American Association of Engineers of Indian Origin Hosts U.S.-India Summit In Chicago

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The American Association of Engineers of Indian Origin (AAEIO) held its U.S-India Summit and Annual Gala on September 17, 2022 at Marriott in Oakbrook, Illinois.

Congressman Bill Foster, D-Illinois, inaugurated the Summit.  President of AAEIO Gladson Varghese welcomed the chief guest and attendees. Chairman of the Summit and Gala Dr. Deepak Kant Vyas and Co-Chairman Dr. Promod Vohra gave the details of the Summit and purpose to the attendees.

The Summit’s goal is to bring political, economic, and innovation leaders from India and U.S. together to address the power of the engineering profession to be a catalyst in promoting innovation, entrepreneurship, and economic development, they told the gathering

Attending the Summit were high level representatives from the public and private sector, a press release from AAEIO said.

Panel discussions and a presentation of best practices in technology as well as networking opportunities were part of the program.

This is first of the many events planned for the next year to bring the engineers of Indian origin together and work towards creating a group to influence students, future startups, entrepreneurs, corporate leaders, and community leaders, organizers said in the press release.

This Summit is an attempt to bring all US engineers of Indian descent on one platform, and also provide AAEIO with the opportunity to mentor future engineering entrepreneurs on a global basis so they can serve as catalysts for change and growth.

Rep. Foster, a former scientist, identified different areas AAEIO, Federal government and various industries could work together to bring innovation through technology.

Immersive Touch, a technology company, presented various ideas for innovation and latest technology in the field of artificial intelligence (AI).

Northwestern University’s Kellogg school of Management Associate Dean Dr. Mohanbir Sawhney talked about current trends, challenges start-up companies are facing and how to overcome the issues.

There was a panel discussion on How Illinois Government can benefit Indians living in Illinois and what are the areas Illinois Senate and AAEIO can work together to benefit Indian engineers, start-ups, businesses and engineering students.

Illinois Senate President Don Harmon, Senate Deputy Majority Leader Laura Murphy, Senator Ann Gillespie, State Rep. Mark Walker, Oakbrook Trustee Dr. Suresh Reddy, AAEIO Secretary Nag Jaiswal and AAEIO President Varghese participated in the discussions and  Dr. Promod Vohra, Dr. Deepak Kant Vyas, and Brij Sharma were the moderators.

A lamp-lighting ceremony where Sen. Gillespie was joined by Board members of AAEIO jumpstarted the event. Varghese welcomed attendees and explained AAEIO’s accomplishments  since it founding, as well as its future goals. A video of AAEIO for the year 2021-2022 was screened.

Awards were presented to individuals and entities for their extraordinary work and to the sponsors.

Avient Corporation from Ohio is now the Corporate Partner of AAEIO, and Kalpesh Patel and Vishwanathan Lakshmanan received the Plaque from Senator Ann Gillespie recogtnizing this partnership.

Patel and Lakshmanan said Avient, a $4 billion corporation, would be working with AAEIO to fill various job opportunities, and that their engineers will become members of AAEIO. They urged other corporations to also partner with AAEIO.

India’s Union Minister for state for Electronics, IT & Entrepreneurship, Dr. Rajeev Chandrasekhar, joined the meeting via Zoom to deliver the keynote address and also participated in the Q&A session. He explained what improvements in innovation, technology and economy, happening in. Innovations in India are going to be a force that is going to impact the whole world, he said. India is one of the fastest-growing economies in the world powered by the innovation, and AAEIO need to take a lead role and work with Indian engineering organizations in India to improve innovation and Technology, he added.

As one of the largest and also the youngest economies in the world, India’s unique demographic holds the promise of making India a thrumming engine of the world economy, he said. He also took questions from the audience.

Prachi Jaitly and Nitin Mahesh were the emcees. Entertainers included Nipa Shah and Parth Patel.

The AAEIO also honored its Life members at the event.