Alok Shetty is Principal of Bhumiputra Architecture, an internationally acclaimed architecture and design firm based in Bangalore City. Operating across many scales, Shetty’s firm consistently works towards new built environments that improve the quality of life in emerging economies.
Alok started his practice at the age of 19 by completing a multispecialty hospital while still in architecture school. He later pursued his Masters’ degree in Advanced Architectural Design from Columbia University in New York where he was the youngest recipient of the Lucille Smyser Lowenfish Memorial Award for Design Excellence.
Notably, the work of Bhumiputra and Alok has been exhibited and published extensively by several international publications. Alok has been featured on the “30 under 30” young achievers list by Forbes Magazine, one of “India’s Future Leaders” by National Geographic Magazine, one of six “International Next Generation Leaders” by Time Magazine, one of ten “International Young Architects Changing Skylines Around the World” by Complex Magazine, one of twenty “Young Achievers to Watch in 2015” by Elle Magazine and was recently the awarded the “Top 50 Young Architects” award by Architect & Interiors Magazine.
WEBSITE: bhumi-putra.com
Anu Vaidyanathan is the only Asian to have competed in and finished 6th at Ultraman – a three day stage-race comprising a 10K swim, 420K bike ride and an 84.4K run. She also received her Ph.D., is a visiting professor of intellectual property, and has her own intellectual property managment company.
WEBSITE: anuvaidyanathan.com , patnmarks.com
Bilal Ghalib is an Iraqi American promoting the maker spaces (a “Do-It-Yourself”/ open-source platform) around the world. His makerspaces fostered ideas such as landmine detection systems and a heart monitor that works without the use of electricity, a limited resource in developing nations.
WEBSITE: bilalghalib.com
Dale J. Stephens left school at twelve to become an unschooler, the self-directed branch of homeschoolers. Instead of going to middle and high school he organized collaborative learning groups, found mentors, and volunteered in his community. Dale leads UnCollege, the social movement empowering students to create their own education.
WEBSITE: uncollege.org
He identifies rare artists and engages them in collaboration with contemporary artists, which creates an accessible art form for everyone around the world. He has put together a platform for folk music called ‘La Pongal’ for Tamil folk musician to take their music outside of the interiors of Tamil Nadu.
WEBSITE: lapongal.com
Dr. Vivek Nair had stumbled upon a process to convert carbon emissions into carbon nanotubes (a material stronger than steel). His discovery led him to start a company focused on automating this process and turning carbon emission into a useable resource for many applications. Vivek was named one of the today’s disruptors and tomorrow’s brightest stars by Forbes “30 under 30” list,for the year 2012 & MIT Technology Review outstanding innovators under 35, for the year 2012.He has also received the National award for meritorious invention from NRDC, Gov. of India. Vivek has also been named by Tehelka as “Tipping point – Architects of the Future”, for the year 2012. He was also the winner of Ashoka/Staples Social Youth Entrepreneur award. In addition, Vivek is a double doctorate from Nanyang Technological University, Singapore & Loughborough University, UK .
WEBSITE: cleancarbontechnologies.com
Hind Hobeika is a self-tracking engineer who believes biological parameters are the most fascinating input for technological systems. She is the founder of Instabeat, an award winning startup that creates high-tech tools that track and improve athletes’ performance and well-being. Hind is also the founder of the Quantified Self, Beirut chapter.
Isabel Pedraza is a high energy physicist from Mexico, and works on cutting edge science such as the search for the ‘God particle’ at CERN. Besides science, she also skis, boxes, and sings.
WEBSITE: Isabel Pedraza’s Homepage
Kalki Koechlin is an Indian film actress of French origin. She has starred in critically acclaimed films such as That Girl in Yellow Boots and Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara. Kalki also stars in award-winning plays which she writes and directs.
Noorie Sadarangani invents narrative products and experiences using disappearing antiquated manual industrial processes still found in slums and various other informal areas of Mumbai. By setting up artisan schools, she formalizes and cultivates out-dated floating talent. The idea is to transform common things that otherwise would be factory-cut (without totally busting the wallet).
WEBSITE: obataimu.com
Peter Frykman is the founder and CEO of Driptech, Inc., which is concerned with the challenge of water scarcity, especially in developing countries. His professional interests include mechatronics, medical devices, and design for extreme affordability. He is an avid rower and two time national champion for Stanford.
WEBSITE: driptech.com
Priyanka is a Ph.D. in environmental nano-biotechnology with a great aptitude towards biotransformation and biomonitoring of environmental pollutants . Her research focuses on the development of low cost immunosensors for pesticides detection. She has published many research papers in prestigious international journals cheering high impact factors. Recently, she has been selected as a sole women MIT TR35 young innovator award. She was also among the top innovators under the DST – Lockheed Martin India Innovation Programme 2012. Her innovation has been covered worldwide in many prestigious magazines and newspapers (CSIR News, Technology review, India today, Tehelka, Elektor, Femina, Chemical industry Digest, Good News Tab, BBC etc.). She has also been invited by Northwestern University, IL (USA) as a visiting research fellow .
Saba Ghole is an architect and urban designer turned education and technology entrepreneur. As the Co-Founder and Chief Creative Officer of NuVu Studio, Saba leads a innovation center for middle and high school students. NuVu’s focus on creativity and experimentation sets the stage for students to collaborate with experts on projects ranging from new medical technologies to interactive games to brainwave-generated music and art.
Sai Gaddam is a computational neuroscientist, a data geek, and the co-author of A Billion Wicked Thoughts, an internationally acclaimed book about desire. He believes understanding how our brains tick is the way to truly discovering and liberating ourselves. Sai is currently working on a book about anger. His parents are still holding out hope he will come to his senses and put his IIT pedigree to better use.
BOOK: A Billion Wicked Thoughts
WEBSITE: kernelinsights.com
Sandesh Reddy is steadily climbing the ladder to become one of India’s most promising chefs. It is his love for good food and more importantly the art that goes behind it, that fuels his passion. What sets him apart is his ability to deconstruct cuisines and reinterpret existing dishes that provoke the senses and promote personal memories. Sandesh’s expertise lies across a broad range of culinary traditions, from the spicy ethnic fare of his ancestral hometown Nellore to contemporary trends in international cuisine.
Shankar Tucker is an American-born clarinetist and composer who creates music that explores contemporary and traditional Indian sounds. He collaborates with other musicians to represent new generation Indian artists – bringing their music to an internationally and culturally diverse audience, both on- and offline.
WEBSITE: shankartucker.com
Shayamal Vallabhjee has over 12 years of experience in the sports industry, working with the world’s best creatives, personalities and industrialists. Some include: the South African High Performance Cricket Team, Indian National Cricket Team, Indian Olympic Association, and many others. He has authored 5 books on sports science and motivation. Also, Shayamal is the director of Speed Kids — a program that caters to the bio-mechanical gross motor development of children between the age of 3-8 years.
Shubhendu Sharma, an experienced industrial engineer turned eco-entrepreneur, is the Founder & Director of Afforestt, a company which creates urban forests. Developed using the Miyakwaki methodology for growing saplings from Japan, backed by robust management, intensive research and cutting edge technologies, Afforestt can create a “100 year old natural forest” in just 10 years. Shubhendu is an INK Fellow from the class of 2012.
Sourabh Kaushal is researching space debris mitigation and the development of a space elevator system(The transportation system from Earth into Deep Space). He also proposed new methods to mitigate space debris and became India’s first person to proposed new technologies to mitigate space debris and featured into Limca Book of Records. His research was selected in many international conferences organised by NASA, ISRO, JAXA, ESA, IEEE, ISEC, Microsoft etc. He received “Dr. Kalpana Chawla Young Scientist Award”, “Jerome Pearson Award 2010″ by ISEC, USA ,” “Young Innovator Award 2013” , Karmaveer Chakra Instituted with United Nations, RCFE Fellow, USA. He has also spoken at various TEDx Conferences, SAM Youth Conference, Indian Institute of Technology and many other institutes. His research work has been appreciated and recognized by The Vice President of INDIA, Sh. M.H.Ansari, Dr. V.Adhimurthy (ISRO), Donald Kessler (EX-NASA Scientist), Dr.K. Rao (ISRO), Dr. Peter Swan (ISEC,USA), Dr. A.P.J.Abdul Kalam and Ratan Tata. He is also a founder of Education Company Smartcircuits Innovation Pvt. Ltd.. Website: www.sourabhkaushal.com
Tanmoy Ghosh brings new sustainable solutions to solve problems in wildlife conservation whether its through leading survey expeditions, promoting ecotourism, or wildlife photography. He has also discovered an new population of gharial, the most endangered crocodilians in the world. His many conservation projects paved way for collaborations with the BBC (Natural History Unit), Discovery Channel, National Geographic Channel among many others.
By the age of 25, Varun Agarwal was already a filmmaker, entrepreneur and the bestselling author of ‘How I braved Anu Aunty & Co-founded A Million Dollar Company’. He is the co-founder of Alma Mater, India’s biggest college apparel/memorabilia company, and also the co-founder of Reticular, a social media marketing firm. The pursuit of his interests brought about collaborations with A.R. Rahman, Preity Zinta, and many others.
Vicky Roy is a prominent Indian photographer whose journey from a train station ragpicker to an internationally recognized artist is both inspiring and remarkable. Born in West Bengal, Vicky ran away from home and started his life in New Delhi as a ragpicker at the railway station. His life took a significant turn when he was introduced to photography during a workshop, which eventually led to his first solo exhibition “Street Dreams” at the India Habitat Centre in 2007. His talent and dedication brought him further opportunities, including a notable project in 2008 where he was selected by the US-based Maybach Foundation to photo-document the reconstruction of the World Trade Center in New York. This project was part of a program that included a course in documentary photography at the International Center for Photography, New York. His work has been published in a monograph titled ‘Home Street Home’ by the Nazar Foundation, released during the Delhi Photo Festival in 2013. Vicky Roy’s work has been exhibited in various prestigious venues including the Vadehra Art Gallery in New Delhi and internationally at events like the Houston FotoFest Biennial and Kochi Muziris Biennale. He has also been honored with several accolades, including the INK Fellowship in 2012, the MIT Media Fellowship in 2014, and being listed in Forbes Asia 30 under 30 in 2016.
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