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Newsmakers of the Week OCTOBER 03, 2025 | The Indian Eye 33

Indian American community. The production delves into how the commu- As part of the fellowship, Deshpande will receive national recognition
nity’s efforts, in spite of numerous early obstacles, have today garnered Oak across KEEN, a $10,000 grant to advance her project and opportunities to
Tree Road worldwide recognition and attracted investment from multination- collaborate with a network of Fellows nationwide. Her work is expected to
al corporations. directly impact undergraduate students at Marquette and extend its reach to
Nominated alongside Rohit Vyas are fellow producers, 14-time Emmy peer institutions through publications, workshops and the Engineering Un-
Award Winner Janice Selinger, Actress / Sports Host Aditi Vyas and Arts Ad- leashed online platform.
vocate Isha Vyas. Also nominated for the project is Joe Lee, former NJPBS This is the second year in a row that Marquette has been named among
Vice President and General Manager as the Executive in Charge of Produc- the Engineering Unleashed Fellows.
tion and Steve Stone as Director of Photography. The film, which first aired
on NJPBS, is a co-production of Vyas Productions and NJ PBS / The WNET
Group. It is currently available to stream on PBS. Lakshmi Iyer
“The Asian Indian community in New Jersey is one of the largest in the
country,” said Vyas. “This documentary aims to reflect its history, challenges, recognized by University
and successes through the microcosm of one small but impactful area. Most
importantly, it is a quintessentially American story. Work hard, achieve suc-
cess, and live the American Dream.” of Notre Dame
The 68th Annual New York Emmy Awards takes place in New York City
on October 11.
NOTRE DAME, IN
Dr. Priya Deshpande he Office of Provost at the
University of Notre Dame rec-
recognized as 2025 Engineering Tognized Lakshmi Iyer, Profes-
sor of Economics and Global Affairs
Unleashed Fellow in the College of Arts & Letters and
the Keough School of Global Affairs
by inducting her as a distinguished
member of the faculty as part of the
All-Faculty Team.
The seven scholar-teachers as
part of All-Faculty Team are chosen
from across the disciplines for their
transformative contributions to No-
tre Dame and beyond.

At Notre Dame, Lakshmi is the academic director of the Building
Inclusive Growth (BIG) Lab, which develops innovative, long-last-
ing solutions to help vulnerable populations in developing coun-
tries. Iyer’s work aligns with Notre Dame’s Poverty Initiative, a

University-wide effort to create a world intolerant of poverty by
expanding knowledge about how to solve it.

“Growing up in India during a period of economic liberalization, I saw
how government policies can shape the economic and human development
trajectory of a country,” she said.
“I was inspired to investigate why and how countries can make progress
MILWAUKEE, WI against poverty, and to identify historical, political, or social barriers to such
progress. More than 800 million people still live in extreme poverty around
r. Priya Deshpande, an assistant professor in the Department of Elec- the world. Poverty is not just an economic issue; it is a moral, political and so-
trical and Computer Engineering at the Opus College of Engineering, cial issue. I am privileged to be working with scholars across several disciplines
Dhas been honored as a 2025 Engineering Unleashed Fellow by the Kern at Notre Dame and beyond, to investigate how a diverse range of factors con-
Family Foundation. This esteemed national recognition was awarded to 29 fac- tribute to poverty, including history, political institutions, and the inclusion of
ulty members representing 23 institutions across the United States. The award women.”
highlights educators who exhibit exceptional leadership in enhancing under- Trained as an economist, Iyer’s research explores the intersection of his-
graduate engineering education and who exemplify the entrepreneurial mind- tory, politics, and economics, with a strong focus on Asia. Her recent projects
set promoted by the Kern Entrepreneurial Engineering Network (KEEN). have explored whether post-colonial policies can change the long-run effects
Deshpande earned this recognition for her work to redesign Marquette of historical institutions, when decentralization can improve education and
University’s undergraduate database design course and share her experi- health outcomes, and whether providing formal land rights can improve wom-
ence and ideas with engineering educators across the country. Her project en’s economic participation. Her new lines of research examine the interplay
transforms the course into a platform for entrepreneurial learning through between governance, global health, and natural resource management.
gamified modules, real-world case studies and stakeholder-driven capstone
projects. This approach equips students to connect technical skills with soci- To read more about Indian diaspora and Global Indians, log on to and follow
etal impact, preparing them to become proactive problem solvers who create our website www.TheIndianEYE.com
meaningful value beyond the classroom.

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