Community News (V15-I29)

3 Dim Team wins MIT entrepreneurship award

3dim, a startup behind the creation of new sensor-level software that recognizes three-dimensional gestures on small, battery-powered, mobile devices, was awarded the Robert P. Goldberg $100,000 grand prize Wednesday night after beating out seven other finalist teams during the MIT $100K Entrepreneurship Competition finale held on the MIT campus.

One of 3 dims’s founder is Ahmed Kirmani, a PhD candidate in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science (EECS) at MIT. His research aims to develop the next generation of cameras with unique new capabilities.

Prior to joining EECS and the Research Laboratory of Electronics at MIT, Ahmed was a master’s degree student at the MIT Media Lab and an undergraduate at IIT Delhi. Ahmed was awarded the 2013 Microsoft PhD fellowship. He was the 2011 and 2012 Qualcomm Innovation Fellowship competition winner, and winner of the 2012 MIT $100K Pitch Contest. He also received honorable mention for the David Marr Prize, awarded to top researchers in computer vision. Ahmed enjoys mentoring undergraduates and encouraging them to invent and approach new challenges. Several of the undergraduate researchers who worked with Ahmed have published their findings at top conferences, and are now attending graduate schools across the globe.

This year’s teams of finalists in the business launch competition — whose offerings included, among others, a nuclear generator to be used in regions off power grids and sensors on a microchip for the measurement and detection of chemical substances — emerged from a pool of 215 teams. A panel of judges made up of entrepreneurs, venture capitalists, scientists, and industry professionals chose 3dim based on the strength of their technology, business plan, and presentation.

3dim’s signal processing software algorithms have enabled the startup to create the first ever mobile 3-D camera that can be integrated into 2014 smartphone releases. Its patented sensor-level software identifies and tracks a user’s gestures around a mobile device, creating interface possibilities in a larger, more natural volume without consuming a portion of the screen or causing the view of the screen to be blocked by fingers.

Bashir Ahmed wins Canada’s top multiculturalism award

EDMONTON,CANADA–Bashir Ahmed of Edmonton, Alberta is the recipient of the 2013 Paul Yuzyk Award for Multiculturalism, announced Jason Kenney, Minister of Citizenship, Immigration and Multiculturalism.

“For more than 20 years, Mr. Ahmed has worked tirelessly in both Ottawa and Edmonton to advocate the importance of multiculturalism and help integrate Somali newcomers, particularly youth, in Canada,” said Minister Kenney. “I am happy to announce him as the recipient of this year’s Paul Yuzyk Award for Multiculturalism.”

The award is bestowed annually on an individual or a group who demonstrates dedication to advancing diversity, multiculturalism and the integration of newcomers into Canadian society. Individuals are nominated in one of two categories: Outstanding Achievement or Lifetime Achievement. Mr. Ahmed was recognized in the Outstanding Achievement category.

A Somali immigrant himself, Mr. Ahmed arrived in Toronto in 1989. In 1992, he began working as a volunteer with Carleton Community and Health Services in Ottawa where he would soon become a member of the Board of Directors. Mr. Ahmed later founded the Association of Somali Teachers and initiated the Multicultural Liaison Program in Ottawa. He is the co-founder and Executive Director of the Somali Canadian Education and Rural Development Organization in Edmonton, which aims to enhance the immigration experience of the Somali community and break down cultural barriers. As a result of his outstanding community leadership and advocacy on behalf of multicultural issues in Alberta, Mr. Ahmed received the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Award in 2012.

Mr. Ahmed, the fifth recipient of the Paul Yuzyk Award for Multiculturalism, was selected from 58 nominations that Citizenship and Immigration Canada received from across Canada. As the recipient, he receives a certificate of honour signed by the Minister of Citizenship, Immigration and Multiculturalism. In addition, a grant of $20,000 will be directed to an eligible, registered, not-for-profit Canadian organization or association of his choice. Mr. Ahmed has chosen the Somali Canadian Education and Rural Development Organization.

The Award was named for Senator Yuzyk who was a member of the Senate of Canada from February 1963 to July 1986 and played a key role in the development of Canadian multiculturalism policy. He has been called the architect of multiculturalism for his early role in achieving policy recognition for the “third force” of Canadian society; that is, those who were of neither British nor French descent.

Teaneck’s Halal Food Tour attracts huge crowds

TEANECK,NJ–Teaneck Halal Food Tour, offering an array of delicacies from around the world, was a huge success with more than thousand people in attendance. The event also featured cooking demonstrations and competitions, northjersey.com new portal reported.

The first Halal Food Tour event was in Los Angeles in April, but Sameer Sarmast, the organiser of the event,  also organized a food festival in Middlesex County last year attended by thousands. The tour’s mission, he said, is to showcase local restaurants and their offerings. Other tour events are planned.

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