Renu Khator

University of South Florida (USF) Provost Renu Khator will begin serving as a member of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency�s National Advisory Council for Environmental Policy and Technology (NACEPT) in April. The term continues through February 2007.

�It is quite an honor to have been invited to serve on the council,� Khator told Khaas Baat. �I am excited at the prospect of having input in shaping the national agenda on the environment � being from Florida where the eco-system is extremely fragile, I think I will be able to add a valuable perspective.� Khator has previously served as director and chair of the Environmental Science and Policy department at USF from August 1997 to June 2000.

NACEPT provides advice to the administrator on environmental policy, technology and management issues. Council members include senior leaders and experts who represent academia, business and industry, community and environmental advocacy groups, environmental justice organizations, professional organizations, and state, local and tribal governments.

According to the Web site, NACEPT has recently provided recommendations on compliance assistance, Superfund, EPA's Draft Report on the Environment, EPA's Draft Strategic Plan Architecture and Draft Strategic Plan and the National Environmental Technology Competition. The council has also played a strategic and visionary advisory role. NACEPT produced "The Environmental Future: Emerging Challenges and Opportunities for EPA" report, which identifies emerging trends and issues in the next five to 10 years.

Khator earned her bachelor's degree in liberal arts and received master�s and Ph.D. degrees from Purdue University in political science with specialization in environmental policy. She has published four books, numerous book chapters and journal articles in leading national and international journals in environmental policy, public administration and political science disciplines. She is a frequent speaker at national and international conferences. Her areas of specialization include water policy and the impact of globalization on the environment.

Khator has a long history of community engagement. She serves on many community boards, including the Moffitt Cancer Center and Research Institute, Lowry Park Zoo, Suncoast Girl Scouts, USF Foundation and Kiran C. Patel Charter School. She enjoys writing poetry and fiction, several of which have been published. Her philosophy of life: when life gives you lemons and everyone else is busy making lemonade, think about making margaritas!

Come fall, the Dr. Kiran C. Patel Research Institute at University Community Health�s Pepin Heart Hospital in Tampa will open its doors.

Patel, who donated $450,000 for the University of South Florida Charter School as well as $5 million for the Pallavi Patel Conservatory at Tampa Bay Performing Arts Center, gave $3 million to the research institute.

The institute will conduct heart-specific clinical studies in stem cells, stents and drug therapies.

The 125,000-square-foot digital Pepin hospital will integrate clinical and IT systems to create a paperless, filmless and wireless environment where information flows seamlessly from patient admission through discharge. The $50-million facility will be the third all-digital heart hospital in the United States built from the ground up.

Patient medical records will be available almost instantly online, enabling physicians to make faster and more informed decisions; computers will be at almost every bedside to provide physicians and patients with information review; and physicians will use hand-held technology to review cases and compare them with others around the world.

The hospital will include a 52-bed pre/post cardiac unit, 16 cardiovascular critical care beds, a 20-bed cardiac surgery recovery unit, 48 progressive care beds, five surgical suites, ten cardiac catheterization/invasive procedure labs with additional diagnostic equipment, and a dedicated auditorium to be used for education and training presentations.

Indian Americans in the Bay area, along with community leaders, gathered on March 20 in Tampa to express outrage at the decision by the U.S. State Department to deny a diplomatic visa for Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi.

The chief minister had planned to travel to New York City with a stopover in Tampa before heading on to Fort Lauderdale for the annual Asian-American Hotel Owners Association (AAHOA) convention.

Representatives of several local and national level organizations such as FIA of Tampa Bay, FIA of Florida, Hindu Temple of Florida, Sanatan Mandir, Gujarati Samaj of Tampa, BAPS Shri Swaminarayan Mandir Tampa and others attended the Tampa protest.

Indian American community leaders expressed outrage against the action of the U.S. government, and backed the stand taken by most Indian Americans and the government of India. People signed letters of protest against the decision and offered support to carry on the work of protest.

Chandrakant Patel convened the meeting and gave an overview of the events. He reminded people that CM Modi was to address the Tampa Bay community about investment opportunities available in India and �now that opportunity has been denied to the community.�

Among the others who spoke at the protest were Pawan Rattan, Kiran Patel, Chandresh Saraiya, G. Ramappa, Ghanashyam Patel, Chimanbhai Darji, Nikhil Joshi, Braham Aggarwal, Shan Shikarpuri, Satya Shaw, Kanti Bakarania and Abhinav Dwivedi.

The meeting ended with the Indian patriotic song �Vande Mataram.�

Information for this report was provided by FIA of Florida (www.fiaofflorida.org)

	Pandit Shivkumar Sharma

If you haven�t seen them perform together, here�s your rare chance.

Santoor maestro Shivkumar Sharma and tabla player Ustad Zakir Hussain will present a classical music concert on April 20 in Orlando. The event is being presented by the not-for-profit Asian Cultural Association.

Read full story | Read about Asian Cultural Association.

This section will be devoted to telling you about creative films that may not have been blockbuster hits but in case you missed it, worth a look. It will also focus on new releases this month.
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	The Road to Mumbai

Two factors prompted Chris Verrill of California to travel around the world and write "Is For Good Men To Do Nothing." First, he had the travel bug nipping at the heels. He just didn�t want to wait until he retired to see the world.

Second, he was at his Rotary Club of Pacifica (California) meeting on the morning of September 11, 2001. Together, the leaders of the small hometown of Pacifica watched the horror unfold on TV. The club decided to do something even before the second tower fell. Verrill took up a collection that morning even though he had no idea who to donate it to. He and his fellow Rotarians knew that a lot of people in New York and other parts of the world were going to need some help. So, he decided to personally do something about it. Not just make a donation but to personally make a difference.
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It is time for the Tampa Bay community to have a forum where voices can be expressed, respected and heard. This column will provide just such a corner. In time, I hope there will be enough interest generated when you, the reader, will begin to request certain topics of discussion.
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Send your opinion

�Takeout?� You can�t be serious. Especially, not after you start reading the recently released �Indian Home Cooking: A Fresh Introduction to Indian Food, with More Than 150 Recipes� by Suvir Saran and Stephanie Lyness. Published by Clarkson Potter, the 272-page book (priced at $32.50) is filled with 75 color photographs showing some delicious and sumptuous meals. Read Story