US-INDIA

The workshop “US-India Workshop on Best Practices for Women in Science” was organized by the Department of Science & Technology (DST), New Delhi in association with U.S. Embassy, India and Indo-US Science & Technology Forum held on 10th December 2012 at Gulmohar Hall, India Habitat Centre, New Delhi with an objective to address the remedies and challenges being backed by women, particularly in U.S. and India for empowering in the field of science and technology.

The following Faculty and student attended the workshop:

Faculty:                                    Students:                               
Prof. A. N. Mahajan                Sukhvinder Kaur ( 14624)               Divya (13170)
Mrs. Dimple Saproo                Megha Pundir (13431)                       Saniya Puri (13230)
Mrs. Neelam Ruhil                  Indu Sharma (13178)                        Jyoti Kumari (13179)
Mrs. Pooja Jain                         Molisha Mehra(13435)                      Komal Sharma (13426)
                                                      Shailley (13232)

Inaugurating the workshop, Ms. Nancy J. Powell, U.S. Ambassador to India and Mr. T. Ramasami, Secretary, Dept of Science and Technology, Govt. of India explicated the importance of science and technology, scientific-innovation and creativity which may improve the living standard of women and lead to their success as technocrats and scientists. Launching a webpage www.indousstf.org, they also emphasised on creating opportunities for networking and mentoring for women scientists in both countries-India and U.S.

During the first session chaired by Ms. Shirley Malcom, Head, Education and Human Resources, American Association for Advancement of Science, the panellists Mr. Janet B. Koster, Executive Director, Association for Women in Science; Prof. Vibhuti Patel, Head, Deptt. of Economics, SNDT Women’s University; Ms. Anitha Kurup, Professor, School of Social Sciences, National Institute of Advanced Studies provided a broad view of the scientific environment generating new scientific ideas and opportunities for women in India and U.S.

In the second session, ‘Private Sector Initiatives’, was chaired by Ms. Namita Misra, Head, Open Research L’Oreal India where in the panellists Ms. Kalpana Veeraraghavan, Workforce Diversity Manager, IBM; Ms. Sunita Rebecca Cherian, Vice President – Human Resources, Wipro Eco Energy; Ms. Srimathi Shivashankar, Associate Vice President – Diversity & Sustainability, HCL Technologies; suggested affirmative fiscal policies of India and US to encourage the role of women in science. They also discussed various themes like women in Science Profession; Role of Govt. in Empowering Women in Science; Advancement in Women’s Career in Science and Technology etc. ‘Governmental Initiatives’ was headed by Ms. Susan Gardner, Deputy Director of the Office of Sc & Technology Cooperation, U.S. Department of State and the panellists were Ms. Vinita Sharma, Advisor & Head, Science for Equity, Empowerment and Development Division, Department of Science &Technology; Ms. Renu Swarup, Advisor, Department of Biotechnology; Ms. Rekha Pillai, Director International S&T Program, Oak Ridge National Laboratory; Mr. Ian Simon, Foreign Affairs Officer, U.S. Department of State who enlightened the attendees on the current status of women. ‘Academic Initiatives’ was presided over by, Mr. Akhilesh Gupta, Secretary, University Grants Commission; Mr Loretta Moore, Associate Vice President for Research and Scholarly Engagement & Professor, Department of Computer Science, Jackson State University; Ms. Charu Lata Mahanta, Dean (R&D), Tezpur University; Prof. L. S. Shashidhara, Indian Institute of Science Education and Research; Mr. Pankaj Sharma, Associate Professor of Technology, Purdue University.

Ms. Janet. B. Koster, Executive Director, Association for Women in Science presided over the third session and the panellists, Ms. Karen Horting, Deputy Executive Director, Society of Women Engineers ; Ms. Rashmi Gaur, Professor & Head, Department of Humanities & Social Sciences, Indian Institute of Technology, Roorkee; Ms. Felecia Nave, Associate Provost, Prairie View A&M University; Ms. Vibhuti Patel, Professor Head, Department of Economics, SNDT Women’s University ; Ms. Chandrima Shaha, Director, National Institute of Immunology discussed the valuable roles of women that can play a vital role in the overall development of a Nation.

During the fourth session presided over by Mr. Arabinda Mitra, Adviser & Head, International Cooperation, Department of Science & Technology and the panellists Mr. Rajiv Sharma, Executive Director, Indo-U.S. Science & Technology Forum; Mr. Blair Hall, Minister Counsellor for Economic, Environmental, Science & Technology Affairs, U.S. Embassy; Ms. Vinita Sharma, Advisor & Head, Science for Equity, Empowerment and Development Division, Department of Science &Technology; Ms. Susan Gardner, Deputy Director, U.S. Department of State highlighted the importance of using new technologies, need for scientific leadership and proper balance of societal and security concerns to obtain optimum participation of women in both countries – U.S. and India.

The workshop concluded with a vote of thanks by Ms. Tim Neeley, Chief, Environment, Science & Technology Affairs, U.S. Embassy who expressed her sincere gratitude to the speakers and all attendees. The workshop brought together women from a broad cross section of experts, scientists, educators and researchers. Through this workshop, the attendees became aware of the vast geographical, ecological and socio-cultural challenges for women in U.S. and India. The workshop was very much useful and informative.