Syed Babar Ali School of Science and Engineering
Syed Babar Ali School of Science and Engineering
Syed Babar Ali School of Science and Engineering (SBASSE) at LUMS is the first private research school of science and engineering in Pakistan. In higher education, the term research school refers to a model of teaching and scholarship practised by some of the best institutions in the world where the primary function of the university is to create and disseminate new knowledge. SBASSE has consciously modelled itself along the lines of the world’s top research schools and has a highly qualified faculty to accomplish its mission. The hallmark of SBASSE is its no-boundaries philosophy, which encourages cross-disciplinary collaborations not only between various disciplines at SBASSE but also those offered by other Schools at LUMS.
A Different Kind of
Science and Engineering School
in Pakistan
300,000
Square feet of lab and
classroom learning space
70+
Dedicated labs for research,
teaching and support
Accredited by
PEC and NCEAC
Choose your path
Science for Pakistan
Contribution in Science and Technology by the researchers at SBASSE has an impact on the future development of Science in Pakistan.
Meet our Faculty
At SBASSE our faculty members share the boundaries of their life experiences and interests that foster a dynamic learning environment on campus.
Research and Impact
پاکستان میں ایک منظر اکثر دیکھا جاتا ہے کہ کسی ویران سڑک پہ…
Reference Department:Department of Electrical Engineering
پاکستان میں ایک منظر اکثر دیکھا جاتا ہے کہ کسی ویران سڑک پہ دو تین لوگ گاڑی کو دھکا لگا کے پٹرول سٹیشن تک لے جا رہے ہوتے ہیں۔ عمومی طور پہ ایسا پٹرول اسٹیشن کے دور ہونے کی وجہ سے ہوتا ہے۔ تاہم غور طلب بات یہ ہے کہ بظاہر بے ضرر نظر آنے والا یہ منظر کسی بھی ناخوشگوار واقعہ کا پیش خیمہ بن سکتا ہے۔ برقی توانائی کے حالیہ افراط سے وطنِ عزیز میں جہاں بجلی سے چلنے والی گاڑیوں کی آمد کی بازگشت ہے ، وہیں یہ تشویش بھی پائی جاتی ہے کہ ان گاڑیوں کے چارجنگ اسٹیشن کہاں لگائے جائیں گے؟
لمز میں ڈاکٹر نوید ارشد اور انکی ٹیم نے اس تشویش کو بروقت زیرِ غور لانے کے بعد اپنی ٹیم کو ٹریفک انتظامیہ کے مختلف دفاتر میں بھیجا تاکہ وہاں سےٹریفک کے بہاؤ سمیت دیگر متعلقہ اعداد و شمار اکٹھے کیے جا سکیں۔ تمام اعداد و شمار کا تجزیہ، اور موٹر وے کا سروے کرنے کے بعد لمز کی ٹیم نے کُل ۸۵ ایسے مقامات کا تعین کیا گیا جو ہر لحاظ سے چارجنگ اسٹیشن کے لیے موزوں ثابت ہو سکیں گے۔ اعداد و شمار کے مطابق آغاز میں ان میں سے پندرہ کو ترجیحی بنیاد پر قائم کیا جانا چاہیے۔ تحقیق کے مطابق اگر ان پندرہ مقامات پہ دس تیز رفتار چارجر لگائے جائیں تو وہ پاکستان کے بڑے شہروں تک رسائی کی بنیادی ضرورت کو پورا کر سکیں گے۔
لاہور- اسلام آباد موٹروے پرگاڑیوں کے حالیہ بہاؤ، سالانہ اضافے کی شرح اور نقل و حرکت کو مدِ نظر رکھتے ہوئے پانچ مقامات پہ چارجنگ اسٹیشن بنانے کی تجویز دی گئی ہے جس سے لاہور تا اسلام آباد جانے والی برقی گاڑیوں کی چارجنگ ضروریات کو کماحقہ پورا کیا جا سکے گا۔ یہاں یہ امر بھی قابلِ ذکر ہے کہ دن بھر گاڑیوں کے بدلتے ہوئے بہاؤ کے پیشِ نظر یہ تجویز دی گئی ہے کہ جن اوقات میں چارجنگ کی طلب بہت کم ہو تب ایک محرک چارجنگ سٹیشن مطلوبہ مقام تک بھیجا بھی جا سکتا ہے۔
ان چارجنگ اسٹیشنز کا قیام تاجر برادری کے لیے توجہ کا مرکز بن سکتا ہے جیسا کہ پٹرول ا سٹیشنز کے قریب ہوٹل،دکانات اور دیگر تجارتی مراکز کو فروغ ملتا ہے۔ یہ بھی تجویز کیا گیا ہے کہ یہ تمام کاروبار اپنے منافع کا ایک طے شدہ حصہ چارجنگ سٹیشن کو دیں جس سے چارجنگ سٹیشن کے مجموعی منافع میں اضافہ ہو گا جو اسے ملک میں مزید پھیلاؤ کا موقع دے گا تاکہ زیادہ سے زیادہ صارفین کو کم فاصلے اور کم نرخ پہ چارجنگ کی سہولت میسر ہو۔
مکمل تحقیقی مقالہ:
N. Arshad, HOA Khan, M. M. Arslan, and M. A. Javed. Developing Electric Vehicle Charging Infrastructure Across Highways and Motorways of Pakistan. LUMS Energy Institute – June 2021 | https://lei.lums.edu.pk/index.php/2021/06/04/developing-electric-vehicle-charging-infrastructure-across-highways-and-motorways-of-pakistan-report-release/
Raaz Ahtesham is a Carl Sagan Write for Science intern and is an MS student at the Department of Electrical Engineering at SBASSE.
MOF (Metal Organic Framework) is the name of the game here. This unique…
Reference Department:Department of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering
MOF (Metal Organic Framework) is the name of the game here. This unique group of compounds, that look like tiny spheres trapped inside a cube-shaped frame, exhibit the extraordinary ability to be reprogrammed and therefore be reused once a chemical reaction is over. Dr. Basit Yameen, Associate Professor at the Department of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering at SBASSE, along with his team of researchers herald the age of chemicals and materials that are programmable to the wishes of the chemist.
Co-led by Dr. Basit, a team of researchers spanning three different continents (Europe, Asia and Australia) was able to pull off the extraordinary feat of developing a simple route to reprogram the chemical nature of MOF materials. One of the ways to flip the switch of reprogram-ability was found to be through thermally triggered reversible Diels–Alder (DA) and hetero-Diels-Alder (HDA) reactions through the trifecta of Zirconium, Zinc and Aluminium derived MOFs. In addition, the thiol-maleimide Michael addition reaction was also demonstrated as a post-synthetic modification (PSM) for the fabrication of chemically diverse MOFs.
This exciting piece of work is part of Dr. Basit’s research efforts focused on developing facile strategies for chemical reprogramming of a diverse range of materials. Considering the ever-evolving challenges associated with the sustainable and reliable access to functional materials and their fossil fuel origin, the discovery of such strategies will enable the practical realization of Circular Economy model. The members of Dr. Basit’s research group Dr. Sana Nayab (Postdoctoral research fellow) and Ms. Iqra Azeem (PhD student) played the leading role in this study.
The study was published in the leading American Chemical Society (ACS) Journal Inorganic Chemistry with the title: Reversible Diels–Alder and Michael Addition Reactions Enable the Facile Postsynthetic Modification of Metal–Organic Frameworks.
Sana Nayab, Vanessa Trouillet, Hartmut Gliemann, Peter G. Weidler, Iqra Azeem, Saadia R. Tariq, Anja S. Goldmann, Christopher Barner-Kowollik, and Basit Yameen
Inorganic Chemistry 2021 60 (7), 4397-4409
DOI: 10.1021/acs.inorgchem.0c02492
What does not kill you makes you stronger. While not generally touted…
Reference Department:Department of Biology
What does not kill you makes you stronger. While not generally touted as absolute truth, the above idiom correctly sums up trends in antimicrobial resistance amongst pathogens. Like the dreaded final boss in a video game, if you do not correctly eliminate these pathogenic bacteria, they evolve into stronger, smarter versions of themselves and come right back with a vengeance. These versions, commonly known as “super bacteria,” have developed mechanisms that prove resistant against common antibiotics. Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR) is currently described by the WHO as one of the top global public health threats facing humanity. This problem is exceptionally prevalent in Pakistan, where misuse of antimicrobials has resulted in increasing AMR trends amongst common pathogens. However, through the combined efforts of Dr. Nida Javaid, Dr. Safee Ullah Chaudhary and Dr. Shaper Mirza from the Department of Biology, we can start our quest in fighting back against these pathogens and defeat them once and for all.
However, every heroic journey starts with an origin story. For this tale, our researchers described how they found their passion for Biology that began a decades-long journey that culminated in the publication of a ground-breaking research study. Dr. Nida Javaid, one of the researchers for this study, tells us how curious she found illnesses to be as a child. Inquisitive from the start, she wondered how something so microscopic that it is almost invisible could profoundly impact our lives. Thus, began her fascination with these invisible yet powerful agents leading her to choose microbiology and epidemiology as her field of interest. Equipped with a world-class education, a creative mind and a steadfast determination, our heroes understood the gravity of the threat AMR posed to Pakistan and quickly endeavored to find a solution to this problem.
"Know your enemy." Arguably, the greatest military strategist in world history, Sun Tzu understands the importance of insight. To guarantee victory in any battle, one must have a thorough understanding of their opponent; otherwise, they will surely bite the dust. Therefore, the first step to combating rising AMR trends was to analyze the different types of soldiers in the bacterial army, their strengths, weaknesses, and attack strategies. From a scientific perspective, this means identifying the most common pathogens that cause deadly diseases, understanding their evolution to resist certain types of anti-biotics, their geographic distribution across Pakistan and what gender or age-group demographic are most susceptible to infection.
Along with their teams, the above-mentioned researchers have been working on a comprehensive analysis of long-term AMR trends in Pakistan and have published a paper identifying these trends from 2011 to 2015. Conducting a ground-breaking study on such a massive scale poses several formidable challenges, but our researchers have faced these difficulties head-on and dispatched them with ease. Dr. Nida describes how organizing such a vast dataset for this study, from so many sources, was a monumental task. They needed information on the site of isolation, demographics, and antimicrobial susceptibility profile of each isolate against over 15 antimicrobials. That’s more than 3000 separate profiles for each pathogen they have encountered. Even Sun Tzu himself would have blanched at such an onslaught of information. However, our researchers remained resolute and enjoyed the process of diligently visualizing this data. Dr. Nida fondly remembers how satisfying it was learning to utilize Circos plotting software and ultimately transforming the data into a single figure for each pathogen. After the data had been compiled, visualized and analyzed, the researchers began to draw conclusions from the results and buried under layers of increasing AMR trends for many a pathogen, they discovered something quite interesting.
The findings report a rise in antimicrobial resistance in several pathogens isolated from blood and cerebrospinal fluid cultures, such as the Acinetobacter species, which demonstrated the highest resistance rates to all antimicrobials. This, then, could be considered the Lieutenant General of the Bacterial Army, a potent threat that must be defeated, or we would suffer dire consequences. Almost all other pathogens also showcased increasing AMR trends following their leader and showcasing the might of their army. Interestingly, decreasing resistance trends were observed for Staphylococcus aureus against common antibiotics, unlike its other aggressive pathogen comrades. To that end, we would like to nominate ‘S. Aureus’ for Pathogen of the Month for being so well mannered. Truly a shining example for other microbes to follow. These findings were compiled into a research paper nearly half a decade in the making. Through this arduous journey, the researcher's preservation paid immense dividends, as Dr. Nida described her elation when this paper got accepted for publication. This data will be invaluable in planning a stellar counterattack against these pathogens. The paper highlights several actions we can take to stop the growing threat of AMR in its tracks. The public must be aware of the dangers of antibiotic misuse to resolve the problem at its source before it's too late.
The battle lines have been drawn. As one researcher described it, AMR is a major public health challenge. The antibiotic production pipeline is drying out, and microbes are becoming increasingly resistant by the day. By 2050, every minute, a person would die due to antimicrobial-resistant infections. Considering how the COVID-19 pandemic crippled the world and its economies, it is paramount that policymakers should prioritize antimicrobial stewardship to counter the rising trends of AMR.
References:
Title: Trends In Antimicrobial Resistance Amongst Pathogens Isolated from Blood and Cerebrospinal Fluid Cultures in Pakistan (2011-2015): A Retrospective Cross-Sectional Study
Authors: Nida Javaid, Qamar Sultana, Karam Rasool, Sumanth Gandra, Fayyaz Ahmad, Safee Ullah Chaudhary, Shaper Mirza
We are living, breathing chemical conglomerates who’ve carefully…
Reference Department:Department of Biology
We are living, breathing chemical conglomerates who’ve carefully gathered knowledge over the course of centuries, to piece together clues in solving one of the greatest mysteries of our existence – the origin of life on Earth. An understanding of proteins has been a low hanging fruit of this endeavour. Decades of meticulous research on these magical molecules have revealed that much of life’s rich tapestry rests upon their complex and delicate structures. Therefore, tools and mechanisms that can zoom in on the structure of proteins and reveal the identification, are of incredible importance to scientists working on the frontier of life sciences research.
Dr. Safee Ullah Chaudhary, and his team of researchers, have developed a breakthrough tool, called PERCEPTRON, for highly efficient proteoform identification from top-down proetomics (TDP) spectral data. Their work has been published in the journal Nucleic Acids Research (NAR), a paramount achievement requiring nothing less than an outstanding team of researchers.
Reflecting on this distinction, Dr. Safee Ullah said "SBASSE at LUMS has brought together the right ingredients to undertake and sustain world-class research and development work. PERCEPTRON is one sure step to propel LUMS to the cutting edge of Proteomics and Bioinformatics research.”
Dr. Safee Ullah
PERCEPTRON, a web-based platform that outperforms all other similar tools by up to 135% in terms of reported proteins numbers and is ten times more efficient in terms of runtime.
In a technological masterstroke, Dr. Safee Ullah and his team have designed PERCEPTRON’s search pipeline to bring together algorithms for six different parameters:
- Intact protein mass tuning
- De novo sequence tags-based filtering
- Characterization of terminal as well as post-translational modifications
- Identification of truncated proteoforms,
- In silico spectral comparison
- Weight-based candidate protein scoring
To meet PERCEPTRON’s heavy demand of powerful and robust technology, GPU units by NVIDIA were used, along with Microsoft ASP.NET and ANGULAR Frameworks.
Highlighting the importance of team work in this effort, Ms. Kanzal Iman, a PhD student, who is part of Dr. Safee Ullah’s team, said “Working on PERCEPTRON has instilled in me that when you believe in consistent hard work, great things happen. Team PERCEPTRON is a great example of learning from each other and growing together.”
Kanzal Iman
Another fellow co-first author of the paper, Ms Amna Ghafoor commented on the overall journey leading to the publication “The journey from a single “Hello World” to the entire GPU programming of PERCEPTRON has been a very bumpy ride. But thanks to the amazing team and blessing of Allah Almighty, we were able to pull it off Alhamdullilah.”
Amna Ghafoor
Commenting on the future support for this research, Dr. Safee Ullah said “We are looking forward to further support from the university to establish PERCEPTRON as a go-to platform for Proteome research across the globe."
PERCEPTRON aims to fill the voids in conventional protein identification software for TDP data, and make the process easier, more efficient and reliable. We congratulate Dr. Safee Ullah Chaudhary and his team for championing this multi-year effort through in-house resources at SBASSE, and pioneering Computational Biology and Bioinformatics research at the School.
Muhammad Farhan Khalid
Reference: Muhammad Farhan Khalid, Kanzal Iman, Amna Ghafoor, Mujtaba Saboor, Ahsan Ali, Urwa Muaz, Abdul Rehman Basharat, Taha Tahir, Muhammad Abubakar, Momina Amer Akhter, Waqar Nabi, Wim Vanderbauwhede, Fayyaz Ahmad, Bilal Wajid, Safee Ullah Chaudhary, PERCEPTRON: an open-source GPU-accelerated proteoform identification pipeline for top-down proteomics, Nucleic Acids Research, 2021, gkab368, https://doi.org/10.1093/nar/gkab368
More information on PERCEPTRON: https://perceptron.lums.edu.pk/index.html#/home
لمز کی فزلیب میں بطور پی ایچ ڈی طالبِ علم خدمات انجام دیتے…
Reference Department:Department of Physics
لمز کی فزلیب میں بطور پی ایچ ڈی طالبِ علم خدمات انجام دیتے ہوے، مزمل شاہ نے اپنے تحقیقی مقالے میں دو جہتی ٹوپولوجیکل مادے پر روشنی گرنے سے نت نئے بدلتے زاویوں کی تحقیق پیش کی۔ امید ہے کہ ایسی جانچ پڑتال سے بائیوسینسرز کے ارتقا میں جدت لائی جا سکے گی اور مقناطیسی قوت ناپنے والے آلات کو بھی مزید بہتر بنایا جا سکے گا۔
مزمل شاہ صاحب نے اپنی تحقیق میں اِن غیر معمولی مٹیریلز کا استعمال کیا جن کا ڈھانچہ تین پرتوں پر مشتمل ہوتا ہے۔ اس میں پہلی اور تیسری پرت، جس کو دو جہتی سطح تصور کیا جاتا ہے، نہایت باریک ہوتی (صرف ۵ تا ۱۰ نینومیٹرز موٹی) اور برقی اصالت کی خوبی رکھتی ہیں، جبکہ درمیانی تہہ غیر موصل ہوتی ہے۔ مزمل شاہ کی سیمولیشن میں اوپر اور نیچے والی دو جہتی سطح پر روشنی گرائی جاتی ہے جس کے انعکاس میں اہم معلومات چھپی ہوتی ہیں۔ مگر اس سیمولیشن میں مزمل صاحب نے ایک اور متغیر عنصر کا اضافہ کیا: یعنی مقناطیسی قوت۔ اس اضافی جز سے پیدا ہونے والی توانائی کو زیمین انرجی کہا جاتا ہے۔ پہلی اور تیسری پرتوں پر گرتی ہوئی روشنی مقناطیسی میدان میں اپنی تقطیب میں رد و بدل کرتی ہے۔ یہ گھومنے کا عمل دو طرح سے بیان کیا جاتا ہے۔ جب مادے پر روشنی گر کر واپس پلٹ جائے تو اس کو گردشِ کر، جبکہ یہی عمل اگر اس طرح واقع ہو کہ روشنی مادے میں سے آر پار گزر جائے، تو اس کو گردشِ فاراڈے کہتے ہیں۔
مزمل شاہ نے دریافت کیا کہ ۵ ٹیسلا کے مقناطیسی میدان میں حیرت کن حد تک بڑی گردشِ کر دیکھی گئی۔ جبکہ اس طرح کے تجربات میں عمومی طور پر دوسرے مادوں میں گردش محض ۵ یا ۶ ڈگری تک ہوتی ہے۔ اس سیمولیشن میں یہ بڑھ کر ۱۵ ڈگری تک ناپی گئی امید ہے کہ یہ کھوج طبیعیات کے معروف مضمون کوانٹم تھیوری کے مزید کرشمات کو انسانی عقل و فہم کے قریب لانے میں مدد دے گی۔
یہ تحقیقی مقالہ ڈاکٹر صبیح انور، ڈاکٹر علی اکبر اور ڈاکٹر محمد ساجد کے تعاون سے مکمل کیا گیا۔ اس مقالے کی مکمل تفصیلات کے لیے درج ذیل لنک پر کلک کیجیے:
https://www.osapublishing.org/ome/fulltext.cfm?uri=ome-11-2-525&id=446949
M. Shah, A. Akbar, M. Sajid, and M. Sabieh Anwar, "Transitional Faraday and Kerr effect in hybridized topological insulator thin films," Opt. Mater. Express 11, 525-538 (2021).
Graduate Theses
Name: Saad Zia Sheikh
Supervisor: Dr. Muhammad Adeel Pasha
Year: 2021
MS/PhD: PhD
Department: Electrical Engineering
Science Stories
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Taking the Next Giant Leap in Communication and Cybersecurity with 6G And Blockchain
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Ali Hussain Khan, under supervision from Dr. Naveed Ul Hassan from the Department of Electrical Engineering, deems 6G infrastructure as the future of secure and ubiquitous communication – of course, not without blockchain. According to this study, the vision for 6G is driven by futuristic applications like Human Bond Communication (HBC), Multi-sensory eXtended Reality Applications (XR), Wearable Technology based Futuristic Applications (WTech), Large-scale connected autonomous systems (LS-CAS), and greater support for several vertical domains. These applications have very stringent requirements of data rate, latency, and reliability. The nature of data collected by several 6G applications will be increasingly sensitive and critical. The successful adoption of 6G applications by the users would therefore require strict data security guarantees. The stringent network performance requirements of these applications will require support of technologies like Reconfigurable Intelligent Surfaces (RIS), TeraHertz (THz) communication, Artificial Intelligence (AI) and small cell networks. To enable efficient combination of these technologies for the provisions of resources to achieve the performance requirements, collaboration and coordination in a transparent and trustless environment is needed. These technologies also require dense network deployments which will lead to more infrastructure and complicated network deployment. Network decentralization will be needed to simplify the network deployment. In light of this, 6G requirements can be divided into performance-related and security-related requirements.
Blockchain will provide the desired transparency and trustlessness in the decentralized network. It will also provide the strict security requirements of the future communication systems because of its in-built security features. Blockchain is a distributed ledger technology where cryptography and hash functions are used to form a chain of data blocks, created when an event occurs and verified in a decentralized way using consensus algorithms. Automation on blockchain is managed through smart contracts which are computer programs stored on the blockchain to define the contractual obligations and enable the automatic transfer of assets between peers when the required conditions are met. Blockchain, initially only used in cryptocurrencies is now being used in other application domains like smart grid, connected vehicles, and Internet of Things.
To achieve the targets related to performance requirements, 6G networks are expected to be extremely dense 3D integrated communication systems. The previously underutilized vertical dimension (height and depth) would also become increasingly congested with the deployments of high-altitude platforms (HAPs), low-altitude drones, unmanned aerial vehicles, mega-constellations of low earth orbit satellites, and communication ships & submarines. This would make infrastructure and asset management a challenging task. Additionally, the ownership models along with the use of spectrum, computing power and data storage would also become much more complex in order to fulfill the performance-related needs of 6G applications. AI assisted and AI trained models would become increasingly common in 6G to solve challenging resource optimization problems for throughput maximization, latency minimization, and energy efficiency maximization. AI models would also generate and communicate critical signals for several vertical domain applications. Management and security of hard-trained AI models would also become complex in 6G systems. One of the most prominent features of blockchain is the creation of a trustless network where multiple non-trusting parties can interact with each other without any intermediaries. Confidence in the blockchain security features enables decentralized entities in the network to make automated transactions on the network with the help of smart contracts. Consensus algorithms and protocols further allow multiple distributed nodes on blockchain to achieve the same global view of the transactions taking place on the entire network. Integration of blockchain in 6G would therefore provide elegant solutions for resource and AI model parameter management.
With respect to security-related requirements, integration of blockchain in 6G would not only help but also control these targets. Through appropriate selection of network, consensus, and automation management algorithms, blockchain can provide desired levels of data integrity, nonrepudiation, and auditability. Blockchain allows asymmetric Public Key Infrastructure (PKI) based cryptography and the inclusion of privacy preservation frameworks for greater data privacy & confidentiality. Blockchain accepts new blocks only after verification through a consensus mechanism among multiple peer-to-peer (P2P) nodes. Every block is linked to its parent block (previous block in the chain) by a cryptographic hash function. This allows auditability and makes it possible to verify data all the way back to the genesis block. Data integrity in any block can be easily verified simply by checking the hash-trees. Moreover, as the blockchain size increases, data tampering becomes even more difficult because of the linkage between all the chained blocks. Due to these properties, blockchain is different and superior in many ways to traditional security solutions, and a good candidate for security-related requirements in 6G applications.
Commenting on his work, Ali Hussain Khan says “We will demonstrate that combining blockchain and 4G or blockchain and 5G cannot achieve the same level of synergy that we can obtain with blockchain and 6G. Our scenario consists of vehicles, drones and RSUs to incorporate all three dimensions in the system. We consider a data-sharing scenario between vehicles. The data within is considered valid after achieving consensus among the mining nodes after which the data-sharing record is uploaded to the blockchain.”
Ali also mentioned that his team derived the time required for one complete cycle of data-sharing and consensus by deriving relevant expressions based on data sizes and data rates. MATLAB was the primary tool used for all the simulations in this work. They also derived the response of a reputation calculation algorithm based on a pre-defined behavior and calculated the time required for malicious miner detection based on that. His team had observed that for all practical purposes, 6G performed the best and orders of magnitude better than both 5G and 4G. These simulation results are very promising and suggest the use of more secure blockchain implementations in 6G are possible as both complement each other.
Ali Hussain Khan, under supervision from Dr. Naveed Ul Hassan from the…
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Speaker: Prof. Matthias Beller
Vanue: Zoom/Online
Reference Department:Department of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering
CCEW-2: Catalysis is a Key Tool for the Sustainable Production of Chemicals, Pharmaceuticals, and Green Energy Technologies
Abstract:
The cost-effective and waste-free synthesis of materials, life science goods, and all kinds of organic products require efficient chemical transformations. In this regard, the development of more active and selective catalysts constitutes a key factor for achieving improved processes and providing a sustainable chemical industry and society. Despite continuous advancements in all areas of catalysis, organic syntheses and the industrial production of most chemicals can be improved significantly in terms of sustainability and efficiency. The talk will show how new and improved homogeneous and heterogeneous catalysts can be developed by learning from each other. Specifically, the phenomenon of cooperative catalysis will be addressed in the context of non-noble metal-based catalysts. In detail, it will be demonstrated that recently developed molecular-defined and nanostructured cobalt and iron catalysts enable catalytic (de)hydrogenation processes with high yields and unprecedented selectivity. Examples that demonstrate the potential of such catalytic processes with bio-relevant metal complexes compared to more traditional catalytic reactions will also include reactions for energy technologies.
About the speaker:
Prof. Matthias Beller is one of the world’s leading professionals in the field of catalysis. He is the Scientific Director and Head of the Department of Applied Homogeneous Catalysis at Leibniz Institute of Catalysis, University of Rostock, Germany. He completed his PhD with a distinction from the Institute of Organic Chemistry at the University of Gottingen. After that, he spent some time with Prof. Sharpless at the Massachusetts of Technology. Prof. Beller spent some time in the industry, after which he joined the Technical University of Munich as an associate professor in 1996. Since 1998, he is a professor of catalysis at Leibniz Institute of Catalysis.
The research work of Prof. Beller centers on one of the key technologies of the new millennium: catalysis. Catalysts accelerate chemical reactions and reduce the amount of energy required for production. They are indispensable helpers and bring together, which in part would never connect without them. His group’s work has been published in more than 800 original publications and reviews, and more than 90 patent applications have been filed in the past decade.
Prof. Beller has received several awards, including the Otto-Roelen Medal and the Leibniz-Price of the DFG. In 2006, he was also awarded “Entrepreneur of the Year” of Rostock, and he received the German Federal Cross of Merit. Since then, he has received the first “European Prize for Sustainable Chemistry,” the “Paul N. Rylander Award” of the Organic Reaction Catalysis Society (Richland, WA) the Gay-Lussac-Alexander-von-Humboldt-Prize of the French Academy of Sciences, and the Emil Fischer Medal of the German Chemical Society. In 2015, he was awarded an honorary doctoral degree from the University of Antwerp, Belgium, and received the Wöhler price for Sustainable Chemistry from the German Chemical Society and an ERC grant from the European Commission. In March 2016, he received an honorary doctorate from the University of Rennes 1. Prof. Beller is also Vice President of the Leibniz Society, one of the major science organizations in Germany, and a member of the German National Academy of Science “Leopoldina” and three other science academies.
The cost-effective and waste-free synthesis of materials, life science goods, and all kinds of organic products require efficient chemical transformations. In this regard, the development of more active and selective catalysts constitutes a key…
Date:
Registration Link:
Speaker: Dr Sabieh Anwar
Vanue: Zoom/Online
Reference Department:Department of Physics
Single Photon Quantum Information Experiments in Physlab
Abstract:In this presentation, I will review the work done in Physlab, Lahore University of Management Sciences (LUMS) revolved around the building of table-top experiments that use heralded single photons to demonstrate quantum mechanical and quantum information phenomena such as entanglement, density operators and unitary operations, nonlocality, quantum erasure and single photon interference as well as quantum state tomography. Further details of this laboratory can be seen here: http://www.physlab.org/qmlab.
Dr. Sabieh Anwar will talk about "Single Photon Quantum Information Experiments in Physlab" in an upcoming seminar where he invites everyone to an exciting single photon experiment.
Join the session via video meeting: https://lums-edu-pk.zoom.us/j/92891597368
Dr. Sabieh Anwar will talk about "Single Photon Quantum Information Experiments in Physlab" in an upcoming seminar where he invites everyone to an exciting single photon experiment.
Join the session via video meeting: …
Public Lecture Series
Date:
Registration Link:
Speaker: Dr. Sarah Qureshi, CEO/Founder Aero Engine Craft (Pvt.) Ltd.
Vanue: Auditorium 10-301, Syed Babar Ali School of Science and Engineering, LUMS
Reference Department:Department of Electrical Engineering
Environment Friendly Aerospace Technologies for Pakistan
Abstract: Aero Engine Craft is developing contrail-free aero-engines for the reduction of global warming and to induce artificial rain during aircraft flight through on-board water recovery from fuel emissions; creating a vision of the future for the aviation industry whereby it can not only reduce aviation induced global warming but also adopt an approach to treat the fuel emissions as a resource. A revolutionary technology is employed that eliminates contrails at source and recovers water from fuel exhaust emissions as a net positive product. This is a true definition of a disruptive technology; a global first attempt to create water within the aero-engine from the exhaust plume during flight, carry it aboard and release it as rainfall prior to landing. Our product is a low cost alternative to aero-engine redesign, and offers revenue potential to the aviation industry while solving a crucial environmental challenge.
Biography:
Dr. Sarah Qureshi is working on contrail-free aero engines as the CEO and founding director of Aero Engine Craft (Pvt) Ltd. She is also a visiting fellow at the School of Aerospace at Cranfield University. Sarah has a PhD degree in Aerospace Engineering from Cranfield University, UK. Her area of specialization is Propulsion whereby she worked on the development of a contrail-free aero-engine that has been derived from a novel patented technology. Sarah was actively involved with the invented technical outcome of the engine. The innovated engine has a tremendous potential in bringing about an environmental revolution in the context of aviation.
Dr. Sarah Qureshi , along with the inventor of technology Mr. Masood Latif Qureshi has now set up Aero Engine Craft (Private) Limited as Pakistan's first commercial engine and aircraft company to convert this patented technology into a full scale commercial application ready to be used by modern civil transport aircraft. During her PhD, Sarah supervised a number of MSc. students for their research projects on Jet Engine Technology. Prior to this, Sarah completed her master’s degree in the field of Aerospace Dynamics from Cranfield University, UK. Her research involved the design of a trajectory following controller inclusive of stability augmentation, attitude control system and outer loop autopilot for unmanned aircraft (UAVs) flying in close formation for the purpose of air to air refuelling. After graduating as a Mechanical Engineer from Pakistan, Sarah gained extensive experience of working in the local automotive and engineering industry.
Her bachelors' research project involved the development of a measurement and data logging system for the in-cylinder temperature and combustion of an internal combustion engine. Her prime technical interests are focused upon engine technology and aircraft design. Sarah holds a Private Pilot License (PPL) with 70 hours of Flying Experience. She has also learned acrobatic flying and several flight manoeuvres while at Cranfield.
Biography:
Dr. Sarah Qureshi is working on contrail-free aero engines as the CEO and founding director of Aero Engine Craft (Pvt) Ltd. She is also a visiting fellow at the School of Aerospace at Cranfield University. Sarah has a PhD degree in Aerospace Engineering from…
سائنس اور ٹیکنالوجی کی کہانیاں
حَسبِ ضرورت سکسینک ایسڈ
کیا آپ کسی ایسے کیمیائی مادے کو جانتے ہیں جو گھریلو ٹوٹکوں سے لے کر سائنسی تجربہ گاہ تک میں استعمال ہوتا ہو؟ قدرت کے اِس کارآمد کیمیائی نگینے کو سکسینک ایسڈ کے نام سے جانا جاتا ہے۔ یہ ایک ایسا سفید قلمی نامیاتی تیزاب ہے جسے اکثر اشیائے خوردونوش کی تیاری اور دواسازی میں بھی استعمال کیا جاتا ہے۔ صنعتی سطح پر سکسینک ایسڈ کو کیمیائی طور طریقوں سے تو بنایا جا ہی رہا ہے مگر پیداوار کا یہ روایتی طریقہ مہنگے خام مال اور ماحول دشمن نتائج کی وجہ سے زیادہ کارگزار نہیں۔ کیا ہی اچھا ہو کہ اِس اہم کیمیائی مرکب کی پیداوار کا ذمہ حیاتیاتی طرزِعمل کو سونپ دیا جائے! شعبۂ کیمیا اور کیمیائی انجنئیرنگ کے ڈاکٹر روفس ڈِکسن کی تحقیق اسی مرکزی خیال کو عملی جامہ پہنانے کی ایک با معنی کوشش ہے۔
ڈاکٹر ڈِکسن کا تحقیقی مقالہ حال ہی میں ایک نامور سائنسی جریدے Energy and Environmental Science میں شائع ہوا ہے۔ اِن کی تحقیق میں سکسینک ایسڈ کو سستے، موثر اور ماحول دوست طریقوں سے بنانے کی تجویز دی گئی۔ دراصل ڈاکٹر ڈِکسن کی تحقیق ۵ اہم سوالات کے جواب تلاش کرتی ہے:
۱۔ سکسینک ایسڈ کی پیداوار میں کون سا خام مال استعمال ہونا چاہیے؟
۲- پیداوار کو مزید سستا کرنے کے لیے کون کون سی فنیات و صنعتیاتی ترکیبیں استعمال کی جا سکتی ہیں؟
۳- پیداوار سے جڑے معاشی اور ماحولیاتی اثرات کیا ہوں گے؟
۴- اس پورے عمل کو سرمایہ کار کے لیے معاشی طور پر پُرکشش کرنے میں کونسے عناصر اہمیت کے حامِل ہیں؟
۵- سکسینک ایسڈ کی پیداوار میں کون سے معاشی مسائل قابلِ نظر ہیں؟
ان سوالات کو سلجھانے کے لیے ایک ایسی سیمولیشن تیّار کی گئی ہے جِس میں صرف ایسے خاکوں پر نظرثانی کی گئی جو معاشی طور پر استحکام فراہم کر سکیں۔ “مونٹیکارلو” قِسم کی سیمولیشن کے ذریعے ہر ممکن حل کے جوکھم کا تخمینہ بھی لگایا گیا۔ ایک پیچیدہ ریاضیاتی ماڈل کے ذریعے ۸۵ ہزار سے زائد متغیر عناصر اور ۳۵ ہزار سے زائد پابندیاں لگائی گئیں، گویا سکسینک ایسڈ کی حیاتیاتی طرزِعمل کے ذریعے پیداوار کو مختلف زاویوں سے مستحکم اور قابلِ عمل بنانے کی کوشش کی گئی۔ معلوم ہوا کہ سکسینک ایسڈ کو بڑے پیمانے پر بنانے کے لیے گلیسرول سے اخذ کردہ طریقہ سب سے موثر ہے، جس کی سالانہ لاگت ۱۳.۵ کروڑ ڈالر ہوگی۔
کسی بھی سرمایہ کار کے لیے نقصان سے بچاؤ اُس کی پہلی ترجیح ہوتی ہے۔ چنانچہ اِس پوری کاوِش کو صنعتی اعتبار سے کارآمد بنانا ڈاکٹر ڈِکسن کی بھی اوّلین ترجیح رہی ہے تاکہ سکسینک ایسڈ کی بڑے پیمانے پر تیاری کو حقیقی جامہ پہنایا جا سکے اور اِس اہم کیمیائی مرکب کی ماحول دوست اور معاش دوست پیداوار کو یقینی بنایا جا سکے۔ ہم ڈاکٹر ڈِکسن کی اِس قابلِ ستائش کوشش پر اِن کو مبارک باد پیش کرتے ہیں اور امید کرتے ہیں کہ ان کو مستقبِل میں بھی ایسی کامیابیاں ملتی رہیں۔
حوالہ:
Sustainable Bio-Succinic Acid Production: Superstructure Optimization, Techno-Economic, and Lifecycle Assessment Energy & Environmental Science, Apr. 2021 doi:10.1039/D0EE03545ADickson, Rofice
کیا آپ کسی ایسے کیمیائی مادے کو جانتے ہیں جو گھریلو ٹوٹکوں سے لے کر سائنسی تجربہ گاہ تک میں استعمال ہوتا ہو؟ قدرت کے اِس کارآمد کیمیائی نگینے کو سکسینک ایسڈ کے نام سے جانا جاتا ہے۔ یہ…
