Immigrant Success

Your Ethnic Hoosier usually avoids policy, but this comment from Thomas Friedman's column in today's New York Times needs to be shared. As we in the Nationalities Council of Indiana know, the United States is constantly renewed --and improved -- by its immigrants. This says it all:

"Last week, the 32 winners of Rhodes Scholarships for 2011 were announced — America’s top college grads. Here are half the names on that list: Mark Jia, Aakash Shah, Zujaja Tauqeer, Tracy Yang, William Zeng, Daniel Lage, Ye Jin Kang, Baltazar Zavala, Esther Uduehi, Prerna Nadathur, Priya Sury, Anna Alekeyeva, Fatima Sabar, Renugan Raidoo, Jennifer Lai, Varun Sivaram."

Yes, Indiana's winner is Esther O. Uduehi (pictured, at left) of Evansville. Her parents emigrated from Nigeria. A senior at Indiana University, Bloomington, she majors in biochemistry and mathematics. She was also a visiting student at Oxford. A Wells Scholar, Presidential Intern and Senator Richard Lugar Scholar, and a member of Phi Beta Kappa, she is president of the IU Minority Association of Pre-Medical Students. She has won several awards for her research in organic chemistry, and has participated in a U.S.-Russia global health care study program and done research at the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard. Esther plans to do the D.Phil. in chemistry at Oxford.

(Photo courtesy of Indiana University Bloomington)

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Science and Society in the 21st Century

"Science and Society in the 21st Century" is the topic for a presentation by Sir Harry Kroto (pictured), who shared the Nobel Prize for Chemistry in 1996.

He'll be speaking from 5:30-7 p.m. 10 November in Room CE450, Campus Center, Indiana University-Purdue University in Indianapolis. Registration is online.

Kroto, who is a Fellow of the Royal Society of London and holds an emeritus professorship at the University of Sussex in Brighton, United Kingdom, will discuss a necessary condition for creativity in the science and the arts -- a liberal/democratic sociopolitical environment.

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Heartland Film Festival Runs Through 23 October

Heartland, the annual 10-day celebration of international film, includes movies from Australia, Brazil, Canada, India, Ireland, Japan, New Zealand, Russian Federation, Rwanda, Spain, Sweden, United Kingdom, Uzbekistan (and the United States).

For more information, including a schedule, go online.

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Electric Vehicles Confab

Members of the United Kingdom’s Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders will meet with American electric vehicle manufacturers next week to discuss potential investment opportunities. Representatives will be in Indiana from 10-12 October.

The UK summit, sponsored by Ice Miller, Indianapolis Power and Light and Purdue University, will allow representatives from UK-based electric vehicle developers and manufacturers to meet with Indiana-based manufacturers in the industry to share information and discuss potential partnerships in areas including powertrain technology, battery management, infrastructure engineering and testing.

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USA International Harp Competition

After 10 days of fierce competition amongst 39 harpists representing 15 nations, a gold-medal winner was chosen in the 2010 USA International Harp Competition 17 July at the Musical Arts Center (MAC) of the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music in Bloomington, reports the IU news bureau.

Agnès Clément (pictured, left) of Lyon, France, won the gold over two other finalists in front of a crowd of more than 1,400 people. The 20-year-old Clément led a field that included Rino Kageyama of Japan, 20, who won the silver medal, and Russian harpist Vasilisa Lushchevskaya, 21, who took the bronze. Susann McDonald, competition founder and artistic director, is pictured, at right.

The eighth triennial contest, which opened 7 July, featured an all-female field. After traveling thousands of miles and memorizing over two hours of required repertoire, competitors vied for more than $100,000 in cash and career assistance.

The fourth- through eighth-prize recipients were:

* 4th Prize: Coline-Marie Orliac, France
* 5th Prize: Jimin Lee, United Kingdom/South Korea
* 6th Prize: Ruriko Yamamiya, Japan
* 7th Prize: Gwenllian Llyr, United Kingdom (Wales)
* 8th Prize: Marta Marinelli, Italy

Special Prizes went to:

* Jan Jennings Prize for Best Performance of "Awakening Stillnesses" by Michael Maganuco: Coline-Marie Orliac, France
* Mario Falcao Prize for Best Performance of Concerto for Harp and Orchestra by Reinhold Glière: Rino Kageyama, Japan

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Rieseberg Elected Fellow of the Royal Society

Loren Rieseberg (pictured), an evolutionary biologist at Indiana University in Bloomingtonhas been elected a 2010 fellow of the Royal Society, the United Kingdom's largest and most important academy of sciences, reports the IU News Bureau.

The projects Rieseberg supervises integrate high-throughput genomic methods, bioinformatics, ecological experiments, and evolutionary theory to study the origin and evolution of species, domesticated plants, and weeds. He is primarily interested how new plant species arise -- speciation being one of biology's most fundamental questions. Rieseberg has examined a number of different plant species, but most of his work has focused on members of the genus Helianthus, which includes wild and domesticated sunflowers.

Rieseberg has joint appointments in Indiana University Bloomington's Department of Biology and the University of British Columbia's Department of Botany.

Develop Indy Travels to Europe

Develop Indy will lead a series of international trade missions throughout the next few months as part of its efforts to attract more jobs to Indianapolis.

First up: Paris, France, from 14-17 June, with a focus on aerospace/defense and renewable energy industries.

Rio de Janeiro, Porto Alegre, and Sao Paulo, Brazil, from 5-15 July, with a focus on clean tech, motorsports, information technology, exports (Brazil to U.S.)

The International Air Show in Farnborough, England, from 19-25 July, for aerospace/defense.

Valencia, Spain and Rome, Italy, September 6-10, for the photovoltaic industry.

Develop Indy is Marion County's local economic development organization.

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State to Lead Trade Mission to Europe

Numerous economic development organizations from throughout the state are preparing for an upcoming trade mission to Europe, reports Inside INdiana Business. The Indiana Economic Development Corporation, Indy Partnership, and Northeast Indiana Regional Partnership are among the groups sending representatives on the trip, which includes stops in Germany, Italy and the United Kingdom. The trade mission begins tomorrow (18 April) and ends 1 May.

Members of the delegation are:
Chad Pittman, Indiana Economic Development Corporation
S. Michael Hudson, Rolls-Royce North America (retired)
Bill Petranoff, Duke Energy
Scott Miller, Indianapolis Economic Development, Inc.
Courtney Poulos, Indianapolis Economic Development, Inc.
Kristie McKillip, Indy Partnership
Dale Buuck, Northeast Indiana Regional Partnership
Corey Carr, Columbus Indiana Economic Development Board
Erin Newell, Indiana Economic Development Corporation

UPDATE: Due to the current air travel restrictions in Europe, this trip has been postponed.

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The Myth of the Moderate Taliban

Vikash Yadav, assistant professor of political science at Hobart and William Smith Colleges in New York and 1991 graduate of DePauw University, will return to his alma mater on Wednesday (14 April) to deliver the Walker Horizon Lecture in Political Science.

Dr. Yadav will discuss "The Myth of the Moderate Taliban" at 4:15 p.m. in the Pulliam Center for Contemporary Media's Watson Forum on the Greencastle campus. The presentation is free and open to all, reports the DePauw news bureau.

Professor Yadav published the book Risk in International Finance in 2008. He has also written articles on India's relations with the International Monetary Fund and on ways to make international financial organizations more democratic and representative of the voices of the poorest countries.

His current research project examines India's grand strategy in Afghanistan as well as shifting conceptions of sovereignty, security, and identity in the greater South Asia region.

A history major at DePauw, where he graduated cum laude, Yadav went on to earn his Master of Arts degree at the University of Chicago in 1993 and his doctorate at the University of Pennsylvania in 2002. He was also the Queen Elizabeth Visiting Scholar at St. Antony's College at Oxford University.

Prior to joining the Hobart and William Smith faculty, Dr. Yadav taught at Bryn Mawr, Mt. Holyoke and the American University in Cairo.

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British Ambassador to Speak at IU Bloomington

Sir Nigel Sheinwald, the United Kingdom's ambassador to the United States, will visit Indiana University Bloomington Thursday (15 April) to give a lecture and meet with students, faculty members and university officials, reports the I.U. News Bureau.

Sheinwald, the British ambassador to the U.S. since October 2007, will speak on "The 21st Century World: Europe's Role" at 6 p.m. Thursday in the Tudor Room of the Indiana Memorial Union. The lecture is free and open to the public.

Indiana University has numerous connections with institutions in the United Kingdom, especially Oxford and Cambridge universities, including programs in information technology, life sciences, philosophy, optometry, anthropology and library and information sciences. The U.K. has been the No. 2 destination for Indiana University students in study-abroad programs.
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F1 Considers Return to Indy for US Grand Prix

According to the United Kingdom's Guardian newspaper, "Indianapolis is still a logical venue for a US Formula One grand prix and a return is on the cards, according to the sport's commercial rights holder Bernie Ecclestone.

"'It is [a possibility]', Ecclestone said. 'It's only the fact that it's all the wrong crowd and the wrong people ... nothing worked there really, we'd have to have a big change round. But we'd like to get back there.'

"Asked whether the United States could be back on the calendar as early as next year, he replied: 'We can have a look'."

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Indy Mayor Heads to Indy's Sister City

According to the Indianapolis mayor's office, Indy Mayor Greg Ballard left for Europe yesterday. He and a delegation of business and community leaders will meet with business leaders, government officials, and researchers in Cologne, Germany (Indy's Sister City) and in the United Kingdom. They return 23 November.

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ExactTarget Launches International Division

ExactTarget, a provider of on-demand email marketing and one-to-one marketing solutions, announced it has launched a new international division in London following the acquisition of U.K.-based Keymail Marketing.

The new division, which serves as the headquarters for ExactTarget’s operations outside of North America, allows the company to directly support the international needs of its multinational clients and expands its offerings to marketers in the growing UK and European markets.

German Thought on War, Peace, and International Law

A conference on "Old Europe, New Orders: Post-1945 German Thought on War, Peace, and International Law" will be held at Indiana University Bloomington 27-28 March.

The conference revisits the neglected debate among German-speaking scholars – including both those who remained in Germany and those forced into exile – concerning the fundamental roots of twentieth-century warfare as practiced in Europe and the best way to avoid its recurrence.

Presenters are from IU Bloomington as well as universities across the United States, in England, Finland and Germany.

For more information, contact William E. Scheuerman, Professor of Political Science and West European Studies, IU Bloomington.

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International Design Symposium

Designers, critics, scholars, manufacturers and dealers are participating in a two-day symposium at the Indianapolis Museum of Art in conjunction with the "European Design" exhibit on display 8 March through 21 June.

"Shaping a New Century: An International Design Symposium" will be held 6 and 7 March at the IMA to examine the present and future of European decorative and industrial design.

Four sessions will focus on creating, making, judging and designing.

Registration information is online. Cost is $150 for students and $250 for the public.

UPDATE:

Costs have dropped! It's now $50 for students and $100 for the public for both days!

Participants also have been announced. They are:
* Alberto Alessi (Director of Marketing Strategies and Design Management, Alessi s.p.a. – Italy)
* Jurgen Bey (Creative Director, Studio Makkink & Bey– Holland)
* George Beylerian (CEO & Founder, Material ConneXion - New York)
* Juli Capella (Director, Capella Arquitectura & Design, s.l. – Spain)
* matali crasset (industrial designer, matali crasset productions – France)
* Beatrice de Lafontaine (Director, when objects work – Belgium)
* Michele De Lucchi (architect, aMDL-architetto Michele De Lucchi Srl– Italy)
* Sylvain Dubuisson (Dubuisson Associes - France)
* Rolf Fehlbaum (Chairman, Vitra – Switzerland)
* Nasir Kassamali (Owner, LUMINAIRE® – U.S.)
* Eero Koivisto (Co-Founder, Claesson Koivisto Rune - Sweden)
* Didier Krzentowski (Owner, Galerie kreo – France)
* Susan Grant Lewin (President, Susan Grant Lewin Associates - New York)
* Catherine McDermott (Professor, Kingston University - United Kingdom)
* R. Craig Miller (curator, Indianapolis Museum of Art – U.S.)
* Cedric Morriset (independent journalist, curator and design consultant – France)
* Cilla Robach (curator, Nationalmuseum, Stockholm – Sweden)
* Jerszy Seymour (designer, Jerszy Seymour Design Workshop – Germany)
* Penny Sparke (scholar, Kingston University – United Kingdom)
* Dr. Josef Strasser (senior curator, Die Neue Sammlung--The International Design Museum Munich – Germany)
* Richard Wright (Director, Wright – U.S.)

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BASi Receives European Patent

West Lafayette-based BASi has received a patent in Europe for a new data collection system designed at its laboratory and office in the United Kingdom, reports Inside INdiana Business.

The patent for the Culex Automated In Vivo Sampling System is valid until 2019 and is effective in Germany, Denmark, France, UK and Sweden. BASi has its corporate headquarters at the Purdue Research Park and also has operations in Evansville.

New Sister City in the Works for Indy

The Mayor of Indianapolis is hoping a new sister city in China will create more economic opportunities in Indiana, reports Inside INdiana Business.

Greg Ballard announced the agreement with Hangzhou during a recent trade mission to China. He says it is part of an overall economic development strategy to bring jobs to Indianapolis.

Ballard also plans to look at other areas for similar partnerships. That includes the possibility of cities in Brazil because of energy self sufficiency issues and the United Kingdom for a motorsports relationship.

Acoustics and Engineering Meet Biomedicine

American and European experts in acoustics and bio-engineering will present novel approaches on the emerging biomedical field of audible acoustic measurements and analysis during a symposium 8-9 September at Purdue University in West Lafayette.

According to the report from the Purdue News Bureau, breakthroughs in the field of sonic measurements and analysis are leading to new medical treatments in critical care; heart-related issues; sleep disorders; orthopedic and sports injuries; ear, nose and throat maladies; hearing problems; and speech disorders.

The conference will be from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. each day at the Martin C. Jischke Hall of Biomedical Engineering.

Presenters include researchers from Canada, Switzerland and the United Kingdom, as well as key universities in the United States, including Purdue, Dartmouth College, Boston University, Binghamton University, Massachusetts Institute of Technology and the University of Chicago.

While the symposium's registration is free, students and researchers are asked to register before a 15 July deadline. Deadline for abstract submissions of poster presentations is 1 July.

Indiana Attracts Global Companies

"Foreign firms' investments create Hoosier jobs," reads the headline in the Indianapolis Business Journal's "Indiana 100" supplement this weekend.

"State officials have rolled out the red carpet for foreign companies to invest in Indiana," writes Katie Mauer, "paving the way for those firms to announce plans for nearly 5,000 new jobs here in 2007 alone."

The report continues, "Overall, the biggest sources of those jobs are firms in the United Kingdom and Japan. Germany is a close third, employing a total of more than 26,000 Hoosiers and investing $8.7 billion in the state."

DePauw to Host Tony Blair in March

Tony Blair, who served as prime minister of Great Britain and Northern Ireland from May 1997 through June 2007, will come to the campus of DePauw University on March 3, 2008, to deliver a Timothy and Sharon Ubben Lecture. Blair's speech will begin at 7:30 p.m. in the Lilly Center's Neal Fieldhouse (702 S. College Avenue). Like all Ubben Lectures, the event will be free and open to all. Seating will be available on a first-come, first-served basis and no tickets will be distributed. Mr. Blair becomes the fifth former prime minister of Britain to speak at DePauw. Harold Macmillan, whose grandfather was a graduate of Indiana Asbury, provided the 1958 commencement address as the sitting prime minister. Harold Wilson presented a 1981 talk. The Ubben Lecture Series presented Margaret Thatcher in 1992 and John Major in 2001.