Recently, the research conducted by two of our longstanding Marathi Mandal members Ratnakar and Swati Mujumdar, who really do not need much of an introduction to our members, was featured in the prestigious journal called Cancer Research and also in the bulletin from Hutchinson Center and Seattle Children's Hospital Research Institute. As some of you know, Swati and Ratnakar Mujumdar worked as scientists in Carnegie Mellon University. During their research, they developed a number of synthetic chemicals known as fluorescent dyes, the trade name for these is Cyanine dyes. Most of the research conducted in universities remains in the academic world in form of increased knowledge about a given field. However, the research conducted by Swati and Ratnakar Mujumdar has been the subject of many patents and also the technology has been transferred to industry. Currently, some companies use this technology for many biomedical applications. One such application is early detection of cancer cells. One of the molecules Swati Mujumdar developed is known as Cy5.5 is particularly unique. It has the ability to bind selectively to only to cancerous cells. This is like developing a special glue that will stick to one surface but not to another. The Cy5.5. dye attaches to the cancer cells selectively and these cells light them up under infrared radiation. According to the This illumination gives surgeons a better chance of removing all of the cancerous cells during surgery without injuring surrounding healthy tissue. This is particularly significant in the brain, where approximately 80 percent of malignant cancers recur at the edges of the surgical site. Current technology, such as magnetic-resonance imaging (MRI) can distinguish tumors from healthy tissue only if more than 1 million cancer cells are present. But Cy5.5 can identify tumors with as few as 200 cancer cells, making it 500 times more sensitive than MRI. "My greatest hope is that tumor paint will fundamentally improve cancer therapy," said senior author Dr. Jim Olson, of the Clinical Research Division and Children's. "By allowing surgeons to see cancer that would be undetectable by other means, we can give our patients better outcomes." It is indeed great to see that the research performed by Swati and Ratnakar is not just interesting but making a real difference in saving the lives of people and offering them a better quality of life. Congratulations to Ratnakar and Swati on their accomplishments !

Dr. Priyadarshan Manohar was selected as the 2007-2008 Pittsburgh Night Lecturer for the Golden Triangle Chapter of the Professional Materials Engineering Society, ASM International. This Award recognized Dr. Manohar as a younger member of the chapter who has accomplished outstanding work as a metallurgist or metallurgical manager. The Award was instituted in 1951 and has been awarded to such luminaries as H. Paxton, I. Bernstein, J. Lankford, A. Thompson and T. Pollock. The lecture was entitled "Old Wine and a New Bottle: Direct Strip Casting of Steels and New Thoughts in Engineering Education" and was delivered on November 15th, 2007 at a function organized in Oakland.

Jui Joshi, one of our Pittsburgh Marathi community and one of the daughters of Shubha Joshi and Late Dr. Manohar Joshi, and serves on the Board of Directors of the Phipps Conservatory. As a member of this board, Jui is involved in helping Phipps Conservatory raise funds and flourish. Jui’s picture recently appeared in the Pittsburgh Business Times with Honorary Chairs Troy and Theodora Polamolu at the Wines Under Glass event that was held Nov. 6 at Phipps Conservatory & Botanical Gardens, Oakland. The event featured wine tastings, a tour of the Dale Chihuly exhibition and entertainment. This glass exhibit is now open in the Phipps Conservatory through February and is a must see if you have not yet seen it.

Mr. Girish Thakar, a long time member of MMPGH has been elected as the President of the Brihan Maharashtra Mandal (BMM) for the period 2007 – 2009. Mr. Thakar and his team will shoulder the responsibility of organizing the BMM convention in Philadelphia in 2009. Girish is actively involved in the Marathi community for past 16 years. He was also member of the BMM Executive committee (1993 to 1997) and Treasurer of BMM from 2005 to 2007. We congratulate Girish and wish him all the best for the many tasks ahead!

Rahul Walawalkar was one of recipents of of the “Legends in Energy” mark of distinction granted by the Association of Energy Engineers (AEE) to qualified professionals at the 30 th Anniversary of the World Energy Engineering Congress (WEEC) held in Atlanta, Georgia. Rahul is currently pursuing doctoral research in engineering and public policy at Carnegie Mellon University. He is also recipeint various previous awards for his work in the field of energy management including, DEED (Demonstration of Energy Efficiency Development) Research Scholarship from American Public Power Association (2002-03,2003-04,2005-06), Energy management Graduate Faculty Award from New York Institute of Technology (2003) and Computer Society of India’s Young IT Professional Award (2000-01,2001-02).

Dr. Priyadarshan Manohar was chosen to receive the Best Paper Award by the American Society for Engineering Education (ASEE). Dr. Manohar presented his paper in the ASEE Annual Conference at Honolulu, Hawaii. Dr. Manohar described a novel way of teaching Manufacturing Engineering to the students via well-designed cross-disciplinary projects. Congratulations to Dr. Manohar!

MMPGH member Dr. Ravindra Godse debuted in the film industry with the release of his first movie ‘Dr. Ravi and Mr. Hyde’ on July 17, 2007. Dr. Godse wrote, directed, produced and acted in this movie. His second movie is on its way to completion. Hearty congratulations to Dr. Godse and best wishes for his success in the art field.

Rahul Walawalkar was awarded the first prize in a global essay writing competition ‘Write Around the World’. The competition was organized by the Institute of Engineering and Technology (IET formerly knows as IEE). Rahul’s essay titled "DEEP Impact: Are we prepared to handle asteroid collision?", addressed the problem of determining the probability of asteroid collision on earth, included a description of the possible disastrous effects such an event may cause and finally outlined various ways and means to negate these effects. Rahul’s prize consisted of a world tour of top-notch educational institutions where he presented his essay. He gave presentations in special functions organized at Auckland (New Zealand), Melbourne and Sydney (Australia), Mumbai (India), Johannesburg (South Africa) and London (UK). Hearty congratulations to Rahul!

Granthali Publications, Mumbai published an edited volume entitled ‘Shodh Marathipanacha’ on June 10, 2007. Three of the authors whose essays were accepted for publication subsequent to the panel review are members of MMPGH: Dr. Priyadarshan Manohar, Mr. Sachin Samant and Dr. Arun Jatkar. Congratulations to all three authors for their publication! (Mr. Sachin Samant has recently moved back to India).

MMPGH member Dr. Priyadarshan Manohar was awarded second place for his story ‘Gurutva Madhya’ in the Diwali 2006 short story writing competition organized by Ekata Publications