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Dr. Kamlesh Lulla-NASA Research Scientist, Nipa Shah-technology, procurement and marketing entrepreneur and Dr. Khyati Joshi-Associate Professor of Education at Fairleigh Dickinson University will participate in World Gujarat.
by Dr Tushar Patel on 2012-08-11
by Dr Tushar Patel on 2012-08-11
Successful Gujarati entrepreneurs from various walks of life and experts from three distinct professions will be under one roof to share their experience and expertise as successful Gujaratis in science, technology and education during the three days World Gujarati Conference – 2012 – Chaalo Gujarat event at New Jersey Convention and Expo center in Edison, NJ from August 31 to September 2, 2012.
Dr. Kamlesh Lulla – NASA Research Scientist, Nipa Shah - technology, procurement and marketing entrepreneur and Dr. Khyati Joshi – Associate Professor of education at Fairleigh Dickinson University are confirmed to attend the event and participate in the mainstream discussion, debate and seminar on space technology, understanding Schools and advocating for your Children and protecting the families from predators, cyber bullying and criminals and racialization of religion particularly Hinduism, Sikhism and Islam.
Dr. Kamlesh Lulla serves as the Director for Research Collaborations and Partnerships Office at NASA Johnson Space Center. Dr Lulla is the NASA lead for building research collaborations for future Human Space Exploration initiatives. He has been with NASA for the past 25 years and is an award winning world recognized expert on Space Technologies, and an acclaimed scientist in Earth Observations from Space. As Chief Scientist at NASA, Dr. Lulla is widely recognized for pioneering the "earth-smart" training for NASA astronauts. Dr Lulla is a prolific author with over 200 research publications and eight books to his credit. Dr Lulla’s recent coedited book "Wings in Orbit" (2011) chronicles the scientific accomplishments of the thirty years of Space Shuttle flights. First Shuttle Commander Astronaut John Young (also walked on the Moon) and first Shuttle pilot Robert Crippen wrote the Preface to this 650 page volume- the only book of its kind on the research results from the Space Shuttle program. In addition, Dr Lulla is chief editor of an international science journal that includes readership from over 85 countries. Dr. Lulla holds two Ph.D. degrees: one from The Maharaja Sayajirao University of Vadodara (Gujarat, India) and the other from the United States at Indiana State University. He is a leader in operational and research activities at NASA. He served as a Senior Professor and Director of Space Remote Sensing Research Center at Indiana State University, Indiana before joining NASA at Houston. Dr Lulla received NASA\\\\\\\'s highest honor- the NASA Exceptional Achievement Medal for Science in 2005 among many awards and accolades from the space agency. Dr. Lulla has received numerous awards from professional societies such as the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA), American Society of Photogrammetric Engineering and Remote Sensing (ASPRS) and Association of American Geoscientists. For example, Dr. Lulla received the prestigious Space Remote Sensing Medal from the Association of American Geospatial science and the Scientific Achievement Award for Geospatial and Information.
Dr Lulla considers the pioneering work of two Indian and Gujarati scientists, the late Dr. Homi Bhabha and Dr.Vikram Sarabhai as his life’s inspiration. Dr Lulla was invited to meet HE Former President of India Dr APJ Abdul Kalam during his visit to Texas to discuss space technology. Through their legacy, Dr. Lulla has modeled his life to strive for technical excellence and to remain engaged with the younger generation.
Nipa Shah, an entrepreneur with technology, procurement and marketing expertise who started her professional career at General Motors Corporation where she quickly gained a reputation for impacting the bottom-line directly. Nipa helped GM save $30 million dollars through reengineering activities which included consolidating applications and streamlining operational support for non-critical applications. As a GM purchasing manager and during one of the largest contractual negotiations (EDS-GM contract) in information technology history, Nipa led the negotiations for technology contracts valued at $850 million and helped GM achieve over $200 M in savings. In 2008 she won the National Women in Business Organization’s Top 10 award for being a Global Business Leader in Michigan. Nipa speaks at various conferences and events. Her speaking engagements include the Michigan Department of Transportation’s Small Business Conference, Walsh College’s "Entrepreneur U" conference, Women’s Leadership Conference, Michigan Parks & Recreation Conference, Michigan Minority Supplier Development Purchasing Conference and an international speaking engagement at a Conference in Gujarat, India. Nipa will discuss on Internet offers tremendous opportunities but has brought about revolutions in countries in the Middle East and has created immense wealth for many. However, it also is a gateway for criminal and socially irresponsible behavior such as cyber bullying, new ways for sexual predators to reach vulnerable young adults, and the ability to ruin someone with a simple tweet. Isolation, depression, and suicides have been attributed to online activity but it is all preventable when we all get educated, aware, and join hands to prevent it. Awareness is the first step, and therefore her session will focus on the trials and triumphs of social media engagement. It will be an interactive conversation to explore the challenges faced by schools and parents and society in general and simple steps which can alleviate these challenges and opportunities that are available to all who wish to gain.
Dr. Khyati Joshi is an Associate Professor of Education at Fairleigh Dickinson University. Dr. Joshi is the author of the book New Roots in America’s Sacred Ground: Religion, Race, and Ethnicity in Indian America (Rutgers University Press, 2006), which received the National Association for Multicultural Education’s 2007 Philip C. Chinn Book Award. She is co-editor of the collections Asian Americans Down South (University of Illinois Press, 2013) and Understanding Religious Oppression and Christian Privilege (Sense Publishers, 2008). She is the Religion; Schools and Society section editor for the Encyclopedia on Diversity in Education (Sage Publications) edited by James Banks, and has authored numerous book chapters and articles on race, immigration, and religion. In addition to numerous presentations to U.S. academic conferences, Professor Joshi has been invited to present her research on Hindu communities at the White House; to the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) to Vienna, Austria, where she addressed the racialization of religion, particularly Hinduism, Sikhism and Islam, as it relates to the development of policies to prevent and combat hate crimes in the OSCE region; and at several conferences in India, including an international conference of scholars on the Indian Diaspora sponsored by the Government of India. Professor Joshi earned her doctorate in Social Justice Education at the University of Massachusetts-Amherst. She is a graduate of Emory University and pursued post-graduate studies at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.
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