CHICAGO: Indian origin globally famous scientist Dr Dayal Meshri has added one more feather to his cap by earning the distinction of being the first ever Indian to be re-appointed to the prestigious science and technology research and development agency of Oklahoma State.
Oklhahoma Governor Mary Fallin said in a communication to Dr Meshri that his four year term begins from July 1, 2013 and will end June 30, 2017 and that Dr Meshri, besides representing the scientific community, will also be representing small businesses.
Of the 21-member Oklahoma Sciences and Technology Research & Development Board (OSTRaD), Dr Meshri is one of the eleven who have voting rights. The Board oversees an annual budget that ranges from $30 to $ 40 million for promoting science and technological research and innovation besides helping small-medium businesses.
The OSTRaD plays a significant role in channeling sciences and technology related research in the State and has sizeable help from the Federal government as well. Many corporations have avidly sought out the Board’s help their research projects.
The OSTRaD Board governs the Oklahoma Center for the Advancement of Science and Technology (OCAST). The Board through the agency of OCAST has helped many projects. In July 2012, it named three successful applicants in the Oklahoma Nanotechnology Applications Project (ONAP). The winning firms will receive $745,000 collectively for research that will be completed within three years. In June 2012 it announced awards totaling $1,633,663 to support research efforts to strengthen the research efforts in the State.
In May 2012, it awarded nearly $4 million dollars for 30 health research projects that will take up to three years to complete. The Oklahoma Health Research program was the first one implemented by the state’s science agency when it was created 26 years ago as Oklahoma began a long-term economic diversification effort.
The agency currently administers 11 programs that offer funding or support in areas ranging from health research to plant science. Seven applicants, including four private firms and two projects from the University of Tulsa, have been approved for funding under the OCAST Intern Partnerships program. OCAST awarded the winning applicants a total of $191,900. In February 2012, seven researchers, representing the Samuel Roberts Noble Foundation, Oklahoma State University and the University of Oklahoma, proved successful in their quest for funding from the OCAST Plant Science Research program. The projects collectively were awarded $655,509 for up to two years of research.
In a talk with this paper, Dr Meshri said that he would see if some of the research and development projects could be of help to the Indian corporations seeking advancement in the field of science and technology. Dr Meshri is off to India for four weeks trip to India beginning February 4 for business and social projects. He would attend a meeting of scientists in Pune and will visit Indore for organizing Sindhi Sammelan in 2014. He will visit Kalyan-Mumbai for rehabilitating some of the Sindhi immigrants who migrated to India from Pakistan sixty years ago and are still living in squalid conditions.
Ramesh Soparawala
India Post News Service
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