ScitechWire

Vote for ClickDiagnostics in USAID Dev Challenge

2008-12-10T18:07:00.005-08:00

Please take a minute to vote for ClickDiagnostics in the USAID Dev Challenge.

ClickDiagnostics.com is a social enterprise co-founded by Tania Aidrus (Pakistan) and Mridul Chowdhry (Bangladesh). It is based on a very simple and unique idea. It provides a way for doctors in developed countries to diagnose ailments of people in developing countries, by analyzing photographs and other data transmitted over the internet. It brings together public health, technology and entrepreneurship and helps a lot of people in the process. More details on http://www.clickdiagnostics.com/.

Mridul was a classmate of mine in UTAustin. After graduation he went back to Bangladesh and started a non-profit. Recently he graduated from Harvard MPA program and developed this idea along with Tania Aidrus who is a MIT alumni. Mridul is currently in Africa, researching how this technology can be replicated across the developing world.

Winning the USAID Dev Challenge will give this a lot of publicity and help ClickDiagnostics become an established concept.

Steps to vote:

1. To register, go to: https://www.netsquared.org/user/register and populate form and create account

2. To login, go to: https://www.netsquared.org/user

3. Go to the ClickDiagnostics voting webpage: http://www.netsquared.org/projects/clickdiagnostics-global-health

4. Click on 'Add Project to your Ballot'

5. Add AT LEAST two more projects - other projects by Harvard Kennedy School/MIT students are: "Reading Mobile", "Finding the flow", "Assured Labor"

6. Cast your ballot by going to: http://www.netsquared.org/projects/vote/ballot

Deadline is December 12th.

Ground Breaking iPhone Ap by a Pakistani Developer

2008-10-08T16:40:00.003-07:00

For those iPhone walla's out there - check out this new Applications called Jaadu. It was developed by Jehanzed Sherwani, the first developer from Pakistan whose application has been accepted into Apple's iPhone App store!

I haven't tried it out it, but read the description at the iPhone Ap Store.

Jaadu is a groundbreaking application for the iPhone and iPod touch that lets you control your computer from wherever you are in the world.

In a nutshell it is a VNC tool for iPhone. That is , it enables you to login to your Windows, Linux, or Unix based PC from your iPhone device.

It costs $25 to download. Looks compelling.

let me know if any of you get a chance to play around with it .

Jahanzeb will be presenting a demo of Jaadu on Saturday, October, 11, 2008 at The Second Floor Cafe (T2F) in Karachi, Sindh, Pakistan. A VoD of the event will be posted by T2F.

Cross-posting to WadiBlog

Seminar: DNA Hybridization on Surfaces

2008-08-06T16:13:00.000-07:00

Khwarzimic Science Society brings you....

Seminar:

DNA Hybridization on Surfaces

Speaker: Fouzia Bano, SISSA International School of Advanced
Studies, Trieste, Italy.

Venue: Center for Solid State Physics, University of the Punjab,
Lahore.

Time and Date: 7/28/2008 (month/day/year)

Download announcement

Introduction:

The controlled arrangement of DNA molecules on surfaces represents
one challenging contribution of nanotechnology to biology and
medicine. In particular, one of the open issues in the field of DNA-
based sensors is detecting the hybridization process with high
precision in a real-life biological environment. Towards this end, we
have studied the hybridization of single stranded (ss)-DNA anchored
on a gold surface using the increase in height of the molecules upon
hybridization with a label free target which is due to the much
larger rigidity of ds- vs. ss-DNA. Nano-scale ss-DNA patches are
assembled within oligo-ethylene- glycol terminated alkylthiol self-
assembled monolayer on a gold substrate using nanografting (an atomic
force microscopy-based nanolithography technique). Differential
height measurements indicate that ss-DNA nano-patches do not show
significant increase in height upon hybridization with complementary
strands in high density regime. Moreover, the advantage of this
system for biosensors and genomics applications will be discussed
briefly in the end.

Copyright C. PakSEF 2002 - 2006

Replacement of Multi-Chip Solutions

2008-05-12T23:57:00.000-07:00

By Amna Nasir Malik Jamal

re-printed from Cyber@Print, Jang News

He shared his thoughts and opinion - steps needed to put Pakistan on the scientific and technological map, along with India and China. In the development and advancement of high-tech business one prominent name is of Syed Jauher Zaidi, of Pakistani origin in Silicon Valley, founder and CEO of Palmchip Corporation. He has two decades of experience in system design and integration and inventor of System-on-Chip (SoC) CoreFrame Architecture. Before founding PalmChip, he was involved in the System-on-Chip initiative at Quantum Corporation, a leading hard drive manufacturer. The EE Times, a well-known industry publication, named him among the 'Top 20 Visionary CEOs.'

Palmchip Corporation is a pioneer in semiconductor Intellectual Property (IP) and SoC platform technology. It offers outsourced software and hardware design services to its clients in the US, Europe and worldwide. It is also leader in the development and licensing of Market Specific Platform (MSSP) - an SoC software and hardware technology.

Responding to a question about the company's projects and design centre in Pakistan Mr. Jauher Zaidi said, "Palmchip has three divisions in Pakistan. Our IT and Software outsourcing division provides design development for Network Security and Web2.0 products. Telecom division is active to design and develop products for Pakistan's telecom companies for Fibre and New long range Wireless Standard's (WiMAX) management which includes Graphical Information System (GIS) and network management and mobile phone applications for billing and games. Third division is SoC, designs SoC design platform for mobile devices like cell phone, digital camera, Voice-over-IP (VoIP) phones, Short Range Wireless Standard (WiFi) network routers, computer storage devices and DVD players. For Pakistan's market, we designed and introduced ParkSafe, a parking lot management and security system with remote data management. It is a user friendly system which can be operated by a person having average computer knowledge."

Further he explained SoC, "Single chip wireless mobility's Application Specific Standard Part (ASSP) will replace the multi-chip solutions available today for mobile phone, WiMAX and WiFi devices. Palmchip's customers will benefit from lower power consumption, lower system cost, and significant system performance improvement. These products target a growing need for inexpensive multitude of wireless mobility applications. Our extensive experience in working with Silicon Valley startups and Fortune 500 companies has given us appreciation of the importance of agility without compromising quality. Our startup clients find us in tune with their drive to reach the market quickly and benefit from our best practices for outsourced development to ensure that speed does not compromise quality."

About outsourced software and hardware design services he replied, "We offer optimal distribution of work between onshore and offshore resources to achieve top quality deliverables in a highly cost-effective manner within aggressive delivery timeframes."

US Patent and Trademark Office has awarded PalmChip a key patent for the company's technology, facilitating the easy connection of IP Blocks within a SoC design. On the question about being pioneer in SoC and this patent grant he replied, "It is a significant milestone in our company's history to get protected our intellectual property when competitors are roaming in market. The patented SoC technology enables greater integration of multiple functions on a single chip. Over 65 licensees and more than 30 consumer products use our patented IP and hardware and software technologies."

About next growth areas in the technology sector and current IT scenario he thinks there are currently many growth sectors in technology, such as digital TV, biometrics, security, Radio Frequency ID (RFID), Nano technology, storage and VoIP. He has decided to focus on storage, security and voice-over-IP. He believes that Pakistan has a long way to go before it becomes the next offshore design resource in the world, like India and China. He highlights some of the core areas that need immediate attention, including intellectual property protection laws, low-cost communication infrastructure for voice as well as video, and venture capital funding for startup companies.

While coming to the end of our discussion I put one final question to tell about future plans he replied "Palmchip possess a tremendous breadth and depth of skills that can be brought to bear on most software development projects. Pakistani youth has potential, well-educated and hardworking. Due to latest investment in education outcome is up to the mark. Future plan is we want more energetic people in software development and telecommunication and want to expand into Business Process Outsourcing (BPO), finance, banking and modernization projects. Palmchip invested in Palmchip Pakistan to setup three design centers, two in Lahore and one in Islamabad." About entrepreneurship promotion in Pakistan he added, "In order to promote entrepreneurship in Pakistan government and educational institutions need to provide platform to learn business, setup Venture Capital (VC) to fund the companies. Entrepreneurs have very bright future in Pakistan as Telecom, Software and finance sectors are at very fast growth. With little guidance Pakistani youth could be next Bill gates. They just need to find mentors," he concluded.

Jauher Zaidi is Founder, Chairman, President and CEO of Palmchip Corporation, a hardware and software design company. He is a pioneer in Channel based SoC interconnect architecture, bringing mainframe approach onto a single chip. He also pioneered the SoC Platform IP licensing business model. Jauher has over 26-year experience in executive management, mainframe processor, co-processor, fiber-optic networking design, and system integration at Unisys. He also led the System-on-chip Input/Output devices (single-chip I/O) processor for mainframe computer at Amdahl, and mass storage group at Samsung. Before founding Palmchip in 1996, he led the flash and disk controller system-on-chip (SoC) integration at Quantum Corporation. Jauher is also a Chairman and CEO of Palmchip Pakistan Private Limited, software and IT outsourcing company focused on VoIP and Telecomm. He is a board of Advisor for Savant Company, a leader in International System-on-Chip conferences. He has also founded Silicon Pakistan organization to bring SoC technologies to Pakistan. He received his Bachelor of Science in Electronic Engineering (BSEE) and Master of Science in Electronic Engineering (MSEE) degrees from Pacific States University in Los Angeles, California, USA. He has written and presented a number of articles and papers on the IP business model, future business and technology trends. He has also participated in many system-on-chip panels, and is a recognized expert in the area of SoC and Embedded System development. He invented the CoreFrame SoC Integration Architecture. He holds several patents on SoC technology and infrastructure.

Silicon Valley Pakistani firm Celebrates One-Year Anniversary

2008-05-03T11:28:00.007-07:00

May 2nd, 2008 marked the one year anniversary since the Silicon Valley Pakistani Semiconductor firm, Cavium Networks went public on the NASDAQ Stock Exchange [Read: Silicon Valley Pakistanis - NED to NASDAQ].

In commemoration, the Cavium Management Team has been honored with the opportunity of ringing the opening bell at the start of trading day on Monday, May 5th at 6:30 am (U.S. Eastern Standard Time).

The event will be telecasted live on major U.S. and International financial networks. To watch the live broadcast visit: http://nasdaq.com or http://cnbc.com.

Cross-posted to ScitechWire, Siliconstani, WadiBlog, OPEN SV

DR. ATTA-UR-RAHMAN PRIZE IN CHEMISTRY

2008-03-20T13:26:00.000-07:00

The Pakistan Academy of Sciences has instituted Dr. Atta-ur-Rahman prize in Chemistry. The prize carries Rs.20,000/- Cash, a Gold Medal and a Certificate. Pakistani Scientists, except Fellows of the Academy and those who have not received any Medal/Prize from the Academy during past five years are eligible for the prize.

Only one nominee may be proposed. Nominations can be made only by Fellows of the Academy and Heads of institutions engaged in scientific education and research. Nominations must be accompanied by four (4) copies each of the Biodata and complete list of research papers, a brief summary highlighting outstanding achievements in the field of scientific research, gold medals and other awards already received and reprints or photocopies of the research papers published in scientific journals of international repute.

The nominations complete, in all respects, received within due dates are to be processed. The documents of the candidates will be sent to members of the relevant expert committee for assessment in order of merit.

Recommendations of the experts will be placed before the Council of the Academy for selection of the candidate for the prize.

The decision of the Pakistan Academy of Sciences shall be final and not be challengeable in a court of law or elsewhere.

A Social Network for Professionals

2008-03-19T13:53:00.004-07:00

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

Sindhi SMS & Multilingual Online Dictionary unveiled

2008-02-28T11:50:00.002-08:00

Cross-posting from Tech Lahore

The University of Sindh at Hyderabad recently unveiled a number of interesting projects developed by its faculty and students. The projects were showcased at an exhibition inaugurated by Dr. Rabia Sheikh, the Pro Vice Chancellor of the University. Three of our favourites were:

1) A multilingual software dictionary that includes English, Urdu and Sindhi translations; this is a good addition to online tools that are relevant for millions of Pakistanis. We need more of them. We talked about street maps in a recent post, well, we need them all. Multilingual email, better Pakistan-centric VoIP services, multilingual dictionaries… bring ‘em on!!

2) Sindhi language SMS applications for mobile phones; this one is particularly important now that the mobile phone penetration has reached over 55 million users in Pakistan. Local language support will greatly enhance the usability and usefulness of technology.

3) Digital display boards with embedded GSM/GPRS control modules; this again shows how inexpensive technology can be used to solve what were previously pretty substantial problems. You can plop one of these billboards anywhere in the city and remotely manage the content it displays… without laying any physical wires or bothering to connect the system up to a copper phone line. [More...]

ScitechWire is an online S&T publication put out by the Pakistan Science and Engineering Foundation, also referred as PakSEF that is a non-profit 501(c)(3) California based organization -- http://paksef.org

Pakistan Blocks/Bans YouTube!

2008-02-22T13:51:00.005-08:00

There's an old (from our youth :p) Bollywood song that goes "Main ro'oon ya hansoon; karoon mai kyaa karoon?!" or "Should I cry or laugh; To do, what do I do?"

Users subscribing to the Internet though the PTCL (Pakistan Telecom Corporation Limited, the semi- or formerly-government-owned corporation), in particular, have been getting the following message today if they tried to access YouTube:

-------------- Dear Internet Users Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (www.pta.gov.pk)has directed all ISPs of the country to block access to www.youtube.com web site for containing blasphemous web content/movies. The site would remain blocked till further orders from PTA. Meanwhile, Internet users can write to youtube.com to remove the objectionable web content/movies because this removal would enable the authorities to order un-blocking of this web site. Best Regards Manager Technical Assistance Center Micronet Broadband Pvt. Ltd. Islamabad -------------

For background, see:
http://wadiwallah.com/blog/
http://siliconstani.blogspot.com
http://www.teeth.com.pk/blog/2008/02/22/youtube-blocked-in-pakistan/
http://www.teeth.com.pk/blog/2008/02/22/vote-rigging-videos-in-karachi-could-this-be-why-youtube-is-blocked/
http://www.kidvai.com/windmills/2008/02/last-laugh.html

Copyright C. PakSEF and iFaqeer 2002 - 2008

Member of the Month: Nasa Scientists from Pakistan

2008-02-14T22:05:00.000-08:00

By M. Khalid Rahman, DAWN Staff Reporter

IT is not every day that you come across a Pakistani scientist who has worked for the United States space agency Nasa. A noted physicist who has taught and trained thousands of scientists, engineers and technicians, Dr Bashir A. Syed was here in Pakistan recently.

Now in his late sixties, he is as alert and active as he was in his younger years. He travels the world over to give lectures and make presentations on harnessing renewable energy resources and designing solar, wind and water energy projects.

Bashir Syed is vice-president, R&D, EnerTech Enterprises based in Houston, USA. He is a well-known physicist who has worked for Nasa and other research organizations for decades.

An alumnus of the DJ Sindh Government Science College, he taught there when Dr Abdul Qadeer Khan was a student.

In the United States he attended some of the most prestigious universities. He has been a Fulbright scholar, and a Nasa scholar. His first job was with the Rockwell International Science Centre where he worked on Support US-EPA Contract for Air Pollution Monitoring through Remote Sites.

He also worked for Control Data Corporation where he trained engineers in mainframes/miniframes and digital computer design. Then he joined General Electric where he was involved in microelectronics (design and fabrication of CMOS-SOS ICs, Ga-As monololithic), microwave ICs (MMICs), EW systems, phased array antenna design, optronics, and formulation of a military standard (MIL-Perf-38535) for procurement of ICs, SPICE Commitee and NSRE Commitee.

Bashir Syed has also worked for Nasa support corporations such as Ford Aerospace, Loral Aerospace, Lockheed Martin, Science Applications International Corporation. All of them support International Space Station, the space shuttle, manned space programme for Mars, Deep Space Probes, etc.

During his stay in Karachi, Dawn Sci-tech World talked to him. When asked how he got involved in the Nasa work, Mr Syed said that “in 1989 General Electric where I worked decided that they no longer wanted to be in military business, and laid off scientist and technicians engaged in that field. One day, I received a call from a Nasa contractor and was offered a job. It was to support the building of International Space Station.”

Mr Syed played a major role in the project from the design phase till the construction phase. He also participated in the Space Shuttle Modification Programme “since the shuttle had developed some faults and the system had become very old.”

An interesting project Mr Syed worked on was development of the space probes. Since he is a specialist on cosmic radiation, he was in charge of space radiation effects on the space ship and its components.

“As you can understand, the equipment sent out in the space is badly damaged because of the radiatin to which it is exposed. Thsi readiation comes from the sun as well as cosmic rays. My job was to teach the negineers how to mitigate these effects so that this problem does not occur and if it does, how to rectify it.”

Mr Syed was also a member of the radiation safety committe which not only took care of the instruments and gadgets exposed to radiation but also effects of radiation on engineers and technicians who handled them.

He got retired in September 2002 but before his retirement did some research in recently emerging microtechnology, especially the carbon nanotubes.

“The carbon nanotubes are much stronger than Kapton, the material used in bulletproof vests.

Equipped with the knowledge that he gained from his job with the space programmes, he launched a business with three colleagues. His company provides ways to harness solar and wind energies. It is engaged in designing solar energy panels and working on projects related to solar heating as well as cooling systems.

“Right now we are involved in two major projects: one is on a small island off the coast of Tanzania where there is no electricity. They have asked us to prepare feasibility study that would eventually help in setting up a wind farmin order to provide electricity to a stadium.

“We are also working on another island in the Adriatic Sea off the coast of Croatia. Over there too we have been asked to set up a wind farm.”

He believes that wind farms and solar energy are the right solutions to meet the power needs in Pakistan.

“There are two reasons for that. One is that by relying on fossil fuels we are increasing atmospheric pollution globally. As a result, earth warming is taking place. This is no fiction any more but a reality. In order to minimize that effect Pakistan has been given at least 20 million dollars from the United Nations Environmental Fund under the Kyoto Protocol.

“In addition, the Asian Development Bank has given funds to Pakistan to interdict renewable energy technologies. Moreover, fossil fuels are depleting and becoming more and more expensive.

“On the other hand, we have natural energy sources that are recyclable all the year round. For instance, the sun is always there five to eight hours a day. Of course at some places the sun is more suitable while at others the wind is the right choice.

“We are preparing feasibility studies in coastal areas such as Karachi and Gwadar where there is a lot of wind. At these places, big windmills can be set up successfully. At others, where the wind velocity is low, small wind mills should be set up to meet specific needs. A big windmill can generate three to four megawatts of energy.”

Can you estimate how big a windfarm would be needed to meet the power needs of a city the size of Karachi?

“Karachi’s electric supply cannot be entirely met with wind energy. The city already has fossil fuel power plants as well a nuclear power plant. The Alternate Energy Board in Islamabad has estimated that almost ten per cent of Karachi’s electrical energy needs can be met with renewable energy sources.”

Is it viable to use wave energy or geothermal energy for electric power supply?

“The wind energy and geothermal energy can be harnessed with very advanced technologies which are available only in developed countries.

“As for solar energy, it would be astounding to know that the Earth receives as much energy from the sun in one day which would suffice the needs for all the inhabitants of the planet for seven days.

“Solar cell technology is changing so rapidly that silicon solar cells which are most expensive to produce are being replaced by copper cells whose technology is being developed in France. Although the solar cells produced from copper only have a ten-year life, the difference in cost is considerable.’

About the ongoing debate on whether Pakistan needs big or small dams, Mr Syed said: “You don’t have to build huge dams and can rely on small dams wherever there are waterfalls. The technology is called micro-hydroelectric technology. This type of dams have been built successfully in China.”

Reprinted from http://DAWN.com.
All rights owned by DAWN Group of Newspapers.

Pakistani S&T Expats on VoA

2008-02-09T00:39:00.000-08:00

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

Effects of Fibre Outage through Mediterranean

2008-02-07T21:00:00.000-08:00

A recent study at Stanford was conducting regarding the recent Internet outage in much of the Middle East, and India.

Interestingly, Pakistan to the most part wasn’t affected as much as other countries in the region. This is also mentioned in study as a tribute to Pakistan , quoted below.

It is interesting that some countries such as Pakistan were mainly unaffected, despite the impact on neighboring countries such as India . This contrasts dramatically to the situation in June - July 2005, when due to a fibre cut of SEAMEWE3 off Karachi , Pakistan lost all terrestrial Internet connectivity which resulted, in many cases, in a complete 12 day outage of services. This is a tribute to the increased redundancy of international fibre connectivity installed for Pakistan in the last few years. [More...]

Click for Stanford Study

Analysis of Mealybug attack using Agri Decision Support System (ADSS)

2007-11-01T10:09:00.000-07:00

Dear colleagues and friends:

The emergence of Mealy bug as a cotton pest in Pakistan has taken many by surprise. However, there are not many studies using recent field data that can identify the varieties at risk, most effective pesticide groups, effect of weather etc.

The Agriculture Decision Support System (ADSS) developed at the FAST National University Islamabad and funded by the National ICT R&D Fund is geared to answer these questions; and more. The ADSS research report on Mealybug is freely available online, and can be
downloaded by visiting www.agroict.org

The following media sources can shed a brighter light upon this issue.

The NEWS
http://www.thenews.com.pk/daily_detail.asp?id=76453


Daily DAWN
http://www.dawn.com/2007/10/18/ebr8.htm

Daily Business Recorder
www.brecorder.com/index.php?id=641013


Best regards


Ahsan Abdullah
PI ADSS

The Author initially posted this to the PakSEF Virtual S&T Think Tank (VSTTT).

Copyright C. PakSEF 2002 - 2007

UET Alumni Mixer, Nov 3rd, 12pm

2007-10-16T09:43:00.000-07:00

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 Associatio n 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!

2007-09-11T19:33:00.000-07:00

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

[Article of the Month] Science and the Islamic World

2007-08-28T16:54:00.000-07:00

Dr. Pervez Hoodbhoy has been a faculty member at the Quaid-e-Azam University since 1973. In 1984 he received the Abdus Salam Prize for mathematics and is the author of 65 scientific research papers.

He recently authored an article published in the Physics Today monthly, Science and the Islamic World - A Quest for rapprochement. Here Dr Hoodbhoy discusses the past, present and prospective future for the development of Scientific thought in the Muslim World.

Science Ka Adda

2007-08-28T13:30:00.000-07:00

The Science and Ethics of Stem Cells: Film Screening and Discussion on 29th August 2007

Discover what Stem Cells are and why they’re so important to medical science and so controversial to religionists. Is it ethical to tinker with potential life to generate embryonic stem cells? ‘Frankenstein science’ or hope for a cure?

Join us at T2F’s third Science Ka Adda as we screen a documentary and discuss the science and ethics of stem cells with Biologist Dr. Ather Enam and Medical Ethicist Dr. Aasim Ahmad.

Dr. Ather Enam is Head of Neurosurgery and Associate Professor, Department of Biological and Biomedical Sciences at the Aga Khan University. His research interests include stem cell transplantation for neurological problems and regeneration of spinal cord injuries. Dr. Enam obtained a Ph.D. in Neurosciences from Northwestern University in 1991. In addition to several awards and fellowships, he received the Excellence Award in Neurosurgery by the Pakistan Society of Neurosurgeons in 2004.

Dr. Aasim Ahmad is Dean and Chief Nephrologist at The Kidney Centre as well as an Honorary Senior Lecturer in Bioethics at the Aga Khan University. In 2003, he obtained a Masters in Bioethics from University of Toronto. His main areas of interest are bioethics capacity building, research ethics and bioethics education. Dr. Ahmad serves on a number of bioethical committees and organizations; including as Chairperson of the Bioethics Group at the Aga Khan University and as member of the National Bioethics Committee.

Date: Wednesday, 29th August 2007

Time: 7:00 pm - 8:30 pm

Entry Fee: Rs. 100

Venue: The Second Floor
6-C, Prime Point Building, Phase 7, Khayaban-e-Ittehad, DHA, Karachi
Phone: 538-9273 | 0300-823-0276 | info@t2f.biz
Map: http://www.t2f.biz/location

Seats are limited and will be available on a ‘first come, first served’ basis.

Cyclone Relief: Appeal for donations

2007-07-24T13:15:00.000-07:00

On June 23rd and 24th, 2007, coastal areas of Pakistan were hit by tropical cyclone Yemyin, packing winds of up to 80 miles per hour (130 kmph) roared over the Arabian Sea to the south of Karachi and hit the coast of the southwestern province of Baluchistan, dumping torrential rain over Balochistan and Sindh provinces. The torrential rains and flash floods have played havoc in these areas and numbers of casualties is rising day after day. Besides that flash floods and torrential rains in parts of NWFP had a devastating affect on the local population as well.

An estimated 1.2 million people across Sindh, Balochistan and NWFP have become homeless and have been badly affected. In Balochistan alone the toll of affected people has reached an estimated number of 0.8 million.

Worst Affected Kech (Turbat), Gawadar, Jhal Magasi,

Naseerabad/Jaffarabad, Sibi, Bola and Thatta

Badly Affected Kharan, Washik, Noshki, Khuzdar and Swat

Partially Affected Mustung, Dalbandin, Qila Abdullah and Kalat

There is a sever shortage of food, medicine, shelter. PakSEF encourages you to donate generously to one of the named organizations below. Or you may also donate to PakSEFs Relief Fund, funds will accordingly distribute the funds to one of the names charities.

SPO Pakistan, is operating in all the above mentioned districts through approximately 350 partner organizations and 16 Civil Society Networks (CSNs). Currently, SPO operations for relief are being managed through SPO field offices situated in Kech (Turbat), Naseerabad and Sibi, whereas, Hyderabad, Karachi, Quetta, Peshawar and Islamabad offices are undertaking planning, networking and coordination activities. (Donations can be made directly via bank draft, or you may also make a donation directly to PakSEF Cyclone campaign which is a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt organization registered in the United States. PakSEF will accordingly forward the funds to SPO Pakistan.)

Hidaya Foundation, Hidaya’s response has been swift; from the strength of 50 Hidaya employees in Pakistan, 80% are involved in the relief effort. As of July 19: Over 249+ metric tons have been purchased and are being distributed costing approx. $240,000+.

Click to donate to the PakSEF Relief Campaign:

Protest - GST imposed on IT equipment

2007-05-18T09:13:00.000-07:00

Pakistan Computer Association (PCA)

Internet Service Providers Association of Pakistan (ISPAK)

Computer Society of Pakistan (CSP)

cordially invite you to join a

Peaceful Protest

to express rejection of the IT industry

on imposition of General Sales Tax (GST) on

Computers and Networking Equipment

and to demand with drawl of GST in Budget 2007-07

22 May 2007, Tuesday at 2:30 pm (sharp) in

front of CBR, Constitution Avenue, Islamabad

Come one - come all to express solidarity and to demand repeal of oppressive taxes on computers and networking equipment in a country where no tax is charged on billion dollar properties, palaces and agricultural landholding while educational and research tools are heavily axed and taxed.

Professionals from IT industry, IT education, call centers, software houses, computer vendors and ISPs will join the protest.

Your half an hour of time can save future of our IT industry

www.pakcomputerassociation.com www.ispak.com.pk www.csp.org.pk

Magnetic Resonance - Lecture @ KSS, Lahore | May 9th

2007-05-07T21:10:00.000-07:00

Speaker: Dr. Sabieh Anwar, Assistant Professor, Physics,
School of Science and Engineering, LUMS

Day and date: Wednesday, 9 May, 2007

Time: 11 am

Venue: Institute of Biochemistry and Biotechnology, Punjab
University, Quaid-e-Azam Campus, Lahore 54590

Abstract:

Nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) is a technique that exploits the spin of certain nuclei to obtain a tell-tale signatures of the molecules. This technique finds immense use in diagnostic imaging of human tissue. We will explore the origins of the NMR effect. In addition to its medical uses, we will also address other novel and esoteric applications, such as quantum computing, low-field NMR, explosives detection, polymer and foodstuff characterization, single-cell and
nano particle MRI.

For information contact: info@khwarzimic.org

Silicon Valley Pakistanis - NED to NASDAQ !

2007-05-03T16:52:00.000-07:00

On Wednesday morning, May 2, 2007, Cavium Networks (CAVM) was listed on the NASDAQ, the stock exchange of choice for tech companies in the US, listed a graduate of the NED University in Karachi as the founder. Given the diversity of the US and especially the tech sector, that might sound like an everyday occurrence. But a search of EDGAR, the electronic filing system of the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), shows that this is a first-of-its-kind event. It seems that M. Raghib Hussain, who graduated from NED with a Computer Systems Engineering degree in 1993/94 is the first founder of a public corporation in the US to list NED in his profile.

And this is not just any Initial Public Offering (IPO). Red Herring, a popular magazine in the business community, says "Cavium Networks ... is deemed by many as the `pick of the week',” describing the company as "a supplier of integrated semiconductor processors to “triple play” mavens such as Aruba Networks," that caters to clients whose networking equipment delivers “triple play” packages of voice, video, and data services at high speeds. Cavium is known," the magazine's IPO Watch column continues, "for its fast and secure system-on-chip processors.
Its customer list is a “Who’s Who” in tech with names such as Cisco, IBM, and Samsung."

And here is Red Herring's take on Cavium's prospects: "Formed in 2000, Cavium has reported an accumulated deficit of $61.9 million. But its days of gushing red ink may soon be over. Consider its first quarter: for the three months ending March 31, Cavium Networks reported revenues of $11.1 million--up 58.6 percent from $7 million for the same period a year ago. Cavium also cut its net loss sharply to $997,000 for that three-month period, down from $3 million a year ago. That’s the kind of numbers story that attracts attention on Wall Street."

Cavium Networks is a story about NEDians and Karchiites who attended Pakistani educational institutions and are making it to the top of their game. From the corridors of NED University to Wall Street.

Cavium Team (L-R): Amer Haider, Imran Badr, Raghib Hussain

As mentioned above, the company was started by M. Raghib Hussain and a colleague in 2000. He was soon joined by fellow NEDians Amer Haider, who started and set up the marketing department and Imran Badr, who started the software department.

Raghib, currently the company's Chief Technology Officer (CTO) and VP for Software Engineering, attended Delhi College and then NED Engineering University, graduating as mentioned above, in 1993-94, with a BE in Computer Systems. He started his career working at Zelin (Pvt.) Ltd., and then ITIM Associates in Karachi. Prior to Cavium Networks, Raghib has held senior technical roles in several startups and large organizations in Silicon Valley, including Cisco Systems. Raghib was a founding team member of VPNet (acquired by Avaya), where he was a key contributor in the design of the first commercial IPSecased VPN (VirtualPrivate Network) gateway. IPsec VPN Gateways become popular means of deploying security in enterprise and are widely used world wide today. At Cavium, Raghib was the key architect of Nitrox product family which is the leading security processor family in the industry today with most comprehensive security algorithms and low to highest performance scalable solution. Raghib was also a major contributor in Octeon multi-core processor family which provides highest performance per watt and per dollar for networking and communication industry. Along the way, Raghib has also earned an MS in Computer Engineering from San Jose State
University.

Amer Haider, currently Director of Strategic Marketing and Ecosystem Development, attended D.J Science college and graduated from NED University in 1995 with a bachelor's in Mechanical Engineering. He also started his technical and management career in Karachi with Wavetech and
other local concerns. He has been the backbone of Cavium's strategic and marketing efforts from the beginning, initially working alone and setting up the brand and products in the market and, in his current role, building partnerships with other technical players globally.

Imran Badr, currently Lead Software Architect, attended Malir Cantt College and graduated from NED University the same year as Amer, with a degree in Electrical Engineering. Imran Worked in Karachi for 4 years with local companies and Reuters before moving to Silicon Valley . Working on the design and architecture of the software for Cavium products, Imran has played a key role in the success of Cavium's products.

Along the way, the three original NEDian team members have been joined by others; specifically Faisal Masood and Syed Saadullah Hussain in Software, and Sabahat Ashraf in Technical Documentation.

CORPORATE DETAILS:

Cavium Networks a company based in Mountain View, California, plans for an IPO on NASDAQ under the ticker "CAVM". Cavium Networks plans to offer 6.25 million shares to the general public at $13.50, for an initial market capitalization of $566.7 million. The IPO is to start trading on Wednesday May 2, 2007.

Formed in November 2000, Cavium Networks has about 177 employees.

Underwriters: Morgan Stanley and Lehman Brothers are the joint-lead managers. Acting as co-managers are Thomas Weisel Partners, Needham, and JPM Securities

RELEVANT LINKS:

Information on Cavium Networks SEC filing
Cavium Networks official Home page
Founder Raghib Hussain's bio from IEEE Keynote speech
Hot Chips - Red Herring May Issue
San Jose Mercury Report
Venture Beat News Wire
All-Things-Pakistan Report by Owais Mughal

Acknowledgment: A special thanks to ifaqeer who provided the background information.

Copyright (c) PakSEF 2002 - 2007
PakSEF & ScitechWire are trademarks of the Pakistan Science and Engineering Foundation

Plagiarizism - A Kala dhubba on Pakistani Academia

2007-04-28T19:17:00.000-07:00

This is a video by Bruce Schneider , whose paper was plagiarized. This is from a security conference called CRYPTO.

Copyright C. PakSEF 2002 - 2007
PakSEF and ScitechWire are trademarks of the Pakistan Science and Engineering Foundation

Technology versus Humanity

2007-04-19T16:51:00.000-07:00

For a while now, I have been wondering about the moral responsibility of people like us, who work in the tech industry here in the Bay Area for human rights abuses enabled by our products. Here's the first real effort I have seen to put some legal and real shape to the concerns:

Yahoo! sued over torture of Chinese dissident
Chinese political prisoner sues Yahoo! in a US federal court in what is believed to be first case of its kind
Rhys Blakely

A Chinese political prisoner sued Yahoo! in a US federal court, accusing the internet company of helping the Chinese government torture him by providing information that led to his arrest.
The suit, filed under the Alien Tort Claims Act and the Torture Victims Protection Act, is believed to be the first of its kind made against an American internet company.
More here....

One of the few stories I have seen in this regard was:

Gag Orders
Is the work of Cisco Systems and other high-tech companies helping China to crack down on dissent?
By DK Sweet
EARLIER this year, on CNBC, business news junkies were treated to another superlative on-camera performance by one of America's foremost business superstars. Donald Trump may best personify the cheesy pop-culture idea of a celebrity businessman, but to the stockholder class, Cisco Systems' John Chambers is the Real Deal. Compare the income, size, growth and influence of international Internet infrastructure colossus Cisco to The Donald's twice-bankrupt real estate empire and Trump might as well be Chambers' pool boy.
More here...

Technorati tags applicable to this post: Technology and Society - Yahoo! - Torture - Human Rights

Pakistan's wetter weather linked to global warming

2007-04-19T09:28:00.000-07:00

New data from millennium-long tree-ring analyses are indicating that mountains in northern Pakistan have grown significantly wetter over the past century than they have been over the last millennium — quite possibly due to human-induced global warming, the researchers say.

In the Karakorum and Himalaya mountains in northern Pakistan, the upper reaches of the Indus Valley (which supplies the world's largest irrigation network), a group of researchers collected samples of Juniper tree rings that dated back as far as A.D. 828. "Tree rings can tell a lot about precipitation changes over time," such as how much precipitation fell and whether it fell in the form of rain or snow, says Kerstin Treydte of the Swiss Federal Research Institute WSL in Birmensdorf, Switzerland, and lead author of the study in today's Nature.

Treydte's team measured the oxygen isotope ratio in the rings and found that most of the precipitation in the region fell as snow, which they expected given the high elevations. And over the last 1,100 years, the hydrologic cycle there intensified at an unprecedented rate, Treydte says. The team suggests that the precipitation increases aren't just temporary changes, and the increases may be too great to be due to natural variability.

New isotopic research on the rings of 1,172-year-old Juniper trees in the mountains of northern Pakistan is revealing that the 20th century was the wettest century of the past millennium, possibly due to human-induced global warming. Image is courtesy of Kerstin Treydte.

The tree rings revealed periods of wetter-than-normal weather that lasted about a decade, such as around the years 1200, 1350, 1500 and 1870, and drier periods around 1270, 1420, 1600 and 1720, the team reported. In the 1790s and 1890s, the tree ring record showed severe droughts, which correlate with historical records of drought and famines in India. The data collected from the tree rings also roughly corresponds to historical records of extreme weather in other parts of the world, Treydte and colleagues wrote.

"But what is most significant, Treydte says, is "a cluster of peak precipitation periods during the late 19th and 20th centuries" that are at the upper limits of what the data show for the last 1,100 years. Furthermore, "we have empirical evidence that precipitation increased as temperatures increased," she says.

Increasing global temperatures over the past 150 years are "at least partly" the result of "the increase in anthropogenic greenhouse gases during this time," the team wrote. "We're not atmospheric scientists," Treydte says, "so we're not going to argue that the increasing precipitation is directly caused by a carbon dioxide increase" in the atmosphere. "What we will say, is that at the same time as the Industrial Revolution began, [carbon dioxide] increased, and there was a coincidental increase in precipitation — so there could be a human role," she says.

One of the biggest uncertainties in predicting climate change involves the hydrologic cycle — both "the net effect of water in the climate system and the way in which water will be redistributed over the surface of the planet," wrote Michael Evans of the Laboratory of Tree-Ring Research at the University of Arizona in Tucson in an accompanying commentary also in today's Nature. Understanding the hydrologic cycle and how it might be affected by warming temperatures is complex (see Geotimes, March 2006).

But research indicates that warming temperatures can lead to increases in the moisture-holding capacity of the atmosphere, altering the hydrologic cycle and characteristics of precipitation events, including the frequency, amount, intensity and duration, Treydte and colleagues wrote. And Treydte's team's "compelling" results roughly match climate models' predictions for the hydrologic cycle's intensity, Evans wrote, which adds further support to the researchers' hypothesized link between certain climate change effects and increases in greenhouse gas emissions. Such a link would certainly help improve confidence in climate models, he wrote.

Still, Evans noted, correlating anthropogenic climate change with the hydrologic cycle is tricky, as many factors must go into the models, and many uncertainties remain. Although this is the first tree-ring isotope record that is longer than a couple hundred years, more research is necessary. A denser network of precipitation gauges, for example, would help researchers distinguish natural variability from human-induced climate change, he wrote. "All of these advances will assist in the crucial work of climate-change detection and attribution."

[Article cross-posted from GeoTimes]

Copyright C. PakSEF 2002 - 2007
ScitechWire is a trademark of the Pakistan Science and Engineering Foundation
A non-profit 501(c)(3) California based organization

City’s plants struggle to stay green due to smog: study

2007-04-17T10:39:00.000-07:00

KARACHI: Air pollution in the city has caused a 60 percent increase in various diseases and has damaged the natural ability of plants to release oxygen, stated a report prepared by the Space and Upper Atmosphere Research Commission (SUPARCO) after a survey of 28 of Karachi’s main arteries.

Five scientists, two engineers and other technical staff studied air and noise conditions by using two mobile laboratories. They tested shopkeepers and pedestrians and took blood samples of drivers and traffic policemen, which were later tested at Liaquat National Hospital.

“Cancer and other diseases of the ear, throat and lungs have increased by 60 percent, due to the smoke emitted by vehicles, which is basically a form of carbon dioxide,” the report said.

Air pollution and high-rise buildings have damaged the greenery of Karachi by blocking proper sunlight for plants. “Air pollution has altered plant colouring by making it blackish. Leaves have also shrunk. Buildings are affected as there is a thick layer of oil and dust on their entire structure,” said the report.

Air pollution is much higher than the standards set by the World Health Organization and the World Bank, especially along the stretch of MA Jinnah Road between Tibet Center Saddar and Mereweather Tower.

The SUPARCO team has asked the relevant officials to impose a ban on diesel vehicles and garbage burning. In addition, two-stroke rickshaws should be replaced with four-stroke ones.

The team pointed out that Karachi’s roads were planned for 750 vehicles in an hour, but were being used by 11,000 vehicles.

Dr Qaiser Sajjad, an ENT surgeon at Abbasi Shaheed Hospital and secretary of the Pakistan Medical Association, said that children were the worst affected by air pollution. He added that the high court had taken a suo moto action by ordering the authorities concerned to eradicate pollution in three months. However, the government had as yet not taken this matter seriously.

“If the government does not take the necessary steps, then in the coming five years the situation will become uncontrollable,” he said. ppi/DailyTimes