Think! And Engage!

Students commenting, after gaining the wisdom from experiences

2017-08-18T21:52:00.000-05:00

I am just so happy you are coming. You have been so influential in my life, all through college and in my career.... KH

I would also like to thank dr. Gurram Gopal, whose support has gone beyond any academic environment, giving me his experienced advice for almost all important decisions I had to make during my time at IIT...JVD

I wanted to add that every meeting with you was the perfect moment of brainstorming and inspiration for every new focus I wanted to give to the project. I am grateful that you could accept be my advisor in the first place, and be capable of learning not only from your insights and perspective but also getting to know such a wonderful person.... AM

I would like to thank you for the terrific course. I was eagerly waiting for this course with much anticipation and I must say it exceeded all of my expectations. Without any exaggeration I can say you are the best professor I have ever had! DJ

Thank you so much, Dr. Gopal!! :) I owe some of my success thanks to you! CS

Thank you Professor Gopal! I'm definitely thankful for all the studies we did in class, because they helped me to prepare for the projects I'm working on now! NR

XYZ here from Elmhurst. I wanted to ask you something about a piece of advice that you gave me a few years ago (at least I believe it was you that gave me this advice). You told me to wait and go to graduate school when I could go to an outstanding program that really matters. Could you elaborate?
I have been working in Logistics and Assets Protection Management since I graduated and I am starting to get very bored. I am really missing school and am beginning to look into graduate programs that may provide a career opportunity that allows me to use more critical thinking skills. Would you have any thoughts or advice on this Topic? I remember having a great conversation about it - I just wish I could remember what all you said. Isn't that how it always seems to go?! I appreciate any and all advice- that you may be able to provide.... MH

I was wondering if you would be willing and free sometime to meet up, perhaps after dinner or another day we are both downtown? I am having career conflict and am in the need of some advice, you were always so helpful, even if you could just point me in the direction of someone else to talk to I would really appreciate it! EC

Father

2016-04-03T23:21:00.002-05:00

It is the anniversary of my father's passing away. The wound is still raw. Miss him. I could use his advice every day. He loved us dearly. I am happy that SR finally got to work in her area of interest this year- father would be pleased.

10 incredible facts about the deep ocean | New York News

2016-03-06T23:57:00.001-06:00

10 incredible facts about the deep ocean | New York News: "The ocean is deep. In fact, most of it is deep.

Officially anything deeper than just 200 meters is considered the “deep sea”, but the average depth of the entire ocean is about 3.5km and the deepest point – the Challenger Deep in the Mariana Trench, in the western Pacific – is a little short of 11km down.

That means that most of the living space on Earth is in the deep sea.

We scientists like to categorize things and the ocean depths are no exception.

Depths from the surface to 0.2km is known as the “littoral zone”, from 0.2km to 3km, the “bathyal zone”, and from 3km to 6km, the “abyssal zone”.

Anything deeper than that is the “hadal zone”."

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Breakup service does dirty work for the lovelorn - CNN.com

2016-03-04T23:38:00.001-06:00

Breakup service does dirty work for the lovelorn - CNN.com: "The Canadian duo, Mackenzie and Evan Keast, will cut relations with your significant other -- for a price. Their most popular options, the breakup text and breakup phone call, cost $10 and $29, respectively. Rush order is available for an additional fee.

The Breakup Shop's unconventional methods have sparked a conversation about the ever-increasing role technology plays in modern relationships, especially among millennials, who have been accused of lacking face-to-face communication skills."

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No Debating Trump's Ignorance After That Debacle - Bloomberg View

2016-03-03T23:51:00.001-06:00

No Debating Trump's Ignorance After That Debacle - Bloomberg View: "Changing positions over time when the facts change is a fine trait in politicians, and they are unfairly abused for it by the press. But that’s not Trump’s situation. Trump is instead admitting that he was ignorant on government and public policy, and even current events, and that he didn't think that ignorance was worth correcting until someone happened to ask him a question. At which point the appropriate thing to do, he apparently believes, is to say the first thing that comes to mind and then go back and learn more about it later."

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Painkillers, hot water bottles – and a day off work: the benefits of a period policy | Life and style | The Guardian

2016-03-02T23:30:00.001-06:00

Painkillers, hot water bottles – and a day off work: the benefits of a period policy | Life and style | The Guardian: "You have popped the painkillers, have a hot water bottle tucked under your jumper, but you still feel lousy. Do you take the day off? For women lucky enough to work in Bristol company Coexist, the management has formalised the answer: hell, yes. The company, which employs 24 women in its 31-strong workforce, has said that women will be allowed to take time off when they are in pain. Instead of taking the days off as sick leave, the company’s period policy asks female employees to make up the time later.

The organisation’s director, Bex Baxter, says, the policy “allows women to take time for their body’s natural cycle.” If this sounds slightly new age-y, consultant gynaecologist Gedis Grudzinskas thinks the company is being extremely sensible. The infertility expert and former emeritus professor has previously suggested that women who feel “lousy” during their periods should be allowed to stay at home. Now he says: “I am pleased the matter is being discussed and there has been some action. All workplaces should be accommodating when we are not feeling our best. There are gynaecological conditions – such as endometriosis – that are triggered by menstruation. That’s a disease which is a sick leave matter, but then there is menstruation itself, which leaves many women unsettled by symptoms. I can’t imagine how grateful I would be to have a day off when I was feeling off.”"

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IBM is ditching its contentious employee review system for one that employees asked for - Yahoo Finance

2016-02-01T14:51:00.001-06:00

IBM is ditching its contentious employee review system for one that employees asked for - Yahoo Finance: "But it has also been doing ongoing rolling layoffs for years. IBM calls them "resource actions" and "workforce rebalancing." IBM doesn't disclose any information about its layoffs, beyond how much such "workforce rebalancing" costs the company every quarter.

For years, IBM employees have said worried that the annual employee review could give them a red flag, even if they had previously received high ratings, making them vulnerable to being cut.

And so, internally, there was a lot of politics and angst all focused on that performance number. "

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Amazon Likely Working On Spotify-Like Music Streaming Service - Forbes

2016-01-31T23:55:00.001-06:00

Amazon Likely Working On Spotify-Like Music Streaming Service - Forbes: "Amazon has sold music for a while, of course, via its Prime service, but the amount of content available is literally a small fraction of that available by the Apple AAPL +3.09% Music and Spotifies of the world. The New York Post has a source that claims that Amazon is ready to throw its hat into that musical ring and has had some of its executives meeting with top-level music executives to try to hammer out a deal on par with what the other full-on streaming services offer. And, according to the source, it may be ready to press play as soon as this fall.

The source also says that Amazon would likely charge a competitive $10 a month for access, however there’s no word on if there would be a discounted (or even free) tier for Amazon Prime customers. Music licensing isn’t cheap, however it could be enough to convince those on the fence about Prime to make the move to subscription."

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Boeing (BA) 787-9 Enables United (UAL) to Plan Longest Flight by a U.S. Carrier - TheStreet

2016-01-29T17:06:00.001-06:00

Boeing (BA) 787-9 Enables United (UAL) to Plan Longest Flight by a U.S. Carrier - TheStreet: "Once again United (UAL - Get Report) will use the world's most advanced airplanes on one of commercial aviation's most aspirational routes from what is now the most important developing U.S. hub.

Starting June 1, United will fly the Boeing (BA - Get Report) 787-9, the upgraded Dreamliner model, from San Francisco International Airport to Singapore. At 8,446 miles, the route will be the longest 787 route in the world as well as the longest scheduled flight by any U.S. carrier.

The flight will take 16 hours and 20 minutes westbound and 15 hours and 30 minutes eastbound.

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Aspirational network planners "dream about services like this and wish we had the airplanes to do it," said Brian Znotins, United vice president of network. "So when we reach the confluence of an airplane with range capability and can fly the only non-stop from North America to Singapore, we will jump at that.""

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Does IBM's CEO Deserve Her $4.5 Million Bonus? - Yahoo Finance

2016-01-29T17:05:00.001-06:00

Does IBM's CEO Deserve Her $4.5 Million Bonus? - Yahoo Finance: "International Business Machines Corp. (NYSE: IBM)’s stock is down 19.4 percent in the past year and more than 30 percent in the past two years. While you might think CEO Virginia "Ginni" Rometty is taking some heat for the stock’s performance, she’s actually taking up to a $4.5 million bonus for 2015 and an 11 percent pay raise.

According to the company’s latest filings, Rometty will earn a base salary of $1.6 million in 2015, up from $1.5 million in 2014. In addition, she will be issued $13.3 million in restricted stock compared to the $12.75 million in stock she received last year.

If Rometty earns her full bonus, she will take home a total of $19.9 million in 2015, up 11 percent from her 2014 total of $17.9 million.

Related Link: Morgan Stanley: Recessions Aren't What They Used To Be

Many suffering shareholders are likely not pleased with the company’s generosity toward Rometty, who announced last year that IBM would be abandoning its push to achieve $20 EPS by 2015.

Only time will tell if Rometty’s push to turn around IBM’s business by trimming low-margin and unprofitable business segments and investing heavily in cloud computing will ultimately pay off in the end or if it's too little too late to save IBM."

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IBM's CEO writes a new chapter on how to turn failure into wealth - LA Times

2016-01-29T17:04:00.001-06:00

IBM's CEO writes a new chapter on how to turn failure into wealth - LA Times: "On that day, IBM closed at $122.59. That was a drop of 37% from its peak of $194.34 (in dividend-adjusted terms) during her tenure, which was reached in September 2012, nine months after Rometty took the helm.

That stock price performance is not just bad. It's approaching Carly Fiorina bad. Fiorina took Hewlett-Packard's stock price down some 49% during her more than five years as CEO; since her firing in 2005 she hasn't had another corporate job and has been reduced to running for president. But Rometty is still in place at IBM, with no exit in sight.

One year ago, when Rometty was awarded her $3.6-million bonus, a 13.3-million-share incentive award payable in 2018, and a 6.7% bump in her base salary to $1.6 million from $1.5 million, we asked what the IBM board could have been thinking. The new bonus makes the question even more urgent, for the latest financial numbers are all pointing down. "

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IBM's CEO writes a new chapter on how to turn failure into wealth - LA Times

2016-01-29T17:03:00.001-06:00

IBM's CEO writes a new chapter on how to turn failure into wealth - LA Times: "ni Rometty! You've led IBM to 15 straight quarters of declining revenue! Your profit was down 15% last year! Your stock price has plummeted by 36% from its peak! What are you going to do next?"

"I'm going to the bank, to deposit my $4.5-million bonus!"

For IBM shareholders, Ginni Rometty's four-year reign as chief executive officer hasn't been anything to go to Disneyland about. But her company has become a leader in one corporate category: board members willing to shovel incentive pay at a CEO turning in a worse-than-mediocre performance."

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Clearer picture emerging over Brazil′s mining disaster | Environment | DW.COM | 27.01.2016

2016-01-27T22:36:00.001-06:00

Clearer picture emerging over Brazil′s mining disaster | Environment | DW.COM | 27.01.2016: "The only way to reach Bento Rodrigues, a small town in the Mariana district of Brazil's mineral-rich state of Minas Gerais, is via a bumpy dirt road.
On approach, the muddy remains of the town that was destroyed when the nearby Fundao tailings dam burst come into view. A blue car, seemingly untouched, balances in the middle of the mess of mud, broken homes and twisted metal.
What is widely considered Brazil's worst environmental disaster occurred November 5, 2015, when a tailings dam in the Mariana district burst, unleashing millions of tons of toxic mud.
The dam breach killed 17 people, left hundreds homeless and polluted the Rio Doce, the region's most important river. Innumerable fish were killed and the river ecosystem devastated before the toxic tailings spilled into the Atlantic Ocean."

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IIM Ahmedabad ranks 24 in FT’s Global MBA Ranking 2016 - The Economic Times

2016-01-25T00:15:00.001-06:00

IIM Ahmedabad ranks 24 in FT’s Global MBA Ranking 2016 - The Economic Times: "MUMBAI: The Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad has been ranked 24th and the Indian School of Business and IIM Bangalore have taken 29th and 62nd places respectively in the Financial Times (FT) Global MBA Ranking 2016.

This ranking evaluates the world's best full-time MBA programmes.

IIMA was ranked number one worldwide for career progress of its alumni.

While IIM Ahmedabad has edged up two places in the overall list from 26th rank last year, ISB has moved up from 33nd spot and IIM Bangalore from 82nd last year. "

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Plastic now pollutes every corner of Earth | Environment | The Guardian

2016-01-23T23:47:00.001-06:00

Plastic now pollutes every corner of Earth | Environment | The Guardian: "Humans have made enough plastic since the second world war to coat the Earth entirely in clingfilm, an international study has revealed. This ability to plaster the planet in plastic is alarming, say scientists – for it confirms that human activities are now having a pernicious impact on our world.

The research, published in the journal Anthropocene, shows that no part of the planet is free of the scourge of plastic waste. Everywhere is polluted with the remains of water containers, supermarket bags, polystyrene lumps, compact discs, cigarette filter tips, nylons and other plastics. Some are in the form of microscopic grains, others in lumps. The impact is often highly damaging."

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Storks shun migration for junk food - BBC News

2016-01-22T23:43:00.001-06:00

Storks shun migration for junk food - BBC News: "Storks feeding on rubbish dumps instead of migrating are more likely to survive the winter, research shows.
The bird is among a growing number of migratory species that have changed their behaviour due to human influences, says an international team.
Until recently, all white storks in Europe migrated south for the winter, but now more are flying shorter distances to snack on food on dumps.
The white stork breeds from Europe to north-west Africa and western Asia.
White storks in Europe have traditionally flown south to spend the winter in Africa but in recent decades an increasing number have stayed closer to home, drawn to the food discarded at landfill sites."

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Methane Plume Spreads Across LA's San Fernando Valley - SPIEGEL ONLINE

2016-01-17T23:44:00.001-06:00

Methane Plume Spreads Across LA's San Fernando Valley - SPIEGEL ONLINE: "Independent researchers reported detecting elevated methane levels as far as 8 miles from the massive, ongoing leak of natural gas from a storage site in northwestern Los Angeles. A ruptured well at Southern California Gas Co.'s Aliso Canyon underground facility has spewed more than 80,000 metric tons of methane into the atmosphere since the leak was discovered Oct. 23. The release of the powerful greenhouse gas led to the evacuation of thousands of people from the affluent Porter Ranch neighborhood a mile from the leak after reports by residents of nosebleeds, rashes, headaches and nausea."

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RIP, Walmart Express - Bloomberg Gadfly

2016-01-16T23:57:00.001-06:00

RIP, Walmart Express - Bloomberg Gadfly: "Walmart's decision to shutter its Express stores does not bode well for a company with few prospects for growth. The retailer, which already brings in half a trillion dollars of annual sales, announced 269 store closures Friday, with an added surprise: 100 or so of those will be its smaller Express stores, modeled after convenience stores.
CRUMBLING PRICE

And just like that, one of Walmart's only avenues for growth was closed at a time when its two other growth prospects -- international expansion and online sales -- are slowing. Shares dropped by 2 percent."

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Bernie Sanders Tells Walmart To ‘Get Off Welfare’ [Video]

2016-01-16T23:53:00.001-06:00

Bernie Sanders Tells Walmart To ‘Get Off Welfare’ [Video]: "“In America today, one family — the Walton family of Walmart — owns more wealth alone than the bottom 40 percent of the American people. And by the way, when we talk about the Walton family, the wealthiest family in America, and when we talk about Walmart, understand that Walmart is the major beneficiary of welfare in America. Isn’t it weird that many of the people who work at Walmart are on Medicaid, which you pay for; they’re on food stamps, which you pay for; they’re on government-subsidized housing which you pay for, because the Walton family refuses to provide the wages and benefits their workers deserve. So I say to the Walton family, the weathiest family in this country, get off of welfare, start paying your workers a living wage.”"

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Taiwan elects its first female president; China ties on the line - CNN.com

2016-01-16T23:49:00.001-06:00

Taiwan elects its first female president; China ties on the line - CNN.com: "Taipei (CNN)Taiwan has elected its first female president in a landmark election that could unsettle relations with Beijing.

Tsai Ing-wen, leader of the opposition Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), won the presidency with 56.1% of the vote, the official Central News Agency said, after eight years under the government of the pro-China Kuomintang (KMT) or Nationalist Party.

Eric Chu, the Nationalist Party candidate in Taiwan's presidential election conceded defeat late Saturday and congratulated rival Tsai Ing-wen on her victory, the agency added.

Her supporters filled streets, waving party banners and cheering to victory announcements made from a stage."

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NIH’s big cancer database coming soon - The Washington Post

2016-01-14T23:42:00.001-06:00

NIH’s big cancer database coming soon - The Washington Post: "Most experts believe that one important element of Vice President Biden's cancer "moonshot" has to be a major database that researchers and clinicians can access to help them develop new therapies or treat patients.

Both the American Society of Clinical Oncology and the American Association for Cancer Research have launched such projects, as have some big academic cancer centers.

And Thursday, during a teleconference with reporters to discuss President Obama's State of the Union call for a stepped-up war on cancer, the National Cancer Institute's acting director, Douglas R. Lowy, stressed that his agency is nearing completion on an effort of its own."

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Southeast Asia Burns Up the Ranks of Global Polluters - Bloomberg Business

2016-01-13T23:25:00.001-06:00

Southeast Asia Burns Up the Ranks of Global Polluters - Bloomberg Business: "As Southeast Asian economies boomed last decade, so did their pollution.
The region's emissions of carbon dioxide grew more rapidly between 1990 and 2010 than any other part of the world, with the Asian Development Bank warning the associated global warming could trigger floods, water shortages and economic losses.
Carbon dioxide emissions from fossil fuels surged 227 percent in Southeast Asia in the 20-year period, compared with 181 percent in South Asia and 12 percent in North America, the ADB said, citing World Bank data. Southeast Asia's emissions in metric tons per capita increased 157 percent in the period, also the fastest in the world, according to World Bank data compiled by Bloomberg. "

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Why climate change is an ethical problem - The Washington Post

2016-01-12T00:02:00.001-06:00

Why climate change is an ethical problem - The Washington Post: "Climate change presents a severe ethical challenge, forcing us to confront difficult questions as individual moral agents, and even more so as members of larger political systems. It is genuinely global and seriously intergenerational, and crosses species boundaries. It also takes place in a setting where existing institutions and theories are weak, proving little ethical guidance.

A central component of this perfect moral storm is the threat of a tyranny of the contemporary, a collective action problem in which earlier generations exploit the future by taking modest benefits for themselves now while passing on potentially catastrophic costs later."

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U.S. wildlife officials reject protections for an Alaska wolf in decline - LA Times

2016-01-10T00:13:00.001-06:00

U.S. wildlife officials reject protections for an Alaska wolf in decline - LA Times: "For more than two decades, conservation groups have argued that a wolf and the rainforest in southeast Alaska where it lives are at risk.

While the groups have won strong restrictions on logging of the Tongass National Forest, the nation's largest, they have been denied in their efforts to win federal protection for the wolf.

This week, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service denied them again: The agency determined that the wolf, known as the Alexander Archipelago wolf, should not be listed as an endangered or threatened species."

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Another Life: Galway’s hippy ideas are just what the environment needs

2016-01-09T23:44:00.001-06:00

I had the time of my life in Galway during 2011-2012- made lasting friendships, ran by the coast many times, enjoyed the Galway Culture.

Another Life: Galway’s hippy ideas are just what the environment needs: "Even as traffic clogs its roundabouts, and the old limestone heartland darkens again with rain, Galway’s relationship with landscape and ocean is rare and right, its nautical mood an uplifting span from the worst of the modern world.
It also, of course, has a vibrant cultural pulse, a university tuned to the wild nature on its doorstep, and an appetite for youthful ideas. An impressive range of these is gathered in the 100 pages of A Vision for Galway 2030 (avisionforgalway2030.wordpress.com). Launched by the mayor before Christmas and now smartly packaged and linked online, it is the work of Transition Galway, an environmental group with a gift for engaging the public in “solutions” for a low-carbon urban future."

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