The former President and India’s rocket-missile technologist, A.P.J. Abdul Kalam, has been appointed Chancellor of the Indian Institute of Space Science and Technology (IIST), Thiruvananthapuram. The IIST was established by the Department of Space in 2007.
Mr. Kalam was the project director of the Indian Space Research Organisation’s (ISRO) first two SLV-3 (Satellite Launch Vehicles) flights in 1979 and 1980 from Sriharikota. The SLV-3 flight in 1980 was a big success, with the rocket putting the Rohini satellite in orbit. He was also the architect of India’s Integrated Guided Missile Development Programme under which Agni, Prithvi, Akash, Trishul and Nag missiles were developed.
The IIST, a deemed university, is the world’s first space university to offer undergraduate programmes. It offers two four-year B.Tech programmes in Avionics and Aerospace, and a five-year integrated post-graduate programme in Applied Sciences.
G. Madhavan Nair, Chairman, ISRO and Secretary, Department of Space, said on Monday evening: “I just talked to Mr. Kalam on the phone and he told me that he would like to be a different kind of Chancellor. He will do research on futuristic space technologies.” Mr. Nair said he was “really excited” over the development because Mr. Kalam “is the country’s topmost rocket scientist and to have him as Chancellor of the IIST is a blessing.”
B.N. Suresh, Director, IIST, said: “I am sure with Mr. Kalam as the Chancellor, the IIST will scale great heights.”
Dr. Suresh, who was earlier Director, Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre at Thiruvananthapuram, said 150 students had joined the IIST’s three courses in 2008 compared to 138 in 2007.
The institute would start three M. Tech. courses in Radio Frequency and Microwave, Adoptive Optics and Soft Computing from the next academic year (2009).
Dr. Manmohan will lay the foundation stone for the new campus at Valiamala, near Thiruvananthapuram, in October, Mr. Nair said.
Tuesday, September 9, 2008
Monday, September 1, 2008
MIT class project gets a gold star from Google
'Locale' will let Android cell phones adjust to surroundings
A team of MIT students walked away from their spring-semester course with a lot more than just an A and six credits: They just won a $275,000 top prize from Google for the application they developed for the company's new open-source Android cell-phone system.
The application, called "Locale," lets a cell phone automatically adjust its settings according to the location it's in -- for example, silencing the ringer when it detects that it's at the office or in a lecture hall.
Locale was developed by students in a class called "Building mobile applications with Android," (6.087), taught by Hal Abelson, the Class of 1922 Professor of Computer Science and Engineering in the Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science. The class is being offered again this fall, but this time is extending to two other cell-phone systems in addition to Google's Android: Nokia and Windows Mobile.
Engineers from Google, Nokia and Microsoft will also work with students in the class to help them develop their concepts. One of the important aspects of this hands-on class, Abelson says, is "to give the students the experience of working with really experienced professionals" as they refine their applications. Professor Alex (Sandy) Pentland of the Media Lab and Eric Klopfer of the Department of Urban Studies and Planning will be co-teaching the class with Abelson. Andrew Yu of MIT's IS&T will also be working with the teams.
Two of the students who developed Locale, Carter Jernigan and Jasper Lin, graduated this June with degrees in computer science and are now working as software engineers. Christina Wright is also a recent graduate in computer science. And Clare Bayley is a junior, majoring in computer science. Jennifer Shu, a recent MIT graduate in computer science who works as a software engineer, was added to the team to help them perfect the product.
The team's application was one of 10 Google selected for the top prizes on Aug. 29, out of 50 finalists that were chosen from hundreds of entries. In addition to the cash prize, each of the winning applications will now be included with every new Android phone. The first such phones are expected to be released before the end of the year. Ten other teams won $100,000 each.
A team of MIT students walked away from their spring-semester course with a lot more than just an A and six credits: They just won a $275,000 top prize from Google for the application they developed for the company's new open-source Android cell-phone system.
The application, called "Locale," lets a cell phone automatically adjust its settings according to the location it's in -- for example, silencing the ringer when it detects that it's at the office or in a lecture hall.
Locale was developed by students in a class called "Building mobile applications with Android," (6.087), taught by Hal Abelson, the Class of 1922 Professor of Computer Science and Engineering in the Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science. The class is being offered again this fall, but this time is extending to two other cell-phone systems in addition to Google's Android: Nokia and Windows Mobile.
Engineers from Google, Nokia and Microsoft will also work with students in the class to help them develop their concepts. One of the important aspects of this hands-on class, Abelson says, is "to give the students the experience of working with really experienced professionals" as they refine their applications. Professor Alex (Sandy) Pentland of the Media Lab and Eric Klopfer of the Department of Urban Studies and Planning will be co-teaching the class with Abelson. Andrew Yu of MIT's IS&T will also be working with the teams.
Two of the students who developed Locale, Carter Jernigan and Jasper Lin, graduated this June with degrees in computer science and are now working as software engineers. Christina Wright is also a recent graduate in computer science. And Clare Bayley is a junior, majoring in computer science. Jennifer Shu, a recent MIT graduate in computer science who works as a software engineer, was added to the team to help them perfect the product.
The team's application was one of 10 Google selected for the top prizes on Aug. 29, out of 50 finalists that were chosen from hundreds of entries. In addition to the cash prize, each of the winning applications will now be included with every new Android phone. The first such phones are expected to be released before the end of the year. Ten other teams won $100,000 each.
D Subbarao is new RBI chief
Finance Secretary Duvvuri Subbarao, 59, an Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer of the Andhra Pradesh cadre who topped the 1972 batch, will be the new governor of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI). He will take over from incumbent Yaga Venugopal Reddy, whose five-year tenure ends September 5.
Announcing this here today, Finance Minister P Chidambaram said Subbarao had been appointed for three years, though the norms allow a tenure of up to five years. By implication, Subbarao’s term could be extended by two years.
The appointment comes after considerable speculation over who would take over from Reddy, a retired IAS officer who became governor on September 6, 2003.
A key contender for the job was RBI Deputy Governor Rakesh Mohan, who met the finance minister last week. There was also some talk of Reddy being granted an extension.
Today, Chidambaram praised Reddy for his stint at the central bank. “His stewardship of the RBI saw some major changes and improvements. He led the RBI with distinction through a period of change and rapid growth. We warmly thank him for his services,” the finance minister said.
Subbarao has wide experience in public finance and has held important posts in this area. He had joined the finance ministry in May 2007, before which he worked as secretary of the Prime Minister’s Economic Advisory Council.
An IIT Kanpur alumnus, Subbarao was among the first of its graduates to join the civil services. He took a Master’s degree in economics from Ohio State University (1978), was a Humphrey Fellow at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (1982-83) and later picked up a doctorate in Economics from Andhra University. Among other stints, he was also the lead economist at the World Bank from 1999 to 2004.
Widely seen as a reformer, he is credited with having authored a turnaround of Andhra Pradesh’s finances in the late nineties when the state slipped into an unprecedented fiscal crisis.
He takes charge at Mint Road at a time when inflation is ruling at an uncomfortable high of 12.4 per cent and monetary policy is focused on curbing the price rise and tackling inflationary expectations.
Subbarao is currently overseas on official business and was scheduled to return to New Delhi late tonight.
Subbarao’s appointment as RBI governor means a new secretary, department of economic affairs, will have to be appointed soon because he also held that post. Since he was the senior-most among his peers, he was appointed finance secretary.
Sources said Ashok Chawla, currently civil aviation secretary, may be appointed secretary, economic affairs. Chawla was additional secretary, economic affairs from April 2005 to January 2007. Chawla is an IAS officer of the 1973 batch from the Gujarat cadre.
Meanwhile, Sindhushree Khullar, currently additional secretary in the department of economic affairs, has been empanelled to pick up the secretary rank. She is an IAS officer of the 1975 batch of the AGMU cadre.
The finance ministry has five secretaries. Revenue secretary P V Bhide and financial services secretary Arun Ramanathan are from the 1973 batch. Disinvestment secretary Vivek Mehrotra and secretary expenditure Sushma Nath both belong to the 1974 batch. Even after Chawla joins, Ramanathan would be the senior-most among the secretaries at North Block. He is slated to retire in April 2009.
Sources suggest Chawla may eventually be appointed the new finance secretary once Ramanathan retires.
Technocrat Mohan joined the RBI as deputy governor in July 2005 for a five-year term. Before joining the central bank, Mohan, 60, worked as secretary, department of economic affairs, finance ministry, for less than a year. In this position, he was alternate governor of the World Bank and Asian Development Bank. Immediately before this, he was with RBI as deputy governor between September 2002 and October 2004.
It is not yet clear whether Mohan will continue in his present charge. He has two years to go as deputy governor and there is a suggestion that he may be headed to the World Bank at Washington. It is likely that Arvind Virmani, currently the chief economic adviser in the finance ministry, may be appointed as deputy governor in Mohan’s place.
Announcing this here today, Finance Minister P Chidambaram said Subbarao had been appointed for three years, though the norms allow a tenure of up to five years. By implication, Subbarao’s term could be extended by two years.
The appointment comes after considerable speculation over who would take over from Reddy, a retired IAS officer who became governor on September 6, 2003.
A key contender for the job was RBI Deputy Governor Rakesh Mohan, who met the finance minister last week. There was also some talk of Reddy being granted an extension.
Today, Chidambaram praised Reddy for his stint at the central bank. “His stewardship of the RBI saw some major changes and improvements. He led the RBI with distinction through a period of change and rapid growth. We warmly thank him for his services,” the finance minister said.
Subbarao has wide experience in public finance and has held important posts in this area. He had joined the finance ministry in May 2007, before which he worked as secretary of the Prime Minister’s Economic Advisory Council.
An IIT Kanpur alumnus, Subbarao was among the first of its graduates to join the civil services. He took a Master’s degree in economics from Ohio State University (1978), was a Humphrey Fellow at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (1982-83) and later picked up a doctorate in Economics from Andhra University. Among other stints, he was also the lead economist at the World Bank from 1999 to 2004.
Widely seen as a reformer, he is credited with having authored a turnaround of Andhra Pradesh’s finances in the late nineties when the state slipped into an unprecedented fiscal crisis.
He takes charge at Mint Road at a time when inflation is ruling at an uncomfortable high of 12.4 per cent and monetary policy is focused on curbing the price rise and tackling inflationary expectations.
Subbarao is currently overseas on official business and was scheduled to return to New Delhi late tonight.
Subbarao’s appointment as RBI governor means a new secretary, department of economic affairs, will have to be appointed soon because he also held that post. Since he was the senior-most among his peers, he was appointed finance secretary.
Sources said Ashok Chawla, currently civil aviation secretary, may be appointed secretary, economic affairs. Chawla was additional secretary, economic affairs from April 2005 to January 2007. Chawla is an IAS officer of the 1973 batch from the Gujarat cadre.
Meanwhile, Sindhushree Khullar, currently additional secretary in the department of economic affairs, has been empanelled to pick up the secretary rank. She is an IAS officer of the 1975 batch of the AGMU cadre.
The finance ministry has five secretaries. Revenue secretary P V Bhide and financial services secretary Arun Ramanathan are from the 1973 batch. Disinvestment secretary Vivek Mehrotra and secretary expenditure Sushma Nath both belong to the 1974 batch. Even after Chawla joins, Ramanathan would be the senior-most among the secretaries at North Block. He is slated to retire in April 2009.
Sources suggest Chawla may eventually be appointed the new finance secretary once Ramanathan retires.
Technocrat Mohan joined the RBI as deputy governor in July 2005 for a five-year term. Before joining the central bank, Mohan, 60, worked as secretary, department of economic affairs, finance ministry, for less than a year. In this position, he was alternate governor of the World Bank and Asian Development Bank. Immediately before this, he was with RBI as deputy governor between September 2002 and October 2004.
It is not yet clear whether Mohan will continue in his present charge. He has two years to go as deputy governor and there is a suggestion that he may be headed to the World Bank at Washington. It is likely that Arvind Virmani, currently the chief economic adviser in the finance ministry, may be appointed as deputy governor in Mohan’s place.
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