->BattyBot at 20:37, 13 November 2021

2021-11-13T20:37:56Z

New page

{{EngvarB|date=September 2014}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=September 2014}}
{{Infobox person
| honorific_prefix =
| name = Dr. Ashwin Mahesh
| honorific_suffix =
| native_name =
| native_name_lang =
| image =
| image_size =
| alt =
| caption =
| birth_name =
| birth_date = 
| birth_place =
| disappeared_date = 
| disappeared_place =
| disappeared_status =
| death_date = 
| death_place =
| death_cause =
| body_discovered =
| resting_place =
| resting_place_coordinates = 
| monuments =
| nationality = Indian
| other_names =
| ethnicity = 
| education = PhD
| alma_mater = [[Vidya Mandir Senior Secondary School]], Army School, Bangalore, [[St. Joseph's College, Bangalore]], [[DMS Pondicherry University]], [[Vanderbilt University]], [[University of Washington]],
| occupation = Technologist, journalist, entrepreneur, politician
| years_active =
| employer =
| organization =
| agent =
| known_for = Urban Development, Social technology, Public Interest Media
| notable_works =
| style =
| influences =
| influenced =
| salary =
| net_worth = 
| height = 
| weight = 
| television =
| title =
| term =
| predecessor =
| successor =
| party = [[Aam Aadmi Party]] (currently) [[Lok Satta Party]]
| movement = [[India Against Corruption]]
| opponents =
| boards =
| religion = 
| denomination = 
| criminal_charge = 
| criminal_penalty =
| criminal_status =
| spouse = Sapana Rawat
| partner = 
| children = Aditi and Mahiti.
| parents =
| relatives =
| callsign =
| awards = [[Ashoka Fellow]] (2009)
| signature =
| signature_alt =
| signature_size =
| module = [https://twitter.com/ashwinmahesh @ashwinmahesh on Twitter]
| module2 =
| module3 =
| module4 =
| module5 =
| module6 =
| website = {{URL|ashwinmahesh.in}}
| footnotes =
| box_width =
}}

'''Ashwin Mahesh''' is an urbanist, journalist, politician and social technologist<ref name=toismartlist /> based in Bangalore. After his education in atmospheric science (PhD) and astronomy (MS),<ref name=BMastro>{{cite news|first=Manasi Paresh |last=Kumar|title=Astronomer documents urban past|url=http://www.bangaloremirror.com/article/97/2012051920120519204413378e6d03f65/Astronomer-documents-urban-past.html|newspaper=[[Bangalore Mirror]]|date=19 May 2012}}</ref> he worked as a climate scientist at [[NASA]]<ref name=BMmissedcall /><ref name=NationAE /><ref name=newslau>{{cite web|title=Bangalore's New Agenda Setters|url=http://www.newslaundry.com/2013/05/bangalores-new-agenda-setters/|publisher=News Laundry|date=3 May 2013}}</ref> before switching to a career in governance reforms and urban development. He was a prominent member of the Loksatta movement working for administrative, electoral and governance reforms, and thereafter became the National Vice President of the [[Lok Satta Party]].<ref name="hindulok">{{cite news|title=Lok Satta Party's debut in Karnataka not without gains|url=http://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/bangalore/lok-satta-partys-debut-in-karnataka-not-without-gains/article4696416.ece|newspaper=[[The Hindu]]|date=9 May 2013}}</ref> In July 2016, when the party decided to quit electoral politics, he resigned his position, and began to work closely with the [[Aam Aadmi Party]]. He is a co-founder of the national public affairs magazine, India Together. He also founded the social technology firm, Mapunity, and is one of the co-founders of the electric vehicles-based transportation company, Lithium. He is also a founder member of Bangalore Political Action Committee (BPAC). Ashwin Mahesh was awarded the Ashoka Fellowship in 2009.<ref name=ashoka />

==Personal life==
Ashwin Mahesh did his schooling at Army High School, Bengaluru and [[Vidya Mandir Senior Secondary School]] (1986), [[Chennai]] and then studied Physics at [[St. Joseph's College, Bangalore|St Joseph's College of Arts and Science]] (1989). Later, he did his MBA from [[Pondicherry University]] (1991), M.S. in Astronomy from [[Vanderbilt University]] (1993) and PhD in Atmospheric Science/Climate Science/Geophysics from the [[University of Washington]] (1999). He is married to Sapana Rawat and has two daughters, Aditi and Mahiti. He returned to [[Bangalore]] in 2004.<ref name=NationAE>{{cite news|title=Young professionals seek to change face of India's politics|url=http://www.thenational.ae/news/world/south-asia/young-professionals-seek-to-change-face-of-indias-politics|newspaper=[[The National (Abu Dhabi)|The National UAE]]|date=5 May 2013}}</ref>

==Career==
Ashwin Mahesh was a research faculty at [[NASA]] Goddard Earth Science and Technology Centre in USA.<ref name=toismartlist /> During his Masters studies at Vanderbilt University guided by David Weintraub, he helped develop a technique for discovering newly forming stars, and this was used to discovered a star, known as 'the companion to LkHα 234'. From 1993 to 2005, he was an atmospheric scientist studying clouds and snow in [[Antarctica]] with Stephen Warren, and later working on satellite-based cloud detection technologies.<ref>{{cite web|title=Mapunity : People|url=http://mapunity.in/sections/people|accessdate=24 May 2013}}</ref> His PhD and subsequent work helped improve algorithms for cloud detection over snow and ice-covered surfaces, and this was later confirmed by the launch of the first space-borne laser by the Geoscience Laser Altimeter Satellite mission team that he was part of.

After returning from the US, Ashwin became a researcher at [[Indian Institute of Management Bangalore|IIM, Bangalore]] & at the CiSTUP in [[Indian Institute of Science|IISc]].<ref name=bpacashwin>{{cite web|title=Dr. Ashwin Mahesh |url=http://www.bpac.in/dr-ashwin-mahesh/ |publisher=B-PAC |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20130522165454/http://www.bpac.in/dr-ashwin-mahesh/ |archivedate=22 May 2013 }}</ref> He was also an adjunct faculty member at [[International Institute of Information Technology, Bangalore]].<ref name=toismartlist /> and Urban Research Strategist at the Office of Urban Affairs for the Karnataka government. Ashwin become a driving force behind numerous urban development projects in [[Bangalore]] including rationalisation of the BMTC bus service, [[traffic management]] solutions,<ref name="BMBig10">{{cite news|title=Big-10 roads ever green|url=http://www.bangaloremirror.com/article/10/2009012720090127120205796bf63304e/Big10-roads-ever-green.html|newspaper=[[Bangalore Mirror]]|date=27 January 2009}}</ref> cleaning up and preservation of lakes.<ref name=BMastro /> He was also part of the ''Agenda for Bengaluru Infrastructure and Development Task Force'' (ABIDe).<ref name=BMSpiritIAC />

Ashwin has founded a number of social enterprises. He was listed in ''The Smart List 2012: 50 people whose ideas will change the world'' by [[Wired UK]].<ref name=toismartlist>{{cite news|first=Saswati |last=Mukherjee|title=Ashwin Mahesh makes it to Smart List|url=http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2012-02-16/bangalore/31066529_1_civic-issues-cities-adjunct|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120422155211/http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2012-02-16/bangalore/31066529_1_civic-issues-cities-adjunct|url-status=dead|archive-date=22 April 2012|newspaper=[[The Times of India]]|date=16 February 2012}}</ref> He was awarded the [[Ashoka Fellowship]] for Social Development. In 1998, he co-founded ''India Together'', an online magazine that covers public affairs, policy and development in India.<ref name=ashoka>{{cite web|title=Ashoka Fellows : Ashwin Mahesh |url=https://www.ashoka.org/fellow/ashwin-mahesh |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20111222000905/http://www.ashoka.org/fellow/ashwin-mahesh |archivedate=22 December 2011 }}</ref> He co-founded & is the CEO of Mapunity, a social tech company in Bangalore, that develops IT-led solutions to social problems and development challenges in India.<ref name=BMmapunity>{{cite web|title=Dr Ashwin Mahesh: Think beyond the road|url=http://www.bangaloremirror.com/article/10/20091111200911110015050091f6cbe5/Dr-Ashwin-Mahesh-Think-beyond-the-road.html|publisher=Bangalore Mirror|date=11 November 2009}}</ref> In October 2014, he co-founded India's first 100% Electric Vehicles-based transportation service, Lithium, which began deploying electric vehicles to serve the employee transportation market in metro cities; he briefly took over as the interim CEO of the company in February 2020, but returned to Mapunity and India Together at the of the year, and to establish the How Institute - a Centre for Public Problem Solving, an action-research group for building capacity in public administration and planning.

During the second wave of the Covid-19 pandemic in 2021, Ashwin helped create the #CovidRural volunteer group in 100+ districts across several states that worked with district and taluk hospitals to help them find donors for new infrastructure, medical devices and supplies. The How Institute also began working on an initiative to make CSR funding in India more impactful. He is also interested in heritage and history, and is part of the Kaliloka team documenting the vernacular architectural traditions of the different districts of Karnataka. Ashwin is himself a childhood polio survivor, and has been a Director at Artilab Foundation, which incubates product and service innovations for disabled and elderly persons, and also an advisor to Fourth Wave Foundation, which runs the Nanagu Shaale program for full inclusion of disabled children in schools. He has written for a number of news publications, including a regular column for the Deccan Herald since 2019.

===Political career===
Ashwin Mahesh was associated with the anti-corruption initiative, ''Corruption Saaku'', since its inception, and later played an active role as it grew into ''[[India Against Corruption]]'' (IAC)'s demand for the Lokpal Bill.<ref name="BMSpiritIAC">{{cite news|last=Arunkumar |first=B H|title=Spirit uncorrupted by disability|url=http://www.bangaloremirror.com/article/10/2011082820110828232122989a7358a4/Spirit-uncorrupted-by-disability.html|newspaper=Bangalore Mirror|date=28 August 2011}}</ref> Ashwin ran his first political campaign in 2012 for the upper house of the Karnataka assembly, which he finished fourth.<ref name=NationAE /> He had started many initiatives called ''Missed Call Campaign'' to raise awareness and increase the number of registered voters before the MLC elections.<ref name=BMmissedcall>{{cite news|title=Give a 'missed call' to register yourself as a voter|url=http://www.bangaloremirror.com/article/10/2012041020120410002622234ab5a1d95/Give-a-%E2%80%98missed-call%E2%80%99-to-register-yourself-as-a-voter.html|newspaper=Bangalore Mirror|date=10 April 2012}}</ref> He had enrolled more than 15,000 voters, but ended up with only 4,349 votes in the Bangalore graduates' constituency elections.<ref name=BMlazy>{{cite news|title=Backed by Justice Hegde, dumped by lazy voters|url=http://www.bangaloremirror.com/index.aspx?page=article&sectid=10&contentid=201206152012061501150570635254cb|newspaper=[[Bangalore Mirror]]|date=15 June 2012}}</ref> [[Bangalore Mirror]] newspaper noted, ''if every one of the voters Mr Mahesh enrolled for voting had turned up to cast their ballot on election day, he would have won by a thumping majority'''.<ref name=BMlazy />

In 2013, [[2013 Karnataka Legislative Assembly election|Karnataka Legislative Assembly elections]], Ashwin Mahesh contested from the [[Bommanahalli]] constituency,<ref name=DecHerLok>{{cite news|title=Promising start for Loksatta|url=http://www.deccanherald.com/content/331228/promising-start-loksatta.html|newspaper=[[Deccan Herald]]|date=8 May 2013}}</ref><ref name=DCsocial>{{cite news|title=This time, it's a 'Social' election|url=http://www.deccanchronicle.com/130430/news-current-affairs/article/time-it%E2%80%99s-%E2%80%98social%E2%80%99-election|newspaper=[[Deccan Chronicle]]|date=30 April 2013}}</ref> garnered 11,915 votes<ref name=hindulok /> and finished third.<ref name=DecChronNewvoters>{{cite news|title=Karnataka polls: New voters, but old politics wins|url=http://www.deccanchronicle.com/130509/news-politics/article/karnataka-polls-new-voters-old-politics-wins|newspaper=[[Deccan Chronicle]]|date=9 May 2013}}</ref> The Bangalore Political Action Committee (BPAC), an initiative which was launched by the business community of the IT capital of the nation, endorsed Ashwin in the Bommanahalli constituency.<ref name=bpacashwin /><ref>{{cite news|title=Five of 14 candidates backed by B.PAC win|url=http://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/bangalore/five-of-14-candidates-backed-by-bpac-win/article4696417.ece|newspaper=[[The Hindu]]|date=9 May 2013}}</ref><ref name=IndTodayBpac>{{cite news|title=BPAC experiment clicks in Karnataka polls as candidates make an impressive start|url=http://indiatoday.intoday.in/story/bpac-karnataka-polls-lok-satta-candidates/1/270189.html|newspaper=[[India Today]]|date=9 May 2013}}</ref> He secured 6.75 per cent of the total votes polled, beating even the [[Janata Dal (Secular)|Janata Dal]](JDS) and [[Karnataka Janata Paksha]] (KJP) candidates.<ref name=IndTodayBpac />

==References==
{{reflist}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mahesh, Ashwin}}
[[Category:Ashoka India Fellows]]
[[Category:Lok Satta Party politicians]]
[[Category:Activists from Karnataka]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:Indian Institute of Science alumni]]
[[Category:Politicians from Bangalore]]
[[Category:Year of birth missing (living people)]]

Ashwin Mahesh - Revision history

->BattyBot at 20:37, 13 November 2021