- By JVG Krishna Murthy
- 0 Comments
- August 19, 2025
We thank all those participants who registered and those who attended, and the dozens of questions that were asked for a very rich dialog during the Webinar.
Some of the feedback received from the audience:
“It’s great to hear all the great panelists!” – Venkataramana Vojjala
“Maker Bhavans are a good idea but IIT’s are the wrong places. They should be in various Indian villages so that millions of young people in villages can gain manufacturing skills and start small business units to build components and build a wealthy and prosperous India.” – Somayajulu Karamchetty
“Maker Bhavans and open source hardware are great ideas. The end goals are 2 in my mind. One is to make “killer hardware devices” and make them mainstream, subsidized for the general population with the support of the govt. Other is to commercialize them, and generate high growth and revenue companies.” – Rahul Deshpande
With 3.3m NGOs registered in the country, even if 10% are active, that multiplier effect by all NGOs replicating successful innovations in their territories is the best way to shorten the time. Hence, we are looking forward to all mission-aligned entities and professionals to come join our journey. Together we can get there faster.
Please find the links to relevant material from the Webinar:
1. Slide deck used for introducing WGF Programs.
2. Slide deck used for introducing the panelists and their work.
3. Slides of the panelists: Dr. Rameshwar Bhargava, Dr. G. Rajeswaran, Dr. Sundar Kamath, Dr. Ranbir Singh.
3. Questions & Answers from the session.
4. Key Takeaways from the Webinar.
♦ Call to Action: Visit ‘Get Involved’ page to join us and learn about our solutions.
♦ Watch out for our next webinars which will bring similar group of innovators in Health, Livelihood, and Water.
♦ For questions, please write to info@wheelsglobal.org
Click to view the webinar recording
LIVE Webinar – 30th August 2025
CXO ThinkTank Roundtable – Technologies with potential to transform our rural and urban communities
Saturday ~ August 30, 2025
10 am EST, 7:00 am PST, 7:30 pm IST
(Registration is Free)
Webinar Panelists
Dr. Rameshwar Bhargava ~ CEO, Nanotheranostics Inc
G. Rajeswaran ~ Director & CEO, Grantwood Technologies Inc
Dr. Sundar Kamat ~ CTO, Sanmina Corporation
Dr. Ranbir Singh ~ Founder, GeneSiC Semiconductor
Webinar Chair
Ratan Agarwal ~ President, WHEELS Global Foundation
Webinar Moderator
Mr. Suresh Shenoy ~ Vice Chairman, WHEELS Global Foundation
Webinar Summary
In today’s rapidly evolving technological landscape, the intersection of technology adoption and policy management stands as a critical nexus shaping the trajectory of societies, economies, and governance structures worldwide. As emerging technologies permeate every aspect of human life, from artificial intelligence and blockchain to biotechnology and quantum computing, the need for informed, agile, and forward-thinking policy frameworks to drive strategic investments becomes increasingly imperative.
In light of this necessity, the establishment of a Think Tank focusing on matters related to technology adoption and policy management presents itself as a pivotal initiative. Such a Think Tank would serve as a critical bridge between the brightest technology and business minds and those with responsibility for the highest-level policies and investment decisions to transform resource-constrained communities.
This Webinar, “CXO Think Tank Roundtable” is the first in a series to bring together senior CXOs with deep experiences in key industries, and representing the Indian diaspora of IITians as well as other illustrious backgrounds.
Saturday ~ August 30, 2025
10 am EST, 7:00 am PST, 7:30 pm IST
(Registration is Free)
You can join the webinar 15 min early (i.e. 09:45 AM EST OR 7:15 PM IST) to watch the slide show on WGF-related projects & videos.
WHEELS Global Foundation is an initiative of global IIT Alumni community and joined by hundreds of mission-aligned professionals such as doctors & lawyers, with the mission of Technology-Enabled Philanthropy at-scale. WHEELS has also been selected by NITI Aayog, Govt. of India as a member of the Committee for Innovation and Technology Transfer. WHEELS has also signed an MOU with the Ministry for Panchayati Raj for a technology partnership in Rural Development.WHEELS Global Foundation received a Poshan Award from Sadguru Sai Madhusudhan of the Sri Sathya Sai Annapurna Trust for impacting 10 million children. This award recognized WGF's work in nutritional health, maternal and newborn care, and telehealth innovation."
Panelists Overview
Dr. Rameshwar Bhargava is the Chairman and Chief Scientist of Nanocrystal Magnetics, Inc. and CEO of Nanotheranostics, Inc. Dr. Bhargava completed MSc, Physics from Allahabad University in 1959 and PhD, Physics from Columbia University in 1966. He has had distinguishing research career in IBM Research Yorktown Heights NY, Bell Labs. Murray Hill, NJ and Philips Research Laboratories, Briarcliff Manor, NY. In 1993 He left Philips as the Chief Scientist and created Nanocrystals technology, first nanotechnology company is East Coast of USA. Dr. Alexie Yekimov (Nobel Laureate 2023) joined Dr. Bhargava in 1998 to develop the applications of doped quantum dots for medical and high-power LED devices. Today, these doped nanocrystals play a critical role in targeted drug delivery and integrated magnetic devices. The nanomagnets from doped nanocrystals where spin of the electron can be controlled are the building blocks for next generation magnetic devices such as powerful permanent magnets for electric g, electromagnets for portable MRI system, light weight and compact transformers for transmission of electricity. This discovery, which controls electron Spin in quantum dot potentially would create in future, numerous magnetic devices, like the control of flow of electron charge in integrated circuits that led to the first electronic revolution. (Dr. Rameshwar Bhargava | LinkedIn)
Dr. G. Rajeswaran (“Raj”) is the Director & CEO of Grantwood Technologies Inc., Rochester, New York. Dr. Raj received the B.E, M.Tech and Ph.D. degrees, all in Electrical Engineering, in 1976, 1978 and 1983 from the University of Madras, Indian Institute of Technology Bombay and the State University of New York, respectively. Over the past 35 years, Raj has been actively engaged in technology development and the commercialization of LED, OLED and PV technologies. A substantial portion of his research and management career has focused on product delivery. In 2001, Raj was instrumental in the establishment of the world’s first AMOLED display manufacturing joint venture (SK Display) in Japan, serving on its board of directors and delivering the first AMOLED display products to the market. Between 2004 to 2007, during his tenure as a vice-president of Kodak’s display business unit, Raj established the Kodak technology collaborations with Samsung and LG Display that led to the mass production of AMOLED displays. After 22 years with Kodak, Raj served as the president of Moser Baer Photovoltaic Ltd (India) and its Group CTO during a 5-year tenure in India. During this period, Raj also served as the CEO of Moser Baer Technologies (USA) and director of OM&T B.V (The Netherlands) to develop OLED lighting. He has delivered several invited lectures, tutorials and short courses at international conferences. He has delivered 100+ conference presentations and authored several publications. He holds 16 US patents in the field of LEDs, OLEDs and PV. In 2013, Raj was elected as Fellow of the Society for Information Display for pioneering contributions to the development, manufacturing and commercialization of AMOLED displays. (G. Rajeswaran | LinkedIn)
Dr. Sundar Kamath, is the Senior VP & Chief Technology Officer at San Jose-based electronics manufacturing technology leader Sanmina Corporation, with a presence in 20 countries, including a world-class plant and design center in Chennai, India. Prior to Sanmina, Dr. Sundar held technology development and product management roles at IBM Microelectronics (E Fishkill, NY) and MicroModule Systems (Cupertino, CA). He is a TIE Charter Member, a former Board member of the International Electronics Manufacturing Initiative, and an advisor/mentor to startups. He is a co-inventor on 11 US patents, co-author of over 25 technical publications, has presented invited talks at industry conferences (IEEE, ASME, IMAPS, SMTA, etc.,), and contributed to a University text on Microsystems Packaging. Dr. Sundar is co-founder of the annual Ideal Village Conferences at Stanford University, which was launched in 2016 to serve as a collaboration forum for nonprofits, tech companies, and those working on technology-based solutions for rural transformation. He is actively involved in social impact initiatives, such as Heart to Heart Foundation, Annapoorna Breakfast & Nutrition program, PeopleShores, and others related to the Ideal Village project. (Dr. Sundar Kamat | LinkedIn)
Dr. Ranbir Singh is a pioneer and leader in the field of Silicon Carbide power semiconductors for high power and high frequency applications. He delivered solutions to Industries that were unique and relevant, showing leadership in the design, fabrication, characterization of SiC devices. He had published over 200 papers in industry leading conferences and journals, awarded over 30 patents and written 1 book on these subjects. He is also experienced in proposing and winning government and industry research contracts. He is an alumnus of IIT Delhi and associated closely with the programs at WHEELS. Ranbir Sing’s specialties include Semiconductors, Hybrid Vehicles, Solar Inverters, Power, Radiation, High Temperature, Power Semiconductors, Power Devices, Utility Grid, Green Electronics, Rad-Hard Electronics, Oil Exploration Electronics, Aircraft Actuators, Motors, Naval Power Systems, Government, Solid State Power, Power Conversions, DC-DC Converters, Power Supplies, Power Transmission & Distribution, Energy Storage. (Dr. Ranbir Singh | Linkedin)
Suresh Shenoy is the founder and current Vice Chairman of WHEELS Global Foundation. He previously served as Chairman of the American Red Cross in the National Capital Region and on the boards of several companies and organizations, including the Fairfax County Library Foundation and the Association for Intelligent Information Management (AIIM), which recognized him with their highest technology honor, the Award of Merit. He also served as co-President of PanIIT, North America, and is currently on the board of the IIT Bombay Heritage Foundation.
Mr. Shenoy has received numerous accolades, including the Northern Virginia Community Foundation’s community leader award (2009) with a citation from the U.S. Congress, and the TiE-DC Legends Award (2018) with his brother. He is a recipient of the Distinguished Service Award from IIT Bombay and was inducted as a Distinguished Alumnus in 2014. In 2024, he was elected to the Advisory Council of the Children’s Science Center in Northern Virginia.
He holds a bachelor’s degree in Metallurgy from IIT Bombay and an MBA from the University of Connecticut. An adjunct faculty member at George Mason University (GMU), he has also served on advisory boards for the university’s Honors and Engineering programs. (Suresh Shenoy | Linkedin)
Ratan Agarwal serves on the Wheels’ Board as President, bringing nearly three decades of rich experience in building and scaling multiple new start-ups and executive roles (in strategy, operations, marketing, and business development) at several Fortune 500 companies. Currently, Ratan is a co-founder and managing partner of CARBON Group Global, a global sustainability solutions-holding company, creating rapid replications (‘CARBON Copies”) of proven solutions with market-based models in Education & Learning, Women’s Empowerment, Resources (Food, Energy, Water), Health, and Economic Development.
Ratan received his MBA at Wharton School and Masters in Structural Engineering at IIT Bombay and lives in New Jersey (Ratan Agarwal | LinkedIn)
