University Research

Mohammad Anas Wahaj | 06 nov 2014

There are varied perspectives regarding the age at which entrepreneurs are most effective regarding their capabilities to generate breakthrough ideas and found successful companies. Famous Silicon Valley investor, Vinod Khosla says, 'People under 35 are the people who make change happen; people over 45 basically die in terms of new ideas.' Referring to the age of entrepreneurs whom venture capitalists fund, investor Paul Graham commented, 'The cutoff in investors' heads is 32; after 32, they start to be a little skeptical.' Considering the power of youth in entrepreneurship, Peter Thiel (Co-founder of PayPal), in 2010 even announced that he would pay US$ 100000 to college students to drop out and develop new technologies and pursue entrepreneurship. But Professor Vivek Wadhwa of Stanford University, based on his research argues that the younger age bias in entrepreneurship most often results in older entrepreneurs not getting much attention and funding, and consequently it is hurting venture-capital system as well as Silicon Valley. According to his research conducted in 2008 regarding successful technology firms that started in garage and reached a revenue of US$ 1 million, it was found that average and median age of their founders was 39. Twice as many were older than 50 as were younger than 25. And twice as many were older than 60 as were younger than 20. Dane Stangler, vice president of research and policy at the Kauffman Foundation, built on Dr. Wadhwa's research findings and found in every year from 1996 to 2013, Americans in the 55-to-64 age group started new businesses at a higher rate than those in their twenties and thirties. Dr. Wadhwa and his team's research further revealed that, work and industry experience, and management ability, are what makes entrepreneurs successful. These come with age and therefore immaturity & inexperience of youth is one reason venture capitalist's record of success is so dismal. There are numerous technology companies whose innovators, founders & executives disprove the notion that only young can effect change. Consider for example the case of Qualcomm that was founded by Irwin Jacobs when he was 52 and Andrew Viterbi, who was 50. Professor Benjamin F. Jones, an economist at Northwestern University, analyzed the backgrounds of Nobel Prize winners and other great achievers of the 20th century. He found that the average age at which Nobel laureates performed their prizewinning work and the average age at which inventors had their great achievement was 39. Young entrepreneurs do have an advantage regarding newer technologies like social media and app developing but the technology shifts that are happening will alter the entire entrepreneurial landscape in the coming years. Dr. Wadhwa concludes,'Several technologies - involving medicine, robotics, artificial intelligence, synthetic biology, 3D printing and nanomaterials - are advancing at exponential rates and are converging. These advances are making it possible to solve the global problems of health, energy, education and hunger. These technologies will make it possible to create the next trillion-dollar industries and to better our lives. But they require knowledge of fields such as medicine, biotechnology, engineering and nanotechnology. They require experience, an understanding of the problems people face and cross-disciplinary skills. All of these come with age and experience, which the baby boomers have in abundance. That is why we need to get beyond the stereotypes and realize that baby boomers are going to better the world.' Read on...

The Washington Post: Why baby boomers are an important part of technology's future
Author: Vivek Wadhwa

Mohammad Anas Wahaj | 19 oct 2014

Market availability of tangibles follows the basic economic principle of supply and demand, but when it comes to intangibles like leadership, it seems that the world continues to remain in short supply. Leaders are hard to find and can't be developed and traded as commodity when required. Traditionally two sources are considered for leadership supply - military and those who rose up from nothing, overcame hardships and built leadership skills through the school of life. But still the supply doesn't actually meet the demand. Professor James Bailey of George Washington University suggests a third source, professional athletes, that fits the framework of leadership qualities. He provides five reasons for their leadership credibility - (1) Professional athletes are determined (2) They just don't preach teamwork but actually practice it (3) They appreciate followership (4) They are cognitively complex. They grasp the dynamic flow of many inter-related variables, simultaneously played (5) They know what it's like to work under pressure and perform well. Read on...

Lessons on Leadership: Finding the Next Generation of Leaders
Author: James Bailey

Mohammad Anas Wahaj | 23 sep 2014

Professor Brian Wansink of Cornell University, has been conducting research on eating habits and behaviors of consumers through his Food and Brand Lab, which he founded in 1997 while being at University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. His new book 'Slim by Design: Mindless Eating Solutions for Everyday Life' is just published and focuses on understanding surrounding and environment at five places - home, favorite restaurants, favorite grocery store, work-place, children's school - that influences eating behaviors and find solutions by designing them in such a way that encourages healthier eating habits. According to him, 'It's easier to become slim by design than slim by willpower.' Here are nine recommendations from him while doing a kitchen makeover - (1) Move healthier foods to visible spots (2) Make tempting foods invisible and inconvenient (3) Declutter your kitchen (4) Make your kitchen less friendly for lounging (5) Think twice before buying big packages of food (6) Use smaller serving bowls and spoons (7) Use smaller, narrower drinking glasses (8) Serve food from the counter or the stove (9) Avoid doing other activities while eating. Read on...

USA TODAY: 9 ways to lose weight by rearranging your kitchen
Author: Nanci Hellmich

Mohammad Anas Wahaj | 19 sep 2014

According to a report from the International Panel on Climate Change, climatic factors like heatwaves, drought, and unpredictable rainfall patterns are already adversely affecting the yields of staples like wheat and maize. Moreover World Bank's Dr. Jim Yong Kim predicts that food shortages could lead to 'food wars' within the next 5 to 10 years. But jackfruit, native to India and grown extensively in South & South-East Asia, may come to the rescue and provide a solution to the depleting food supply in future. Biotechnology researcher, Dr. Shyamala Reddy, from University of Agricultural Sciences in Banglore, India says, ' It can provide so many nutrients and calories - everything. If you just eat 10 or 12 bulbs of this fruit, you don't need food for another half a day. It is rich in potassium, calcium, and iron, making it more nutritious than current starchy staples.' According to Danielle Nierenberg of Food Tank, which works on sustainable agriculture, 'It is easy to grow. It survives pests and diseases and high temperatures. It is drought-resistant. It achieves what farmers need in food production when facing a lot of challenges under climate change.' While Nyree Zerega, a researcher of plant biology at Chicago Botanic Garden, points out that, 'The down-market reputation of jackfruit is unwarranted. In addition to its high nutritional value, the fruit is very versatile. The seeds, young fruit, and mature varieties are all edible.' Read on...

the guardian: Jackfruit heralded as 'miracle' food crop
Author: Suzanne Goldenberg

Mohammad Anas Wahaj | 16 sep 2014

Majority of the emails that users receive in their inbox are spam emails. Service providers use technologies to filter and restrict these unwanted and annoying emails and internet security is still struggling to effectively tackle the menace of spam. Professor Andrew B. Whinston of University of Texas at Austin, pioneer in the field of ecommerce and consumer behaviors, and his team has been tracking from where spam originates since 2011 and reporting the results on their spam-shaming website SpamRankings.net. According to Professor Whinston, 'Most spam is sent from computers compromised by botnets or phishing. The same security problems that let those problems in could be used for worse things, ranging from denial of service attacks to identity theft to blackmail to alteration of financial records.' The approach that SpamRanking.net applies is that of putting reputational pressure on those companies that are source of spam and affect their economic activities because most customers don't want to do business with spammers. This forces these organizations to enhance their internet security technologies and practices. Read on...

The University of Texas at Austin: He Fights Spam So You Don't Have To
Author: Chad Schneider

Mohammad Anas Wahaj | 12 sep 2014

For the better development of society, it is important that kids, who are the future, spend time in community service activities. Leigh Ann Errico, founder & CEO of Kidkind Foundation & 'Wear the Capes', points out, 'Volunteering with your kids touches hearts, teaches important life lessons and engraves fond, lifelong memories of family bonding. Understanding and participating in activities to benefit the community is crucial to weaving one's moral fiber.' Based on extensive research, Dr. Philip Brown of Rutgers University & 'Wear the Cape', provide reasons to encourage kids to serve others. According to him, 'As young people get older, they need to stretch their abilities, including their moral sensibilities. Engagement with other kids and adults in meaningful service activities can support healthy development in a variety of ways, providing opportunities for both growth and positive fulfillment.' The 10 reasons suggested by him are - (1) Volunteering helps foster empathy (2) Volunteering helps develop a sense of self-efficacy (3) Volunteers gain experience working with other people (4) Volunteering develops new skills (5) Volunteering provides the opportunity to explore new interests and develop new passions (6) Volunteers learn a lot (7) Volunteers actually make a difference in other people's lives (8) Volunteering encourages civic responsibility (9) Volunteering offers you a chance to give back (10) Volunteering is good for you. Read on...

EIN News: TOP 10 REASONS TO ENCOURAGE YOUR KIDS TO VOLUNTEER
Author: NA

Mohammad Anas Wahaj | 30 aug 2014

International Monetary Fund (IMF), with inputs from readers, select global economists and journal editors, recently compiled a list of 25 'Generation Next' economists, below the age of 45, who are influencing and shaping the way one understands global economy. In this list there are four Indian-origin economists - (1) Raj Chetty of Harvard University (Research: Combines empirical evidence & economic theory to help design more effective government policies; Equality of opportunity); (2) Gita Gopinath of Harvard University (Research: International finance & macroeconomics with focus on issues related to international price setting, currency choice & exchange rate pass-through, business cycles & crisis); (3) Parag Pathak of Massachusetts Institute of Technology (Research: Market & mechanism design; Labor economics; Education economics & reform); (4) Amit Seru of University of Chicago (Research: Financial intermediation & regulation; Resource allocation & internal organization of firms; Performance evaluation & incentives). Read on...

IBN Live: Four gen-next Indian-origin economists in IMF list of 25
Author: NA

Mohammad Anas Wahaj | 26 aug 2014

Bringing customers or users into the design process is a practice that architects and designers often adhere to. But when users are children like for example in a design process for a school or playground, it might be considered as a difficult and challenging task. Not so, if the ongoing research by Dr. Maria Patsarika and her team at Sheffield University, is taken into account. More and more architects and landscape designers are bringing younger generation into the design process. The practice of having participation from children in the design process is not new and has been mentioned in research studies conducted in 1960s & 1970s. Kevin Lynch, an urban planner, launched the UNESCO project 'Growing Up in Cities' in 1977 that utilized children's creative capacities. Dr. Patsarika's research has looked at the way architects and children communicate with each other. Architects interviewed for the research acknowledged that children brought fresh perspectives and uninhibited curiosity, leading them to explore alternative scenarios. Although children can be disruptive and unpredictable to work with but their overall impact on the design process is considered to be positive by most architects. Read on...

The Conversation: What architects can learn from designing with children
Author: Maria Patsarika

Mohammad Anas Wahaj | 26 jun 2014

Oxford University's Global Health Network has created a technological tool (SiteFinder) to assist scientists involved in global health to find and collaborate with other research groups around the world. Researchers working in low income and developing countries will now find it easier to find collaborators that were previously out of their reach. According to Trudie Lang, Director of Global Health Network, 'What's tended to happen is that teams like the Gates Foundation's product-development partnerships stick with the sites they know, and go back to the same sites again and again. But we would like to see greater equity in research, with wider access to these collaborations, and this would empower more people to have the confidence to take part in research.' Read on...

Women News Network: Global collaborative research on disease can strengthen regional healthcare
Author: NA

Mohammad Anas Wahaj | 05 jun 2014

Team of researchers from University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Professors Scott White, Jeffrey S. Moore & Nancy Sottos and graduate students Brett Krull, Windy Santa Cruz & Ryan Gergely, have developed materials that not only heal, but regenerate. The new regenerating materials are capable to fill in large cracks and holes by regrowing materials. The team advanced their previous research on vascular materials and using specially formulated fibers that disintegrate, the researchers can create materials with networks of capillaries similar to biological circulatory systems. For regenerating materials, two adjoining, parallel capillaries are filled with regenerative chemicals that flow out as a result of damage. A gel is formed when the two liquids mix with each other, spreads and fills the gap created by the damage. Finally the gel hardens into a strong polymer and restores plastic's mechanical strength. In addition to variety of commercial usage, these self-repair materials will find particular use for parts and products that are difficult to replace or repair, like in aerospace applications. Read on...

University of Illinois News Bureau: Regenerating plastic grows back after damage
Author: Liz Ahlberg

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