Research Internships in Science and Engineering (RISE)

Important Dates

1. Deadline for receiving applications: June 17, 2024
2. Intimation of selection, Onboarding and Start of internship: July 1, 2024
3. Internship duration: 4 weeks in July
4. End of the internship activity -  Poster session and award of certificates: July 31, 2024 

*Note: Limited hostel accommodations for interns coming from outside Lahore, subject to availability.

RISE Mentors

Please visit Syed Babar Ali School of Science and Engineering Faculty profiles for more details

Here is the list of Faculty mentors who will be hosting RISE interns during summer 24 offering:
Dr. Qandeel Almas: Heterogeneous Catalysis, Biomass Valorization, Sustainable energy production
Dr. Falak Sher: Magnetism and Magnetic Materials
Dr. Ali Rauf: Nanocomposite materials for environmental applications, to mitigate pollution and develop sustainable energy resources.
Dr. Irshad Hussain: Functional nanomaterials
Dr. Muhammad Zaheer: Catalysis, sustainable chemistry and materials
Dr. Ghayoor Abbas: New ligands for transition metal catalyzed cross coupling reactions, new synthetic methodologies for the synthesis of medicinally active small organic molecules, synthesis of new aromatic building blocks for material science.
Dr. Salman Noshear Arshad: Design and synthesis of nanofibers and nanocomposites for applications in energy and environment.
Dr. Muhammad Saeed: Antiviral and anticancer drug designing and discovery, computational modelling, protein dynamics and simulations.
Dr. Qasim Imtiaz: Synthesis and characterization of functional materials for sustainable energy production and heterogeneous catalysis
Dr. Khurram Bashir: Plant Biotechnology/Molecular Biology
Dr.  Safee Ullah Chaudhary: Biomedical Informatics & Engineering
Dr. Shaper Mriza: Molecular pathogenesis
Dr. Muhammad Tariq: Molecular cloning module in the context of development
Dr. Zaigham Shahzad: Genetic engineering
Dr. Adam Zaman Chaudhry: Harnessing the power of realistic quantum systems
Dr. Syed Moeez Hassan: Astrophysics
Dr. Muhammad Sabieh Anwar:  Spintronics, magnetism and optics
Dr. Imran Anwar: Combinatorial aspects of commutative algebra
Dr. Shaheen Nazir
Prof. Nauman Ahmad: dc/dc converters for Solar PV, dc/ac inverters for grid-tie distributed energy sources and VFDs for industrial, off-grid and automotives
Dr. Nauman Zafar Butt: Physics and technology of microelectronic and optoelectronic devices 
Dr. Shahid Masud: Electronics hardware design
Dr. Adeel Pasha: Electronics hardware design
Dr. Hafsa Qamar: EV/HEV drive trains and grid connected PV converters
Dr. Hassan Mohy Ud Din: Clinica Translation and Imaging - Applied Mathematics and Medical Imaging
Dr. Mian Muhammad Awais: Artificial intelligence and Machine learning
Dr. Asim Karim: General computer science and natural language processing
Dr. Imdad Ullah Khan: Data Analysis
Dr. Naveed Arshad: Energy related areas
Dr. Talha Manzoor: Precision Agriculture, Environmental Modelling Water Informatics

Program Directors

RISE program is being conceived and directed by: 
Dr. Basit Yameen (basit.yameen@lums.edu.pk)  
 

For More Information Contact:

Farooq Usman: usman.farooq@lums.edu.pk
Manager - Department of Chemistry & Chemical Engineering 
Syed Babar Ali School of Science and Engineering | LUMS  

 

Program Structure

The knowledge of various disciplines of Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) is the key to finding solutions to the complex and interconnected global challenges related to health, energy, environment, and sustainability as well as creating and capitalizing on new knowledge and associated unprecedented economic opportunities. Considering the astronomical pace at which the knowledge and its implementation is expanding, it is imperative that the younger generation of students experience an early exposure to knowledge and develop abilities to effectively contribute to finding solutions to the emerging global challenges and benefit from the unprecedented new opportunities. Such exposures will equip young students with the relevant knowledge and skills that can have a long lasting and deep-rooted impact on their future academic and professional progress.

Schools and colleges, generally, have limited resources when it comes to providing students with research opportunities in various STEM related fields. Universities, on the other hand, are knowledge hubs that are rich in highly skilled human resources and advanced research facilities. Following precisely designed research training programs, opening the doors of Science and Engineering Universities for the students who are preparing to enter universities can help in exposing them to relevant knowledge at an early age, that can prepare them not only for planning their own career but also equip them with the skills required to understanding and responding to complex and emerging global challenges and opportunities. In this context, we are launching a Research Internship in Science and Engineering (RISE) Program offering research-based internships where an internee will spend 3-4 weeks in a research group and work on an intellectually stimulating research question. Each student or group of students will work in the laboratory of a LUMS faculty member who serves as a mentor and research adviser.

The RISE program directors, in consultation with training faculty (mentors), will match student interests to the available projects. The participating students will become a contributing member of a research group headed by a faculty member and will have the opportunity to contribute to cutting-edge research and thereby experience first-hand what it is like to be a scientist. In addition to the interaction with the leading scientists and diverse community of student researchers and undertaking their internship activities in the advanced research laboratories in an intellectually stimulating environment of Syed Babar Ali School of Science and Engineering (SBASSE) at LUMS, students will also receive basic training and experience in best practices in scientific communication, they will be exposed to potential career paths in academia and industry, and they will participate in an end of activity session.

In summary, the RISE program aims to create an ecosystem that will facilitate students' early access to cutting-edge research in STEM related disciplines.

Target Audience

The program will be open for O/A level or Matric/F.Sc. Students who are planning on pursuing degrees in STEM related disciplines. At this stage, we are confining ourselves to Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, however, the model will soon be expanded to other disciplines related to the STEM education in its future offerings. 
RISE Initiative will serve two Purposes: 1) Offer research and training opportunities to O/A level and Matric/F.Sc. students that are non-existent at the moment. 2) In addition, the RISE program will help in creating enthusiasm towards Science and Engineering Education at the right forums and among the right audience. 
Important dates: 

A tentative schedule for RISE program for Summer 2023  is appended below:   

1. Deadline for receiving applications: Mid of June, 2023
2. Scrutiny and onboarding: By End of June, 2023
3. Internship duration: 3-4 weeks in July.
4. End of the internship activity (poster/presentation session): End of July or early August 

Faculty Mentors

Please visit Chemistry & Chemical Engineering Faculty Profiles available on: 
https://sbasse.lums.edu.pk/department-of-chemistry-and-chemical-engineering

A list of potential Faculty mentors is appended below: 

• Dr. Ali Rauf: Nanocomposites materials for mitigating environmental pollution and for the production of sustainable energy resources

• Dr. Basit Yameen: Smart materials for biomedical applications (nanomedicine and structural biology), (bio)sensing applications (biomarkers and environmental contaminants), alternative energy technologies, environmental remediation, and antiviral and antibacterial surfaces 

• Dr. Faheem Hassan: Membranes and adsorbents for applications in carbon capture, industrial wastewater treatment, nanofiltration, drinking water production, sensing applications, and atmospheric water harvesting

• Dr. Falak Sher: Transition metal oxides for applications in spintronics, thermoelectric devices, solid oxide fuel cells (SOFC) and photocatalysis for environmental remediation

• Dr. Ghayoor Abbas: New ligands for transition metal catalyzed cross-coupling reactions, new synthetic methodologies for the synthesis of medicinally active small organic molecules, new aromatic building blocks for applications in material science.

• Dr. Habib ur Rehman: Materials for energy technologies.

• Dr. Irshad Hussain: metal/metal oxide nanoparticles in biomedical sciences, renewable energy technologies, environmental remediation, and catalysis.

• Dr. Muhammad Saeed: Drug discovery and development through the skills of synthetic organic chemistry, enzymology, and pharmaceutical sciences.

• Dr. Muhammad Zaheer: heterogeneous catalysts for the conversion of biomass to obtain fuels/chemicals, renewable energy generation/storage, and green chemistry.

• Dr. Qandeel Almas: Functional materials for the sustainable production of fuels and chemicals, particularly through the valorization of biomass-derived feedstocks.

• Dr. Qasim Imtiaz: Functional materials for sustainable energy production and heterogeneous catalysis.

• Dr. Rahman Shah Zaib Saleem: Discovery of lead molecules for various cellular targets, hit and lead generation, lead optimization, medicinal chemistry, organic synthesis and methodology, structure-based drug design, natural product isolation, and structure elucidation.

• Dr. Rofice Dickson: Design, optimization, and analysis for problems in the general area of process systems engineering, with special emphasis on biomass-to-fuels/chemicals and power technologies.

• Dr. Salman Noshear Arshad: Nanofibers and nanocomposites for applications in energy and environment.

• Dr. Shahana Khurshid: Air pollutants and their ability to cause adverse health effects. Characterization of air pollutants, the concentration of reactive oxygen species, and the oxidative potential of particles. 

• Dr. Tauqeer Abbas: Ionic liquids, deep eutectic solvents, sustainable solvents for water and wastewater treatment.

Program Directors

RISE program is being conceived and directed by: 
Dr. Basit Yameen (basit.yameen@lums.edu.pk)  
Dr. Rahman Shah Zaib Saleem (rahman.saleem@lums.edu.pk)  
Dr. Ali Rauf (ali.rauf@lums.edu.pk)  

For information contact: 
Farooq Usman (usman.farooq@lums.edu.pk) 
Manager - Department of Chemistry & Chemical Engineering 
Syed Babar Ali School of Science and Engineering | LUMS