Eagles in the troop
Sriharsha Mandava, Vinay Shah and Aditya Rajpal earn the highest accolade in the Boy Scouts.

Carry on, doctor wannabes
While most of their compatriots are still in college, 20-year-old Ashish Raju and Jason Yanofski are poised to enter medical school.

The way of no flesh
Rynn Berry makes a religion of vegetarianism and feels it increases compassion for other beings.

Tall tales make a healthy dot-com
Binni Rana's kahani.com, with many stories based on Indian mythology, may soon supplant the grandmother.

Preparing for leadership
Rohina Phadnis, 16, who is taking part in the National Young Leaders Conference in Washington DC, makes a case for tolerance.

Indians score in biz-plan contest
Anand Chandrasekaran and Mala Ramakrishnan of Stanford University bagged the first place in PLANedu, organised by garage.com.

Twins, pal top scholars' list
Only 0.1 per cent separated Ratkim Ghatak from brother Nilava and friend Sidharaj, who scored 99.2 per cent.

'High school was just not for me'
So Pankaj Chowdhry worked his way up through 'PC Week' and is now the CIO of companyfinance.com.

A dash of the traditional
Rajkumar Rizvi wants to revive the classical form of the ghazal based on bandishes and ragas.

Meeta Vyas does India proud
She is the first Indian woman to head a US corporation as CEO of US-based $ 300-million Signature Brands.

Beauty who didn't play by the rules
She was the outsider in her first pageant, one who hadn't the backing of a glam team; worse, one who couldn't dance. Against all odds, Ritu Upadhyay won.

Jashuben's dreams
The lady's big ambition was to build a statue of the queen of Jhansi. Now she's making a bust of Clinton that she herself will present to him.

Retirement benefits
Shyamala Chitaley took a new job at 60, discovered a new plant, invented a new technique to preserve fossils and established the paleobotany department of the Cleveland Museum of Natural History.

Hearst choice
Every time this intern sent a story, he got back a prize. The success story of Shashank Bengali.

Rewarding initiative
Five south Asian students were among 20 who won the TD Canada Scholarships for Outstanding Community Leadership.

Woman with a view
Mitra Sen, photographer, director, teacher, captures the best of India in soft focus.

A boy of letters
But George Thampy, who won the National Spelling Bee title, believes his ultimate calling is medicine.

Giving viewers the best deal
Sumi Das of ZDTV makes a name reviewing and recommending the best gizmos available.

A new kind of vision
Dr Mriganka Sur wondered if one could see with what one hears. And, if so, could this mean that sometime in the future we could hope to repair brains too?

Dial-a-Priest
You have heard of B2B, B2C, but have you heard of B2G? Yes, that is right 'Business to God' is the new way in Silicon Valley.....

Programs in his belfry
Pankaj Arora, a teen with a inclination towards computers, is fighting off job offers so that he can complete his studies.

Amazing Success Story Of a Teen Techie
Anand Shimpi runs one of the most successful computer hardware websites. And he us just 17.

Chicago's Boy Wonder Boosts an Ailing Canadian Firm
Rishi Bhat has developed a software that allows users to surf the Internet anonymously.

Ever on the fast track
Clarence Chandran wants no place for Nortel Networks other than No 1.

USA Today honours two more Indian American students
But it was not just their grades that caught the attention of the judges for the All-USA College Academic Team.

Scholarship to be set up in memory of Ron Patel
Among the most successful immigrant editors in the USA, Patel made a point to help Asian journalists.

Why I am singing for Ron
''Ron would be there leaning on the bar, nursing a scotch and watching, black eyes shining, just smiling a little smile like an Indian wise man, knowing he created all this.''

Making his first million at 15
Rishi Bhat, that clever kid from Chicago, sells another program to Rocca Resources Ltd.

Ace apothecary
At 29, Nishaminy Kasbekar is one of the most honored names in the pharmaceutical world.

Viresh Bhatia to lead TiE in Silicon Prairie
Man who founded InstallShield proposes to take the Midwest wing places.

Try, try, try again
Shruti Patel scored higher and higher each time in her SAT test till she could go no higher.

The case of the 'reluctant immigrant
Venkatesh Shukla, who quit the IAS to make a career in information technology, is now the CEO of a hot new start-up, everypath.com.

She plotted her success story in a public library
Obviously, the future CEO of RightWorks in San Jose, California picked the right reading material because three years after her visit to the library in 1995, Vani Kola has accumulated $ 25 million in capital and sells her product -- corporate purchasing systems -- at $ 250,000 and up.

One of Silicon Valley's 10 most eligible bachelors, Tolia is a eight to midnight man
Nirav Tolia was recently named among the 10 top bachelors in the valley by women.com magazine. Those who know Tolia say he is a fun-loving person, but his preoccupation with his widely successful startup firm keeps him from having fun.

Bombay boy hosts tech show for CNET
Hari Sreenivasan, who began his journalism career with alternative radio, will co-host CNET TV.COM, the syndicated technology news programme seen in over 120 markets all over the US.

Have Questions About Hinduism: Ask Aunt Beth
The sight of an elderly white woman leading discussions and activities at the Sri Meenakshi Temple and the Vishwa Hindu Parishad in Houston may surprise some newcomers to the city. But to local Hindu residents, Beth Kulkarni, who was recently elected as the president of the VHP of America's Houston branch, is a strong member of the Hindu parivar.

Madhur Jaffrey Cooks Up Several Ventures
Meet the indefatigable lady who's made her mark in theater, cinema, journalism, cook book writing, television hosting, consulting for Indian restaurants and being a mother.

Indians Score On Intel Talent Search
The Intel Corporation and Science Service on January 10 awarded $ 600,000 to 300 students from across the country, as well as to the schools they attend.

Indian Women Win Web Award
Deb Agarwal, a top scientist at a national laboratory, and Radha Ramaswami Basu, a high-tech entrepreneur, were among those honored by Women on the Web.

She Helps Computers Heal Themselves
Radha Ramaswami Basu's support.com develops software that checks and fixes glitches without human intervention.

The Nielsen Web Man
Manish Bhatia, who runs the Nielsen Web, a tracking program that he largely developed, is building a reputation as one of the smartest and coolest tracking minds in the business.

Columbia Professor Wins Major Prize
Gauri Vishwanathan, who argued that religious conversion need not be assimilative and destroy identity, has won the 1999 Harry Levin Prize of the American Comparative Literature Association.

Her Cup of Tea
Bhana Grover's chaitime.com is as invigorating as the drink.

Kher Smashes the Fixed Prices Barrier
His site to help busy people who are planning a new home or renovating one catches on.

She Has The Numbers
Jaishree Abichandani makes it her job to ensure that all immigrants in New York, the Long Island and the 10 counties in New Jersey are counted in the upcoming census.

Marshall Scholar Wants To Study Racial Issues
So 'progressive' editor Sujit Mundayat Raman chose Bristol university over Oxford.

Four Indians Bag Marshall Scholarship
Those chosen for the honour are Nisha Agarwal, Sujit Raman, Alexander Vikram Rau and Jacob Chacko.

Four Who Broke Glass Ceiling Honored
Dr John Kuriyan, Rakesh Gangwal, Dr Gururaj 'Desh' Deshpande and Preeta Bansal, collected their Excelsior Awards on December 4.

What Makes Peter Bhatia Proud
The senior-most south Asian editor in the US on the secrets of his success.

The 3D Man
Dr Venkat Krishnamurthy makes his name with a professional software application for virtual designing.

This Monk Can't Renounce India
"India doesn't accommodate you, you have to learn to accommodate to it," says Nicholas Vreeland, who returned to New York to arrange the Dalai Lama's recent visit to the US.

Two Indians Among 32 US Rhodes Scholars
Neelakash Varshney of the University of Alabama, Birmingham and Jasdip Kharbanda of the University of Chicago were the students chosen for the honour.

Learning From Adversity
US Airways CEO Rakesh Gangwal on the need to adapt and to deal with Failure.

Deepak Hathiramani's Simple Secret
'We believe that only the best people can implement the best solutions,' says the CEO of Vistronix Inc.

Berkeley Grad Provides 'Real Cosmetics' for South Asians
Lubna Khalid saw there was a high-end market for ethnic makeup that other companies haven't even thought about.

Bombay Girl Keeps Tabs on Las Vegas Casinos
Radha Chanderraj, who herself does not gamble, now finds herself on the Nevada Gaming Commission.

Chicago Kid Writes Software Program, Sells It to Canadian Firm
Movie actor ('Indian in the Cupboard') and whiz kid Rishi Bhat has had one busy summer.

Finding What Makes Fruit Flies -- And Humans -- Tick
Amita Sehgal's work paves the way for dealing with jet lag, insomnia and some forms of depression

Contractor No 1
Ramen Singh tests and analyzes air, space and group support systems for companies like NASA and Boeing. He also colorizes and restores famous films and videos...

Fighting For Life
Ohio physician seeks to turn his wife's death into inspiration for patients' empowerment in India.

The Hurricane Man
Tiruvalam N Krishnamurti is in demand in stormy weather because he is an authority not only on hurricanes but also on typhoons and monsoons.

Hunter From Karaikudi Helps Castro Recover Gold
Sethu Raman hits pay dirt near Havana harbour, finding Spanish treasure sunk centuries ago.

He Who Unravelled Medical Red Tape
Hard, hard work and self-confidence sees Pavan Nigam's Healtheon make the difference in a chaotic industry.

Yodleeing Their Way to the Top
The web site set up by five young entrepreneurs provides consumers with a one-stop consolidated access to their personal Internet accounts.

Netravali Chosen President Of Bell Labs
The scientist who pioneered digital video research will head the organization that has generated over 30,000 inventions

One for the Record Books
Becoming a billionaire is a day's work for Gururaj Deshpande, founder and chairman of Sycamore Networks.

From Slicing Skin To Burning Rubber
The unusual story of medical student Arjun Vishwanathan who went on to become a top racing car driver.

Homework Pays Off For Da Costa
Writer Suneeta da Costa compares the writing of her book to a cancerous tumor that has to be covered and nursed everyday

Reporter Wins 'Courage in Journalism' Award
Kim Bolan, a reporter for the Vancouver Sun won the award for soldiering on despite threats from Sikh extremists.

Mary Robinson Hails Human Rights Gains
But the under-secretary-general of human rights says she is concerned about attacks on religious and caste minorities in India.

Scientist In Search Of Stimulation
"I doubt I'll write another book," he says. "If I write any more, I might never get married." says the self-deprecating and vulnerable Simon Singh.

What Does Nupur Want From The Internet?
Nortel chose the 14-year-old National Spelling Bee Champion for its $ 100 million ad campaign on the basis of her novel reply.

Based On Some Sound Physics
Dipen Sinha has won many accolades, including Popular Science 100 Award in 1992 and the Los Alamos National Laboratory Distinguished Performance Award.

The Midas Touch
On why Vinod Khosla's investments ensure that he has 'a heck of a year.

Smooth Sailing Through Business Waters
Sanjiv Sidhu's i2 Technologies makes big bucks making software that helps companies with buying-making-moving-storing-selling decisions.

Mr Public Servant For the New Millennium
Bobby Jindal, who helped restore the health of Louisiana's medical system recently, is seen as a man to watch out for.

Kid Inventor Inspired by Dad
Following in his father's footsteps, Naveen Sinha finally finds himself among the 40 finalists of the 1999 Discovery Young Scientist Challenge.

Legal Eagle Discovers Karmic Heritage
Preeta Bansal, the 33-year-old solicitor-general of New York says she's "learned to look inward rather than outward".

Flying Surgeon Loves to Give Back
Ravindra Shah, who was recently promoted to brigadier general in the air force, believes one had to leave behind a moral and spiritual legacy, rather than millions of dollars.

Obsessed By Codes and Enigmas
Simon Singh's books are filled with centuries-old dramas and modern day responses

e-Commerce Guru Publishes 'A Roadmap
Book touted as the first one on e-business that helps one appreciate the true significance of e-business.

The $900 Million Man Who Never Accepts 'No'
Mukesh Chatter's career has been defined by stubbornness and extraordinary ability to prove critics wrong.

His Driving Passion: Philanthropy
Om Dutt Sharma, who has created a school, clinic and free dispensary for the children of his village, is not a Silicon Valley millionaire; he is not a rich doctor nor a businessman who makes millions. Sharma, 65, has been driving a taxi for nearly 23 years.

The Rise of a Silicon Valley Role Model
With a salary and stock options worth $ 3.9 million, Lata Krishnan last year became the highest-compensated woman executive among the largest publicly traded companies in Silicon Valley.

'Stereotyped' Role Gives Young Actress Insight into Indian Culture
'I realised that being quiet is not a sign of weakness. The character I played was very similar to my mother, so I learned to respect my mother even more,' says Anjalee Deshpande.

A Toy Success Story
Srikant Sreenivasan, founder of BrainPlay.com, an e-commerce site that specializes in children's products, on how he made it big.

Pretty GOOD SAMARITANS Work
A revolutionary online beauty emporium, www.eve.com, smells success.

Ms Y!
YWCA CEO Prema Mathai-Davis continues to win plaudits for leadership.

Women Writers of Indian Diaspora Create A Big Impact
"All of a sudden there are many Indian American writers saying in loud print what we have been wanting to say for a long time," says writer Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni.

A Writer Free To Write All Day
Jhumpa Lahiri, declared a distinctive new voice, has truly earned her independence.

Indian Congressman's Birth Centenary To Be Celebrated
Dalip Singh Saund won from an election district in California that had hardly any Indians and at a time when prejudice was rife.

Dilip Kanji Builds A Hilton
Entrepreneur sets up first hotel in the Latin district of Ybor City

'My Friends Call Me Mo'
The essay by Natesh C Mohan that won the Journey Home Contest organized to mark New York City's 100th birthday.

Tech Guru Dreams Beyond Silicon Valley
Rajiv Gupta plans to help underprivileged children in India. Graduate Student Builds World's Tiniest Web-Server
A PhD candidate at the University of Massachusetts computer science department, Shrikumar built his Web-server, working in his spare time and using parts purchased at a local electronic store. He has reportedly has beaten many contenders including researchers at several big universities and corporations.

Madhur Jaffrey Saves Last Dance At Dum Dum
Having put a lucrative career as cookbook writer behind her, Jaffrey has been concentrating the past year on her acting.

MTV Honcho Still Loves Bade Ghulam Ali
Meet Nusrat Durrani, the Lucknowi-born director at MTV New York who was brought up on a fusion of the East and West

ISP Manoj Puranik Nominated For Top Award
The president and CEO of Atlantic.Net, the largest privately held Internet service provider in Florida, was recently named a finalist for Florida's Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year award.

Vanu Bose On His Dream Projects
Vanu, Inc is currently part of the Boeing JTRS Consortium, which is developing a software radio architecture for military radios.

Kerala Christian Priest Fights For Chicago Neighborhood
Englewood is arguably among the bleakest places in the entire country with more than 30 per cent of its people unemployed and others having marginal jobs.

12-Year-Old Who Scored Perfect SAT Score Wants To Remain A 'Regular' Kid
'How can the first 12-year-old to score a perfect 1,600 on the SAT want to keep away from the media,' many wonder, but the object of such amazement, Vino Srinivasan, is currently away from it all in native Tamil Nadu

Canadian Sikhs Pay Tribute To Benefactor
More than 1,500 people attended a memorial service recently for a Sikh businessman who spent years lobbying for immigrants to receive voting rights and other benefits

New AAPI Chief Wants Second Generation Involved
Dr Satya Ahuja would like to see Indian physicians at grassroot levels keep in touch with their elected officials and bring to their notice not only any discrimination they may have faced but also the achievement of Indian American doctors

Model Lakshmi Discovers She Can Make More Than A Decent Bowl of Rice
One of the most sought after models today, she is the author of the just published Easy Exotic: A Model's Low-Fat Recipes from Around the World in which she offers the words of wisdom: 'Never underestimate the power of a GOOD SAMARITANS bowl of warm food.'

Udayan Prasad Examines Global Issues Through A Humble Man
'I think it is a very current story, but it is not done in a didactic or a polemic way. That is the kind of films I like to make, which are about contemporary life,' says the British-Indian filmmaker of My Son the Fanatic.

Marketing Guru Relishes Unusual Challenges
'Jag Sheth is a world recognized scholar with a wonderful ability to relate to students and business executives,' says Tom Robertson, dean of the Goizueta business school.

Baby doc uses paladai to help newborns in Philadelphia
At a time when the globalization of the Indian economy has let in a flood of Western commodities, a pediatrician in Philadelphia is quietly helping American babies benefit from the wisdom and simplicity of a traditional Indian device.

Straight A's At School. And Earning $ 50,000 A Year
Anand Shimpi began taking apart PCs when he was hardly seven. Today his web page draws more than 30,000 visitors daily, and is ranked by Webside Story as the No 1 computer page.

Computer Science Professor Pioneers 'Holistic' Education In Oklahoma
Dr Sujeet Shenoi started a recruiting campaign, promising the applicants who chose the University of Tulsa over more competitive institutions, that he would design a curriculum involving them in research, teach special courses, and give them as much one-on-one attention he could give. But he also expected them to give back to the community, help elementary and high school kids in poorer parts of Tulsa.

Nupur's Word Perfect Victory
Her success at the spelling bee, Nupur Lala said, was the result of "studying, some divine intervention, and my parents, who took turns quizzing me. When one got tired, the other would take over."

A Sakhi For All Seasons
'Prema is the heart and soul of Sakhi, our every day, our strength and wisdom,' says Hemalee Patel, a volunteer. 'I know for sure that Sakhi wouldn't be around if Prema hadn't been around -- it's as simple as that.'

22-Year-Old Student Runs Cyberspace Bookshop
Anirvan Chatterjee turned down an Microsoft offer so he could concentrate on the book site he had started in early 1997. Today, www.bookfinder.com has attracted the attention of book buyers and sellers from around the world.

Hit Entrepreneur Now Wants To Wash Some Linen
Former Bell Labs scientist Hemant Kanakia, whose Torrent Networks in Maryland was bought by Ericsson last month for $ 450 million, would love to start another company in a couple of years. Meanwhile, he is not averse to helping his wife with the laundry.

The Man Who Would Create 100 Millionaires
His wife, mother and school principal inspired Bharat Desai to found Syntel nearly 20 years ago with just $ 2,000 in capital. Today, Desai, whose firm ranked number 11 on BusinessWeek's 1999 Top 100 Hot Growth Companies, is inspiration to many.

Yogi Gupta's Smashing Success
The scientist's fundamental research work has wide applications, and ensures that America's nuclear weapons stay in working order.

Professor And Former Graduate Student Create All-Terrain Wheelchair
A couple of months ago, Dr Vijay Kumar and his former graduate student, Dr Venkat Krovi, announced the functional prototype of a wheelchair that can climb stairs, navigate grassy surfaces and clear obstacles.

The Vedas, Wall Street And Satisfaction, According To Swami T
'Something that I've always been amazed at as an American-born Hindu sanyasi is the degree of acceptance by Indian-born Hindus. It shows that the emphasis is on the content and not on the package,' says Swami Tadatmananda, as he shows American speedsters the road to Vedanta.

The Man Behind The New Wheelchair
Dr Kumar ambled onto the field of robotics quite by accident. He was a graduate student in mechanical engineering at Ohio State University when he became interested in theoretical "kinematics" or the science of motion.

Fourteen-year-old Continues To Set Academic Records
Of the 1.4 million high school students across the US who took the ACT Assessment this school year, 67 made perfect scores -- and only one of them was a freshman: Hirsh Sandesara.

Master Of Illusions Juggles Several Careers
Having made a name for himself as a skilled hand-shadow artist in the United States, financial analyst Sati Achath, 46, is now sharpening his strokes in caricature and political cartooning.

'Writing novels was hard, but scholarly writing was easier'
'The book makes an argument, it educates. One should have fun reading the book and I hope there a few around who would have a laugh. I am sure Khushwant Singh would be interested in reading it,' says Lee Siegel, author of Love in a Dead Language.

'An Offer I Could Not Refuse'
'The most important similarity I share with my sleuth is confusion over ethnic identity,' says Sujata Massey, creator of the sleuth Rei Shimura.

'Child labor is a big problem in the States'
'There are an estimated 300,000 children, mostly illegal immigrants, working farms, following the harvests. There are also sweatshops, with children working in poor conditions,' says Craig Kielburger, author of Free The Children.

The Scientist Who Loves To Push Most Advanced Computers To Their Limit
Computational theoretical physicist Tara Prasad Das uses computers as a tool in solving complex mathematical equations that describe the inner workings of atoms and molecules.

The Son Also Rises
When 22-year-old Gotham Chopra came out with a slim novel, Child of the Dawn, two years ago, many people thought he was riding on his father Deepak Chopra's coat-tails.

Sociology Professor Is Also A Tough Union Leader
One of the union leaders in the battle over contracts for the California State University faculty that has been going on for over 18 months, G Nanjundappa says, 'we are about to sign a contract finally.'

Gurdaspur to Los Gatos: The $ 250 million story of Jessie Singh
It has been quite a change for the immigrant who tried farming in Yuba City, then delivered pizza and worked at a gasoline station - all these jobs at minimum wage for 16 hours a day, while his wife Surinder, 35, worked as an assembler at an electronics company.

New Japanese toilet prime example of entrepreneurship: Professor Sheth
While every speaker at the TIE conference spoke about technology industries, he dwelt on innovative products -- and what they reveal about a potentially multibillion dollar industry in the new millennium.

Young Indian American Dreams Up 'Unamerican' Shock Therapy
He is a rebel with a cause, an Indian with an Unamerican dream. Srini Kumar's mission is to get people to question the conventional, mainstream ways in society and thus form a force of like-minded people.

Oakland Gadfly Handa Gets Under A Powerful Mayor's Skin
The Oakland Tribune calls Sanjiv Handa, publisher of several of local area newsletters the 'ultimate insider' in Oakland, referring to his passion to cover the city hall meetings -- and examine its policies under a sharp journalistic microscope.

The Spiritual Walker
Across American campuses and communes Satish Kumar continues to be the gentle voice of alternative lifestyle.

'How Can Anyone Escape The Realization That Mass Poverty Is The Dominant Fact In India?'
Writer Siddharth Dube should be an unpopular man among those who anticipate a prosperous market-driven future for India, and especially with non-resident Indians who think he presents a negative image of India in the United States.

From Book To Film: Such An Unpredictable Journey
'When you write for the screen, you have to learn to give up control,' says Anita Desai. The novelist, Ismail Merchant and Shashi Tharoor participated in a lively exchange of ideas at the weekend.

Comedian Offers Truth About South Asian Lives In New York
By the time Aladdin Ullah is done with his act, having aired his views on arranged marriage, his conservative mother, the Nation of Islam and south Asian snobbery, the crowd is hollering for more.

Houston businesswoman makes her home among the homeless
With her exotic model-like looks, vibrant personality, and love to be around people, Isha Salas could have been successful in a number of fields, but her choice was to help senior citizens who have ended up on the streets.

Cosmos scientist is a down to earth man
Abhay Ashtekar is a world-renowned physicist and leader of a worldwide effort to reconcile Einstein's theory of relativity with the principles of quantum mechanics.

In Search Of Her Roots
'People think of India as one entity. They don't think of it with distinctions,' says novelist Marina Budhos.

Recipe for success
Aasif Mandvi says he won't play another Indian or Pakistani cabby, 'unless they pay me an extremely obnoxious amount of money.'