Dean Yannis C. Yortsos of the Viterbi School of Engineering and Arabinda Mitra of the Indo-US Science and Technology Program signed an agreement December 13 that will provide 8-week summer research internships in summer, 2011 for students from India.
"It is a great pleasure for us to host this program," said Yortsos, before a group of Viterbi faculty and administrators and IUSSTF representatives gathered in the Tutor Hall Conference room.
Dr. Arabinda Mitra and Dean Yannis Yortsos signed the internship agreement.
"India is rapidly growing, economically and technologically. The Viterbi School already has great collaborations in many parts of India, and a large number of Indian students, and faculty of Indian origin." The USC faculty members attending included three of this description: Senior Associate Dean Cauligi Raghavendra (who also signed the documents), Shrikanth Narayanan, and Priya Vashishta.
Mitra responded that "a program like this is an excellent way" to deepen such ties, placing it against an emerging program of US-India events that will be taking place in 2011, including a January US-India Conclave, and a subsequent US-India Summit on Higher Education.
The application deadline for students is December 31, 2010, with information at http://indousstf.org/Viterbi-India/Viterbi_India.html. Only students studying electrical engineering or computer science are eligible for the summer 2011 program.
The new Viterbi India relationship expands a growing list of summer internships offered at the Viterbi School for students from India, China, the US, Mexico and other nations. In summer, 2010 some 39 students from around the world carried out research under such programs.
According to its website, the Indo-US Science and Technology Forum (IUSSTF), established under an agreement between the Governments of India and the United States of America in March 2000, is an autonomous, not for profit society that promotes and catalyzes Indo-US bilateral collaborations in science, technology, engineering and biomedical research through substantive interaction among government, academia and industry. As a grant making organization, the principle objective of IUSSTF is to provide opportunities, to exchange ideas, information, skills and technologies, and to collaborate on scientific and technological endeavors of mutual interest that can translate the power of science for the benefit of mankind at large.
Back row, Sandeep Gupta, Francisco Valero-Cuervas. Front row: Surya Prakash, Dean Yannis C. Yortsos, Dr. Arabinda Mitra, Cauligi Raghavendra, Shrikanth Narayanan and Shanghua Teng.
