A Social Network for Professionals

Folks,


It has been six years since PakSEF was founded. Since then we have made significant strides towards the promotion of Scientific literacy. We have initiated several projects, though it may appear like little progress has been made, however contrary to popular belief, there has been a great deal of closed door brainstorming amongst the core team.

Some of the activities outlined for 2008 are as follows:

• Re-launch of the Science and Technology Review Journal (STReJP). In past years the support for the journal was phenomenal. And recently we have been getting inquiries about the next Journal issue.

• Continuing our efforts towards incubating promising research proposals - such as the VLSI center for excellence, encryption project, etc. You will hear more on these initiatives in the coming days.
  

• Development of our Web infrastructure - enabling greater collaboration between members from the Pakistani S&T diaspora.
  

With that I would like to invite you to join us on PakSEF-Global - The Social Network for Professionals. This site will transform the Virtual S&T Think Tank (VSTTT) from being a mere email exchange forum, to a fully loaded and functional community of professional engineers, investigators, and students. Here you will have the opportunity to share ideas, videos, blog posts - or feel free to join one of the kindred groups created here. More over it will enable members to associate an email ID to a face...enabling greater global to local collaboration.

Also, I would like to extend a special invitation to members from kindred groups, such as IOPWE, UETian's, and NEDians - highlighting our common vision to support the Pakistani Science and Technology diaspora.



Sincerely,



Abdulrahman Rafiq
founder/President, PakSEF


Our Web infrastructure:
http://paksef. org
http://global. paksef.org
http://scitechwire. paksef.org
http://groups. yahoo.com/ group/paksef/


Other Executive Board Members:
Asif Jan - Location: Geneva, Switzerland
Khurram Pirzada - Location: Lahore, Pakistan (Formerly Germany)
Moazzam Chaudry - Location: Silicon Valley, U.SA.
Rahim Ali - Location: Karachi, Pakistan
Sabahat Ashraf - Location: Silicon Valley, U.S.A,

Interested in participating in PakSEF? Email info@paksef.org

Pakistani S&T Expats on VoA

Recently the Voice of America broadcasted, in Urdu a round table session with select Pakistani Science and Technology expat professionals, and students in the United States.

On the show, five personalities were portrayed, all of whom provided anecdotes about studying and working in the United States. While at the same time offering valuable advice to prospective foreign students aspiring to pursue higher-studies.

Dr. Deen Aslam (Professor, Michigan State University, EE Dept)
Syed Raghib Hussain (co-founder/VP, Cavium Networks)
Owais Mughal (Editor, Pakistaniat.com)
Saad Kaisar (PhD Canditate, Michigan State University)
Sabahat Ashraf (Sr. Technical Writer, Cavium Networks, also blogs at http://ifaqeer.com)

Click to listen to the VoA Program

Copyright C. PakSEF 2002 - 2008

UET Alumni Mixer, Nov 3rd, 12pm

The UET Alumni Association of the Silicon Valley invites all UETians, and family of UETians to an informal mixer event on November 3rd. This is an opportunity to reconnect with old classmates and friends who reside in the San Francisco Bay Area. A delicious buffet lunch will be provided.

Host: UET Alumni Association of the Silicon Valley

Time: November 3rd, 2007 at 12pm

Venue: Chandni Restaurant
5748 Mowry School Road, Newark, Ca. 94560 [map it]

Registration: $15
[Click to register online]



Copyright C. PakSEF 2002 - 2006
PakSEF and Scitech Wire are trademarks of the Pakistan Science and
Engineering Foundation, a California based 501(c)(3) non-profit organization

NEDians in the Silicon Valley!

On Saturday, September 8th, 2007, Silicon Valley was abuzz with NEDians.

The NED University of Engineering and Technology, based in Karachi, Pakistan, is alma mater to thousands of people, many of of whom reside in North America--and not a few here in Silicon Valley. The University was first established in 1921 as the Prince of Wales College. In 1942 the institution was renamed after a Parsee philanthropist named Nadirshaw Edulji Dinshaw.

Until 1977, when it became a university in its own right, it was affiliated with various universities, including Bombay University, Sindh University. and Karachi University, in successive periods before and after Pakistan's independence.

NED remains one of the oldest and best-known institutions of higher learning in Pakistan. A large number of highly successful alumni is a testament to its rich heritage.

The first link below is an audio recording of Dr Pervez Hoodbhoy's keynote speech at the banquet in the evening. Professor Hoodbhoy spoke on The Power of Ideas. One of the conference attendees, Ali Hasan Cemendtaur, described it as "a brilliant speech given in a soft tone that would make you fall madly in love with Hoodbhoy's scholarship."

The video below, also produced and edited by Cemendtaur, shows highlights from the whole day's events.

You can follow more pictures, videos, and discuss the events at NED Nama, the NEDians' blog: http://NEDians.org/blog

Click to listen to Professor Pervez Hoodbhoy's keynote lecture

Copyright C. PakSEF 2002 - 2007
ScitechWire is a Trademark of the Pakistan Science and Engineering Foundation