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NORTH AMERICAN Newsline NOVEMBER 17, 2023 | The Indian Eye 24

ADI MEHROTRA ready to continue that work, as someone with a proven record of accom-
plishments, passion for service, and the ability to get things done,” she said.
MIT student designing “And I’ll do it in partnership with our community. I’ll bring my experience as
an immigrant, a person of color, a woman, a mom — experience of what it’s
cleaner vehicles like to navigate systems that weren’t created for everyone, and in fact often
were created to exclude so many.” Jayapal said she’s running for Congress
because she believes it needs an “unwavering progressive” voice.
di Mehrotra, a second-year “We’re at a pivotal point in our country and in our district,” she contin-
master’s degree student in ued. “With the Republican majority beholden to extremist ideologues at-
Amechanical engineering, is tacking our democracy and our rights in ways we’ve never seen before, it’s
following his passion into designing more important than ever that we have an unwavering progressive voice
clean energy vehicles and enhancing in Congress to stand up for our values and bring us together to create the
mechanical engineering education at thriving, equitable community we need.”
MIT. He helms the MIT Electric Vehi-
cle Team, a student-led research team NANDINI DAS
that is probing the future of transpor-
tation by designing a hydrogen-pow- Author bags British Academy
ered motorcycle, as per the release.
Being a part of his master’s thesis
research, Mehrotra is building a new Book prize
mechatronics curriculum, an interdis-
ciplinary course at the intersection of mechanical and electrical engineering.
Mehrotra during his first four years of undergraduate degree in 2022,
at the Institute, was a critical member of the Solar Electric Vehicle Team
(SEVT) and eventually led the group to victory in a five-day, 900-mile race.
Later, he applied the skills learned from SEVT to a summer internship in
Ghana with the startup Moving Health, where he worked on low-cost am-
bulances that could transport patients from remote villages to medical care,
without relying on gasoline, as per the release.
After his master’s degree, Mehrotra plans to pursue a PhD focusing on
hydrogen energy systems. “Climate change disproportionally affects people
who live in underserved communities around the world, despite the fact that
most of climate change’s causes originate from western nations. Solving the
energy crisis has implications to many of the United Nations Sustainable
Development Goals, and social impacts far beyond just mitigating climate
change” he said.
Mehrotra credits his parents with fostering his interest, by encouraging
scientific thinking with subscriptions to Ask magazine and National Geo-
graphic, and lots of LEGO play from a very young age.
“My mom always knew she wanted me to go to MIT,” said Mehrotra. So,
he wanted to see MIT for himself and Campus Preview Weekend (CPW)
gave him that opportunity.

SUSHEELA JAYAPAL

Multnomah County

Commissioner resigns andini Das is the proud winner of the 11th British Academy Book Prize
for her book, ‘Courting India: England, Mughal India, and the Origins
Nof Empire’.
ultnomah County Commis- Professor Das, who is Professor of Early Modern Literature and Culture,
sioner Susheela Jayapal has presents an important new perspective on the origins of empire through the
Mresigned from the Board of story of the arrival of the first English ambassador in India, Sir Thomas Roe,
County Commissioners. She became in the early 17th century, in her debut book.
the first Indian American elected to a The British Academy noted: “The book recasts the story of Britain and
commissioner’s seat in Oregon. Jay- India, moving us beyond a Eurocentric telling with an even-handed, entertain-
apal said she plans to run for Con- ing tale of the encounter of two cultures and the ambitions, misunderstand-
gress in Oregon’s 3rd Congressional ings and prejudices that came to the fore. In this genuinely ground-breaking
District, currently occupied by Rep. work, Indian-raised Das challenges our understanding of this pivotal pre-co-
Earl Blumenaeur. Blumenaeur an- lonial period. Drawing on a rich variety of sources – literature, the memoirs
nounced that he would not be run- of the Mughal Emperor Jahangir, the journals and correspondence of Sir
ning for re-elections in 2024. Thomas Roe, plus the archives of the East India Company – Das invites the
Jayapal thanked Blumenauer reader to get to grips with the making of history, and its narration from both
for his leadership representing Ore- perspectives.”
gon over the past few decades. She Commenting on behalf of the judging panel, Professor Charles Tripp said,
pointed to his advocacy for the en- “Nandini Das has written the true origin story of Britain and India. By using
vironment, democracy and equal contemporary sources by Indian and by British political figures, officials and
opportunity for all Americans. “I’m Continued on next page... >>

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