrong says the trip was worth it. "In fact, one company was looking at a neighboring state and found out about Columbus after our little song and dance that we have and they're going to visit Columbus in the very near future and hold off their other state. So that's good news."

Armstrong says he stressed the area's educated workforce and quality of life to the Chinese. Armstrong says he will follow up with the companies that were interested and hopes to have news to announce soon. He anticipates making one to two trips a year to China to try to secure investment in Columbus.

Kimball Electronics Expands in Poland

Kimball Electronics Group, Inc., a subsidiary of Kimball International, Inc., has announced that the company's Kimball Electronics-Poland facility has been awarded a major new business program to manufacture automotive steering systems for the European market.

Kimball Electronics Group is a global contract electronics manufacturing services company that specializes in durable electronics with applications in the automotive, medical, industrial controls, and public safety industries.

Kimball International, based in Jasper, Ind., has manufacturing operations in the U.S., Mexico, Thailand, Poland, Wales, Ireland, and China.

Indiana University Professors Visit Macedonia

Seven Indiana University School of Education professors are in Macedonia this week to help promote modern teaching methods in math and science, reports the I.U. News Bureau.

The professors are taking part in a five-day workshop with government officials, teachers and other educational leaders in the country to train instructors to conduct workshops with Macedonian science and math teachers.

The team includes Frank Lester, Chancellor's Professor of Mathematics Education at IU Bloomington; Charles Barman, professor of science and environmental education at IUPUI; Natalie Barman, clinical lecturer in the department of teacher education at IUPUI; Robert Helfenbein, assistant professor of teacher education at IUPUI; and Jeff Nowak, assistant professor of science education at Indiana University-Purdue University Fort Wayne.

Purdue Vice President in Barcelona

The vice president of real estate and research park development for the Purdue Research Park will speak this week at the 24th World Conference on Science and Technology Parks, reports Inside Indiana Business.

Gregory Deason's presentation is expected to focus on creating incubators for small and startup companies, owning a debt-free facility and planning long-term strategies.

City steps up effort to help immigrants

According to the Indianapolis Business Journal:

"The burgeoning number of immigrants arriving in Indianapolis have a new source available to help them navigate unfamiliar surroundings and the kaleidoscope of social support systems available.

"The Immigrant Welcome Center is a program launched in October that uses volunteers dubbed 'natural helpers' to link foreign newcomers to such basic needs as health care, government and transportation services.

"Although the effort is nearly 9 months old, it’s just now getting up to speed as organizers are interviewing candidates to lead the not-for-profit. An executive director should be named within six weeks.

"The center is under the auspices of the Greater Indianapolis Progress Committee, a not-for-profit focused on community improvement, and is the culmination of Amy Minick Peterson’s vision to assist the growing multicultural sector."