“There can be very little of present-day science and technology that is not dependent on complex numbers in one way or another.” ~Keith Devlin

“I tell you, with complex numbers you can do anything.” ~ John Derbyshire

 The LUMS Math Circle, held on 19 May, 2023, led by Dr. Momin Uppal and Dr. Imran Cheema, was an engaging and enlightening session that explored various aspects of  mathematics in a dynamic and interactive environment. The circle began with Dr. Momin Uppal delving into the intriguing history of numbers and highlighting their natural occurrence of natural numbers in our daily lives. He captivated the students' attention as he explained the significance of zero and seamlessly integrated it into the number system.  

However, Dr. Momin didn't stop there. He posed a thought-provoking question about potential real-life scenarios involving money loss, which triggered a flurry of student discussions. Sensing the curiosity in the room, Dr. Momin and Dr. Imran Cheema expanded the number system to include negative numbers, thus introducing integers based on intuition and practical applications. This addition broadened the mathematical landscape, allowing students to explore and understand the concept of numbers more comprehensively. 

Dr. Imran Cheema, known for his knack for puzzles, took the opportunity to further engage the students. He presented them with intriguing challenges, such as connecting nine dots using only four straight lines and dividing a cake into three equal pieces with only three cuts. Initially, most students believed these tasks to be impossible, but soon "Eureka" moments ensued as a few individuals showcased their "Out of the box thinking" abilities by coming up with innovative solutions. This episode emphasized the power of creativity and unconventional approaches to problem-solving. 

Building upon this momentum, Dr. Momin and Dr. Cheema introduced the concept of imaginary numbers. They guided the students through the addition of an imaginary axis to the existing number system and explained how "iota" could be interpreted as a counterclockwise rotation of 90 degrees in the plane. The students were fascinated by this new realm of numbers and the possibilities it offered. 

To provide a visual representation of complex numbers, the instructors employed GeoGebra software. Through this tool, they showcased the shadows of these numbers and astutely connected them to the concept of waves. The room buzzed with anticipation when Dr. Cheema posed the question, "Can these complex numbers be observed in the real world?" The students were on the edge of their seats, eager to uncover the answer. In a compelling demonstration, Dr. Momin and Dr. Cheema employed an oscilloscope to reveal that the observed waveforms were, in fact, the shadows of these complex numbers. 

The LUMS Math Circle was a blend of fun-filled moments and valuable insights into mathematical and engineering concepts. The students expressed their gratitude to Dr. Momin Uppal and Dr. Imran Cheema for their exceptional efforts in creating an enjoyable and enlightening learning environment. Through their expertise and engaging teaching methods, they fostered a deep appreciation for mathematics and encouraged the students to think critically, creatively, and "outside the box."

Applause for the dedicated efforts of Ms. Noreen Sohail, Mr. Qamar Hussain, and all volunteers for their organizational support.

For participation, visit our website.

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Robots! Drones! Advanced AI! The future has arrived faster than we could have anticipated, and the students of LUMS finally have the opportunity to step into a utopian cyberpunk-esque age. The National Engineering Robotics Contest (NERC 2023) is approaching steadfastly for all you tech enthusiasts wanting to make your mark in the world of Robotics & Mechatronics. 

This special collaboration between NUST and the STEM Careers Program HEC arrives again for its 4th edition as the most prominent competition in Pakistan for those aspiring in robotic designs, control algorithms, and architectures. Participants will be able to showcase their talents over 5 days, 11-15th July, at NUST CEME, competing amongst other university representatives and establishing themselves as leading pioneers of robotics research in Pakistan. The Electrical Engineering department of LUMS invites students, even those outside SSE, to team up and unify their creative geniuses to this momentous occasion. Having students even from the SDSB in past, Dr. Jahangir Ikram invites everyone with a burning desire to learn and create to apply. 

This year's theme also resonates deeply with Pakistan's future, particularly in developing and integrating robotic elements within agriculture, which is considered primarily a traditionalized industry. Students acquiring recognition and acknowledgement through NERC 2023 would ensure that successful inventions find their way into mainstream technological utilization within this leading industry of Pakistan.

This theme revolves primarily around how robots could improve overall efficiency and quality of crop production, contributing to reduced manual labor and booms in economic growth. Those of you intrigued by the limitless approaches can begin your engineering journey here and expand your vision into creative territories unknown to you until now. Under the expert guidance of Dr. Jahangir Ikram, and Mr. Mudassar Ejaz as your mentor, all that is required for success in the competition is a passionate drive to create. The future awaits! 
 

All interested candidates can reach out to Mr. Mudassar Ejaz on mudassar.ejaz@lums.edu.pk ASAP. 
All necessary details and categories are available on the website.
 

Dr. Imran Cheema in Electrical Engineering has achieved the status of a tenured Associate Professor.

Dr. Imran Cheema typifies the trajectory of an exemplary Faculty member in SSE who enters an empty shell and builds a thriving photonic nest, straw by straw, establishing a world recognizable experimental research group, and mentoring fledglings along the way.

Imran, a winner of the VC Excellence Award in Teaching, combines his research interests in light and interactions with matter, and cunning photonic phenomena (whispering gallery modes, ring-down spectroscopy) with his passion to teach. He has always been concerned about student training, capacity building in optics and photonics, and all of the facets can be seen in the courses he's taught, the programs he has led and the body of knowledge he has produced.

Imran, we pray for your health, prosperity and may your work shine forever.

Muhammad Sabieh Anwar
Professor of Physics, Ahmed Dawood Chair and Dean
Syed Babar Ali School of Science and Engineering
 

Dr Maryam Mustafa (Principal Investigator) and Dr Hassan Mohy Ud Din (Project Co-PI), Assistant Professors at SBASSE, are part of a collaborative project that has been awarded a Grand Challenges grant – an initiative fostering innovation to solve pressing global health and development problems and funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

Drs Maryam and Hassan, alongside Dr Beena Ahmad (Co-PI), Associate Professor at the University of New South Wales in Sydney and Dr Fozia Umber Qureshi (Co-PI), Head of the Gynecology Department at Shalamar Hospital, will pursue an innovative global health and development research project focused on Catalyzing Equitable Artificial Intelligence (AI) Use, titled “Awaaz-e-Sehat: Empowering Maternal Healthcare with Voice-Enabled Electronic Record Management”.

When harnessed equitably and responsibly, AI has incredible potential to help solve some of the world’s toughest challenges and reduce global inequity. The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation supports AI research in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) to help ensure that AI technology is tailored to local health, education, agriculture and other contexts and designed with the needs of the world’s most vulnerable at the centre.

The project led by Drs Maryam, Hassan, Beena and Fozia aims to address the significant maternal health challenges faced in Pakistan, where poor pregnancy outcomes and high maternal mortality rates persist. The main issues include a lack of awareness about maternal health signs, delayed emergency care, and inadequate medical records. To improve this situation, the project proposes the development of "Awaaz-e-Sehat," a voice-enabled, mobile phone-based AI assistant for maternal healthcare workers (MHCWs) in Pakistan. This innovative solution harnesses advancements in speech recognition (ASR) and large language models (LLM).

Awaaz-e-Sehat will create comprehensive electronic medical records (EMRs) by leveraging voice input in local languages, particularly Urdu. This AI tool intends to assist maternal healthcare workers (MHCWs) by quickly generating detailed case histories, offering patient risk stratification based on health and socio-economic factors, explaining colloquial terms related to maternal health, providing educational resources, and facilitating the collection of vital health data. The system will involve an intuitive user interface, speech recognition, and text generation modules.

Leveraging expertise in (ASR) from the University of New South Wales, the project will be developed at LUMS using a participatory design approach in collaboration with maternal healthcare workers at Shalamar Hospital. As one of Punjab's largest non-profit hospitals, serving a diverse range of patients, Shalamar Hospital is an ideal testing ground for piloting Awaaz-e-Sehat. This diversity ensures a comprehensive dataset, accelerating the AI tool’s training and enabling future scalability to benefit marginalised communities. The project aims to establish an effective electronic medical record-keeping framework, facilitating equitable healthcare access nationwide.

Awaaz-e-Sehat is one of nearly 50 Grand Challenges Catalyzing Equitable Artificial Intelligence (AI) Use grants announced by the Gates Foundation to support LMICs in harnessing AI’s power for good and to solve the urgent need for LMIC participation in the co-creation process of this technology as it rapidly evolves. The project’s findings will contribute to building an evidence base for testing AI large language models (LLMs) that can fill wide gaps in access and equitable use of these tools.  Each of these grants represents an opportunity to solve or mitigate a real challenge experienced by communities, researchers and/or governments in low- and middle-income countries.

To receive funding, Dr Maryam Mustafa’s team and other Grand Challenges winners submitted their concepts which outlined their bold idea in response to the Catalyzing Equitable Artificial Intelligence (AI) Use request for proposals. More than 1,300 proposals were submitted from around the world.

About Grand Challenges
Grand Challenges stem from the idea from over a century ago that crowdsourcing a defined set of unsolved problems can spark innovation and accelerate progress. The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and its Grand Challenges funding partners use Challenges – launched in 2003 as open requests for grant proposals – to focus attention and effort on solving pressing global health and development problems for those most in need. Together they have awarded over 3600 grants engaging a diverse pool of problem solvers in over 100 countries and fostering a global innovation ecosystem where it will have the most impact. The foundation and its Grand Challenges partners will continue to launch RFPs to support innovators from around the world in tackling the hardest, most urgent, Grand Challenges. To learn more, visit this link.