Nitin Kotak 53, has been elected as vice president and chief financial officer of the Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI), that is engaged in advancing scientific research and education in the US.

Kotak joins the Institute from Bethesda's Technest Holdings Inc, where he was chief financial officer and treasurer.

In his post at HHMI Kotak will oversee budget and financial analyses, the controller's office, treasury, internal audit and procurement.

Kotak started his career in 1981 working as the assistant company secretary for a Tata group enterprise, Tinplate Company of India. He then spent over 17 years working at ITC Ltd where he held a variety of finance-related positions. In 1999 he moved to Mattel Toys, India as chief financial officer.

He moved to the US in 2003 to become director of finance and accounting for Able Laboratories Inc, a publicly traded developer and manufacturer of generic pharmaceuticals, then moved on to become Able's vice president for finance and accounting.

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Sun Mark, a UK based export company founded by Dr Rami Ranger has won the Asian Business of the Year Award 2011. The award was presented to Dr Ranger by British Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, Dr Vince Cable.

Sun Mark markets a range of quality consumer products in the food, drink, toiletries and household goods sector over 90 countries including South Asia, Africa, the Middle East and Caribbean.

Dr Ranger first arrived in the UK in the 1970s and worked as a chef, then moved up to district manager in charge of ten restaurants, and on to Currys, the electrical retailer, after which he decided to set up his own business.

Turnover at his company Sun Mark grew to 82.5 million pounds and operating profits rose to 5.4 million pounds.

Dr Ranger has been listed on the Asian Rich List at a value of 66 million pounds.

Other award winners are Bristol Laboratories, Amit Patel, Managing director, Auden McKenzie, Dr Chai Patel Founder and Trustee, The Bright Future Trust.

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Kavya Manyapu will spend two weeks on Mars - or at least the closest thing on Earth to Mars.
The Mars Desert Research Station in the Utah desert draws aeronautical engineers, geologists, physicians and astro-biologists to its habitat, where research for the first human mission to Mars is taking place. The station is a prototype for the base that astronauts could use on Mars.

NASA's new goal is to send astronauts to an asteroid and later to Mars. Budgets however are stretched thin as estimates say a trip to Mars will cost $30 billion.

Manyapu 25, who has been fascinated by the skies and space travel has always wanted to be an astronaut. She followed her dream and got her bachelor's degree in aerospace engineering at the Georgia Institute of Technology and a master's in aeronautics and astronautics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, simultaneously working at Lockheed Martin and at internships at Boeing's Huntsville Ala., site.

Manyapu is now a structural engineer on Boeing's 777 commercial jet program in Everett. She plans to go back into the space
programme. She also has other plans including the study of physical effects on astronauts, space suit suitability and a host of other implications.

Manyapu and other crew members in Utah will have to acclimatise to conditions on Mars that include unpleasant conditions, diet and personal hygiene and behavioural studies in order to survive conditions on Mars.

Manyapu however still needs to raise $1500 to participate in the research programme, but she is undaunted and determined to report to the research station in a few days.

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President Barack Obama appointed US NRI president and CEO of Adobe Systems, Shantanu Narayen, to an advisory panel on implementing best business practices in government.

President Obama announced the appointment of Narayen and 9 other 'impressive individuals' to the President's Management Advisory Board. (PMAB).

The PMAB was established last April to provide advice on how to implement best business practices on matters related to Federal Government management and operation, with a particular focus on productivity the application of technology, and customer service.

The Board will hold its first meeting at the White House shortly, chaired by Deputy Director for Management of the Office of Management and Budget, Jeffrey Zients.

Narayen was Adobe's president and COO before moving up to CEO in 2007. He previously held key product research and development positions within Adobe. Prior to that Narayen was a co-founder of Pictra Inc., an online photo sharing service. He has also held senior management positions at Silicon Graphics Inc. and Apple Computers. He has a BS from Osmania University, an MS from Bowling Green State University and an MBA from the Haas School of Business.

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A team of US NRI scientists has developed a smart tracking system that could provide an honourable alternative to the radio tags that were recently used on the ankle bracelets of some Indian students whose California based university was shut down on charges of visa fraud.

Leader of the team Bharat Jayaraman, professor of computer science and engineering at the University of Buffalo said they want technology to be natural and unobtrusive, not be a sort of Big Brother, but rather to enhance the quality of life at homes and hospitals, productivity in the workplace and the security of critical spaces.

The team of scientists included Vivek Menon, an assistant professor of information systems at Amrita University, as well as Venu Govindaraju, a professor at the University of Buffalo's Department of Computer Science and Engineering.

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