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www.desitalk.com – that’s all you need to know 7 CITY VIEWS January 2, 2026 26 Indian-Origin Scientists From New York And Pennsylvania To Illinois, And California, Named 2025 Fellows of National Academy A t least 26 scientists of Indian origin were elected as 2025 Fellows of the prestigious National Academy of Inventors. They are among 169 selected from US institutions and 16 as International Fellows. The NAI announced the names in a December 11, press release. All of them will be formally inducted as NAI Fellows at the organization’s 15th Annual Conference scheduled to be held June 4, 2026, in Los Angeles, California. This year’s 169 U.S. Fellows represent 127 universities, government agencies, and research institutions, across 40 U.S. states. Of the 26 Indian-origin Fellows, 1 is fromMelbourne, Australia and the re- maining are from US institutions around the country, including NewYork, Penn- sylvania, Illinois, Ohio, Texas, Wisconsin, Massachusetts, California, etc. The NAI Fellowship is the highest professional distinction awarded solely to inventors. According to the NAI press release, together, the 2025 class hold more than 5,300 U.S. patents and include recipients of the Nobel Prize, the National Medals of Science and Technology & In- novation, and members of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, among others. They span every major field of dis- covery, including quantum computing, artificial intelligence, and regenerative medicine, and are tackling the “biggest and most pressing issues” of our time, NAI said. “Their success in translating research into products and services that improve lives demonstrates the continuing impor- tance of the U.S. patent system,” it added. Founded in 2012, the Fellowship has grown to include 2,253 distinguished researchers and innovators, who hold over 86,000 U.S. patents and 20,000 licensed technologies. “Their innovations have generated an estimated $3.8 trillion in revenue and 1.4 million jobs,” the NAI estimates. “NAI Fellows are a driving force within the innovation ecosystem, and their contributions across scientific disciplines are shaping the future of our world,” NAI President Dr. Paul R. Sanberg is quoted saying. List of NAI Fellows of Indian origin • Anant Agarwal, The Ohio State University • Aravind Asokan, Duke University • Ahmad Bahai, Massachusetts Insti- tute of Technology • Sathy Balu-Iyer, University at Buf- falo, SUNY • Rohit Bhargava, University of Il- linois Urbana-Champaign • Suresh Bhargava, Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology • Krishnendu Chakrabarty, Arizona State University • Goutam Chattopadhyay, California Institute of Technology & NASA Jet Propulsion Lab • Kapil Dandekar, Drexel University • Deepakraj Divan, Georgia Institute of Technology • Ravi Droopad, Texas State Univer- sity • Swaroop Ghosh, The Pennsylvania State University • Satyandra Gupta, University of Southern California • Vineet Gupta, University of Texas Medical Branch • Raghu Kalluri, The University of Texas MD Andersen Cancer Center • Raghuraman Kannan, University of Missouri-Columbia • Prasant Mohapatra, University of South Florida • Subba Reddy Palli, University of Kentucky • Dipanjan Pan, The Pennsylvania State University • Chandrakant D. Patel, Hewlett- Packard & University of South Florida • Sanjoy Paul, Rice University • Shashank Priya, University of Min- nesota • Srinivasa Raghavan, University of Maryland, College Park • Arijit Raychowdhury, Georgia Insti- tute of Technology • Gurindar Sohi, University of Wisconsin-Madison • Kripa K. Varanasi, Massachusetts Institute of Technology UB pharmacy professor Sathy Balu-Iyer is among 185 exceptional inventors named to the National Academy of Inventors’ 2025 class of fellows By A StaffWriter PHOTO: Douglas Levere @buffalo.edu Three Indian-Origin Men Among Multiple Arrests Made Under Operation Bad Santa In New Jersey M iddlesex County Prosecutor Yolanda Cic- cone announced on December 22, 2025, that twelve arrests of alleged child preda- tors were made in “Operation Bad Santa,” a multi-agency undercover operation targeting people who allegedly were using social media and various online messaging applications in an attempt to lure underage children for sexual activity. Operation Bad Santa was led by the Internet Crimes Against Children Unit of The Middlesex County Prosecu- tor’s Office, and assisted by numerous other agencies. They arrested 12 men without incident and charged them over the course of six days, December 8, 2025, through December 12, 2025, and December 15, 2025, a press release fromMiddlesex County said. In the sting operation, the underage “children” that the perpetrators were speaking with were, in fact, undercover officers. The defendants were arrested when they arrived at an undercover residence, where they expected to find the child. Instead, they were met with several law en- forcement officers pre- pared to arrest them. Two of the defendants engaged in online child exploitation and were arrested upon their identification. The Indian-origin names on the list of 12 men includes: Hareshkumar “Harry” Vala, 44, of Dunellen, was charged with one count of second-degree Lur- ing and one count of third-degree Criminal Attempt – Endanger- ing Sexual Conduct with a Child. Vedant Khandelwal, 38, of Bridgewater, was charged with one count of second-de- gree Luring and one count of third-de- gree Criminal Attempt – Endangering Sexual Conduct with a Child. Akash Shah, 23, of East Brunswick, was charged with one count of second- degree Luring, one count of third-de- gree Distributing Obscene Material to a Minor and one count of third-degree Endangering Sexual Conduct with a Child. As is the case with all criminal defendants, the charges against the accused, “are merely accusations, and they are presumed innocent until proven guilty,” the Prosecutor’s office said in the press release. The investigation is active and con- tinuing, the press release said. Anyone with information is asked to call the Internet Crimes Against Children Unit of The Middlesex County Prosecutor’s Office at (732) 745-3300. Press Release Photo Credit: Middlesex County NJ