• We're producing results at the lab here, and will hopefully have all the remaining items needed this week. It has been fantastic having a recent Civil Engineering graduate take the lead on running tests. The lab staff helping us is great, and with having 30+ years' experience, they know how it's done here.

• Had a great meeting with the NGO SPARC, the most influential slum-dwellers (SDs) advocate in Mumbai, and possibly in the world. They realized early-on the importance of slum redevelopment and worked with SDs to develop equitable development plans. When it got to hiring a contractor to put them into action though – things got pricey. So they did what any of us would...started their own non-profit construction company! It makes sure that the interests of the SDs are always at the top, employs people in building their future homes, and is able to sell apartment units at 600 Rs. / ft2 instead of the retail rate of 1000 Rs. / ft2. Innovative financing makes them even more accessible. There are plenty of opportunities for us to collaborate towards common goals, the most obvious of which is my low-cost cement. If my cement is half the cost, that might lower the cost of construction by 5%, which would be passed directly on to the purchasers. They already batch their own concrete, so it may even be feasible to set up a plant to batch green cement, letting them own even more of the supply chain. This is where it all comes together.

• Making progress on several parallel paths at Drexel, thanks to the excellent team (notably, mostly freshmen and sophomores). For example: we are investigating making geopolymer cement from soil in Bangladesh, the only material they have in abundance. We are doing testing in Philadelphia, I'm managing from Mumbai, and we got excellent consultation from colleagues in Brazil and Australia, the latter who is currently in Chicago. What an amazing time to be alive.

• Finally submitted the two papers I've been working on for 2+ years. The process is moving forward; looks promising so far.

So, overall, I think I'm settled in and basically firing on all cylinders - in no small part due to many answered prayers and small miracles. Onwards and upwards.