Overview of Sessions

Nano and micro technology is coming of age with myriad potential applications and all encompassing business and trade opportunities. The applications are in nanostructures, nano composites, semiconductors, nano-bio materials, products and devices, cosmetics, automobiles, agriculture, petrochemicals, defense, aerospace, electronic packaging, solar power, energy, entertainment and leisure.

India has already secured a leadership position in information technology, BPO and SW development. However, India missed the boat in semiconductors, electronic components, computer and telecom hardware and entertainment / gaming hardware. Indian can not afford to miss the boat in nano and micro technologies, which have immense major multidisciplinary and multi-vertical impact potential. The countries which master the micr – nano revolution will be in the driving seat as the most developed nation for the decades and centuries.

India can first put its best step forward by quickly securing a leadership position in nanio and micro technology modeling, simulation and design disciplines, by benefiting from its computer savvy knowledge worker resources. At the same time, India should forge forward in developing an industrial infrastructure that is built on the convergence of material engineering, chemical engineering, computer modeling and simulation, bioengineering, semiconductor and energy engineering. A national level networking and strategic alliances between the national laboratories in physical and bio sciences, mechanical, automobile and aeronautical engineering, agricultural engineering, health and pharmaceutical sciences is very important, enabled by a national nano-micro engineering laboratory fully reflecting the required constituent science and engineering faculties. At the same time, the R&D, modeling, product prototyping, manufacturing engineering and the supporting supply chain ecosystem should give rise to a plethora of small and medium scale industries and ably supported by Indian conglomerates.

Environmental, health and safety, hazardous materials management and other industrial and occupational compliance should be watched in every step of the nano-micro industrial infrastructure development. Independent national laboratories with the support of related small and medium scale businesses should be developed, with a specialized focus on fragility of nano material impact to the societies health and the environment.

This session will focus on developing a common understanding of the road map to such a leadership for India in the nano and micro industry development. The panel would increase the awareness of the attendees from small businesses, national labs, academia and the large companies in this area and initiate formation of collaborative teams and strategic alliances, to the extent that the attendees should be able to create a Ind0-US nano collaborative initiative with its periodic meetings and venture alliance creation.

India has made great advances in using wireless technologies. In terms of growth rate and varieties of applications it has become a front runner from an insignificant telecom network it used to have until the mid-nineties. It is now believed that Mobile audio and video could be the "killer applications" that may drive the information ecosystem over the next several years. This may also continue to catalyze product innovation and may shape the way the economies in both India and the US will be impacted. The following items will be discussed:

Session Coordinators: Ms. Yog Bharghava, Ms. Pavithra Kenjige, Ms. Anju Chopra

Women business owners are generating wealth and expanding the U.S. National and International economies. As of 2006, over 40 percent of businesses in the United States are women-owned, and they generate almost $2 trillion in annual revenues, according to statistics from the Small Business Administration. This percentage is getting higher as women start businesses at twice the rate of men.

There are the complex issues affecting Women Entrepreneurs, including Creation of a viable Business Model, Communication Skills, Technology management, access to Business Resources and Networks, and balancing
Family Life, among other issues.

InformationTechnologies: Leveraging on past successes to leap forward for world leadership

Information Technology is a mature market in India. India is considered as a leader in information technologies, especially as an outsourced service provider in design and implementation. Even though India has been the chosen R&D location by many global software leaders, much progress is desired to position Indian enterprises to develop new software and enterprise IT platforms, supported by the strong SMBs burgeoning in India in the recent years. The speakers and panelists will address ways to enhance strategic alliances between companies in USA and India, forge ahead to develop innovative software and IT platforms to position India as the leader in software R&D also.

Dr. Jerald L. Feinstein, Professor, School of Business and Public Management, Department of Management Science, The George Washington University

Franchising Opportunities: Leveraging on Successes in USA to extend to India

The phenomenal success of the people of Indian origin in business worldwide is a testament to their high level of entrepreneurial spirit and acumen. As more and more people of Indian origin are considering going into business, in India, in the US, in Canada and elsewhere, franchising offers a great potential for harnessing our natural abilities by the utilizing well-tested business ideas and processes, whether one wants to go into a large business or small.

Choosing from among the plethora of franchising opportunities and, especially, choosing the right franchisor can be a daunting task for anybody. This is so because of the availability of franchising opportunities in a very wide range of industries, the vast variation in the amount of investment involved and, most importantly, the risks that need to be guarded against. Franchising has earned considerable wealth to the vast number of people, but it also takes hard work and determination.

What to expect?

CLIMATE FOR INNOVATION

Higher energy prices, growing global environmental awareness, worldwide technology shifts and governmental mandates on CO₂aresetting the stage for investors, entrepreneurs and the Clean Tech sector to solve intractable problems for humankind. As public awareness reaches critical mass through rising consumer interest in green power, green housing & architecture and transportation alternatives like hybrid vehicles. It is time to let go of the status quo! Clean Tech Innovation will come from the private sector.

Come to this session of you have an interest in understanding and attaining sustainability. The less fossil fuel we use - we influence the environment through efficient transportation, housing and reducing planetary resource consumption. Text Box:

WHO SHOULD ATTEND?

Policy makers, industrialists, green business leaders, entrepreneurs, private equity investors, VCs and Clean Tech innovators – welcome! Are you interested in US-India R&D or technical collaboration? As a small business are you interested in monetizing your products and services with businesses and governmental entities aboard?

SESSION AGEANDA

Come if you lead by example and want to get ahead of the curve when it comes to reducing your carbon footprint and taking action against climate change.

We are just beginning to see the technological opportunities to tackle some of the world’s most pressing problems. The Clean Tech playing field – energy, water, air, materials are revolutionary as they are transformative by nature. These hot areas of investment and technology development are being embraced by entrepreneurs and investors. Come explore how we can collectively respond to some the world’s most challenging [problems with solutions that provide compelling returns. This session is a chance to network with executives, decision makers, Clean Tech entrepreneurs and venture partners from all over the world as they seek to capitalize on longer term sector growth and wins. Come discuss breakthrough technologies that are positioned to change the world.

India and China’s growth provide tremendous opportunity to deliver and deploy Clean Tech. This session highlights what the opportunities are and how US companies and investors can capitalize on meeting the Indian demand.

FEATURED SPEAKERS

CONTACTs

Clean Tech is a fast growing arena of technology development and investment being embraced by governments and investors around the world. How can we collectively respond to global energy problems with cleaner yet profitable solutions? Come for a great networking experience. Learn key drivers, growth areas, and how to capitalize on new business opportunities. What would you most like to share and learn?

SUGGESTED SPEAKER TOPICS

ADDITIONAL THOUGHTS

As global energy consumption grows, the role of renewable energy, carbon footprints, environmental impacts and energy innovation grow in tandem along with the importance of socially responsible investments (SRI) and recognizing that consumers are making greener choices.

Reducing costs must be balanced with investing in the future. Infrastructure investments and consistent policies must keep pace with national goals for long term market growth.

As you think about what your colleagues would tell each of your new friends if you could see them face to face at this session. What would you most like to share?

HUMANITY’S TOP PROBLEMS

Clean Tech TREND WATCH

Expect waves of technology breakthroughs, larger corporate investments, increasing international collaborations, industry consolidation and emergence of new often surprising players entering the market.

Watch growth in key technologies like biofuels, fuel cells, solar photovoltaics and wind power. This is expected to grow from a $60B to a $236B market by 2016.[1]

Green office/home building and remodeling will play an integrative role.[2] U.S. Venture investing in energy tech quadruples to over $3B, escalating political involvement, rising corporate investments, growth of Clean Tech stock funds, rising consumer awareness and willingness to exercise socially responsible investing (SRI) and make Clean Tech consumption choices.

Six key forces will rapidly reshape the global energy landscape.[3] These are the Six C’s: Cost, Capital, Competition, Consumers, China, and Climate.

Clean Tech markets will develop in seven ways - through carbon trading, biomass crops and biofuels refining, energy storage devices advances, corporate green initiatives, clean energy commercialization, green building and housing and investing in consumer education! How will we participate? What are we going to do about it?

[1] Clean Energy Trends 2007, Joel Makower et al, March 2007.

[2] eCo-Housing, Manuel Espinosa & Ravi Sodhi, June 2007.

[3] The Clean-Tech Revolution, Ron Pernick & Clint Wilder, Collins, 2007.

Why franchising?

What to expect?

Profile of the PanelistS

Mr. Nitin Shah

Mr. Shah will make a presentation on the franchisees’ point of view. 67% of everything common people buy is from some type of franchise whether it is the morning coffee from Starbucks or Dunkin Donut or lunch at nearby Chilis. People worldwide spend hundreds of billion dollars on purchasing good or services from some type of franchise outlet.

Invented in America, franchising is unique way of entering in business. Franchising is replication of franchisor’s success story by franchisees. Franchising has made the American dream come true for multitude of entrepreneurs by preventing the mistakes others have made and by making available knowledge, marketing support, instant brand recognition and credibility. Mr. Nitin Shah will help understand how to decide going into franchise and choose the industry and the franchisor. He will also discuss how to prepare for it, what to expect and how to avoid pitfalls.

He will discuss developments in the field of franchising that may be of interest specifically to this Convention’s participants and discuss emerging opportunities for Indian Americans.

Mr. Koch will provide an overview of franchising and how it works. The phenomenal success of the people of Indian origin in business worldwide is a testament to their high level of entrepreneurial spirit and acumen. As more and more people of Indian origin are considering going into business, in India, in the US, in Canada and elsewhere, franchising offers a great potential for harnessing our natural abilities by the utilizing well-tested business ideas and processes, whether one wants to go into a large business or small.

Mr. Koch will provide an overview of franchising and how it works. will discuss franchising opportunities in a very wide range of industries, given their size of operations, the vast variation in the amount of investment involved and, most importantly, the risks that need to be guarded against. He will present the trends in growing and shrinking business sectors as the foretellers of attractive and not so attractive opportunities for Indian Americans to choose from. He will also discuss worldwide franchise names that are suitable for having business partners/relatives in India become franchisees.

Mr. Manoj Tripathi

Mr. Tripathi will make an extensive presentation from the franchisors’s point of view. Survival of the franchise units of established franchise systems is substantially higher from independent small enterprises. 4 out of 5 franchise units survive the first 5 years upon start-up, while only 1 out of 5 independent start-ups survive. Franchising has also earned considerable wealth to the vast number of people, but it takes hard work and determination. Every franchisor wants to show a good survival rate for its own franchisees. For this reason, franchisors also have to be choosy. Mr. Tripathi will discuss what a franchior looks for in a franchise applicant. He will discuss what a franchisor offers and strategies for succeeding in franchising. Mr. Tripathi will also discuss what it takes to start your own franchise.

Session on Business Opportunities and Emerging Trends in Human Capital Management

Organizer: Dr. Chani Pangali

The USIACC panel on Business Opportunities and Emerging Trends in Human Capital Management will focus on the essential role that talent and leadership will play in the knowledge economy of the future, the challenges of securing leaders and employees with critical skills, and the emerging new opportunities.

Increasingly businesses are making Human Capital a critical component of their business strategy. Among the foremost challenges is engaging, aligning and leading a global workforce in times of new economic realities. Other organizations worry about sustaining a culture of innovation and unleashing the potential of their talent.

Our speakers will also discuss how technology is changing the way in which human capital is sourced, evaluated, deployed, and managed.

Suggested sub topics of the session

Challenges in building a leadership pipeline for a globally connected and changing economy

How companies can prepare for the coming shortfall of critical skills

How technology will affect the sourcing, deployment and management of human capital in the coming decade.

Online continuation education and training

Online and Onsite Executive and Entrepreneur Development with special focus on start up, midstage and growth stage SMBs and Large companies

Session Chair: Dr. Chani Pangali

Chani Pangali is the President and CEO of Online Training Partners, Inc. Previously he was Senior Vice-President at KnowledgePool Inc. a subsidiary of Fujitsu Ltd., engaged in the development and sales of Talent Management solutions. He innovated and refined various tools for skills and competency gap analysis at WorkLife Solutions Inc. a company that he sold to KnowledgePool. Dr Pangali has held positions as Vice-President of Marketing of a publicly traded company, as CEO, and as head of the Software Development division of a major US corporation. He is the author of more than 30 guide books on Management Development, and has also published extensively in refereed journals on topics in theoretical chemistry, physics, semiconductor design and supercomputing.

Organizational affiliation

CEO, Online Training Partners Inc. Member, Advisory Board of California State University, East Bay.

List of proposed, invited and confirmed speakers / panelists.

1. Invited but not yet confirmed - Matt Ferguson, CEO, Careerbuilder Inc., Virginia

2. Invited but not yet confirmed - Mike Foster, Chairman, Human Capital Institute, Washington, DC.

3. Invited but not yet confirmed - Prof. CK Prahalad (Univ of Michigan Business School)

4. Other potential speakers is

(a) Prof Ulrich, author of several books on Human Capital issues, including with Prof Prahalad,

(b) Josh Bersin of Bersin & Associates, a leading think tank on Human Capital issues, (San Francisco) - personal friend and author of several books on the topic.

(c) Surinder Kumar, Chief Innovation Officer, Wrigley (Chicago), author of "Riding the Blue Train", a book about engaging the workforce at Wrigley, and,

(d) Robin Sharma, CEO of Sharma Leadership INc. and author of 8 acclaimed books on leadership.

The University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences’ Center for Distance Health (CDH) is a technology-based partnership that directly offers telemedicine, continuing medical and health education, public health education, and evaluation research through interactive video throughout Arkansas. The Center for Distance Health represents the culmination of telemedicine and distance health technology expertise, with directors and stakeholders who have been instrumental in developing telehealth initiatives in Arkansas. Recognizing the potential to collaborate telemedically with the country of India, leaders from the CDH met with India’s then-current president Kalam earlier this year to discuss the possibility of a technology partnership.

Although India and Arkansas are far removed in proximity, healthcare statistics and demographic composition are similar. Here are just a few of the parallels:

India’s rural population comprises 72.2% of the country’s total population.
Arkansas’ rural population comprises 43.2% of the state’s total population.

India’s infant mortality rate is 54.63 deaths / 1000 live births.
Arkansas’ infant mortality rate is 8.4 deaths / 1000 live births.

India’s percent of population below the poverty line is 22%.
Arkansas’ percent of population below the poverty line is 15.6%.

India’s percentage of low birthweight infants is 30%.
Arkansas’ percent of low birthweight infants is 9.3%.

While some of India’s healthcare statistics are more significant than those found in Arkansas, both Arkansas and India are facing similar healthcare problems among a similar, rural population. The Center for Distance Health at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences proposed to collaborate with India’s healthcare facilities, technologists, and providers to draw upon each other’s expertise and resources to develop a quality-driven telehealth experience for all participating providers and patients. Telehealth infrastructure expansion, collaborative education, and telehealth direct services are all feasible possibilities achieved through distant health technologies.

Expansion of telehealth services in India would address the educational and direct healthcare needs of the country, while also expanding Arkansas’ telehealth and educational resources through this close partnership. This partnership would benefit India and Arkansas alike, bridging the distance barrier in consultation and education and providing both partners a rewarding collaboration in all areas of medicine.

Northern Virginia Endowed Chair and Professor in Public Policy, and Eminent Scholar

B.S. (1964) The Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio (International Trade - area specialization: Latin America)

M.A. (1971) The University of South Carolina, Columbia, South Carolina (Economic Geography)

Ph.D. (1978) The Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland (Geography and Environmental Engineering)

· Northern Virginia Endowed Chair, Eminent Scholar & Professor of Public Policy – 1990 to present

· Associate Dean for Research and External Relations, School of Public Policy – 2002 to present

· Director, Mason Enterprise Center for Entrepreneurship and Regional Analysis – 1999 to present

EXTENSIVE EXTRAMURAL RESEARCH RECORD [Principal Investigator for Selected grants and contracts listed below]

· $30,000,000 FHWA grant (including matching funds) to build and direct National ITS Deployment Research Center.

· $450,000 NIMH grant; USDOT, FTA $750,000 grant, $1,600,000, $1,2000,000, $2,000,000, $2,000,000, and $500,000 U.S DOT, FHWA contracts, grants and cooperative agreements (ITS Policy Research), National Technology Information Administration grant, $350,000 co-principal, $2,500,000 NASA Grant to rationalize the NASA Engineering Training Program

· various NSF grants (principal and co-principal investigator) total funding about $500,000

· total awards in excess of $20,000,000 to support entrepreneurship and enterprise development projects of the Mason Enterprise Center (about $5 million annually for past three years)

· research specializations: entrepreneurship policy and regional economic development; regional economic modeling; transport policy, technology led regional economic development; institutional barriers to technology deployment – especially transport.

EDITORIAL POSITIONS

Annals of Regional Science, (ARS) Editor (one of three who share the editorship)

International Journal of Management and Enterprise Development, Associate Editor

· taught 15 different undergraduate and 18 graduate courses (multiple deliveries)

EXTENSIVE EXPERIENCE INTERFACING THE UNIVERSITY WITH THE LOCAL, STATE, REGIONAL, AND NATIONAL COMMUNITY (selected examples)

· conducted economic effects analysis of Johns Hopkins University Institutions on the Baltimore, Maryland economy

· chaired task forces for mayors and other senior elected officials or civil service leaders

· completed numerous applied, problem solving and policy analysis projects for local, state and national governmental agencies and for private sector organizations

· recent research has focused in part on the local and regional effects of science and technology policy in the United States, Europe and Asia.

· invited participant, First Korea - U.S.A. Science and Technology Policy Seminar, Seoul, Korea

· advisor to Management School, National Sun-Yat Sen University on development of public policy institute

· directed and managed the delivery of environmental management training course, Taipei, Taiwan for Taiwan EPA and National Science Council

· Director, Indiana University, Erasmus University (Netherlands) and Leiden University (Netherlands) Public Policy Program (Rotterdam, Netherlands) 1987.

· advisor to Trinidad and Tobago, Ministry of Tourism and Economic Development; St. Kitts, Ministry of Tourism; U.S. Virgin Islands, Department of Commerce.

· advisor to TNO, the Dutch equivalent to the national research laboratory system in the United States (which in the U.S. includes the Argon, Brookhaven and Oak Ridge National laboratories)

· advisor to university programs in Western and Eastern Europe: for example, Leiden and Erasmus Universities (Netherlands); University of Warsaw; University of Seville.

· scholarly presentations given at many major universities in Europe, Asia and Australia

· advisor to science and technology transfer and enterprise development programs in China (Beijing, Qingdao and Wuhan)

· advisor to multiple Indian management programs on wealth creation and entrepreneurship educational and outreach efforts

· Founding Director: “Center for Regional Analysis”, “Center for Entrepreneurship and Public Policy”, “Center for Transport Operations and Logistics”, ”Center for State Economic Development”, Director, Mason Enterprise Center (1999-Present)