Saturday, March 31, 2007

Prof. Abdus Salaam...A co-founder of High Energy Physics [HEP]

Abdus Salam was born in Jhang in 1926. At the age of 14, he got the highest marks ever recorded for the Matriculation Examination in Punjab. The whole town turned out to welcome him. He won a scholarship to Government College, Lahore, and took his MA in 1946. In the same year he was awarded a scholarship to St. John’s College, Cambridge, where he took a BA (honours) with a double First in mathematics and physics in 1949. In 1950 he received the Smith’s Prize from Cambridge University for the most outstanding pre-doctoral contribution to physics. He also obtained a PhD in theoretical physics at Cambridge; his thesis, published in 1951, contained fundamental work in quantum electrodynamics which had already gained him an international reputation. [Click to Read More]







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Tuesday, March 27, 2007

Pakistan has leapt to the forefront of IT training for women

The role of women in plugging IT skills gap has been given a boost in one of the world's most important developing regions.

Pakistan, the sixth most populous country in the world and second most populous Muslim country worldwide, has leapt to the forefront of IT training for women with the opening of a women-only Cisco® Networking Academy® Program Regional Academy in Lahore, the country's second city.

Women-only Local Academies have previously been launched, and still operate, in countries such as Togo and Saudi Arabia.

But what makes the Lahore initiative special is that it is a Regional Academy: in other words, one tasked with providing support and training for Local Academies in the region.

The Lahore College for Women University (LCWU) started operating as a Regional Academy in May this year, adding to its already considerable reputation as one of the oldest female institutions in Pakistan.

It first opened its doors to students in 1922 and today it has more than 6,500 women enrolled on intermediate, degree and postgraduate courses.

The addition of Networking Academy program training is highly significant given the growing IT skills shortage faced by the country.

[To Read on visit News@Cisco]



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ScitechWire is a trademark of the Pakistan Science and Engineering Foundation
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Monday, March 26, 2007

Conference on Language and Technology

The fields of linguistics and computational linguistics are very important. Throughout the world there are hundreds of institutes offering degrees in these disciplines and people are doing research for their languages.

Unfortunately, the importance of these disciplines is not realized (as it should have been) in Pakistan. Research in this area is mostly limited to individual efforts that need to be transformed into institutionalization. The conference is an effort to educate the masses and the decision making authorities to realize the importance of these extremely needed disciplines especially in this modern age of computers

Venue: Bara Gali Summer Campus, University of Peshawar, N.W.F.P., Pakistan
Dates: August 7 - 11th, 2007

Click to register


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ScitechWire is a trademark of the Pakistan Science & Engineering Foundation
A California based non-profit organization registered under section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue code

Monday, March 19, 2007

[PakSEF-VSTTT] Internet censorship

[The following article was initially posted to the AOPP pakeditor mailer by Adnan Gill. Later cross posted to the PakSEF Virtual S&T Think Tank.]

This is issue about internet censorship is an issue of concern. The internet is a one of the few mediums which has revolutionized the world, bring peoples from various regions closer together, exposing people in remote parts of the globe to novel ideas, bringing about constructive social change, providing University level education to peoples who once couldn't even fathom attending a prestigious College or University.

The internet has indeed opened up many doors where people can benefit and grow themselves, however this internet revolution is threatened by various authorities (both government and private) who try to control the flow of information to their constituents.

AR Rafiq
PakSEF, www.paksef.org
Kindling the flame of Science & Innovation...

Adnan Gill wrote:

WHILE the global uproar over the government’s recent attempts at gagging the mainstream media in Pakistan may lead it to a hands-off-the-media policy for now, it brings little relief to those nationalist media organs and groups whose websites continue to be blocked. Dozens of internet blogs and sites run by Baloch, Sindhi and even smaller ethnic groups continue to face the ban, with internet service providers forced by the government to apply filters to block their viewing in the country. While the initiated internet users know how to circumvent the ban via a third domain, it is the blocking of direct access to a particular blog or a socio-economic and political forum which presents the government and the country in equally bad light as do attempts to gag the popular media. The internet is a common cyberspace shared by users globally; there are innumerable sites run by rights activists which provide lists of the websites banned by a given government. Gen Musharraf’s has the dubious distinction of being listed among the world’s most xenophobic regimes censured for curtailing people’s access to information.

That this has been happening for months with media organs representing Pakistan’s smaller ethnic communities which do not find a voice in the mainstream media is all the more reprehensible. It is good that now when the national media and civil society are rallying behind the cause of the freedom of the press, the Pakistan Oppressed Nations Movement has also decided to take part in the multi-party conference called by the PML-N in London later this week. This will provide the nationalist leaders a wider platform from which to voice their grievances and become part of the mainstream opposition to press the government for greater civil liberties and for enforcing the rule of law.


http://www.dawn.com/2007/03/19/ed.htm#3

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Friday, March 16, 2007

Harbour pollution costs navy $1B a year

ISLAMABAD, March 15: Severe pollution in Karachi harbour, caused by untreated industrial affluent and municipal waste, is not only taking its toll on marine life and civilian population but also causing $1 billion worth of losses to Pakistan Navy (PN) every year.

All the navy platforms including surface ships, fleet tankers, mine hunters and missile boats berthed at Karachi’s upper harbour and PN Dockyard had been severely damaged by the seawater, the composition of which has changed for the worst due to unbridled pollution in recent years, Commander PN Rear Admiral Mehmood Ahmed Khan told the Senate Standing Committee on Defence here on Thursday.

He expressed fears that some of the vital PN assets would not be available to it at ‘crucial times’ if the low conductivity and increased chloride and sulphate in seawater continued to inflict damages.

He said Indian navy had the edge to move from east to west and south while the PN was mainly dependent on the Karachi harbour.

“This is indicative of losses. If we count on other variables, the losses can be in billions and billions of dollars,” Secretary Defence Tariq Wasim Ghazi said, expressing concerns that the pollution could damage the defence capability of not only the PN but the PAF as well.

Air Vice Marshall Rao Qamar Sulaiman said the failure of the Ministry of Environment as well as provincial and city governments to implement the Pakistan Environmental Protection Act, 1997 in letter and in spirit had converted Karachi into one of the most polluted cities of the region.

He said Karachi was a strategic target for the enemy due to its industrial and commercial importance. He feared that due to air pollution, the PAF could face sever difficulties in defending this vital city in times of wars.

He said due to solid waste, industrial affluent and illegal mushrooming of slaughter houses and poultry farms, the Karachi skyline was full of smoke and big birds. The PAF had lost 10 aircraft and three pilots since 1985 in some 3,500 accidents caused by birds, he said, adding that in financial terms, the air force suffered losses to the tune of $200 million due to damage to its aircraft.

Senators Dilawar Hussain and Prof Khurshid Ahmed described as ‘shameful’ and ‘horrible’ the air and water pollution in Karachi and their damages to the national defence capabilities, marine life and civilians.

The committee also formed a taskforce that would complete recommendations for checking environmental degradation in Karachi and its harbour. The taskforce will hold its meeting next week and complete recommendations within two months. Cases against the industries and authorities responsible for pollution in Karachi would also be filed by the PAF and the PN in environmental tribunals.

The committee and defence ministry asked for a complete damage assessment survey of the pollution in Karachi. It feared that the real picture could be even more gruesome and the damages beyond thinking.

Minister of State for Environment Malik Ameen Aslam Khan drew the attention of the committee towards a recent World Bank report that stated that every year the losses caused to Pakistan by pollution were equivalent to 3-5 per cent of its Gross Domestic Product (GDP).

“This is alarming for a country which has a GDP growth of just 7 per cent,” Mr Khan said, expressing resentment over the performance of the Pakistan Environment Protection Agency. He said the government was facing losses worth billions of dollars every year due to its inability to spend just millions of rupees for controlling pollution.

According to PN officials, the National Environmental Coordination Committee (NECC) had been formed in September 2001 after the abolition of the Marine Pollution Control Board (MPCB).

Reported by By Sher Baz Khan for DAWN


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Thursday, March 15, 2007

Call for Nominations: Dean LUMS School of Business, Lahore, Pakistan

The Lahore University of Management Sciences (LUMS) invites nominations for the Dean of its flagship Suleman Dawood School of Business (SDB).

SDB is recognized as one of the most prestigious Business schools in Pakistan and one of the leading management development institutions in the region, with particular strength in case-based teaching.The school has well-established academic programmes at the graduate (MBA and EMBA) and the undergraduate (BSc Account and Finance) levels. In addition, it has a highly regarded executive education portfolio. The School aims to launch a world class PhD programme in the near future. With a track record of nearly 20 years, SDB has recently received a substantial endowment that provides it the opportunity to embark on a major expansion.

As the administrative head of the School of Business, the position offers a unique opportunity for personal and institutional impact. The Dean will have the opportunity and the support to lead the School to a position of prominence in the region by fostering strong research capabilities, increased teaching excellence and greater internationalization. The successful candidate will bring a proven track record of leadership in management or related academic disciplines, a broad awareness of conditions shaping higher education, excellent interpersonal skills, demonstrable success in recruiting and retaining outstanding faculty and good networking ability both locally and internationally. Outstanding business leaders are also encouraged to apply.

The appointment is for an initial three year term beginning July 1, 2007 or on a mutually agreed upon date. All submissions will be reviewed on an ongoing basis, starting March 25, 2007 and will be accepted until the position is filed. Nominations and applications including resume should be sent to:

Dean Search Committee,
Suleman Dawood School of Business
Office of Vice Chancellor, Lahore University of Management Sciences,
D.H.A., Lahore Cantt. 54792, Lahore, Pakistan
Voice: +92 42 5722670-9 Fax: +92 42 5722592
Email: sdsbdeansearch@lums.edu.pk URL: http://www.lums.edu.pk


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ScitechWire is a trademark of the Pakistan Science and Engineering Foundation
A non-profit professional organization serving the Science and Technology profession