Prakash gives demo of Pipe Robot to President Obama

Congratulations to Prakash (Sub Vallapuzha) for his presentation to President Obama at CMU's NREC.

Obama says U.S. must invest in high-tech manufacturing

Published: Friday, June 24, 2011, 1:24 PM     Updated: Friday, June 24, 2011, 1:26 PM

View full sizeAssociated PressPresident Barack Obama is shown the working of SOLO, a Pipe Inspection Robot, by Sub Vallapuzha, right, and Ken Wolf,second from left, and Sam Cancilla as he tours Carnegie Mellon Universit's National Robotics Engineering Center (NREC) in Pittsburgh, Friday.

PITTSBURGH -- President Barack Obama called on Friday for a "renaissance in American manufacturing" that would replace shuttered steel mills with plants producing robotics, nanotechnology and other high-tech advances.

The president said this resurgence is how the country will create new jobs and stay competitive in a global marketplace where other countries are making great strides.

Speaking at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, a city that's taken hits from the decline of traditional manufacturing sectors like steel, Obama called for a joint effort by industry, universities and the federal government to help reposition the United States as a leader in cutting-edge manufacturing.

"We have not run out of stuff to make, we've just got to reinvigorate our manufacturing sector so that it leads the world the way it always has, from paper and steel and cars to new products we haven't even dreamed up yet," Obama said at Carnegie Mellon's National Robotics Engineering Center.

"That's how we're going to strengthen existing industries, that's how we're going spark new ones," he said. "That's how we're going to create jobs, grow the middle class and secure our economic leadership."

The president spoke after viewing projects at the center, including small robots that can enter sewer systems, and learning about technologies to create, among other things, next-generation diapers.

http://www.cleveland.com/business/index.ssf/2011/06/obama_says_us_must_invest_in_h.html

Obama tours robotics center

FRIDAY, 24 JUNE 2011 12:27

WRITTEN BY DANIEL MALLOY

Our own Jim O'Toole was in the press pool for the presidential visit to CMU and Obama's time hanging with Kilroy Ned. Here's his dispatch:

President arrived in back room of Carnegie-Mellon Robotics center in Lawrenceville shortly after 10:30 am. He wore light blue suit, white shirt, red patterned tie. At first stop he was greeted by Regina Dugan, director of DARPA, Jay Rogers, CEO of Local Motors, and Lt. Col. Nathan Wiedenman, program manager for project in which Local Motors developed combat support vehicle parked behind them through "crowd-sourcing" _ basically an Internet driven collaborative process in which outsiders compete to offer design proposals.

"So what've we got here,'' president said as he entered. After a briefing from the trio, he said, "That's really cool.'' He leaned into the driver's side window, but said, "They don't let me drive.'' Then he headed to an exhibit of a sewer and water pipe inspection robot, a tracked cylindrical gizmo about 15 inches long, whose name, it emerged, was Ned.

After some descriptions from three executives of Red Zone, a private robotics firm with CMU roots _ Ken Wolf, Sub Vallapuzha, Sam Cancilla _ Mr. Obama took the controls, a laptop touch screen, and said, "Let's see how Ned does.'' "He's sending back data as he's going through?'' Mr. Obama said at one point. 'This is pretty fascinating,'' he said later as he watched the torpedo-shaped device crawl through the pipe.

He turned to reporters, noted Red Zones ties with CMU, and government support of research there. " ... Government -funded research resulting in new products, new companies, new jobs.''

http://earlyreturns.sites.post-gazette.com/index.php/early-returns-20/53-post-gazette-staff/2951-obama-tours-robotics-center

http://www.lansingstatejournal.com/article/20110625/BUSINESS05/106250308/1004/NEWS03

http://cmsimg.lansingstatejournal.com/apps/pbcsi.dll/bilde?Site=A3&Date=20110625&Category=BUSINESS05&ArtNo=106250308&Ref=AR&Profile=1004&MaxW=640&Border=0

Akshaya - Columbia - Jessup - 2011 Final

Law School Team Again Reaches Finals of Jessup International Law Moot Court Competition

COLUMBIA FINISHES SECOND IN THE CHAMPIONSHIP ROUND, BUT TEAM MEMBERS TAKE OTHER TOP HONORS AT WORLD'S LARGEST MOOT COURT CONTEST

Public Affairs, 212-854-2650, publicaffairs@law.columbia.edu

New York, March 30, 2011--Columbia Law School was the runner-up at the White & Case International Rounds of the Philip C. Jessup International Law Moot Court Competition.

It is the second consecutive year the Law School’s team has advanced to the World Championship Final Round, and the third straight year Columbia has won the U.S. National Championship.

 There were 123 teams from 76 countries competing at the International Rounds, held March 20-26 in Washington. What organizers called “an incredibly close” final round was won by the University of Sydney (Australia).

 The Law School team of Jacob Johnston '12, Akshaya Kumar '12, Jennifer Lim '12, Benjamin Schrier '12, and James Wigginton '13 was selected to represent the U.S. at the international rounds after winning the Northeast U.S. Super Regional Championship in February.

 

From left, Jessup team members Akshaya Kumar, Ricardo Chirinos, Jennifer Lim, Jacob Johnston, James Wigginton, and Benjamin Schrier, seen here with judges from the quarter-final round won by the team.

At the international rounds, the team was victorious against teams from Germany, New Zealand, the Philippines, Russia, Singapore and the U.S. before the final round.

Kumar and Schrier defeated the National University of Singapore in the semifinals on Friday, and Johnston and Lim then argued in the final round the next day, with Kumar serving as counsel.Lim was also awarded the prestigious Stephen M. Schwebel Prize for the Best Oralist in the Championship Round, the same award Kevin Lin '11 won last year.

Johnston won the first place individual oralist award; Kumar won the 10th Place individual oralist award, and Lim won the 12th Place individual oralist award, based on scoring from the preliminary rounds. Schrier and Wigginton won each round in which they competed by a significant margin. Johnston and Lim were also recognized as the highest-ranked respondent team in the competition.

The team was coached by Ricardo Chirinos '11 LL.M. and Elisabeth Page '11. The team’s faculty advisor, Lori Damrosch, the Henry L. Moses Professor of Law and International Organization and Hamilton Fish Professor of Law and International Diplomacy, and Viren Mascarenhas '05, provided guidance and support as the team prepared for the international rounds. Additionally, international law faculty and alumni who participated in the Jessup while at the Law School helped the team through a series of practice moots. 

The Jessup is the world’s largest and most prestigious moot court competition and the oldest dedicated to international law. This year's competition began with teams from about 650 law schools worldwide.It is named after Philip C. Jessup ’24, who taught international law and diplomacy at Columbia from 1925 until 1961. Jessup helped draft the statutes of the International Court of Justice and the International Law Commission, and served the government in a variety of advisory and representative posts.

Columbia has claimed three Jessup world championships - in 1963, 1965, and 2006. The Philip C. Jessup Moot Court at Columbia Law School is sponsored by an endowment from Milbank, Tweed, Hadley & McCloy LLP.

Columbia Law School, founded in 1858, stands at the forefront of legal education and of the law in a global society. Columbia Law School joins its traditional strengths in international and comparative law, constitutional law, administrative law, business law and human rights law with pioneering work in the areas of intellectual property, digital technology, sexuality and gender, criminal, national security, and environmental law.

http://www.law.columbia.edu/media_inquiries/news_events/2011/march2011/jessupmootcourt

Akshaya - Columbia - Jessup - 2011

Law School Teams Advance to Finals of Jessup and European Law Moot Court Competitions

STUDENTS MASTER TOUGH AREAS OF LAW

Media Contact: Public Affairs Office, 212-854-2650 publicaffairs@law.columbia.edu


New York, Feb. 28, 2011—Two teams of Law School students have advanced to the final rounds of the world’s largest international moot court competitions, the Philip C. Jessup International Moot Court Competition and the European Law Moot Court Competition. 

Five students—Jacob Johnston ’12, Akshaya Kumar ’12, Jennifer Lim ’12, Benjamin Schrier ’12, and James Wigginton ’13—will compete against teams from around the world in the White & Case International Rounds of the Philip C. Jessup International Moot Court Competition, which will be held in Washington, D.C. between March 20 and 26.  

The team advanced to the final rounds after placing first at the Northeast Super Regional Tournament where they defeated 24 schools including teams from Yale Law School, Harvard Law School, Cornell University Law School, and NYU School of Law.  Benjamin Schrier ’12 won an award for best oralist in the championship round against Boston College.  In preparation for the rigorous competition, the team has received guidance from various people including faculty adviser, Lori Damrosch, the Henry L. Moses Professor of Law and International Organization, team adviser Viren Mascarenhas ’05, coaches, Elisabeth Page ’11, Kevin Lin ’11, and Ricardo Chirinos ’11 (LL.M.), and others.

Named after Columbia Law Professor Philip C. Jessup, this event is considered the premier international moot court competition, with participants from over 500 law schools across more than 80 nations.  It is sponsored by the International Law Students Association (ILSA) in conjunction with the American Society of International Law (ASIL), under rules prescribed by ILSA/ASIL.  The competition simulates a dispute between two countries before the International Court of Justice (ICJ), the judicial arm of the United Nations.  This year’s topic addresses drone warfare, the targeted killing of suspected terrorists, public bans on religious garments, and the OECD's anti-bribery regime.  

http://www.law.columbia.edu/media_inquiries/news_events/2011/february2011/International-Moot-Court

V S Vaidyanathan Jayanthi Concert - 2011

Narasimhapuram VS Vaidyanathan
Jayanthi Concert.

The 23rd of January, 2011.
5:30 pm - 8:30 pm

Vocal Concert by Shri Tadepalli Lokanatha Sarma
Violin Smt Lalgudi Vijayalakshmi
Mridangam R Ramkumar ( Disciple of Umayalpuram K Sivaraman )
Vocal support provided by Shrikrishna

Photos
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Videos
(this is a 12 part upload  on youtube.... download the videos for a better experience

Reviews of the concert - http://www.rasikas.org/forum/viewtopic.php?f=13&t=15519