PROMOTING SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY BETWEEN INDIA AND THE U.S.
2017 Khorana Bose Orientation Brought Back to Madison, Wisconsin
The 2017 Khorana Bose Scholar Orientation was held on May 21, 2017 at the University of Wisconsin Madison. From a total of 80 Khorana and SN Bose Scholars, 51 were able to attend the Orientation which was hosted on campus by the Assistant Dean of Engineering, Dr. Parmesh Ramanathan and the non-profit, WINStep Forward.
The Khorana and Bose programs were developed in a three-way partnership between WINstep Forward (WSF), the Department of Biotechnology (DBT) of the Government of India, and the Indo-U.S. Science Technology Forum (IUSSTF). The aim of these programs is to foster dynamic and transformative student exchange between premier institutions in India and the United States. The Khorana program is named in honor of Professor Har Gobind Khorana, a pioneer chemical biologist, who shared the 1968 Nobel Prize in Physiology and Medicine at University of Wisconsin-Madison for helping decipher the genetic code and for developing methods for nucleic acid synthesis. The S.N. Bose Program is named in honor of Satyendra Nath Bose (1894 – 1974), a visionary Indian physicist best known for his work on quantum mechanics and postulation of the Boson in the early 1920s. While the Khorana Program focuses on Biology and Biology related fields, the S.N. Bose program emphasizes all the physical sciences such as Chemistry, Physics, Geology, as well as Engineering, Math, and Computer Sciences related fields.
This year’s Orientation focused on establishing connections among Scholars, program administrators, and introducing Scholars to programs that synergize with the Khorana and Bose Programs. Representatives from multiple groups and departments on and off campus were keen to share the role their organizations could play in future Scholarly pursuits.
The program opened with the Assistant Dean of Engineering, Dr. Parmesh Ramanathan, a staunch advocate for the Khorana and Bose programs, giving an introduction to the University as well as going into a little bit a depth on some great science discoveries made here. Parmesh was followed by the Vice Provost and Dean of Continuing Studies Dr. Jack Russell welcoming the Scholars to the U.S. and UW Madison, as well as the importance of making the most of the opportunities they will have this summer.
Representing the WINStep Forward management was Dr. Eric Horn, who shared some of the program’s history with the Scholars and administrators present. Also, previous US Bose Scholar Daniel Howard gave a presentation about his experience in India and how it continues to affect his life in such a positive way.
Prasanth Kumar spoke on behalf of the Indian Graduate Student Association, highlighting the strong community bonds that are cultivated by such an organization. It was interesting to hear about events that occur during the school year as well as some that the scholars at UW-Madison would be able to participate in this summer.
Geeta Chougule traveled from Brown University to present about her university as well as to gain insight into ways that institutions can assist scholars coming through the SN Bose and Khorana programs. WINStep is excited about the US Bose program gaining traction at more universities like Brown as the word spreads about both our SN Bose and US Bose programs.
Lunch was catered by the Madison-based Indian restaurant Swagat.
Speaking on behalf of Science and Research Opportunities in India (Sci-ROI) was Dr. Piyush Lal. Dr. Lal is a postdoctoral Research Associate as well as one of the founding members of Sci-ROI, a group formed as an initiative of WINStep Forward. Sci-ROI aims to empower science and industry professionals (postdocs, students and scientists) working in the USA and India through meetings such as Young Investigators Meeting, in which participants get an insider’s view on employment opportunities in diverse areas of Indian academia, government and industry through engaging with peers, delegates of Indian Government/institutions, and senior leaders in Indian science and industry. Dr. Lal encouraged the Scholars to join Sci-ROI sooner rather than later in order to get a headstart on networking and exploring potential career opportunities.
Many Khorana Bose Scholars who perform their summer internships at UW Madison return to UW Madison to pursue their PhDs. Representing the Khorana Bose Alumni Chapter at UW Madison was Ms. Aayushi Oberoi, Sanjan Gupta, Indroneil Ghosh, Harisha Rajanala and Guneet Mehta. Their presentation gave the scholars a chance to hear first-hand experience and advice from those who had completed their Khorana Bose internship already.
Dr. Sadhana Srivastava, an IT/IP expert at the Indian College of Medical Research (ICMR), encouraged the Scholars not to hesitate when it comes time to convert their technological prototypes into marketable products. Dr. Srivastava is currently interning at UW Madison for three months at the Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation (WARF), modeling a technology transfer program for the thirty ICMR institutes.
Dr. Aseem Ansari, the Director of the Khorana and S.N. Bose Programs and a Professor of Biochemistry/Genomics at UW Madison, was the last to speak and he encouraged the Scholars to connect with one another. He emphasized that these relationships made now would not only be ones that could continue for the rest of their lives, but give them the opportunity to grow in their professional lives as well. He used the example of himself and Parmesh working together, despite having opposite fields of interest. It was a perfect end to a day full of encouragement towards community and fellowship.
The Scholars were academically engaged rom 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. with talks, presentations, and group building exercises. Afterwards, they were accompanied by WINStep members on a walk to the Capitol Building, where they snapped pictures in front of the capital and then were free to make their way down State Street to choose from many of the food venues on the six block stretch of restaurants and small shops. It was heartwarming to see how fast these students who were strangers 24-hours prior came together by the end of the day in such comradery, one would suscept they were lifelong friends.
On Monday morning, all non-UW interning Scholars caught flights to their respective universities to embark on their Khorana Bose internships.
2017 Scholars-
Khorana: Ahana Chatterjee, Aindrila Saha, Akshaya Rajaraman, Anuj Saini, Baishali Mukherjee, Bibrita Bhar, Britya Ghosh, Deepshika Arasu, Jagmohan Singh, Jyotsna Kalathera, Maharrish Chelladurai, Prerna Jain, Radha Kumari, Rahul Vivek, Roopashi Saxena, Ruptanu Banerjee, Saransh Umale, Shreyas Gopalakrishnan, Siddhesh Gajanan Zadey, Sreemanjari Kandhasamy, Srinivasan Jayashree, Suchintak Dash, Sudharsan Kannan, Sumanjit Datta, Surbhit Johri, Tejaswini Karra, Upasana Basu, Urvashi Jain, Zeenat Khaker Wala
SN Bose: Agnimitra Sengupta, Aishwarya Rajen, Alok Anand Patra, Anita Anita, Ankit Verma, Arasu Arun, Arnab Chakraborty, Arnab Kundu, Arthi Vaasudevan, Aryavart Anand, Ashish Sharma, Asimanshu Das, Atharv Jog, Avishek Nath, Dhiman Ray, Dipanjan Ghosh, Ekta Aggarwal, Gokul G Nair, Harsh Sharma, Himadri Mishra, Hrishikesh Dutta, Ishu Dharmendra Garg, Mahima Unnikrishnan, Maitreyee Sanjiv Marathe, Manideep Dunna, Manoj Kumar Routray, Mayuri Kiran Porwal, Meghomita Das, Mohit Kumar Tekriwal, Naveen Bhati, Pranav Nuti, Pranay Manocha, Praneeth Srivanth Ramesh, Rishabh Goyal, Sandesh Sachin Kalantre, Satyaki Mukherjee, Shalini Addepalli, Shashank Bhushan, Shobhit Gupta, Shreyas Vijay Malpathak, Shruti Jose Maliakal, Siddharth Kannan, Soumi Sarkar, Sriraksha Srinivasan, Sunil Simha Hassan Satish, Tathagata Karmakar, Vaibhav Khanna, Vishal Rana, Vrushali Garde
US Bose: Annrose Thuruthikara, Callie Mataczynski, Jonathan DiVito, Nicole Rademacher, Nicole Rademacher