Pakistani scientist wins laurels

ISLAMABAD, Jan 1: A Pakistani scientist working at the Institute of Space Technology (IST) has invented the world’s lowest profile omni-directional antenna with dual polarisation that does not require a ground plane.

Dr Mohammad Amin, who is listed in the biographical directory Who’s Who in the World of 2008 published by Marquis, said in mobile communications, it was important not only to have adequate signal strength, but the direction of the electric field should also be parallel with the antenna.


He said: “I have developed the world’s lowest profile antenna that can generate equal vertical and horizontal electric field components.” Mr Amin said the antenna had a helical shape and had a feed at the centre of the helical section of one side. Furthermore, the antenna, known as side-fed bifilar helix antenna, does not require a ground plane.


However, the scientist said that because of the scattering environment, a part of vertical electric field generated at the transmitter could turn into horizontal and vice versa.


According to Dr Amin, an antenna capable of receiving or generating equal amplitudes of electric fields both in horizontal and vertical directions will improve reception by providing diversity.


He said the simplest form of such an antenna was a crossed dipole, which consisted of two dipoles orientated at 90 degrees to each other. The crossed dipole provides equal vertical and horizontal electric field over narrow regions and its height would be approximately half wavelength, he added.


Dr Amin said many applications such as in mobile handsets and aerodynamic surfaces at jet speeds the antenna had to be low profile either to appeal the aesthetics or to reduce air resistance.


In addition, equal amplitude of electric field both in vertical and horizontal directions is required in all directions for reliable communication, he added.



Source: Dawn

yea... read the news....

Wow... atleast we did somethihg... but the fact that matters here is that our media must project this at the highest level... like we do of all the killings.. riots.. terror..

I wish our media promot things like this in the same manner... which unfortunately wont happen...!!

yea... read the news....

Wow... atleast we did somethihg... but the fact that matters here is that our media must project this at the highest level... like we do of all the killings.. riots.. terror..

I wish our media promot things like this in the same manner... which unfortunately wont happen...!!
They think they can fix Pakistan by presenting the negative things in extreme light.

Post articles and news relating to Pakistan Science & Technology developments here.


Standing tall

Given that Pakistan is in a seismic zone, architects need to focus on building structures that are more earthquake resistant, writes Sabiha Essa

THE recent earthquake in China brought back the horrific memories of the devastation that Pakistan had faced in October 2005. Even now, people living in the Northern areas are picking up pieces of their lives as they try to settle down in a regular routine. The rebuilding process — especially in terms of buildings — is still on the go. This rebuilding becomes far more important and a responsible task given that many areas in Pakistan are in a seismic zone, and susceptible to natural disasters like earthquakes. Hence, the need for seismic resistant buildings.

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It is very rightly said that, “Earthquakes don't kill people, buildings do.” As the frequency in the number of earthquakes build up in different parts of the world, scientists and engineers are trying to study the impact of earthquake on buildings and other structures. After scrutinising how structures respond to earthquakes, they are using the knowledge to improve the ability of structures to survive major earthquakes. Some countries, like Japan, have already been successful with these attempts which have saved many lives.

Designing and constructing large structures has always been a challenge which gets further complicated when they are to be built in earthquake-prone areas. There are certain regions of Pakistan, including Karachi, which lie on the seismic belt and are at risk of frequent, sudden earthquakes. Keeping this fact in mind and the previous irreparable losses of human lives, we must gear up our energies in building safer and earthquake or seismic resistant buildings and structures like bridges, dams etc.

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Seismologists or the earth scientists work to identify the places which are more prone to suffer from earthquakes. They design maps indicating the faulty zones with unresisting, poor construction, flood plains, areas at risk of landslides or to soil liquefaction. Using such maps, construction planners design zoning restrictions for preventing the construction of hazardous structures in earthquake prone areas. Unlike our country, architects and engineers around the world give importance to the safety and seismic resistance of their buildings when designing and constructing them. But since this is an expensive task to achieve, it is not economically possible to build all structures seismic resistant, even though some dams and public buildings of importance, like schools, hospitals, and densely populated residential areas are on the priority list. However, with extensive researches it has been found that the cost of repair is a fraction of the cost of earthquake-proofing of these buildings.

Seismologists began researching on earthquakes during 1880’s and in 1940 they were able to create instruments which could be installed in buildings in order to measure their response to the jolts of the earthquake. The information provided by these instruments not only helped in calculating the intensity of earthquake and understanding the forces produced by shaking of earth, but it also helped in defining the building codes. The building codes help in formulating the frontline safety measures against future earthquake damages to the public life. In many countries, earthquake recording instruments.

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link (http://epaper.dawn.com/ArticleText.aspx?article=07_06_2008_351_004)

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Asif Masood discusses the importance of using renewable energy sources as an alternative to electricity in Pakistan World Environment Day was on June 5

WITH electricity becoming a scarcity and Pakistan now resorting to various means to save energy, perhaps it is high time that we look to renewable energies to come to our rescue. The total installed electricity generation capacity of Pakistan is 19,500MW. This excludes most of the rural population that does not have access to electricity and still depends on traditional biomass fuel, such as wood and coal, etc.

Now, with most forms of fuels like kerosene, and liquid petroleum gas (LPG) becoming either inaccessible or very costly, it is imperative to move away from pollution producing sources of energy in Pakistan and rely more on renewable energy sources.

Renewable energy — as the name implies — is energy that can be obtained from a constant source, such as wind, sun and water. Despite developing a number of energy policies and plans, the priority accorded to renewable energy in Pakistan has remained very low. While in most of policy documents authorities have widely acknowledged renewable resources as an alternative source of energy, little substantive actions have been taken to implement these plans. Hardly any specific incentives have been offered to nurture a full-fledged industry based on alternate technologies to generate energy.

The Pakistan National Conservation Strategy (PNCS), which was approved by government of Pakistan in 1992, became a component in the eighth five year plan. It provided the first all encompassing framework for addressing environmental concerns in the country.

At this point, what we need most is a joint effort at both the government and private sector levels to meet the up coming challenges. For example, the alternate energy sources should be indigenous so that they reduce dependency on energy related imports. A long term policy for the promotion of renewable energies requires across the board initiatives encompassing a wide range of policies pertaining to energy, environment, employment, incentives, taxation relief, competitive return on investment, funding for research and development policies. WIND ENERGY It is difficult to undermine the importance of wind power since it is the kinetic energy of wind which can generate electrical energy by driving wind turbines. Wind power became the least expensive form of new power generation, coming well below the cost per kilo walt-hour of coal fired plant. Wind power is growing faster than any other form of electricity generation. In late 1990, the cost of wind power was about five to six times compared to what it is now and this downward trend is expected to continue as larger multimega watt turbines are being produced by many commercial companies.

SOLAR ENERGY Most areas of Pakistan receive ample amount of sunshine, averaging about 300 sunny days a year. Solar energy applications, therefore, are particularly feasible in the country. Although, small scales photovoltaic (PV) system exists for small scale level application, what we need is a large scale adoption of solar energy. This is mainly because of the high cost of PV and Thermal panels. However, a design improvement has resulted in dramatic reduction in manufacturing cost over the last decade.

Solar energy’s use is also limited because of a host of practical issues, such as energy conversion and storage, mismatched supply and load profiles and maintenance costs. Moreover, an absence of a clear cut policy and lack of fiscal support mechanisms for promoting the local manufacture of low-cost dispersed systems have also contributed to its limited use.

Presently, PV technology on small scale is being used for emergency telephones on highways. Solar water pumps for drinking water, refrigeration systems for cooling buildings and for hot water for domestic use are the other applications of energy from sun.

Solar energy is viable specially in villages in Balochistan and Sind which are spread over large distances and do not have road connections. The transmission connections in such areas are also not economically viable. Under these circumstances, it would be quite feasible to develop and promote solar thermal technologies (like solar cookers) in such remote areas.

The use of solar cookers in rural areas can also save a lot of trees and mitigate the risk of deforestation, which is causing serious environemental problems in Pakistan. In Nepal, for example, the Netherland Refugee Foundation (NRF) has distributed 6000 parabolic cookers among the 102,000 ethnic Nepalese from Bhutan who fled due to Bhutanese government’s oppression in early 1990. One 90-dollar cooker is shared between two families. This has enabled these refugees not to rely on wood for their food preparation.

Going solar not only helps preserve precious fuel supplies but also cuts down smoke pollution thereby, reducing damage to our lungs. The manufacturing/assembly of cookers also create local employment. The fuelless operation prevents the cutting of trees and roots the removal of which leaches nutrients from soil and can cause landslides.

Properly assessed renewable energy options can become economically viable and be easily implemented in the form of projects based on hydropower, wind or biogas. This is particularly true for the more difficult, remote and underdeveloped areas, where renewable energy can have the greatest impact. Renewable energy can also supplement the pool of national energy supply in Pakistan, thereby expediting economic empowerment, productivity and development of currently marginalised segments of the population.

Decentralised renewable energy systems can also help to reduce energy distribution losses. The industry based on renewable energy would generate employment and business opportunities among manufactures and service providers. Therefore, the economic benefits are limitless to improve the quality of life for end-users across the country.

Cost-effective renewable energy will definitely improve Pakistan’s economic performance. Energy efficiency along with conservation measures can result in profitable business units. Use of indigenous resources can help Pakistan in diversifying its energy mix. This will reduce the country’s dependence on any single source, particularly imported fossil fuel. Local environmental and health hazards introduced by fossil fuel powered electricity generation plants can be largely circumvented through clean renewable energy alternatives.

By using renewable energy, we can also elevate Pakistan‘s present low per capita consumption. Issues relating to social equity, such as equal rights and access for all citizens to modern energy supplies and poverty alleviation among the deprived section of society can also be addressed significantly through widespread renewable energy deployment.



link (http://epaper.dawn.com/ArticleText.aspx?article=07_06_2008_355_002)

Agricultural engineering Food for thought

By Sahar Majid

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GIVEN that Pakistan is an agricultural country and a large part of its economy depends on agriculture, one would think that a ca reer in this field would be a feasible option. Unfortunately, this is not the case.

According to environmentalist Dr A.A. Qureishi, agriculture department in the education sector is going through an extremely bad situation.

“The students are not provided with practical equipment and field experiment facilities. They are just taught theory, and therefore, when they enter the work field, they cannot implement their knowledge since they do not have any exposure to the practical aspects of crop growing,” says Qureishi adding that the situation of agriculture education is far better in Punjab when compared to Sindh. In fact, University of Agriculture, Faisalabad is offering quality practical resources to its students so that they can perform better on the fields.

The NWFP Agricultural University, Peshawar and Lasbela University of Agriculture, Water and Marine Sciences — Uthal, Balochistan are the main universities offering degree courses in agriculture in the respective regions.

An agriculturist is a scientifically trained expert in agriculture, and his/her job is to use his/her knowledge of agriculture to produce food and fibres. S/he utilises the expertise to improve the quality of crops and also communicate new ideas to farmers.

However, it not just the mediocre quality of education that serves as deterrent, but a lack of professional opportunities as well. Says Dr Asghar Ali, Professor and Chairman, Department of Agronomy, University of Agriculture Faisalabad, “The seats or the number of vacancies are not enough to place all graduating students. Agriculturists do have opportunities in Pakistan to work in consultation firms, research and development companies and in corporate sector, but the problem is that the jobs are not enough to absorb all graduating students.” As far as the salary packages are concerned, corporate sector — other than banks — does not offer more than Rs10,000 per month to fresh graduates, while those who are fortunate enough to be employed by banks’ agriculture credit department, get good salaries and other benefits as per banks’ policies..

But despite not-so-bright career prospects for agriculturists, says Asghar, the enrolment of students in agriculture universities is on the rise. The prerequisite to get admission in an agriculture university is an inter- mediate degree in either pre-medical or pre-engineering. Student with HSC certificate in humanities are not eligible to apply for a degree programme in agriculture since it is a purely a scientific field.

With growing population and an increasing food shortage, the basic challenge for an agriculturist in developing world is to adopt techniques to increase crops’ productivity in order to prevent food-shortage. And this is only possible if they are giv en proper training both at educational and professional levels. National Agricultural Research Centre (NARC) based in Islamabad is an institute that is aimed to improve the skills and increase the technical knowledge of agricultural scientists, technicians and farmers. Similar institutes that provide on-job training and a well-collaborated system between educational institutes and corporate sector can definitely pave way for a better future for our agriculturists. Also, establishing more research organisations for better cultivation is also a great way to generate more job placements for agri graduates.


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Good thread!

Will try to add stuff as i find them.

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Good idea for a thread. This article says that South Asia has become the dumping ground of the world and that 80% of all e-waste finds its way to China, India and Pakistan. With China being the largest dumping ground. I don't like this piece of news at all! :no:

Pakistan is way behind India in the field of Electronics. Telecommunication, however, has some future in our country but no way for Electronics. The situation is much alarming as the Karachi city alone is producing more than 1500 Electronic Engineers every year and we have no large-scale corporations to absorb that huge number of engineers. That is the reason why most of our Electronic Engineers are now preferring the Telecom specialization in their Final Year.

The saturation in the field has emerged after the increment in the seats of Electronics by Sir Syed University of Engineering and Technology to 1000 from 700 and every other university has also started the undergraduate programs in Electronics.

And about comparing the two countries, I must say that Indians have got an edge over Pakistanis with their programming skills, that is what Electronics is all about.

I don't really know about India's science & technology sector, but they definitely are a lot more ambitious and proactive than us. The Indians are attracting a lot of FDI and a lot of companies are setting up R&D centres there.

Hopefully a few of these electronics graduates are going to be smart enough to start their own firms and continue to make them grow to a level where they can employ more future engineers.

Pakistan science increase marred by high inflation (http://www.scidev.net/en/news/pakistan-science-increase-marred-by-high-inflation.html?utm_source=link&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=en_news)
A. A. Khan

20 June 2008 | EN

Pakistan's new government has increased science spending in its maiden 2008–2009 budget, but high inflation is set to cancel the increase out.

The government earmarked 37,041 million Pakistani rupees (around US$553 million) to public sector science and technology (S&T) in its budget presented to the National Assembly last week (11 June).

The budget contains an increase of 2.95 per cent for S&T spending — but the rise is negated by the 11 per cent inflation rate set for the next fiscal year, beginning 1 July.

The current allocation for S&T makes up 1.84 per cent of Pakistan's US$30 billion federal budget, less than last year's allocation of 1.92 per cent. This is contrary to the trend set by former science minister Atta-ur-Rahman who secured massive science spending for the country.

Pakistan's S&T spending is spread across different ministries and departments, which have received uneven cuts in funding this year.

An allocation of around US$45 million has been made to the Ministry of Science and Technology — 16.2 per cent less than last year's allocation.

The Higher Education Commission will spend US$181 million of its unchanged US$267 million budget on science and technology related research and education projects, including establishing six science and engineering universities (see Pakistan plans 'state of the art' science universities) and strengthening existing ones.

The Ministry of Food, Agriculture and Livestock has been given US$27 million, a cut of 17 per cent, for projects including establishing and enhancing crop research centres. An allocation of US$24 million — a 23 per cent decrease — has been made to the Ministry of Information Technology.

The Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission's share is US$228 million, an increase of 25.5 per cent, for power generation and medical imaging projects.

Razina Alam Khan, chairperson of the Senate Standing Committee on Science and Technology, told SciDev.Net the cut in S&T and education spending is negative for vital development projects like energy and agriculture.

But science ministry sources deny any shift in policy and say under-utilisation of funds from last year is responsible for current reductions in allocation.

United States - Pakistan Cooperation in Science and Technology (http://www.state.gov/p/sca/rls/fs/2006/62596.htm)

Joint Committee on Science and Technology:

Within the framework of the commitment by the Government of Pakistan and the Government of the United States to broaden and deepen the bilateral relationship in diverse fields, the two sides underscored their resolve to expand US-Pakistan cooperation in the fields of science, technology, engineering, and higher education. In this context, the sides have decided to establish the Joint Committee on Science and Technology at a higher level. The two countries signed an Agreement on Science and Technology in June 2003 to strengthen scientific, technological and engineering capabilities and expand collaboration between the scientific and technological communities and institutions of both sides.

The high-level Joint Committee will foster expanded cooperation and promote collaborative relationships between the scientific and technological entities of the two countries, as well as scientists serving in government agencies, private enterprises, science foundations, and academia in order to further scientific endeavors and increase the quality and quantity of researchers in Pakistan. The Joint Committee will meet periodically. The Joint Committee will likely be composed of representatives from the scientific, governmental, and industrial communities of each country.

Pakistan- United States Cooperation in Environment:

The Joint Committee on Science and Technology will address the institutional capacity of Pakistan to enhance the prospects and opportunities for economic growth in a manner that accords priority to environmental protection, including in the impact of climate on the water and agricultural sectors of Pakistan.

U.S.- Pakistan Science and Technology Initiative:

The United States and Pakistan are working together to strengthen cooperation in science and technology in Pakistan and to broaden mutual understanding between our countries. The second year of the science and technology program is underway with new projects to increase Pakistan’s capacity for science and technology education and research in the public and private sectors. Eleven new projects will focus on water resource management, engineering, food science, plant science, air quality, forensic science, and renewable energy.

The eleven new projects:


Develop a strategic model to improve construction project management education, research, and practices.
Develop guidelines for asphalt pavement recycling.
Develop computational mechanics infrastructure and human resources for advancing engineering design practices.
Establish an extrusion center at Institute of Food Science and Technology, University of Agriculture, Faisalabad.
Increase salt tolerance in wheat through genetic engineering.
Increase understanding and control of plant viral disease complexes in Pakistan.
Determine heavy metal and polycyclic hydrocarbons in airborne particulates in Lahore, Pakistan and Madison, Wisconsin.
Develop and strengthen capacity for surveillance, containment, and diagnosis of antimicrobial disease resistance through public-private partnership.
Intensify forensic services and research at the Center for Applied Molecular Biology.
Improve living conditions for populations in remote areas of the Federal Administered Tribal Areas through renewable energy.
Build research, education and training capacity for water resource management.

Brief history of Science & Technology in Pakistan & its governance (http://www.unesco.org/science/psd/thm_innov/forums/abstract-pakestan.pdf)

Pakistan inherited four laboratories, one university and one agricultural college at the time of independence in 1947. Since its inception, Pakistan realized the importance of science and technology for socio-economic development, however, due to various reasons, mainly financial constraints and political instability in the country, science and technology could not become the priority agenda of successive governments. Despite these constraints, considerable progress has been made in science and technology. At present, there are 83 major S&T organizations with over 224 laboratories and research stations in Pakistan working in different areas of science and technology. In addition, there are 109 universities in the country, about half of which are in the private sector.

For making the role of parliament in the development of science and technology more efficient and well-organized, various mechanisms have been devised in Pakistan. In this regard, the National Commission for Science and Technology (NCST) is the most important institution which was created in 1984. The 27-member Commission is the apex Science and Technology policy laying body that provides guidance for scientific and technological efforts in the country. It has a cross-cutting function of determining policy across many government ministries and agencies and, it does not have any administrative function. The Commission is headed by the Prime Minister of Pakistan and includes Federal Ministers for Science and Technology, Education, Agriculture, Industries and Finance along with Ministers for S&T Departments of the provinces. Federal Minister for Information Technology and Telecommunications, who is currently not a member of NCST, is also being included in the Commission.

The Commission has an Executive Committee that is responsible to coordinate, oversee and review the Science and Technology policies, research and development programmes and implementation of the policy decisions taken by the Commission. The Executive Committee is headed by the Federal Minister for Science and Technology and consists of 29 members, mainly secretaries of ministries concerned and heads of science and technology organizations.

Pakistan Council for Science and Technology is the designated secretariat of NCST and in this capacity, it plays a very important role in the science and technology policy formulation and decision-making process. Chairman, PCST, supported by a small technical workforce, serves as the Secretary of the Commission.

Both house of parliament, i.e. National Assembly and Senate, have Standing Committees on Education, Science and Technology. Presence of these Committees provides political oversight over the functioning of the science and technology organizations in the country. These Committees which include parliamentarians from the ruling party and the opposition examine the administration, legislation, expenditure, public petitions and policies of the Ministry and its associated organizations. Recently, a Sub-Committee of the Senate Standing Committee on Science & Technology considered the issue of linkage between Industries and Research Institutes. The Sub-Committee gave constructive recommendations for constitution of framework and mechanism for the linkage between Industries and Research Institutes of Science and Technology so that the benefit of scientific research may reach to Industries, Agriculture and the common man.

Ministry of Science and Technology, created in 1972, is the focal point on all important matters regarding science and technology including developing science and technology policies and plans and, coordination of science and technology at the government level. Keeping in view the importance of Information Technology and acknowledging its central role in the future economic progress, recently a separate ministry was created for Information Technology and Telecommunications. Other important federal ministries with regard to science and technology are ministries of Education, Agriculture and Industries. Their Ministers have a central position in the decision-making process and play an important role in the Science and Technology policy development as members of NCST.

Higher Education Commission (HEC) and Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission (PAEC) are other important bodies where science and technology decisions, pertaining to their spheres of work, are made. Both the organizations are also represented on the NCST through their heads. Chairman, HEC, who has recently been posted as Advisor to the Prime Minister, is responsible for higher education, including education, research & development in basic and applied sciences and engineering & technology. He works independently of the Minister for Education, who is mainly responsible for the primary and secondary education. Chairman, PAEC is under the Prime Minister’s Secretariat and is a key-figure in science and technology decision-making process related to the defense and security of the country.

There are a significant number of Research & Development organizations, mainly in the area of agriculture, working under the administrative control of the provinces. Policies and decisions regarding these organizations are normally made in the concerned provincial departments. While heads of science and technology organizations working under the administrative control of different federal ministries, mainly science and technology and, agriculture, are responsible for governance of these organizations at the local level.

First photovoltaic modules manufacturing unit established (http://www.brecorder.com/index.php?id=760469&currPageNo=1&query=&search=&term=&supDate=)
FAISALABAD (June 24 2008): First modern unit for the production of Photovoltaic (PV) modules for solar panels has been established at Hattar with German collaboration. A spokesman of the company said here on Monday that solar panels produced locally by this company range from 5 watts to 250 watts.

"In an integrated production system, the plant manufactures highly efficient PV modules using best quality raw material produced by top three solar cell manufacturers in the world". The manufacturing plant with latest machinery has annual capacity of 37 mega watts. All PV modules are 100 per cent tested using the latest technology ensuring the delivery of reliable and high performance products to the market, said the spokesman.

Man, what we sorely miss right now is a visionary leader!

China became the factory of the world.
India, the software factory.

Powered partly by our enery crisis, we should screw IT, etc. and focus ALL our needs on solar/wind and all these gay technologies (I hate them, but gotta be realistic, everybody else loves them). The way things are going worldwide, these things will be in such high demand that it won't even be funny. I don't know how it would happen, but it's one thing Pakistan can take lead in. Maybe the gov can set up a small town for this purpose, invite foreign PhDs in the field, pay them good money, and finance all the research. We can then recoup this investments thru exports. The demand would literally explode in the next decade. We, of course, won't be anywhere near the likes of what Sharp and Sanyo are making, but still be good enough. And if we are good, then such companies can build their plants here. Not a bad dream, eh?

India is far ahead in the field of Wind and Solar Power. They are making the world's largest project of Solar power in Rajasthan Desert as far as I remember. One thing I always say, we have mastered in the missile technology, we have known that ways to enrich the Uranium in the most efficient ever way but we cannot cope up with the problem which the West and most of the Asian countries have got rid of decades ago.

My aunt lives in Incheon,South Korea, she told me that once electricity had went off there and it had been powered on again in not more than 3 seconds.

Our obsession has gone wrong way. We should have incorporated our available resources and energies in the fields of technology which are fruitful for the countrymen. They say that DEFENSE is a lot more important than anything else and I say that gone are the days when aggression against any country was easy.

Well, we can still make some money by working on it. We have yet to witness the Alternative Energy Boom, so there's time.

LAHORE: Pakistan agriculture scientist sets a new record in Asia by successfully evolving five new best quality varieties of "long and extra long hybrid rice" in Pakistan in a short span of seven years.

According to details, Dr Ghulam Mustafa Avesi with 35 years rich experience in rice research, successfully conducted uninterrupted hectic field research in various rice growing areas for developing new varieties with best yield per acre for long and extra long hybrid rice, especially suitable to climatic condition of the areas for obtaining more bumper crop than traditional rice crop.

damn, awesome!

We need more people like him.

MORE RICE FOR MY TUMMAY! :happy:

MORE RICE FOR MY TUMMAY! :happy:

:ohno:

:laugh:

Documentary Biotechnology in Pakistan part 1

vjzE338esd4

Documentary Biotechnology in Pakistan part 2
N-gnwjX45oo

BEIJING: Pakistan and China on Wednesday signed a framework agreement to jointly establish National Electronics Complex of Pakistan (NECOP). The total amount of the contract, which was signed by Pakistan Ambassador to China Masood Khan and President of CETC Yan Lijin, is estimated at around US $ 300 million, covering civilian, information technology and defense electronic domains in Pakistan.

Through the establishment of NECOP, CETC will help Pakistan achieve indigenous research and development and production capabilities after providing sophisticated training and technical assistance packages by fully utilizing local resources.

The signing of this framework agreement reflected good wishes for bilateral cooperation, strengthening the traditional friendship and also presenting a Science and Technology oriented government image for the newly elected government of Pakistan.

CETC is the largest state-owned Chinese enterprise, specializing in the field of defense electronics, information technology, public security, space, transportation, energy and education.

http://www.geo.tv/10-16-2008/26999.htm

^^ this is very old news, about two monts than why r u putting this up now?

because it wasn't posted here and it isnt that old

ENVIRONMENT WATCH: Managing solid waste (http://www.dawn.net/wps/wcm/connect/Dawn%20Content%20Library/dawn/in-paper-magazine/sci-tech+world/managing+solid+waste)

Friday, 19 Dec, 2008 | 02:28 PM PST |
Farzana Ibrahim

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Over the years, various methods to manage and dispose of solid wastes in ways that are not harmful to human health and the environment have been devised throughout the world. As awareness regarding the ever shrinking global natural resource base increases, the issue of solid waste management has now become an integral part of the overall environmental drive to achieve sustainable development mechanisms.

Problems related to solid waste management are so enormous that it is essential to consider all the aspects related either directly or indirectly to it and its management. This may include rate of urbanisation, pattern and density of urban areas, planning and control of development activities, physical composition of waste, density of waste, temperature and precipitation and scavenger’s activities for recyclable separation. Responsible municipalities should take into account the storage, collection, transportation and disposal of solid waste management.

The city of Karachi generates about 8,300 tonnes of solid waste per day. Recent studies suggest that on average, each person generates between 0.32 to 0.38 kg/day of municipal solid waste from residential sources, depending on his/her income level. This includes a substantial amount of organic waste (average 52 per cent of total wet weight) followed by paper (12 per cent), other inorganic (12 per cent ), plastics (10 per cent), metals (six per cent), glass (five per cent) and a small amount of hazardous waste (three per cent). More than 90 per cent of this solid waste is recyclable.

Currently, 40 per cent of this biodegradable waste is recovered and managed by the private and informal sector and the rest is not properly recovered and is causing serious health hazards such as skin and eye infections/disease and breathing disorders in children and adults. Furthermore, flies breed on these uncovered mounds of garbage and spread diarrhoea, typhoid, hepatitis and cholera, plague, flea-born fever and malaria, to name just a few. Added to these are environmental hazards like groundwater contamination and air pollution, which is the result of open burning of solid waste — unfortunately, a common practice in Karachi.

It is possible to properly recycle the unmanaged solid waste of Karachi using composting techniques for organic waste. The biodegradable waste is defined as any waste that is capable of undergoing anaerobic or aerobic decomposition, such as food and garden waste. Composting is a naturally occurring biodegradation process that happens in nature everywhere and at all times under normal temperature and climate conditions.

Composting converts biodegradable waste into compost, a stabilised material, which is rich in humic substances and nutrients. It can be used for different purposes, for example to improve soil structure, texture, aeration and water retention. Mixing compost with soil also contributes to erosion control, soil fertility, proper pH balance and healthy roots development in plants. Compost is considered as ‘black gold’ due to its usefulness to the soil and plants, and varied benefits to the ecology and the environment.

The most common composting method is windrow method. It is more effective, environmentally sound and usually a less expensive way of managing organic wastes and can meet with the complete requirements of manure for gardens, orchards and fields.

This processing technology is simple and common in well-developed countries. It has already been tested by different organisations in Karachi (such as PCSIR). It is, therefore, highly recommended that this technology should be used on a wide scale in Karachi by the City District Government to manage the huge amount of biodegradable solid waste.

Climate change an economic threat, say experts (http://www.dawn.net/wps/wcm/connect/Dawn%20Content%20Library/dawn/news/technology/climate-change-an-economic-threat-say-experts--il)

Tuesday, 13 Jan, 2009 | 03:13 PM PST |

http://www.dawn.net/wps/wcm/connect/d897cb004ca5ef738c4a8d6340070ca8/gwadar-port2-400.jpg?MOD=AJPERES
If sea-levels continue to rise, coastal areas will face massive problems - File photo

ISLAMABAD: Climatic changes are likely to intensify the environmental stresses that lead to land degradation, shortfalls in food production, rural poverty and urban unrest. This was stated by Dr R.K. Pachauri, Chairman of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, in his keynote speech delivered on Tuesday at a two-day regional conference, ‘Climate Change: Challenges and Opportunities for South Asia,’ PPI reported.

The conference will bring together experts from the South Asia region to share their knowledge and experience of climate change, and to explore measures to combat this potential threat. Prime Minister Syed Yousuf Raza Gilani was the chief guest on the occasion.

The inaugural session was attended by senior politicians and members of government, prominent representatives from the development sector, major donors, eminent scientists, and technical experts from Pakistan and South Asia.

Organised jointly by the Ministry of Environment and the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), Pakistan, and supported by the UK Department for International Development and the Norwegian Embassy, the conference will highlight the potentially disastrous effects of climate change on developing countries.

Federal Minister for Environment Hameed Ullah Jan Afridi delivered the welcome address. Aban Marker Kabraji, Regional Director, IUCN-Asia, set the context for the conference, explaining why climate change should not be viewed simply as an environmental threat.

Climate change concerns specific to the Pakistan context were spelled out by Advisor Science and Technology, and Minister of State for Planning Commission, Dr Ishfaq Ahmad, who said that research on this subject was in a nascent stage in Pakistan.

Javed Jabbar, Regional Councillor, IUCN, also spoke on the occasion, pointing out that the poorest members of society are always the ones most affected by the impact of climate change.

Dr Pachauri, in his keynote speech, said that global warming was ‘unequivocal’. There was no scope for scientific questioning. Describing the effects of climate change in many parts of the world, he went on to explain the impact that such changes are likely to have on a country like Pakistan and on the lives of its people.

Pakistan is today witnessing severe pressure on natural resources and the environment, and climatic changes are likely to exacerbate this trend. Water supply, already a serious concern in many parts of the country, will decline dramatically, affecting food production.

Export industries such as fisheries will also be affected, while coastal areas risk being inundated, flooding the homes of millions of people living in low lying areas. The health of millions will also be affected, he pointed out, as diarrhoeal diseases associated with floods and drought become more prevalent. Intensifying rural poverty is likely to increase internal migration as well as migration to other countries.

Given the enormity of the impact, Dr Pachauri stressed that adaptation and mitigation measures are critically important.

Although most societies have a long history of adapting to the impacts of weather and climate, Dr Pachauri warned that climate change as we are experiencing it today poses new risks that will require new investments in adaptive responses.

But adaptation alone is not sufficient, he said. Stabilisation and mitigation strategies are also required. Stabilisation can be achieved by turning to renewable energy technologies that are either currently available or expected to be commercialised in coming decades. In this area, Pakistan is ideally placed since there exists substantial potential in this county to develop renewable energy sources. The most promising of these, Dr Pachauri noted, are hydropower, solar, wind and biomass.

Prime Minister Syed Yousuf Raza Gilani, in his speech, noted that according to a recently published index, Pakistan was ranked 12th on the list of countries most vulnerable to the impacts of climate change.

The government realises the serious implications of climate change on the economy and on the environment, the Prime Minister said, assuring the audience that climate change was one of the government's top priorities.

Although an insignificant contributor to global carbon emissions, Pakistan will nevertheless work towards further reducing its emissions through energy conservation and improved energy efficiency, tapping renewable sources of energy, promoting alternate energy generation and sustainable transport, working towards sustainable agriculture, reducing deforestation, and improving environmental management in all sectors, the Prime Minister noted.

He said that all polices relevant to climate change, developed from here on, will take climate change into consideration, while existing policies will be further streamlined to ensure the integration of climate change concerns.

The conference continued with a technical session where scientists and experts from Bangladesh, Nepal, and Pakistan discussed the challenges posed by global warming.

Should we have a separate thread for environment issues?

Pakistan's satellite badr-1
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3337/3239107148_904b6ae4e3_o.jpg

UAV
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3431/3239106904_c5bdaaeb41_o.jpg

Pakistan's satellite badr-1
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3337/3239107148_904b6ae4e3_o.jpg

Is Pakistan capable of making something like India's Chandrayaan? Do we have enough resources for such programs??

Is Pakistan capable of making something like India's Chandrayaan? Do we have enough resources for such programs??

Capability - perhaps, although not entirely confident.

Resources - absolutely not I would proffer.

Is Pakistan capable of making something like India's Chandrayaan? Do we have enough resources for such programs??

like pakfan said, capable...I guess yes but no such thing is in the pipeline.

Such programs require lots of effort, time,and most importantly resources which we aren't willing to give to a less important (for us) moon mission.

We do have some experience in almost all the related technologies that are needed for such a mission. The problem is funding and if sending a mission to moon is a high priority for us.

Such programs require lots of effort, time,and most importantly resources which we aren't willing to give to a less important (for us) moon mission.


India's space program is just a d**k measuring contest, they just wanna be able to say that we have been to the moon and among the very few countries to have achieved that. At the same time, hundreds of millions of people in india are living in absolute poverty.

So I agree, pakistan should not waste its resources on something that has no benefit to pakistan whatsoever. However, spy/reconicensse/communication satellittes are a different story.

India's space program is just a d**k measuring contest, they just wanna be able to say that we have been to the moon and among the very few countries to have achieved that. At the same time, hundreds of millions of people in india are living in absolute poverty.

So I agree, pakistan should not waste its resources on something that has no benefit to pakistan whatsoever. However, spy/reconicensse/communication satellittes are a different story.


Don't be a hater. Denying an accomplishment of that proportion is just juvenile.

Hey don't be hatin'! Good for India that it's going into space. People are dying and you're sending peoiple into space is one of the flimsiest arguments I've seen. I'm sure there are hundreds of thousands in the US under the poverty line too. Guess all the countries should stop all progress and start feeding the poor. It'd really set them on the path to prosperity, wouldn't it? Scientific advancement is the best thing you can ever do.

Sending men to the moon does not help society in any way.

GoBaby is not being a Hater! No matter how harsh his post may sound. There are some true facts in it about the "d**k measuring contest". But you will only be able to understand that if you've read articles regarding "the race to the moon", as to how countries are dreaming of toppling the United States from the top of the Space Race. It all began in 2003 with China sending a man into space. Being only the 3rd nation to do so, after USA & Russia. That spurred India & Japan on, both of whom consider China to be a "rival" and have had bad relations with China. For example, just a few days after China said that it would send a human into orbit in the second half of 2003, Atal Behari Vajpayee ordered Indian scientists to work towards doing the same thing. If you guys don't believe me, then read this:

I'm talking about articles like these from back in 2003:

India and China face off in space

http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/media/images/38680000/jpg/_38680225_sch_ap_300.jpg
China is determined to follow the Russians and Americans

India's desire to get to the Moon is another example of how Chinese space plans are shaking up the international space scene.

China, expected to place its own astronaut into space in the latter half of this year, is also planning to explore the Earth satellite.

It intends to start sending a series of unmanned probes there in a few years. A manned mission in about 10 years is a possibility; the country will have to see how its first manned flights into low-Earth orbit progress.

These plans make the Indian Government, led by Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vaypayee, want to beat the Chinese to it.

Russian help

Such ambitions, from a country where more than 30% of its enormous population exist below the poverty line, demonstrate just how much India wants to be a major player on the international scene.

It already has nuclear weapons, and the means to deliver them, and will not allow China to move too far ahead technologically.

But getting a satellite into space is one thing, getting a probe to fly past the Moon is another - as is getting a probe to soft-land on the Moon. And placing an astronaut on the lunar surface is a whole leap forward again.

India's own rockets are impressive but it would need a new rocket completely to satisfy its Moon ambitions.

Of course, it realises that. That is why India has been unofficially talking with Russian scientists about a joint mission to the Moon.

First astronaut

One of the ideas under discussion is that Russia will provide the rocket and India the spaceprobe.

China has already selected its first astronaut. Western experts are speculating that his name is Chen Long, one of 14 pilots selected for training.

Expect him to ride into orbit in September, a month before the October anniversary of the communist revolution.

A Chinese astronaut, making China only the third nation able to send anyone into space, will be galling to the Indians.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/media/images/38680000/jpg/_38680223_sch_ap_150.jpg
Getting bigger: Chinese technology has been aided by the Russians

That is why they are developing their Moon plans now and preparing for an Indo-China space race.

What the world's only space superpower, the United States will say about China and India looking towards the Moon, which it conquered and abandoned so long ago, one can only speculate.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/2646017.stm

So people like Ooga, before you start laying into people, just because India has been mentioned, pleas inform yourself! There are many such informative articles on the web, in particular on the BBC.

Though I do agree, that nothing more should have been said after this post by KB.

like pakfan said, capable...I guess yes but no such thing is in the pipeline.

Such programs require lots of effort, time,and most importantly resources which we aren't willing to give to a less important (for us) moon mission.

We do have some experience in almost all the related technologies that are needed for such a mission. The problem is funding and if sending a mission to moon is a high priority for us.

Now, lets just leave this topic and get back to Pakistan's Defense and Military. :yes:

Please, no more posts on this topic.

Sending men to the moon does not help society in any way.
I'm sure. Let's become an Amish country and feed people. Pakistan has reallllllly progressed by its 'roti, kapra, aur makan' strategy.

@trappy
You make it sound as if a space race is a bad thing. Take a wild guess which two countries are progressing at a rapid pace in this world and are supposed to become dominant economies of the future? I don't see Zimbabwe taking a part in a space race. I hope China and India keep at it and progress! All the power to them. They are progressive nations, not retards who can't think beyond 'roti, kapra and makan'.

^^ india is progressing by getting help from russia and usa and usa is supporting india to use it against china so america wants india to be more powerful than china. china is making most things on its own. india is portrayed as a peaceful and democratic country by western powers which is not turue as there is no right to kashmiri people and there are 11o pro independent movements in india. so guys just keep ur feet on the ground india is just cuz' usa is using as a tool against china.

Alright, lets not derail the topic.

Here's some information about our satellites and suparco.

Satelite:
Badr-1:
BADR-1 satellite was launched on 16 July 1990, from a Chinese launcher, the Long March 2E (LM-2E).

Project Objectives:
*To acquire know-how for indigenous development of satellites to create infrastructure for future satellite development activities

*To test the performance of indigenously developed satellite subsystems in space environment

*To perform experiments in real-time voice and data communications between two user ground stations

*To demonstrate store-and-forward type message communication

*To educate the country's academic, scientific and amateur community in the tracking and use of low-earth-orbiting satellites

http://www.suparco.gov.pk/assets/images/badr-1.gif

Badr-2

Pakistan's second satellite BADR-B was launched on 10 Dec 2001 at 9:15 a.m from Baikonour Cosmodrome, Kazakistan. The Zenit-2 rocket carried it into a 1018 Km sun-synchronous circular orbit with an orbital period of 105 minutes and inclination of 99.64 degrees.

http://www.suparco.gov.pk/assets/images/badrb.jpg

*Developing low cost satellites and creating necessary infrastructure for future development of larger satellites

*Acquisition of know-how and capability in the fields of satellite attitude control and stabilisation

*Acquire know-how and technology for earth imaging by use of CCD sensors

*Encourage and stimulate interest of the country's academic and scientific community in the peaceful uses of space

*Forging of closer links with counterpart agencies/organisations in other countries


Specifications

Satellite Dimension: 510mm x 510mm x 465mm
Satellite Mass: ~70kg
Lifetime: More than 2 years
Communication: Gravity gradient
Thermal Control: Passive
Payloads: CCD cameras, Compact Dosimeter, End of Charge Detector and Store & Forward Experiment (SAFE)
Ground Segment: Telemetry, Tracking & Command Station (TT & C) and Mission Control Centre (MCC)

Configuration
The satellite structure was made of space qualified aluminum T-6 alloy. Gallium Arsenide (GaAs) solar arrays were used to provide power during the sunlit periods and Nickel Cadmium (NiCd) batteries during the eclipse periods. Earth pointing single axis stabilization was achieved by use of a 6 m gravity gradient boom with a trip mass of 4kg.

Satellites are very important in military applications, if you watch Future Weapons you will be amazed at how effective weapons can be made by connecting them with satellites that relay information to the soldier in real time. Countries like the US, China and Russia already have weapons designed to blow up satellites, we should be looking at something similar.

I am not sure if we made such a weapon, we would be publicizing it. Btw, our missiles do reach quite a height (300-400 km ) and we are planning an SLV so shooting one down shouldn't be that difficult if we can put one.

I am more interested, however, in us developing and launching telecom satellites and perhaps something for GPS later on. The problem is the govt. isnt interested in all this and SUPARCO is really really under-funded and the govt. hasn't shown any will in this regard.

I am not sure if we made such a weapon, we would be publicizing it. Btw, our missiles do reach quite a height (300-400 km ) and we are planning an SLV so shooting one down shouldn't be that difficult if we can put one.

I am more interested, however, in us developing and launching telecom satellites and perhaps something for GPS later on. The problem is the govt. isnt interested in all this and SUPARCO is really really under-funded and the govt. hasn't shown any will in this regard.
Hey, we are busy providing roti kapra aur makan, screw SUPARCO! Seriously though, GPS is a long way away, don't think we even need it. We should just send a couple of satellites. As for shooting down satellites, I guess that's done by lasers and not missiles? I'm not sure, but I think so.

By the end of 2011, Pakistan plans to replace PAKSAT-1 with a new communication satellite PAKSAT-1R which will be manufactured exclusively for Pakistan. The satellite will support all conventional and modern Fixed Satellite Service (FSS) applications.

The satellite will have a total of up to 30 transponders: 18 in Ku-band and 12 in C-band. To ensure high degree of reliability / availability of the system, two (02) fully redundant Satellite Ground Control Stations (SGCS) would be established in Karachi and Lahore, one to act as the Main and the other as Backup respectively.

http://img218.imageshack.us/img218/1059/paksat1r02vf1.jpg

http://img218.imageshack.us/img218/895/suparcojg4.jpg

Any news about SLV??

Nice information on our Satellites KB! :) And I didn't mean to imply that a space race is a bad thing. I was just giving weight to GoBaby's argument, about how it is a "dick measuring contest", with an article from the BBC. I even highlighted the main parts in Red & Black in order to make it easy for people to read & understand. Like I said before, there are many more such informative articles. And about those predictions into the future. Well, no one in the early 2000s or even the mid 2000s could predict the Global Financial Crisis and Economic Meltdown of 2008, so how the hell can we take predictions, way into the future (2040-2050) seriously????

I love it how everything is simplified to a 'dick measuring contest'. Looks like a lot of people here measured dicks as children, and can't think beyond it. Everything is a dick measuring contest to some. I mean it's a nice joke to call everything a dick measuring contest (which isn't even remotely funny), except that not everything actually is. Putting a bigger spoiler on your car is a good example of a DMC, going into a space race is not. And no offense, but most people love to disregard what Indians do by saying 'there are so many poor people'. If it were Pakistan sending a man on moon, I swear to god the same people would be over the moon.

^^ you are talking about the bbc articles that perdicted about the current financial crisis in 2000 well i think u've not heard or read Mohammad Ali Jinnah's comments on this system and back in 1947-48 and he said its a failure and this wud create a chaos. This was perdicted by pur great leader and founder 61 years ago!! so not all that gr8 perdiction by bbc i guess cuz' Jinnah said this system was bound to be a failure.

^^ OH PLEASE!!!! :sleepy:

I love it how everything is simplified to a 'dick measuring contest'. Looks like a lot of people here measured dicks as children, and can't think beyond it. Everything is a dick measuring contest to some. I mean it's a nice joke to call everything a dick measuring contest (which isn't even remotely funny), except that not everything actually is. Putting a bigger spoiler on your car is a good example of a DMC, going into a space race is not. And no offense, but most people love to disregard what Indians do by saying 'there are so many poor people'. If it were Pakistan sending a man on moon, I swear to god the same people would be over the moon.

Yeah right! If it were Pakistan sending a man to the moon (Only America has done so far) then you'd be hearing people, especially Non-Pakistanis, belittling it & disregarding it! Just like the whole World reacts to anything that Pakistan does. Just scan through this forum to see what I'm talking about! That count would include Pakistanis too!! We Pakistanis are no way near as Nationalist/Patriotic as Indians. We are more pessimistic though!!

Hey, can we get over it already?

Anyway Iran just launched a satellite into space today...Congrats to them!

I love it how everything is simplified to a 'dick measuring contest'. Looks like a lot of people here measured dicks as children, and can't think beyond it. Everything is a dick measuring contest to some. I mean it's a nice joke to call everything a dick measuring contest (which isn't even remotely funny), except that not everything actually is. Putting a bigger spoiler on your car is a good example of a DMC, going into a space race is not. And no offense, but most people love to disregard what Indians do by saying 'there are so many poor people'. If it were Pakistan sending a man on moon, I swear to god the same people would be over the moon.

Space program is a very generic term. It includes planet exploration, space exploration, satellites, military technology etc etc. The only thing in terms of a "Space Program" that Pakistan should do is Civilian & Military Satellites, alongwith missiles. We don't even have the universities with even-close to the level of education required to have a decent space program.

The reason I used the term DMC for moon landings/rovers is because these things have no positive effect whatsoever on a country. How would our economy benefit by sending a rover to moon? Do you really think by spending billions of dollars on a moon landing program, we would learn something new that Americans probably haven't figured out yet? The ROI in Pakistan's case is Zero! That's why we'd rather improve our trains, roads etc than even think about sending people to moon. Our communication system is in shambles. We don't have a decent airline, we don't have a decent train system, we still haven't finished motorways yet. These are the things investors notice when the come to a country, how fast can goods be sent from Point-A to point-B, how stable is a country etc etc. So again, spending billions of dollars on these programs does Not benefit Pakistan at all, so why waste our money there?

Same with india, they have millions of people living in slums all over the country, what are they gonna get out of their moon landing program that Americans & Europeans haven't found out yet? The later group has gone beyond Moon to Mars, and we're gonna spending billions to get to moon - to do what? touch the moon dust?

good point dude

Based on meteorite studies, and some lunar studies, the valuable and strategic mineral resources, in heavily cratered areas of the Moon, could be very extensive. Even in places previously explored, there should be richer mineral resources hidden beneath craters. There will be a market for lunar mining, which will grow as space transportation costs reduce over time.

Mining the Moon's surface for helium 3 would benefit future fusion power development, at a reasonable cost to the future industry, even with high space transportation costs included.

More at :

http://www.space.com/scienceastronomy/helium3_000630.html

LOL...I can assure you that for at least next decade neither Pakistan nor India would have the technology & funding to setup infrastructure to mine helium, bring it back and make some use of it. Let the big guns worry about that stuff!

Same with india, they have millions of people living in slums all over the country, what are they gonna get out of their moon landing program that Americans & Europeans haven't found out yet? The later group has gone beyond Moon to Mars, and we're gonna spending billions to get to moon - to do what? touch the moon dust?

I seriously pity the way you think. With all due respect, you certainly haven't heard of the power of dreams, have you? Millions of Indians, whether in slums or urban highrises, can now dream bigger in their own country. The Chandrayaan mission is only the first step for India. We may not acheive our objectives this decade, or even the next, but that's what exploration is all about.
Oh, and just so you know, Chandrayaan cost about 400 crores, or $80 million dollars - a PITTANCE by any standard! A flyover in South Bombay costs more.

400 crores, will it be bigger than a shoe box? :laugh:


No but seriously, its good that india is improving. It will give Pakistan some motivation to get off our ass and do something about it. But our missile program is still better :tongue3:

Space program is a very generic term. It includes planet exploration, space exploration, satellites, military technology etc etc. The only thing in terms of a "Space Program" that Pakistan should do is Civilian & Military Satellites, alongwith missiles. We don't even have the universities with even-close to the level of education required to have a decent space program.

The reason I used the term DMC for moon landings/rovers is because these things have no positive effect whatsoever on a country. How would our economy benefit by sending a rover to moon? Do you really think by spending billions of dollars on a moon landing program, we would learn something new that Americans probably haven't figured out yet? The ROI in Pakistan's case is Zero! That's why we'd rather improve our trains, roads etc than even think about sending people to moon. Our communication system is in shambles. We don't have a decent airline, we don't have a decent train system, we still haven't finished motorways yet. These are the things investors notice when the come to a country, how fast can goods be sent from Point-A to point-B, how stable is a country etc etc. So again, spending billions of dollars on these programs does Not benefit Pakistan at all, so why waste our money there?

Same with india, they have millions of people living in slums all over the country, what are they gonna get out of their moon landing program that Americans & Europeans haven't found out yet? The later group has gone beyond Moon to Mars, and we're gonna spending billions to get to moon - to do what? touch the moon dust?
I really pity you. Anyone who thinks scietific advancement is totally useless is not worth talking to. Like I said, keep feeding the supposed poor, it's just a race to the bottom. Hope your ideology wins. Whereas progressive countries are in a race to the top.

I really pity you. Anyone who thinks scietific advancement is totally useless is not worth talking to. Like I said, keep feeding the supposed poor, it's just a race to the bottom. Hope your ideology wins. Whereas progressive countries are in a race to the top.

Pity yourself! You clearly have no understanding of scientific research otherwise you wouldn't be saying this. Like I said earlier, neither Pakistanis nor Indians are to gain anything from moon/planet explorations that Americans haven't figured out yet with their hundreds of billions of dollars. Before replying, do some fact checking and be realistic.

I seriously pity the way you think. With all due respect, you certainly haven't heard of the power of dreams, have you? Millions of Indians, whether in slums or urban highrises, can now dream bigger in their own country. The Chandrayaan mission is only the first step for India. We may not acheive our objectives this decade, or even the next, but that's what exploration is all about.
Oh, and just so you know, Chandrayaan cost about 400 crores, or $80 million dollars - a PITTANCE by any standard! A flyover in South Bombay costs more.

Dreams are good - My dream is to time-travel so that I can go back in history and fix some things, win some lotteries etc etc. Be realistic!

Chandrayaan is just one probe, but the probe doesn't work all by itself. You need to setup complete infrastructure for a space program. ISRO takes care of that: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indian_Space_Research_Organisation

Their budget for 2008 is $1.3Billion. That's an awful lot of money! You can build a subway in the city or a high-speed rail between two major cities with this money. So for the next 5 years when Indians waste their billions on moon probes and such, we can layout a solid transport infratructure consisting of subways & high-speed rails and that would have a direct impact on our economy.

Dreams are good - My dream is to time-travel so that I can go back in history and fix some things, win some lotteries etc etc. Be realistic!

I also want to time-travel :(


Chandrayaan is just one probe, but the probe doesn't work all by itself. You need to setup complete infrastructure for a space program. ISRO takes care of that: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indian_Space_Research_Organisation

Their budget for 2008 is $1.3Billion. That's an awful lot of money! You can build a subway in the city or a high-speed rail between two major cities with this money. So for the next 5 years when Indians waste their billions on moon probes and such, we can layout a solid transport infratructure consisting of subways & high-speed rails and that would have a direct impact on our economy.

Or probably transfer the $1.3 billion to someone's swiss accounts.


On a serious note, the moon is a long shot for us, but we should definitely be striving hard to build our capability to develop and launch satellites both civilian and military. As I said earlier, SUPARCO is really under-funded and the govt. has shown no seriousness about this issue. In late 2005, Mushy had pledged to give a new life to this neglected institute and also gave a green-signal (for the first time) to build some toys, including launching its own satellite paksat-2 in 2011. (currently, we are operating a leased one)

They have been sending some low-orbiting satellites from the sonmiani test range for quite some time but this would be its first major project. They have already developed a prototype

Prototype (More info (http://www.suparco.gov.pk/pages/paksat1r-proto.asp))
http://www.suparco.gov.pk/assets/images/paksat1r-proto-07.jpg

http://www.suparco.gov.pk/assets/images/dsf02.jpg


and are working on an engineering qualification model (http://www.suparco.gov.pk/pages/eqm.asp)

EQM
http://www.suparco.gov.pk/assets/images/eqm03.jpg


Satellite Assembly Integration and Test (http://www.suparco.gov.pk/pages/dsf.asp)

For more publicly available information on SUPARCO (http://www.suparco.gov.pk/index.asp), check out their website (http://www.suparco.gov.pk/index.asp).

Dreams are good - My dream is to time-travel so that I can go back in history and fix some things, win some lotteries etc etc.

OKAY THEN!


Their budget for 2008 is $1.3Billion. That's an awful lot of money!
We can afford it! (I know the response I'm going to get for this one - BLAH)

You can build a subway in the city or a high-speed rail between two major cities with this money. So for the next 5 years when Indians waste their billions on moon probes and such, we can layout a solid transport infratructure consisting of subways & high-speed rails and that would have a direct impact on our economy.

:lol:
Go through the Indian sub-forum. India has a long way to go, but if you haven't noticed already, we have subway systems, airports, freight corridors etc. u/c across the nation (albeit with a few hiccups along the way).

You guys still "debating" all of this???

400 crores, will it be bigger than a shoe box? :laugh:


No but seriously, its good that india is improving. It will give Pakistan some motivation to get off our ass and do something about it. But our missile program is still better :tongue3:

Anyways, naively, Waleed has touched upon something here. And this is what I wanted to say before too. Take for example the nuclear weapons. China tested its nuclear weapons in 1965, in response to America, Russia, UK & France having nuclear weapons and just 3 years after the 1962 Sino-Indian war. That made India want to get Nuclear weapons and so it conducted its first nuclear test, in 1974, termed the smiling buddha. That, in turn, made Pakistan want to have nuclear weapons and so by the late 80s and early 90s, it was common knowledge around the world that Pakistan had nuclear weapons. The same thing is going on now with this space race. Again, China started it, like those articles proved, that spurred India on and that in turn, made the Pakistani government at that time, led by Musharraf, to put more focus onto SUPARCO, then there ever has been in Pakistan's history. So, in a way, its a positive domino effect.

So again, spending billions of dollars on these programs does Not benefit Pakistan at all, so why waste our money there?

Same with india, they have millions of people living in slums all over the country, what are they gonna get out of their moon landing program that Americans & Europeans haven't found out yet? The later group has gone beyond Moon to Mars, and we're gonna spending billions to get to moon - to do what? touch the moon dust?

Space exploration isn't for countries with no significant military ambitions, but any country that wishes to be a strong power in the future must indulge in it.

A smaller country can't compete against a larger one in terms of the cost of missions, true, but that doesn't mean that they just sit back. Take the example of the European countries, who all combine their efforts, we could do the same maybe in conjunction with friendly countries of the ME or maybe even Turkey or China.

On a serious note, the moon is a long shot for us, but we should definitely be striving hard to build our capability to develop and launch satellites both civilian and military. As I said earlier, SUPARCO is really under-funded and the govt. has shown no seriousness about this issue. In late 2005, Mushy had pledged to give a new life to this neglected institute and also gave a green-signal (for the first time) to build some toys, including launching its own satellite paksat-2 in 2011. (currently, we are operating a leased one)

They have been sending some low-orbiting satellites from the sonmiani test range for quite some time but this would be its first major project. They have already developed a prototype

Prototype (More info (http://www.suparco.gov.pk/pages/paksat1r-proto.asp))
http://www.suparco.gov.pk/assets/images/paksat1r-proto-07.jpg

http://www.suparco.gov.pk/assets/images/dsf02.jpg


and are working on an engineering qualification model (http://www.suparco.gov.pk/pages/eqm.asp)

EQM
http://www.suparco.gov.pk/assets/images/eqm03.jpg


Satellite Assembly Integration and Test (http://www.suparco.gov.pk/pages/dsf.asp)

For more publicly available information on SUPARCO (http://www.suparco.gov.pk/index.asp), check out their website (http://www.suparco.gov.pk/index.asp).

Thanks for the info.

Is Turkey part of the European effort? I'm asking coz Turkey likes to think it's a European country...


*On Turkish Airlines site, Turkey is under Europe and Russia under Asia.

I'm thinking that this thread should be merged with the Science & Technology thread, as we've discussed so much stuff relating to science here like Satellites & shit! Plus the Military basically thrives on Science! My suggestion for the new name of the thread would be Pakistan Science, Defense & Military or something like that!

Thats why I'm posting this news item here:

New wave for Islamic science

Ehsan Masood explores the status of science in the Islamic world today for a new series on BBC Radio 4. He asks whether measures taken to promote science in recent years are having an impact.

http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/media/images/45481000/jpg/_45481840_cres_bbc_226.jpg
There are real signs of improvement on science in Islamic countries

In the mid 1990s, I was asked by the science journal Nature to discover the state of science in Pakistan.

Like today, Pakistan had become a democracy after more than a decade of military rule. Benazir Bhutto was prime minister. But science then was not a priority.

The ministry had no minister and - the nuclear programme aside - the national research budget was less than that of an average UK university.

I'd find senior professors sitting behind massive desks in crumbling buildings, with little to do but swat flies and complain how bad everything was.

In subsequent years, I've had the dubious honour of witnessing similar scenes in country after country.

Scientific research and science spending in today's Muslim nations is on a par with the poorest developing countries - even if you include the wealthy oil-producing states.

New wave

Take just one statistic and the extent of the problem becomes clear: between 1996 and 2005, scientists from Turkey, among the Islamic world's most productive nations, published 88,000 research papers.

That's less than what a single university in America's Ivy League would publish in the same period.

Muslim countries spend on average 0.38% of their national wealth on science. The average for a developing country is 0.73%.

But now there are real signs of improvement. Iran has always been at the forefront of getting young people to stay in education longer and there are now 10-times as many young people in universities compared with 1979.

Pakistan has seen a more modest doubling of young people in higher education in the past decade.

Turkey, meanwhile, has doubled its research spending in the past five years, and has a target to spend 2% of its national income on science by next year. And Qatar has set a target to reach the developed-world average of 2.8% by the same deadline.

Catch-up

Why is all this happening now? There are many reasons, but two stand out: One is a sense of embarrassment at constantly being reminded that you're at the bottom of the pile.

Second is what the economist Jeffrey Sachs famously called "the resource curse". This is the view that countries which rely on their natural resources for income and growth are not going to prosper in the long term.

Now that change is afoot, scientists and policymakers will need to face up to some important challenges.

Some, such as low investment, weak education systems, poor infrastructure and authoritarian ruling systems, can be found in many developing nations.

Others are more specific to the Islamic world. One of these is creationism; a second is the view that the Qur'an can be seen as a source of scientific knowledge.

Islam's sacred text contains several passages that describe things like the origin of life and the birth of the Universe. Some believers therefore also see the book as a scientific text.

'Open' requirement

Both the teachers of science and many leaders of religion see this as a worrying development.

On the one hand, the religious leaders don't like the idea that religion should be subordinate to science; and on the other, the scientists are concerned that the next generation of scientists is being given a misleading impression of the scientific method.

The irony in all this is that from 700 to 1500, scientists from the Islamic world didn't need to look into the Qur'an as a source of scientific knowledge: they were too busy researching, questioning, discovering and innovating.

Old ideas were discarded if new evidence said they might be wrong, such as the idea that the world is flat; or that the Earth is not at the centre of the Universe.

The Islamic world is on a bold new path to knowledge and development. And many scientists often talk about rediscovering a lost heritage, or restoring the golden age of learning.

If there's one single lesson from the past we can all learn, it is this: new knowledge needs a willingness to question received ideas - not to be disrespectful, but to ask questions, to think and to debate.

Many in the Islamic world's new generation of scientists understand this well. A sustained revival in learning and science will need many more to do so.

VIDEO (http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b00hj0jp/Islam_and_Science_Episode_1/), if you have the time.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/7892626.stm

^^ Not a bad idea since most of our meager scientific efforts are focused on military technologies anyway.

Military tech always trickles down. Been that way in the West too.

I'm thinking that this thread should be merged with the Science & Technology thread, as we've discussed so much stuff relating to science here like Satellites & shit! Plus the Military basically thrives on Science! My suggestion for the new name of the thread would be Pakistan Science, Defense & Military or something like that!


This is a huge thread and most of the stuff is military specific. I think copy some articles/posts over would be a better idea than merging. We could discuss stuff like satellites over there. This should be mainly for military developments and exports, etc.

Some old news about Robots development in Pakistan (posting just for reference purposes)

HYDERABAD: Sindh University students develop robots

HYDERABAD, Jan 13: Students of the Institute of Information and Communication Technology (IICT) have developed robots that can pick and place objects in places dangerous for humans, a remote vehicle control and monitoring system and an enterprise planning system for Thermal Power House Jamshoro besides many other projects using advance technology.

The students of the final year had put on display their projects at an exhibition, which was inaugurated by the vice-chancellor of the Sindh University, Dr Mazharul Haq Siddiqui on Monday.

A group of students, Mohammad Sohail, Aisha Mehmood Ali, Syeda Arsala and Abdul Qayoom Palijo developed projects on remote-controlled robotic manipulator, which could do pick and place jobs in environments where it was too dangerous for human to work.

The students informed the vice-chancellor during briefing that the project could do the job of parts transfer and pick and place for industrial purposes and general purposes as well.

BS electronics students, Ameer Bux Khoso, Ghulam Akbar Memon, Hamza Shabbir and Fahad Ali Memon had developed an autonomous mobile pick and place robot under the supervision of Prof Dr Abdul Wahab Ansari.

The robot could be used in biscuits industry. It was capable of picking a tray of unbaked biscuits, placing it into the furnace and then taking it out of the furnace after the biscuits were baked.

Mohammad Umair Shaikh, Mohammad Saleem, Sikandar Ali Dhiloo and Ms Tanzeel Babar had developed a project under supervision of Dr Imdad Ismaili on security system based on wireless communication in RF technology (CBSBW).

The project, the students said, would be helpful in providing security at the residential areas and monitoring the security system.

Bushra, Mehrina, Sawak Ali and Sehrish Memon prepared online time table management system. They said that the system would help in utilising resources optimally as the timetable tool would make it simple for the students to plan availability of human resources, physical resources and rules applicable to each class.

Other students had put on display projects on remote vehicle control and monitoring system, enterprise planning system for Thermal Power House Jamshoro, radio base station, monitoring and controlling, design electronic matrix unity for Arabic characters based codes, safe movement of trolley in factory plants, voice and video over Internet protocol and computer-based wireless robotic vehicle for monitoring and measurement.

The vice-chancellor praised the ingenuity displayed by the students in the development of such projects and urged them to serve society with their knowledge. He said that half the past century was dedicated to information and communication technology and the 21st century was defined as the century of biotechnology.

He said that despite facing financial constraints the university was trying to provide all required facilities to its students. The Higher Education Commission had provided funds liberally to the universities during last seven years for filling the gap in higher education, he said.

The director of IICT, Dr Imdad Ali Ismaili, said in his presentation that students of different disciplines had developed projects on various subjects, which would be helpful to many institutes, organisations and industries of the country.

He said that BS Information Technology students had developed 24 projects, BS Software Engineering 19, BS Telecommunications 14 and students of BS Electronics had prepared 14 projects.

He said that the IICT was covering areas like web-based application, hardware design, E-commerce application, information systems, navigation systems, security systems, communication systems, software re-engineering and multimedia.

A total of 71 projects displayed at the exhibition were developed by 249 students under the supervision of 16 faculty members, including Dr Abdul Wahab Ansari, Dr Imdad Ismaili, Dr Asad Shaikh, Prof Arifa Bhutto, Prof Shahid Larik, Prof Raza Shah.

http://www.dawn.com/2009/01/14/local19.htm

Here's another site containing the reports of "National Robotic Competition"

You can download word files of the previous years competition reports

http://win.nstc.edu.pk/nec/nerc.asp

Our university faculty is developing an unmanned ground vehicle with the help of students and the aim is to have it drive around Karachi's streets on its own one day. But its small right now, I think the buses will crush it.

And I'll study a course called Artificial Intelligence and Robotics, looking forward to it.

which university and what semester are you in?

Some websites related to science in Pakistan

Pakistan Science and Engineering Foundation (http://www.paksef.org/)

Pakistan Council for Science and Technology (PCST) (http://www.pcst.org.pk/)

Ministry of Science and Technology (http://www.most.gov.pk/)

Pakistan Science Foundation (http://www.psf.gov.pk/home/home.php)

which university and what semester are you in?

Pakistan Air Force, Karachi Institute of Economics & Technology.

KIET for short. It's a relatively new uni, we had the convocation of the first graduated batch recently. I'm in the 3rd sem, electronics engineering.

I dont understand why our armed forces run school and colleges? :?

I dont understand why our armed forces run school and colleges? :?

Three reasons:

1. Commercial reason: Our Armed Forces do business too e.g, Fauji cerials, Fauji cement, Fauji fertilizers, CSD etc. Most of the higher education universities are for commercial reasons like Bahria University, AIR University, Foundation University etc.

2. Welfare Reason: They are for welfare of children of personnel of Armed Forces. The fee in such institutions is negligible. Most of the schools come in this category like Army Public School, Fauji Foundation School, PAF College etc.

3. The third reason is for education and training of Armed personnel themselves. NUST is an example, that was founded primarily for education Army officers through Military College of Signals, College of EME etc.

:yes:


Good man!

KARACHI: The first locally manufactured 220kV transformer rolled out at Siemens Industrial complex at SITE Wednesday. This was a landmark moment for the power industry and the first transformer was dispatched to WAPDA network after a simple ceremony attended by WAPDA and Siemens officials. Advisor to PEPCO, Saleem Arif congratulated Siemens on this milestone and said, “We expect power demand to rise substantially in the coming years and now we can depend on locally produced equipment, which was before imported from abroad”. Managing Director of Siemens Pakistan, Sohail Wajahat this roll out proved that the hard working people of Pakistan can achieve any target if they are provided with the resources, know-how and positive working environment.

http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2009%5C04%5C09%5Cstory_9-4-2009_pg5_15

Islamabad

The earth-breaking of Pakistan’s first world-class sera processing laboratory, which will be completed by 2011 at a cost of Rs498.50 million, was performed at the National Institute of Health (NIH) here on Friday, with Minister for Health Mir Aijaz Hussain Jakhrani as the chief guest.

The laboratory will produce anti-snake, anti-rabies, anti-tetanus and anti-diphtheria sera. Once production gets underway, the laboratory will meet the entire demand of anti-snake venom sera in the country, producing 100,000 vials against 30,000 under the present production facility. The existing sera processing laboratory was established 44 years back in 1965 with a production capacity of 15,000 vials of anti-snake venom and 1,000-2,000 vials of anti-rabies serum.

The cost of production of the anti-snake venom sera produced in the new laboratory would be the lowest in the world. To keep it within the reach of the common man, a price of Rs550 per vial has been proposed, which comes to around US $6.88. The same vial would cost $1,250 in the US and $1,000 dollars in Australia.

Besides saving precious lives, given that 1,200 people in Pakistan die of snake bites every year, the establishment of the sera laboratory is expected to substantially reduce foreign exchange spending on import of anti-snake sera, which is not very effective as Pakistan has different types of poisonous snakes as compared to other countries, therefore making it necessary to have its own anti-snake venom sera.

Speaking on the occasion, Jakhrani said the “historic occasion” symbolises the government’s commitment to invest in technology that benefits the people. “In today’s world, nations lagging behind in the scientific field are unable to safeguard their sovereign interests and play an effective role on the international scene. No nation can progress without investing in science and technology. Enhancing our scientific capabilities and improving our technological base in the area of healthcare remains the cornerstone of our vision in the health sector,” he said.

Jakhrani said the progress of NIH has, over the last few years, been challenged by strict international standards for vaccine production, which a third world country like Pakistan with limited resources found difficult to meet. “I have directed that resource constraints should never stand in the way of progress and development and we would do our utmost to meet the financial requirements of NIH,” he stated.

The minister said NIH is rendering a great service to the nation by producing lifesaving vaccines and sera and helping the nation in controlling lethal communicable diseases through timely lab diagnosis and disease surveillance. He lauded the efforts of NIH scientists for conceiving a project that will provide life-saving sera at an affordable price and enhance Pakistan’s capacity to produce anti-snake venom sera to cater to the existing demand.

Jakhrani informed after a gap of almost four years, measles vaccine production has re-started at NIH and 40,000 doses of measles vaccine have been produced by the institute.

Jahkrani announced that all public health laboratories currently rendering services at the NIH as separate entities shall be integrated and brought under one National Reference Public Health Laboratories System to be steered by the Public Health Laboratories Division of NIH. “This will make the delivery of diagnostic services in the country cost-intensive and technically efficient; the measure would also be in line with international standards and requirements,” he added.

Talking exclusively to ‘The News,’ Ian Simpson, snakebite adviser to the Pakistan Medical Research Council, complimented Pakistan for following “a very pragmatic approach by adopting the most efficient production methods the rest of the world still struggles to increase anti-sake venom production. “This should serve as a model for all anti-venom producers who want to produce cost-effective and sustainable anti-venom in the future. Recent initiatives of WHO and others have stopped short of recommending the most efficient methods of producing ASV, and Pakistan and NIH have shown how you can double your production in the short term and ultimately go on to achieve national demand. This approach could go a long way in solving the anti-snake venom crisis in places like Africa and Asia,” said Ian, who is also assisting NIH with the anti-venom process.

Earlier, NIH Executive Director Dr. Birjees Mazhar Kazi said snake bite is a serious medical issue in Pakistan, which reports approximately 13,000 cases every year. He said the new laboratory would be current Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP) compliant and meet WHO standards.

“Making technological advancements to match the current demand of the country and international standards had become imperative,” Dr. Kazi said, hoping that project would become a catalyst for launch of similar initiatives in the institute.

The ceremony was attended, among others, by Secretary Health Khushnood Akhtar Lashari, DG Health Rashid Jooma, eminent scientists and a wide cross-section of health experts from the public and development sectors.



http://www.thenews.com.pk/print1.asp?id=173149

Pak students develop first-ever hovercraft (http://thenews.com.pk/daily_detail.asp?id=176955)

When it comes to the talent, we Pakistanis don’t say it rather mean it. When you talk of proficiency; we stand distinguished and dignified despite shortcomings.

Even lack of resources and deprivations; cannot deter our way, when we are determined to achieve any milestone. Our talented chaps can vigorously reach the target and win prestige and distinction for the country globally.

This time the laurels were won by Mohammad Naeem Khan, Zaki Hussain and Mohammad Qasim - the second-year students from Sir Syed Science College, Rawalpindi, by developing country’s first-ever hovercraft. A project sponsored by Intel under ‘Intel ISEF Awards’, made these students to excel in the field of technology to develop this machine having capability to lift weight upto 350 kilograms.

Jubilant to be inventor of the first-ever hovercraft, they feel proud to be Pakistanis.

“We are happy. We feel pride to win laurels for our country and becoming forerunner in this field,” they expressed unanimously, manifesting the same spirit that made them achieve this target.

“Now we are preparing to visit United States to participate in the International Science and Engineering Fair (ISEF). We would enlighten the world of the talent, we Pakistanis have,” they added.

The visionary students will be exhibiting their project at the fair later this month.

ISEF happens to be the only global science competition for students in grades 9-12. This year’s programme will include a record number of 1,557 high school students from 51 countries presenting 1,241 projects. The finalists are selected annually from more than 550 affiliated fairs around the world. Each affiliated fair can send its top two individual projects and one team project to the fair.

“We see great potential in our youth. It is just the matter of harnessing it,” the optimist inventors observed whose achievement has validly been lauded by experts.

Hammad Hassan, speaks volumes of these guys. An expert over the subject, Hammad defines their work as a great job. “These students have done a brilliant job. It was not an easy task, as there were a number of essential designs and construction principles they had to adhere.” “But with some good guidelines or instructions, some handiness with tools, time and patience, success is guaranteed. Of course, you can always buy one instead of developing a new one,” he added.

It'd have been the perfect article had these guys made a hoverBOARD and not a hovercraft.

Pakistan will launch its first indigenously developed communications satellite on August 14, 2011, from a facility in China.

Speaking to Dawn, Dr Mohammad Riaz Suddle, the director of the Space and Upper Atmosphere Research Commission's (Suparco) satellite research and development centre in Lahore, said the satellite's life span will be 15 years.

Responding to a question, Dr Suddle said the satellite would be launched at a longitude of 38 degrees in geostationary orbit on the equatorial plane at an altitude of 36,000km above the Earth's surface.

Paksat-1R will carry a communications payload to facilitate the introduction of a range of new services, including broadband internet, digital TV distribution/broadcasting, remote/rural telephony, emergency communications, tele-education and tele-medicine.

The contract for Pakistan Communication Satellite (Paksat-1R) was signed between Suparco and China Great Wall Industry Corporation (CGWIC), a Chinese firm, on October 15, 2008, in Beijing, during President Asif Zardari's visit to China.

Work on the execution of the contract began soon after, and is progressing as scheduled, according to Dr Suddle. He did not reveal the cost of the project, but said the contract involves various other projects, including infrastructure, and therefore it is difficult to put an exact cost on the satellite itself.

Responding to a question, he said that at least two new satellites - Paksat-1R and Pakistan Remote Sensing Satellite (PRSS) - would be launched in the near future.

The satellites have been developed with technical and financial assistance from China.

The project has been approved by the federal government as part of the Public Sector Development Programme (PSDP), he said.

When quizzed on where the finances for the project were coming from, Dr Suddle said that efforts are under way to secure a long-term concessional loan from the Chinese government to finance a major part of the project.

Speaking about the status of Pakistan's space programme in comparison to that of other countries in the region, Dr Suddle asserted that Pakistan's space/satellite development programme "needs to make rapid and sustained progress to meet national needs. India has a very advanced space programme".

At present, Pakistan has a communications satellite, Paksat-1, in orbit, providing coverage across Europe, Africa, the Middle East, Central Asia and the South Asian subcontinent. It is being used by TV broadcasters, telecom companies, data and broadband internet service providers and government organisations.

Paksat-1R will replace Paksat-1, a leased satellite, to ensure continuity of service.

In the 1990s, Pakistan also operated a small satellite, Badr-A, in low earth orbit. The country's modest space program, however, has been more oriented towards remote sensing applications.

Badr-A was Pakistan's first indigenously developed satellite and was launched from the Xichang Launch Centre in China on July 16, 1990 aboard a Chinese Long March 2E rocket. Badr-A weighed 150 pounds, and was inserted into an elliptical orbit of 127-615 miles by the rocket. The satellite successfully completed its design life.

Pakistan's second satellite, Badr-B, was an earth observation satellite and was launched on Dec 10, 2001, on a Zenit-2 rocket from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. It was designed by Space Innovations Limited, a UK-based company.

Paksat-1 was Pakistan's first geostationary satellite. It was originally known as Palapa C1, was launched in 1996 and had been designed to serve Indonesia. After an electronics failure, it was renamed Anatolia-1 and then renamed again to become Paksat-1 in 2002. It was originally manufactured by Boeing and uses the HS601 spacecraft design.

Suparco set about trying to replace Paksat-1 by signing a consultancy deal with Telesat in March 2007, under which the company will advise Pakistan on the purchase, manufacture and launch of Paksat-1R. Under the agreement, Telesat will help Suparco find a manufacturer and provide technical and commercial advice during the negotiations process. Telesat will also help to oversee the construction of the new satellite and will monitor the launch and provide in-orbit testing services.

Reports quoting credible sources said that Pakistan is also working on development of Satellite Launch Vehicles (SLVs), basing their assumption on Pakistan's success in developing intermediate range ballistic missiles.

Experts believe the missile technology will be used in any SLV. The Indian SLV-3/ASLV uses Agni ballistic missiles as first stage propulsion units and as boosters.

Suparco has already tested two high-altitude sounding rockets: Shahpar and Rakhnum. Shahpar is a seven metre solid fuel two-stage rocket that can carry a payload of 55 kilograms to an altitude of 450 kilometres. Rakhnum can lift a payload of 38kg to an altitude of 100km.

Although Dr Suddle says that Pakistan's new communication satellite would be launched on August 14, 2011, judging from Pakistan's progress in ballistic missile technology, analysts do not rule out the possibility that Suparco may just be waiting for the right moment to test Pakistan's first satellite launch vehicle.

In this context, they cite Dr A.Q. Khan's reported statement in March 2001, in which he had claimed that Pakistani scientists were in the process of building the country's first SLV and that the project had been assigned to Suparco.

According to reports published in March 2005, former president and retired general Pervez Musharraf had authorised renewed research and development on an indigenous launch capability that would be able to put into orbit a domestically built satellite, Paksat-1R.

Source: Dawn website, Karachi, in English 13 Apr 09

At what altitude most of these satellites are? For example, are there satellites at 450 kms?

it will be a very proud moment if pakistan lauch this Paksat-1R satellite through its own developed SLV....

the whole package would indigenously developed....

At what altitude most of these satellites are? For example, are there satellites at 450 kms?

Umais, there are "low-orbiting satellites" are such altitutdes ( like 450km or even 150km). These are small test satellites or weather etc, but they move very fast , something like one orbit round the earth in 90mins. Hence unless they are in constellation, they are not useful for communications, etc.

Pakistan had the BADR series of low-orbit satellites in the 90s and early 2000. Badr-1 was a locally made satellite for experimental purposes of how to launch a satellite and a basic how to communicate between two ground statios. It was a low-orbit satellite. Second satellite, BADR-B, was launched in 2001 from kazakhstan. It was designed by a UK company but carried many Pak-made equipment on it and was launched at an orbit of around 1000km. It was used as a further experimental basis, earth imaging and experimental Remote sensing.

Geo-stationery satellites operate very high at around 36000km and their speed of rotation is roughly the same as the speed of earth and hence they appear stationery to an observer on earth. Therefore they are suitable for TV broadcast where a ground-based antenna can connect with them.

Pakistan Leased an ex-indonesia satellite build by Boeing and launched by the Hughes Space and Communications Company (don't quote me on that) around 2002, and renamed it PAKSAT-1. Its a geo-stationery satellite and provides broadband internet service, Remote internet, VSAT network, DTH,etc and lots of pakistani TV channels like Business Plus, AAJ, Din, etc are on this satellite.

A new satellite, called PAKSAT-1R will be launched in the near future (2010/11) to replace PAKSAT and will most probably be launched with a chinese rocket though rumors put it that a local SLV might be ready just in time. Personally though I doubt we will use a local SLV unless tests are carried out soon enough. Its too risky a business and in case of failure, me might end up loosing our slot.

Thanks. We should just buy a satellite from China and put up in our slot!

PAKSAT is a Geosynchronous satellite. It cannot be launched using an SLV. A GSLV is needed to launch it. Technology wise GSLV is a couple of steps above SLV.

ISLAMABAD, May 20, 2009 (AsiaPulse via COMTEX) -- SSNJY | Quote | Chart | News | PowerRating -- Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd (KSE:005930), the world's no.1 manufacturer of electronics has started local assembly of its high-technology Microwave Ovens (MWO) in Pakistan, under the supervision of Samsung's Korean engineers.
The MWO assembly operation will be conducted under the competent guidance and supervision of Korean experts, with the aim of maintaining its no.1 quality standards.

It demonstrates Samsung's will to encourage transfer of technology from developed countries into Pakistan.

The local assembly of both solo and grill technology has started in Pakistan.

http://www.tradingmarkets.com/.site/news/Stock%20News/2336859/

KARACHI - The government has decided to appoint advisers to federal minister for science and technology at all laboratories of Pakistan Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (PCSIR) in the country, including Karachi, to boost research and administrative activities.
An adviser to Federal Ministry for Science and Technology, Muhammad Azam Khan Swati, has assumed his duties at PCSIR Karachi office.
“The ministry intends to set the PCSIR on the way to progress because mismanagement and lack of funds have undermined research activities at the council”, sources revealed to The Nation on Thursday.
PCSIR Karachi Laboratory is considered as the most affected one due to the mismanagement and lack of funds, the source added.
Each of the PCSIR laboratories in Karachi, Lahore, Islamabad, Peshawar, Quetta, Hyderabad and Skardu will have one adviser to the minister to look after the administrative affairs of these organisations, he said, adding that Director General PCSIR Karachi Laboratory Dr Tanzeel Haider Usmani has ordered the management to arrange an office for the new ministerial adviser. The DG PCSIR Karachi will be bound officially to report the adviser on daily basis and the latter will supervise all matters related to the laboratory besides look after those of the National Institute of Oceanography (NIO), Pakistan Standard Quality Control Authority (PSQCA) and Council for Works and Housing Research (CWHR).
Under the umbrella of PCSIR all the institutions, including Fuel Research Centre, Leather Research Centre, Pak Swiss Training Centre, IIEE and Scientific Information Centre will also work under the supervision of the adviser.


http://www.nation.com.pk/pakistan-news-newspaper-daily-english-online/Regional/Karachi/12-Jun-2009/Govt-to-appoint-advisors-at-PCSIR-labs

HYDERABAD: The scientists of Sindh Agriculture University (SAU) Tandojam were conducting experiments on different aspects of mango diseases, including mango sudden death syndrome (MSDS) and mango tree mortality (MTM).

These researches and informative articles are published in English, Urdu and Sindhi languages as guidelines for mango growers, SAU Assistant Professor Plant Pathology M Mithal Jiskani said.

He was briefing a group of scientists from International Center for Chemical and Biological Sciences, University of Karachi including Prof. Dr. Hans-Peter Muehlbach and Dr. Kamran Azim.

The scientists from Karachi recently visited the Department of Plant Pathology and Horticultural Garden of Sindh Agriculture University Tandojam with special reference to MSDS and MTM.

The causes of MSDS and MTM and other most destructive diseases are identified and control measures are evaluated, Jiskani added and informed that many other experiments are in progress and the results so far achieved will be published as usual.

Dr. Muehlbach, an expert in Plant Pathology at the University of Hamburg, Germany, recently visited Pakistan for initiating collaboration between Pakistan and Germany for conducting advanced research related to mango diseases.

Dr. Kamran said that he is looking forward to initiate fruitful and long lasting research collaboration with Sindh Agriculture University Tandojam.

He expressed hopes for joint ventures for solving remaining issues in the development and production of healthy mango.

A joint survey was also conducted to observe present situation of mango diseases and the diseased samples were collected for further studies.


http://www.thenews.com.pk/daily_detail.asp?id=186469

Robotics contest held to promote research

RAWALPINDI: Higher Education Commission (HEC) and National University of Science and Technology (NUST) on Saturday organised National Engineering Robotics Contest (NERC) - 2009 at the Electrical and Mechanical Engineering (EME) College, Peshawar Road.

HEC Executive Director (ED) Dr Suhail Naqvi was chief guest on the occasion. NUST Director Lt Gen Muhammad Asghar, EME College Commandant Gen Muhammad Shahid, army personnel, teachers, students’ parents and others were also present.

From across the country, 105 teams of 35 universities participated in the competition held under two categories. However, only 25 teams qualified for the final round. The contest also featured Lego robots made by school students.

The EME College commandant said the NERC - 2009 was a joint project held to promote research in robotics and its related fields in Pakistan.

He said the contest nurtured an environment for interrogation and evaluation of various mechanical designs, algorithms and agent architecture.

The HEC ED said the commission was trying to revolutionise higher education sector. He regretted that ratio of highly educated persons in Pakistan was lower than those in Africa despite allocation of hefty budget for higher education.

The winner of the NERC - 2009 shield with Rs 80,000 cash prize was awarded to “Challegner” of College of Applied Sciences and Engineering (CASE), Islamabad. “Sylar” of the EME College stood second with Rs 50,000 prize money.

Third and fourth positions went to “Gladiator” of CASE, Islamabad, and “Wendrer” along with Rs 40,000 and Rs 35,000 prize money respectively. The “Youngest Contestant Award” of Rs 5,000 was given to Daniyal Mustafa of Head Star School of Karachi.

http://dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2009\07\12\story_12-7-2009_pg11_8

Thank god! Now this is the real deal, not some jury-rigged hovercraft. Although I'm not too happy about the Lego robots. The other robots better be automated.

Turkey joins Pakistan, China in joint efforts for Space Technology

BEIJING (China): Turkey has joined Pakistan, China and six other countries in the region to make joint efforts for the development of space technology.

Ambassador of the Republic of Turkey in China Oktay Ozuye signed the Convention of the Asia Pacific Space Cooperation Organization (APSCO) on behalf of his government. Thus Turkey has become the ninth State to sign the APSCO Convention.

Informed sources said on Wednesday that the organization is aimed at promoting multilateral cooperation in the field of space technology.

Other six countries that have already inked the Convention are Iran, Indonesia, Thailand, Bangladesh, Mongolia and Peru. Five countries Argentina, Brazil, Philippine, Russian Federation and Ukraine joined the APSCO with observer’s status.

Sources say that this is a big breakthrough in strengthening regional cooperation for peaceful use of outer space for the benefit of all mankind.

Pakistan and China played a pioneering role in establishing the organization, first of its kind to expand and intensify cooperation in space activities in the Asia-Pacific region.

This will enable the member countries to share their experience, know-how and potential for their common benefit. They will share their available resources in the use of satellite remote sensing data in environmental protection, natural resources exploitation as well as disaster monitoring and prevention.

The sources hoped that Pakistan and other member countries that joined APSCO will soon get the Convention ratified by their respective Parliaments to make it fully functional. Meanwhile, an interim council at the Ministerial level had been constituted to undertake necessary preparatory work.

China, being a host country has offered to provide full financial support for the establishment and operation of the APSCO until 2006. As such, the member States are not under any obligation to make financial contributions during the preparatory phase. However, they will be required to pay their financial contributions from the year 2007.

Taking in view the immense potential of Space Technology and its spin-offs in the socio-economic uplift of the countries, three Asia-Pacific countries, China, Pakistan and Thailand had taken an initiative and jointly signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) in February 1992 for setting up the Asia-Pacific Multilateral Cooperation in Space Technology and Applications (AP-MCSTA).

According to the sources, the benefits to be accrued to the Asia-Pacific countries by virtue of their membership to APSCO will be enormous, including creation of multilateral compatibilities among space systems by the member states that can provide enhanced capabilities in several areas of space technology applications.

http://www.pakistantimes.net/2006/06/22/top3.htm

Pakistan student wins first prize in science exhibition

ISLAMABAD : Ms Fatima Shami, another brilliant Pakistani student has won first prize in Intel International Science and Engineering Fair held in the United States of America.

Talking to private news channel, she said that students from 51 countries had participated in the fair.

Fatima researched and developed a mobile (phone set) communication software for speech impaired and deaf people, who remain isolated from the community due to lack of proper means of communication with hearing people.

A deaf or dumb person can communicate by just writing a mobile text message and his or her words changes into picture and voice.

The US government has also offered Fatima a scholarship to continue further studies in University of New Mexico.

Fatima's software also won silver medal in another World Science and Engineering fair held in Qatar.

http://aaj.tv/news/Science/144010_detail.html

Pakistan likely to launch first satellite in April 2011: Dr Samar

ISLAMABAD : Dr Samar Mubarak, a renowned Pakistani nuclear scientist, has said that Pakistan would launch its first space satellite in April 2011.

Talking to a private TV channel on Tuesday, he said that the satellite, likely to be sent in earth orbit, would monitor mineral and agriculture programs and weather conditions.

He said this project is funded by Planning Commission and there is no scarcity of funds for nuclear and space projects of the country.

Dr Samar said the country's nuclear program was not inferior to any other country in its standard and proficiency.

Dr Samar Mubarakmand is a nuclear scientist and nuclear physicist who remained the Chairman of Pakistan's National Engineering and Scientific Commission from 2001-07.

He largely contributed to the nuclear program of Pakistan and he was awarded three highest civil awards of the country.

http://aaj.tv/news/Science/144366_detail.html

We have had our own satellites for a long time, haven't we? I think this means first indeginiously designed and manufactured satellite?

Yes...thats correct.

Sometime in 2005-6, the govt. initialized a program to also develop a launch vehicle but I haven't heard any news of it (Which is normal since SLVs are also ICBMs)....I don't know if the current govt. continued the funding or not and if Pakistan is willing to reveal an ICBM or not. Otherwise, it would be launched either from China or some of the ex-soviet states.

But yes, it will be locally designed and built. I remember posting about it some time ago. We really need a good economy and a consequent funding for SUPARCO which currently, is quite pathetic to say the least.

What Pakistan really needs is a Launching station! Maybe some where in Balochistan! :yes: Our space program is really horrable! But I heard Mushariff was actully planning to build a space station in Balochistan!

There have been some reports that we have a 7000km ICBM ready for testing

There have been some reports that we have a 7000km ICBM ready for testing

it was on defence.pk

There have been some reports that we have a 7000km ICBM ready for testing

it was on defence.pk

There has been a lot of these rumors about such things which I personally do not take seriously. I do not think Pakistan is in a position to go for ICBMs as of now.

Btw, a rocket of far less range could be used as an SLV. The main thing is the technology since an ICBM goes into orbital-phase which is the critical technology to master to be able to place a satellite in its exact position.


I hope we come up with such a rocket soon but political scenario might preven pakistan from making it public. I am keeping my fingers crossed.

PAKSAT International (Pvt) Ltd, announced at 9th ITCN ASIA event, held in Karachi between August 11 to 13, 2009, that countdown has started to launch Pakistan's new and powerful communication satellite PAKSAT-1R and its development work is progressing in full swing, as it is scheduled to be launched in 2011.

PAKSAT-1R will replace the existing satellite PAKSAT-1 at 38 degree East, which will remain operational till the end of 2011 ensuring service continuity to current PAKSAT customers till PAKSAT-1R becomes operational. The new high power PAKSAT-1R satellite is specially designed for Pakistan and the region with strong C and Ku band footprint and coverage over South Asia, Middle East, Africa and Europe. This satellite will be ideally suited for broadcast, direct to home (DTH), telecom, data and internet services in the region.


Source: http://www.brecorder.com/index.php?id=952998&currPageNo=1&query=&search=&term=&supDate=

guys... does this staellite have the service of Satellite dish tv like (Dish Network in usa, Sky in uk) with all the interactive services that are offered...?? any idea..

Space program is a very generic term. It includes planet exploration, space exploration, satellites, military technology etc etc. The only thing in terms of a "Space Program" that Pakistan should do is Civilian & Military Satellites, alongwith missiles. We don't even have the universities with even-close to the level of education required to have a decent space program.

The reason I used the term DMC for moon landings/rovers is because these things have no positive effect whatsoever on a country. How would our economy benefit by sending a rover to moon? Do you really think by spending billions of dollars on a moon landing program, we would learn something new that Americans probably haven't figured out yet? The ROI in Pakistan's case is Zero! That's why we'd rather improve our trains, roads etc than even think about sending people to moon. Our communication system is in shambles. We don't have a decent airline, we don't have a decent train system, we still haven't finished motorways yet. These are the things investors notice when the come to a country, how fast can goods be sent from Point-A to point-B, how stable is a country etc etc. So again, spending billions of dollars on these programs does Not benefit Pakistan at all, so why waste our money there?

Same with india, they have millions of people living in slums all over the country, what are they gonna get out of their moon landing program that Americans & Europeans haven't found out yet? The later group has gone beyond Moon to Mars, and we're gonna spending billions to get to moon - to do what? touch the moon dust?

no you are totally wrong..technology, innovation and creation is the way to go towards progress to hit the milestone..for that, a country needs to have a vision and vision comes from effective and positive futuristic government policies towards science and engineering. yes u said right that india has lot of poor people livin in slums but a country having vision of being numero uno (in my opinion) has to apply its resources omni directed to achieve a balanced development.

indian space exploration was related to gain a status symbol (initially, believed by international community, and tagged it as new member of a space race) but also hugely driven by a project to explore and extract helium 3 from lunar sub surface(this will be done by 2017, before India's first manned lunar space program) which is an essential ingredient to develop clean energy from Triton (a substance like uranium which can be found in India , covers almost 85% of Triton in the world)(for an energy deprivation country, achieving and helium 3 will a big deal). moreover, program is developed to explore other side of lunar surface which can not be seen from earth and believe to have enormous amount of water, incidentally they just found(a proof of this exploration is not only for show offs like what china did it by sending its men to space for nothing but expand its grip over international community) ...

lastly, so far Indian space exploration program was only meant for personal use before but ,now as it is being known to be developed as a low coast aerospace corporation in the world, its open up and start to commercializing (by including commercial professionalism in present and future programs) it so in future, so in other words it has now become a money grabbing vehicle for India that ultimately can be directed towards betterment of poor class people as u were afraid of..

so, as an Indian, i like to see Pakistan go in the same way and achieve what so far India succeeded to achieve...

http://i999.photobucket.com/albums/af117/Ahmadrashid/2-2.jpg

Isn't it SUPARCO?

Isn't it SUPARCO?

It is...........they have wrongly mentioned the abbreviation by just following the words

old news but still goes here

Pakistani university students designed cars headed to Germany

http://www.dawn.com/wps/wcm/connect/0428d4804df14d79921092cc8512e1d8/1.jpg?MOD=AJPERES



Pakistan is hardly known for its engineering expertise or environmentally friendly policies. But students from two leading universities are trying to change that perception. Four Pakistani student teams have taken up the challenge of building eco-friendly cars as part of a competition featuring 196 other teams from across the world. They are tasked with building ‘urban concept’ vehicles, which are designed for everyday use by consumers, and ‘prototypes’ – unique, experimental vehicles that may seem impractical today, but might inform the design of cars in the future.

Two teams from the Ghulam Ishaq Khan Institute of Science and Technology (GIKI) and two teams from the Pakistan Navy College of Engineering (NUST) are headed to Germany on May 7 to participate in the Shell Eco-Marathon. The competition will reward the vehicle that goes the farthest distance using the least amount of fuel.

‘This is the first time that teams from Pakistan will be participating in the event,’ says Khurram Aziz, a third-year GIKI student. His team has designed a sleek 150-kilogramme ‘urban concept’ vehicle capable of clocking 80 kilometres per litre. ‘It took us around five and a half months to build our single-seater car, which is equipped with a 70cc engine,’ he says proudly.

Another GIKI vehicle, which will be competing in the prototype class of cars, gives 500 kilometres per litre mileage without a load and 350 kilometres with a driver. ‘Apart from the futuristic look,’ says Hammad, another GIKI student, ‘special care has been taken in the aerodynamics and car safety section.’

While the GIKI vehicles are rather sleek in appearance, the entries from NUST look awkward. A vehicle designed by student Ali Khan’s team resembles an egg shell on wheels. But Khan shows off the vehicle’s aluminum chassis and fiber glass body, which he insists make for a reliable automobile. ‘There are even air ducts installed to keep the driver cool in hot weather,’ boasts the 21-year-old. Satisfied with the vehicle’s functionality, Khan admits that his team did not have ample time to work on aesthetics – they completed and executed the design in just four weeks.

The young teams from Pakistan will not have an easy time competing with the best in the world. The record for a combustion engine entry was set by a French team in 2004 – the vehicle travelled 3,410 kilometres on just one litre of fuel. None of the Pakistani students’ vehicles even approach that mileage.

But GIKI’s Hammad, is not easily discouraged. ‘Our purpose is not to break the record, but to show the world that we too in Pakistan can make something brilliant. Even if we don’t win this time, we will get a chance to learn from other foreign teams. This way, we can improve our design and compete better in the next races.’

http://www.dawn.com/wps/wcm/connect/dawn-content-library/dawn/news/sci-tech/driving-for-glory

Work on National Science and Technology Policy in limbo

ISLAMABAD - The work on National Science and Technology Policy has come to a halt due to lack of political will and administrative hurdles.

Sources in the Ministry of Science and Technology told TheNation that a draft of the policy has been prepared and about to be presented to Cabinet but in the face of resistance from the Minister for Science and Technology Azam Khan Swati further work on the draft has been stopped. It has also been learnt that the minister has been considering to hire a consultant from China while ignoring scientists and experts from the ministry.

After a long period of 25 years, the ministry has been reviewing the National Science & Technology Policy 1984, which failed to achieve its objectives. The constant neglect during successive decades of the status of science and technology institutions in Pakistan has led to a crumbled infrastructure and lack of appropriate human resources. This needs to be drastically changed if Pakistan is to compete economically in the comity of nations as a self-reliant country with its own indigenous capabilities for manufacture of different new products and process.

At present, Pakistan ranks low on the Human Development Index (HDI) ranking at 136 out of 177 countries, because of its poor social indicators. It also has a weak science and technology image based on various S & T indicators such as the number of international research publications, number of researchers per million population, research and development expenditure as percentage of GDP, patents etc.

http://www.nation.com.pk/pakistan-news-newspaper-daily-english-online/Regional/Islamabad/22-Nov-2009/Work-on-National-Science-and-Technology-Policy-in-limbo


:ohno:

The strong ties between ICTP and Pakistan's scientific community have just become stronger with the signing of a memorandum of agreement.

Parvez Butt, chairman of the Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission (PAEC), visited Trieste in September to sign a memorandum of agreement with ICTP that will enable 25 Pakistani scientists to visit the Centre each year to participate in training and research activities. PAEC will cover travel costs to and from Pakistan, and ICTP will cover hospitality costs during the scientists' stay in Trieste.

http://pio.ictp.it/words/newsletter/backissues/News_110/NL110_images/ParvezButt.jpg

K.R. Sreenivasan and Parvez Butt signing memorandum of agreement in Abdus Salam's office. Abdullah Sadiq looks on.

Butt noted that "this effort is the latest example of a long and fruitful relationship between ICTP and Pakistan's scientific community." He pointed with pride to the fact that ICTP was founded by Pakistani-born scientist Abdus Salam (Nobel Laureate in Physics 1979) during the 1960s and that Salam continued to oversee the administration of the Centre until the early 1990s when ill health forced him to relinquish the reins.

"ICTP," he said, "has been a primary point of destination for Pakistani physicists and mathematicians ever since the Centre opened its doors in 1964." Indeed over the past 40 years, more than 1300 Pakistani scientists have participated in ICTP research and training activities. In addition, more than 90 scientists have been appointed ICTP Associates, which has enabled them to forge strong and lasting relationships with the Centre. ICTP Associates from Pakistan include Riazuddin, director, National Centre for Physics, (NCP); Ghulam Murtaza, first Salam professor of physics at Government College in Lahore; and Abdullah Sadiq, former rector of the Pakistan Institute of Engineering and Applied Sciences (PIEAS) and a member of PAEC.

"Salam spent his entire adult life urging Pakistan and the rest of the developing world to secure a proper place for science in their plans for development. He was convinced that a nation's development efforts could only be built on a firm foundation of science and technology."
"For decades Salam was more renowned outside of Pakistan than inside," says Butt. "But that is no longer the case. Even more importantly, Salam's ideas are finally taking hold in Pakistan's science policies." Butt points proudly to more than a seven-fold increase from US$4.4 million in 1999-2000 to US$34 million in 2004-2005 in Pakistan's annual science and technology budget. He also cites substantial investments in communication technologies that have enabled virtually every university and research centre in Pakistan to be connected to the internet. Other areas of primary concern include biotechnology and indigenous and medicinal plants.

"Thanks in large measure to ICTP, Pakistan has developed a strong community of physicists and mathematicians and we are now able to tap this pool of scientists to participate in a wide range of disciplines where knowledge of physics and mathematics can play an important role. These fields include weather and climate, bioinformatics, lasers and optics, and nanotechnology."

PAEC has historically been Pakistan's largest and most active science institution. In total, PAEC consists of 72 centres, including the Pakistan Institute of Nuclear Science and Technology (with a staff of 20,000, it is the premier centre in PAEC's constellation of centres) and the Pakistan Institute of Engineering and Applied Science that awards degrees in a variety of fields. The National Institute for Biotechnology and Genetic Engineering (NIBGE) conducts advanced research in the fields of agriculture and medicine, and 13 medical centres serve some 300,000 patients each year.

"Today," says Butt, "specialised science centres unaffiliated with PAEC are cropping up everywhere in Pakistan in both the basic and applied sciences. The growing number and diversity of these centres is a reflection of the government's commitment to science. Our desire to strengthen our ties with ICTP, moreover, is an indication that Pakistan is increasingly interested in reaching out to international organisations and we are using more and more of our own resources to do so. All in all, the trends for science in Pakistan look good."

http://pio.ictp.it/words/newsletter/backissues/News_110/commentary.html

Pakistani team part of Big Bang experiment

http://www.dawn.net/wps/wcm/connect/b5f2a9804b393bd19786ffe9fe0f66b8/bigbang_400x241.jpg?MOD=AJPERES

ISLAMABAD: Around 27 Pakistani scientists and technicians took part in the flawless start to the ‘Big Bang’ experiment that will re-enact the first moments of the universe.

‘Fifteen physicists, ten engineers, five Lasers and Opto-electronics experts, six computer professionals and six students from National Centre for Physics (NCP) and Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission (PAEC) are involved in the experiment and this opportunity provided them with an immense learning opportunity,’ said Dr. Riazuddin, Former Director General NCP while briefing the media on the contribution of Pakistani scientists in Big Bang experiment.

Riazuddin said five Pakistani scientists were present during the Big Bang experiment including Dr. Jamila Bashir Butt, Hassan Shahzad, Taimur Khurshid, Saleh Muhammad and Muhammad Ahmad while nine others were involved at different junctures.

The data of the experiment will be available for the Pakistani scientists and results will be accumulated afterwards by the Pakistan physicists, he added.

According to Riazuddin the team contributed in the construction of components of CMS detector, which consist of assembling and testing of 288 Resistive Plate Chambers (RPC's) with 46,000 channels involving front end electronics. They were also engaged in physics analysis involving advanced computing for CMS data production and infrastructure for LCG Node at NCP.

The PAEC assembled carbon frames for the detector outer barrel at a cost which is approximately a third of the European cost, he said and added that the parts are sent from CERN, they are assembled in Pakistan and are sent to Fermi Lab, USA where the front end electronics are added and shipped to CERN for final integration into rods.

‘Pakistani staff in CERN, on jigs designed by Pakistan, then tested these rods. It is gratifying to note that in recognition of PAEC's contribution, quality of work and adherence to schedule, in 2006, CERN awarded PAEC Best Suppliers Award,’ he said.

‘Working in an international environment with people from many diverse backgrounds was enlightening in its own right; but here it was the logical decision making methods backed by impeccable theory and empirical data that rubbed off (hopefully) to all those who worked there. It has certainly been satisfying for Pakistan to have contributed in a small way in this great enterprise,’ Riazuddin said.

http://www.dawn.com/wps/wcm/connect/dawn-content-library/dawn/news/sci-tech/pakistani+scientists+part+of+big+bang+experiment


old news but I think it should be here

I didn't understand a word of all that scientific mumbo jumbo but Booga wants to be just like them when he grows up. :happy:

:laugh:

Three reasons:

1. Commercial reason: Our Armed Forces do business too e.g, Fauji cerials, Fauji cement, Fauji fertilizers, CSD etc. Most of the higher education universities are for commercial reasons like Bahria University, AIR University, Foundation University etc.

2. Welfare Reason: They are for welfare of children of personnel of Armed Forces. The fee in such institutions is negligible. Most of the schools come in this category like Army Public School, Fauji Foundation School, PAF College etc.

3. The third reason is for education and training of Armed personnel themselves. NUST is an example, that was founded primarily for education Army officers through Military College of Signals, College of EME etc.

all militaries of the world have training institutes, medical research institututes and other programs. its because, most of the advancements in our daily lives were hampered due to military need. example: the discovery of wireless...try to look for american army institutes and you will be amazed.

thanks,

Pakistani Scientist invent a method of Producing Bio-diesel from used Tea
A Pakistani scientist has successfully invented a nano catalyst for production of bio-diesel with the help of spent tea for the first time in the world, opening up new avenues for alternative environment-friendly energy resources.

Dr. Syed Tajamul Hussain, a nano scientist working at National Center for Physics (NCP), and his research team members after untiring efforts during last one year proved with their laboratory tests that used tea can be utilized to produce bio-diesel almost free of carbon emission on commercial basis. The results of their research is going to be published in world reputed Journal of Bio-Technology in its January 2010 issue.
According to the data bio-diesel generally refers to a vegetable oil- or animal fat-based diesel fuel consisting of long-chain alkyl (methyl propyl) or ethyl esters. Bio-diesel is typically made by chemically reacting lipids (e.g. vegetable oil, animal fat with an alcohol. Bio-diesel is meant to be used in standard diesel engines and is thus distinct from the vegetable and waste oils to fuel converted diesel engines. Bio-diesel can be used alone, or blended with petro-diesel.
In an interview with ‘The News’ Syed Tajamul Hussain said Pakistan is the third largest importer of tea after UK and China as it is spending $8.8 million annually for import of tea.
“The nano particles help produce 560 ml of bio-diesel from one kilogramme of used tea and if the process is carried out on commercial basis it can be a giant step towards production of alternative energy resources in the country,” he said. He said there is a global ban on production of bio-diesel with the use of edible products so they started research work on spent tea and finally they succeeded in their endeavours to use this non-edible product to prepare bio-diesel.
Tajamul Hussain said the newly invented technology can be used on commercial basis after establishment of pilot plant at the initial stage to get first hand practical experience at comparatively low capital. He said emission of carbon has become one of the grave concerns in the modern world so they tried their best to invent any new process that ensures production of bio-diesel without any chance of carbon emission.
Tajamul said if the environment ministry or any other government department extended its financial support then the plan to produce bio-diesel with the use of spent tea could be translated into reality. “The chances are also ripe for the private sector because the project would not only provide profit, but also enable the investors to claim prize money given for those projects that help reduce production of Carbon dioxide (CO2),” he said. He said petrol and diesel are produced with small and big molecules respectively and bio-diesel also falls in the category of those products that utilises big petroleum molecules.
Tajamul said the research work also showed that spent tea can also be used for production of alcohol that is quite new because spent coffee had been widely used for the purpose, but no one tried to utilise used tea even in the countries like UK and USA where tea users are in large number.

:applause:

I hope they patent it before someone else steals their idea.

Let's see some proof before celebrating. Pakistan and India have a long list of inventing fuel.

Let's see some proof before celebrating. Pakistan and India have a long list of inventing fuel.

True dat.

Don't know about the commercial prospects of it but atleast at the research level, it should contribute significantly to the community if what is written is true.

http://images.iop.org/objects/phw/world/thumb/22/12/43/pakistan1.jpg
A grass-roots scientific association called the Khwarizmi Science Society (KSS) is gaining popular recognition for creating scientific awareness in far-flung areas of Pakistan. Using astronomy "astrofests" or "falakyati melas" (astronomy festivals) it is generating momentum and interest from people otherwise not exposed to such phenomena.

The KSS decided to take part in the International Year of Astronomy 2009 with an idea to build a roving observatory and use astronomy as a means of promoting science education in distant and rural schools. To bring these heavenly bodies "live" to the enthralled audiences, they simply connected a 14-inch Schmidt-Cassegrain Celestron telescope's eyepiece to a high-resolution CCD camera and projected the resulting images onto multimedia screens.

Most of the audiences will never have looked through a telescope before and these brief moments of bliss can have a lasting impact on their thoughts, hopes and choices.

Once their gear was up and running, the audience were delighted at what they saw, although the lunar craters surprised many who were used to the Moon's established literary image! Similar melas have also been arranged in Lahore's Punjab University and at a large school in Phoolnagar, some 70 km from the provincial capital Lahore.

These events have attracted several thousand schoolchildren and the most inspiring mela took place in September in an all-girls school in Shahdara, along the banks of the river Ravi.

The Society also aims to correct people who are misinformed by the media, such as silly superstitions associated with natural phenomena, like the claim that pregnant women needed to be protected from the evil influence of a solar eclipse.

http://images.iop.org/objects/phw/world/thumb/22/12/43/pakistan2.jpg

http://images.iop.org/objects/phw/world/thumb/22/12/43/pakistan3.jpg
http://physicsworld.com/cws/article/indepth/41232

Excellent job....we need this stuff to motivate our youths towards science and technology.

LUV3VDsHRWQ

^^ Are they the first to invent that or what!

Great video KB!

I think this has been developed a while ago but it is still good to see pakistani students working on it... but I think they need funds and support to develop it further.

Inshallah they will make a break through for people of Pakistan!!!

CkytwSBunTE

^^ I saw it in google earth but I didn't have any idea about it ....
thanks for sharing!

Excellent stuff

^^ Are they the first to invent that or what!

Actually the concept isn't new.
This method of developing AI, has been used by many leading American, Canadian, Japanese and european institutions.

The recent commercial application is being adopted by Sony Playstation for entertainment purpose, where your mind will be the joystick.

LAHORE: Pakistan will soon hear “good news” about acquiring the US drone technology as significant progress was made on the issue during the visit of the country’s political and military leadership to America, Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi said on Sunday.

Talking to journalists on his arrival after concluding his visit to the US at the Allama Iqbal International Airport, he said Pakistani political and military leaders had successfully pleaded the country’s case after doing extensive research regarding Islamabad’s national priorities, adding that the Americans did not present any new demands during
the talks.

“On every matter, the US response was much better than we had anticipated,” he said.

Qureshi said the US has hinted about the provision of a multi-layer security system for the country and that both delegations discussed the current economic situation in Pakistan, adding that Islamabad had requested easy-debt returning conditions for the country.

To a question about whether he had also discussed the matter of a civil nuclear deal with the US, he said that discussing “some matters are against national dignity”.

The foreign minister said that both the civilian and military leadership had presented Pakistan’s point of view with “one voice”.

Promise: He said the US had promised to reconsider its policy of screening Pakistani travellers at US airports. He said that a meeting between Chief of Army Staff General Ashfaq Pervez Kayani and an American think tank was “extremely successful”.

“Pakistan has talked about ‘trade not aid’ with the US and we have agreed on some things regarding the energy sector,” the foreign minister said.

Qureshi said the dialogue process would continue and its next phase would start in April, adding that US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton would visit Pakistan after the completion of the second phase of the dialogue.

“Several US delegations will also visit Pakistan for mutual cooperation in various fields,” the foreign minister said, adding that after Hillary’s visit, he would again go to the US for further developments, APP reported. staff report/app

Source: http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2010%5C03%5C29%5Cstory_29-3-2010_pg7_1

KU develops edible film to preserve food

By Faiza Ilyas
Saturday, 17 Apr, 2010

KARACHI, April 16: A team of researchers at Karachi University has developed a novel edible film from wheat protein (gluten) that can be used as a sealing and packaging material to increase the shelf-life of a number of processed and unprocessed foods. The process, the researchers claim, could have a wide-ranging impact on the agriculture sector by reducing the country’s high post-harvest losses, especially of fruits and vegetables, bringing their prices down and boosting exports.

The research was conducted by Mahmood Azam, Dr Abid Hasnain (research supervisor), Mohammad Danish and Sohail Akhtar at the department of food science and technology.

The team has secured a patent from the United States Patent and Trade Mark Office. The process — Method for fractionating gliadin from wheat gluten protein and fabrication of edible film therefrom — is also registered with the Pakistan Patent Office.

“Edible films and coatings have been gaining popularity across the world in recent years as means to preserve food. They are biodegradable, environment-friendly as well as low cost. We got an international patent because the method we applied is different from the ones currently in use. While it’s the first time in Pakistan that an edible film has been produced,” Dr Abid Hasnain told Dawn.

Dr Hasnain praised the Higher Education Commission for providing support to the researchers to file for a US patent which, he said, was a costly affair.

The researchers are now waiting to secure government funding to take the research to the next level of testing the process on a pilot scale.

The new technology could positively impact the agriculture sector where, according to unofficial estimates, the post-harvest losses of fruits and vegetables are as high as 40 to 45 per cent.

Commenting on the situation, Mahmood Azam said: “A number of factors are impeding the growth of the agriculture sector, a major contributor to the GDP and the single largest source of foreign exchange earnings of our country. The foremost issue is the high losses in the post-harvest management of fruits and vegetables that are happening due to inefficient handling and transportation and lack of modern storage and processing and packaging facilities.”

Edible films and coatings, Mr Azam said, was one of the methods to increase the shelf-life while maintaining the freshness of fruits and vegetables after harvesting. The method had been in use for many years in the world.

The edible films and coatings were made of natural polymers obtained from animal and vegetable proteins, gums and lipids. These proteins include corn zein, wheat gluten, soy protein, peanut protein, keratin, collagen, gelatin and milk proteins.

Edible films increase shelf-life of fresh produces

Explaining the function of the edible films and coatings, he said that the increase in shelf-life of fresh produce was based on the fact that fruits and vegetables required specific gas composition for ripening. Modification in the gas composition of the surrounding air could delay the ripening process and hence increase the shelf-life of fruits and vegetables.

“The edible films and coatings not only provide an effective barrier against the transfer of moisture, but can also regulate the rate of gas transfer between fresh produces and the surrounding air. The retention of moisture helps in maintaining the freshness of fruits and vegetables while specific gas composition delay the onset of ripening,” he said.

An edible film can also act as a carrier of nutrients, preservatives and colorants when applied to food, he pointed out.

When asked about the novelty of the indigenous idea and the prior work done on the subject, Mr Azam said that wheat gluten proteins were inexpensive to fabricate flexible films and efforts had been made in different countries to optimise its thermal and mechanical properties.

“Most of the films developed earlier exhibited excellent edible and barrier properties, but failed to achieve good heat sealing together with solubility. The edible film we have developed can conveniently be removed by simple washing or the consumer can eat it along with the food. There is no health risk.”

“We have avoided using large quantities of ethanol, enzymes and disruptive or reducing agents in order to make it cost-effective,” he said, adding that the solubility of the new edible film was more important for people who were gluten-intolerant.

Unlike other commercial preparations, the gluten-derived edible film does not have any objectionable flavour, colour or odour. The method also does not require any pH adjustments.

‘Frequent power outages hamper research’

Regarding problems faced during the two-year research, Mr Azam said that the lack of funding for routine laboratory chemicals and equipment coupled with frequent power outages caused a lot of inconvenience.

Answering a question regarding the cost and viability of the process, he said that there was no problem in its large-scale operation and that the cost factor was always connected with the consumer demand.

“Take for instance the case of fresh pineapple. The fruit is much economical in tin and is available all over the world. In fact, its cultivation has increased many times after the development of packaging facilities. Therefore, as we have developed an edible film from a fraction of wheat protein (relatively a simple compound), there is also a possibility that one can synthesise it chemically, which will again reduce the cost.

“Secondly, gluten-free flour is available even in Pakistan. So, wheat protein is a by-product in this case. This fact should attend to the concern that we are not compromising on the wheat being used for human consumption. Thirdly, the edible films are biodegradable and environment-friendly. The edible films could also replace polythene in certain applications,” he explained.

The next step for the team is to launch the exercise on a pilot scale that would help improve the mechanical properties and quality of the edible films.

“We want to purchase a laboratory scale extruder for the fabrication of the edible films. There should also be more testing facilities for the edible films and other packaging material. This will help us compare mechanical and barrier properties of our edible films with synthetic packaging materials and other reported research involved in fabrication of edible films,” he said.

The team has also started developing edible films from fruit and vegetable waste. So far, the results have been positive.


Source (http://www.dawn.com/wps/wcm/connect/dawn-content-library/dawn/the-newspaper/local/ku-develops-edible-film-to-preserve-food-740)

In the print version of the paper and the e-paper, there is a picture of two guava fruits side by side. One of them is rotten after 15 days of observation, and the other one lined with this film seems to be perfectly edible even after the same period of 15 days.

http://images.iop.org/objects/phw/world/thumb/22/12/43/pakistan3.jpg
http://physicsworld.com/cws/article/indepth/41232

So typical of pakistan....one equipment for 100s of people to use..how is anyone gonna learn like this. I know this is just an event...but its pretty much the same in the engineering labs.

http://express.com.pk/images/NP_KHI/20100419/Sub_Images/1100916084-1.gif

Pakistani physicist may have discovered “new form of matter”

ISLAMABAD: Research work carried out by a young Pakistani particle physicist Jamil Aslam and two of his team members may lead to the discovery of a “new form of matter”.

Jamil Aslam is a faculty member of the Physics Department at Quaid-i-Azam University (QAU), while the other two physicists are working in Deutsches Elektronen Synchrotron (DESY), the biggest German research center for particle physics.

Jamil Aslam and his team members — Ahmed Ali and Christian Hambrock — analyzed the data collected by the KEK particle collider in Japan during an experiment known as Belle and claimed the discovery of tetraquark particles that consist of four quarks instead of the usual two (quark-antiquark) and three quark ones.

A quark is an elementary particle and a fundamental constituent of matter. “Though it is not conclusive, however, the analysis made in paper supports the evidence of tetraquarks and if it is proved in Belle experiments, scheduled for later this year, it will introduce a new form of matter,” said a member of the team.

Both Dr. Jamil Aslam and Dr. Ahmed Ali are PhDs from the Physics Department of QAU, and are students of prominent Pakistani theoretical physicist and eminent scientist Professor Dr. Riazuddin.

Commenting on the work of his ex-students, Riazuddin remarked that the work is highly significant in its ability to explain certain anomalies in the experiments that could not be explained within the framework of the standard quark theories.

“The tetraquark model if confirmed would imply the existence of exotic states of fundamental particles,” he said.

The research work done by the group was published in Physical Review Letters, a well reputed physics journal, and has been selected for special mention in notable journals of science including Institute of Physics (IoP), Physics Today and New Scientist.

Express Tribune (http://tribune.com.pk/story/22793/pakistani-physicist-may-have-discovered-new-form-of-matter/)

Pak doctor discovers non-surgical method of treating heart holes

http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/images/2010/04/14/20100414_e04.jpg

* Dr Zafar says he is willing to introduce technology in Pakistan but no government official has contacted him as yet

By Afnan Khan

LAHORE: A US-based Pakistani doctor has come up with a procedure to repair heart holes and clotted arteries without surgical procedures and incision to the patient’s body.

If introduced in Pakistan, the technology will curtail hundreds of Pakistani children with heart holes from visiting India and will also save thousands of lives who are otherwise lost due to blood clotting. The medical term for repairing these holes is called Patent Foramen Ovale (PFO) closure. Talking to Daily Times in an exclusive interview during his brief visit to Pakistan, Dr Nayab Zafar said his research was unique and had opened new doors for people suffering from any of the two ailments.

He said his research was being hailed across the globe and he was lecturing about his findings in various universities and institutions in the world, including those in the United Kingdom, Europe and Asia.

Contacts: Zafar said he was completely willing to introduce the technology and training in Pakistan, but no government official had contacted him for the purpose as yet.

“But I will talk to various stakeholders about launching the procedures in Pakistan as soon as I get free from other commitments,” he said. “I will like to hold training workshops here. It seems that people are a little reluctant to adopt new technologies in this region, but I have a deep association with Pakistan, my family lives here and I feel proud to introduce my country across the world so I will do whatever is possible for this country,” he stated.

Zafar said people not only from India but from whole of the South Asia, Middle East, Africa would visit the country for treatment if the technology was introduced in Pakistan. He said he conducted a two-year long research under the auspices of US National Institute of Health and discovered the process of opening blood flow to vital organs of the body to avoid heart attacks. He added that around 25 percent of the world’s population was born with PFO, which not only resulted in heart attacks at an early age, but created major problems for the people throughout their lives.

“Two years ago, they used to do open heart surgery for that. It involves a major surgery, a lengthy recovery, massive costs and health issues, a lot of surgical trauma and anaesthetic process. But now we take a Dacron patch up to the heart, fix the PFO and the patient is ready to go very next day of the procedure,” Dr Zafar explained. He said he had conducted at least 200 PFO closure procedures in the West Coast during the last year, adding that these Dacron patches were like a folded umbrella, which were opened right before the hole in the heart, attached with it and stayed there forever.

Dr Zafar earned his MBBS degree from the Allama Iqbal Medical College before completing his Internal Medicine residency training in Farmington. He completed his cardiology fellowship at the University of Missouri where he also served as a Clinical Assistant Professor. His NIH-sponsored research was on atherosclerosis and intravascular ultrasound.

http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2010\04\14\story_14-4-2010_pg13_8

he is US based and why he wants Pak. government officials to contact him? he should seek help from some non profit organization in US or PK. Pakistani officials will not even contact Pak based doctor no matter what kind of technology he or she introduces unless they get their share first

http://www.facebook.com/video/video.php?v=114722255223273

Best moment in Pakistani scientific history, when a Pakistani national Abdus-Salam got Nobel prize.

Too bad we have projected the wrong heroes in all our history.

qqC92-T2WUg

Pak doctor discovers non-surgical method of treating heart holes

http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/images/2010/04/14/20100414_e04.jpg

* Dr Zafar says he is willing to introduce technology in Pakistan but no government official has contacted him as yet

By Afnan Khan

LAHORE: A US-based Pakistani doctor has come up with a procedure to repair heart holes and clotted arteries without surgical procedures and incision to the patient’s body.

If introduced in Pakistan, the technology will curtail hundreds of Pakistani children with heart holes from visiting India and will also save thousands of lives who are otherwise lost due to blood clotting. The medical term for repairing these holes is called Patent Foramen Ovale (PFO) closure. Talking to Daily Times in an exclusive interview during his brief visit to Pakistan, Dr Nayab Zafar said his research was unique and had opened new doors for people suffering from any of the two ailments.

He said his research was being hailed across the globe and he was lecturing about his findings in various universities and institutions in the world, including those in the United Kingdom, Europe and Asia.

Contacts: Zafar said he was completely willing to introduce the technology and training in Pakistan, but no government official had contacted him for the purpose as yet.

“But I will talk to various stakeholders about launching the procedures in Pakistan as soon as I get free from other commitments,” he said. “I will like to hold training workshops here. It seems that people are a little reluctant to adopt new technologies in this region, but I have a deep association with Pakistan, my family lives here and I feel proud to introduce my country across the world so I will do whatever is possible for this country,” he stated.

Zafar said people not only from India but from whole of the South Asia, Middle East, Africa would visit the country for treatment if the technology was introduced in Pakistan. He said he conducted a two-year long research under the auspices of US National Institute of Health and discovered the process of opening blood flow to vital organs of the body to avoid heart attacks. He added that around 25 percent of the world’s population was born with PFO, which not only resulted in heart attacks at an early age, but created major problems for the people throughout their lives.

“Two years ago, they used to do open heart surgery for that. It involves a major surgery, a lengthy recovery, massive costs and health issues, a lot of surgical trauma and anaesthetic process. But now we take a Dacron patch up to the heart, fix the PFO and the patient is ready to go very next day of the procedure,” Dr Zafar explained. He said he had conducted at least 200 PFO closure procedures in the West Coast during the last year, adding that these Dacron patches were like a folded umbrella, which were opened right before the hole in the heart, attached with it and stayed there forever.

Dr Zafar earned his MBBS degree from the Allama Iqbal Medical College before completing his Internal Medicine residency training in Farmington. He completed his cardiology fellowship at the University of Missouri where he also served as a Clinical Assistant Professor. His NIH-sponsored research was on atherosclerosis and intravascular ultrasound.

http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2010\04\14\story_14-4-2010_pg13_8

Great News

http://old.thenews.com.pk/updates_pics/2-2-2011_10181_l_u.jpg
Updated at 2240 PST Wednesday, February 02, 2011

KARACHI: The very first system for computerized licensing of arms was inaugurated in Karachi on Wednesday, Geo News reported.

Sindh Home Minister, Dr. Zulfiqar Mirza on the occasion, termed the start of the computerized licensing of arms as the first step towards elimination of illegal weapons in Sindh.

Dr. Mirza performed the inauguration of the computerized issuance of arms license and management system here at Sindh Home Department.

He described the system as a gift for the citizens of Karachi under which 30 licenses per day will be issued and its per license fee would be Rs4,500.
http://www.thenews.com.pk/NewsDetail.aspx?ID=10503

Something I found kinda interesting. Pakistan contributed $10 million (up until 2003, don't know after that) toward the LHC. And there are many Paki scientists working there, esp. at least 2 female (from the pic).

http://cerncourier.com/cws/article/cern/28934
http://cdsweb.cern.ch/record/928713

I knew we had scientists working at the LHC, but I didn't know we've contributed millions of $$ to it. That's nice to know!

Pakistani Software to analyse molecular biology data (http://www.dawn.com/2011/06/12/pakistani-software-to-analyse-molecular-biology-data.html)
LAHORE : The University of Veterinary and Animal Sciences (UVAS) Institute of Biochemistry and Biotechnology (IBBT) has developed bioinformatics software for the analysis of molecular biology data.

This technology will be used to develop phylogenetic trees to deal with identifying and understanding the evolutionary relationships among different organisms.

This was stated by UVAS Vice Chancellor Prof Dr Muhammad Nawaz during a briefing on the HEC conference/exhibition on “setting standards for the 21st centaury Pakistan; Universities building economy” on Saturday at syndicate room. All faculty members were also present on the occasion.

Dr Nawaz said that the UVAS had entered in a new era of development of bioinformatics software and the first time in Pakistan developed unique bioinformatics software adding that UVAS foreseeing the importance of emerging fields of science took the initiative of establishing and initiation of new disciplines like bioinformatics.

He said that the Universities were producing finished products of leadership, innovative mindset and intellectual who were playing their role in addressing national challenges and problems.

Earlier, IBBT director Prof Dr Masroor Elahi Baber said that the software was developed by using BioJava and Forester, the latest Java-based platforms for software development which understand problems and analyse molecular biology data.

KARACHI:
Pakistan and its websites risk being cut off from the rest of the world if the country’s technology companies do not make the transition from the older technology being used right to a newer version that is about to become the global standard over the next few months.
Contrary to common perception, the internet is not infinite and is running out of space. To make sure that it has the space to keep growing, there is a global shift to a new infrastructure, from Internet Protocol version 4 (IPv4) to version 6 (IPv6). And those that do not make the move will be cut off and inaccessible to the ones that move on.
In order to mark the beginning of the mass exodus to the new infrastructure, the global IT industry held IPv6 day to try out the new internet protocol that will be implemented to ‘create more space’ so that the internet can keep on growing.
However, it seems not all the stakeholders in Pakistan are as concerned as they should be.
“If the world is ready, then we have to make sure that we can be part of the v6 cloud. Otherwise the internet will start causing problems for us,” said Aftab Siddiqui, a member of the IPv6 task force, an organisation that has been creating awareness and conducting seminars and training for corporations and academia.
Explaining how the change could impact other businesses, Siddiqui said: “Let’s say a textile company has a website which is IPv4 only (the old infrastructure) and since the US is rapidly adopting IPv6, someday the US will only have IPv6 which will mean that those USA users won’t be able to access the textile company’s website.”
This will start creating problems for Pakistan after 2 years, because very soon IPv6 will become a part of compliance in Europe and Americas so anyone providing services in these countries will have to show IPv6 readiness. Cybernet, which is a part of the IPv6 task force, already had two corporate customers who are using IPv6 due to compliance issues with the EU.
Siddiqui said that the Task Force has been trying its level best to get some support from internet service providers (ISPs) and corporations but have not had much traction. “People are a bit slow to accept it because, on the ISP side, it requires upgrading some equipment as well which directly involve capital investment.”
On IPv6 day, top websites and internet service providers around the world, including Facebook, Google, Yahoo, joined together with more than 1,000 other participating websites for a successful global-scale trial of the new Internet Protocol, IPv6. The day, held on June 8, 2011 was in a way a coordinated 24-hour “test flight” of the new framework which will allow the internet to have as much ‘space’ as it needs.
The test was required because the two frameworks are intrinsically incompatible and require the use of a ‘translator/tunnel’. The day was less a test of IPv6 and more of the technologies to be used on the way to the day when IPv4 goes away. These technologies need to be tested so that organisations are prepared for the time when these need to be put to use.
CEO of Nexlinx, Naeem Haq, said, “There was no organised effort in Pakistan to test out IPv6, however companies did to internal testing. Nexlinx did internal testing, and our IPv6 is working, although it is not fully compliant and our company will be making the shift two years down the line.”
Two Pakistani websites however, did show up in the list of 787 that were published online for IPv6 day. These websites apparently belonged to the Pakistan IPv6 Task Force and the National University of Science & Technology.
Both of Pakistan’ tier-one internet service providers (the ones that are connected by undersea cables) – Transworld and Pakistan Telecommunications – have announced that they have successfully deployed IPv6. None of the lower-tier ISPs and content publishing websites participated in the global-scale trial of the new internet protocol on June 8.
Published in The Express Tribune, June 16th, 2011.

^^ relax nothing is happening and people in Pakistan are already working on it. y home in PK already have a direct v6 IP address. The newspaper just wants to write as everything is going down due to this but it's not the case. v4 & v6 are going to coexist for next 10+ years and may be more.

Former HEC chairman becomes first Pakistani for genome mapping

By PPI
Published: July 1, 2011

http://i1.tribune.com.pk/wp-content/uploads/2011/06/199644-Ataurrehman-1309446136-542-640x480.jpg

Dr Atta has become the first Muslim man with this distinction, while he is the third one among a list of renowned people in the world whose genomes have been mapped by scientists. PHOTO: FILE

MANCHESTER: The former chairman of the Higher Education Commission, Dr Attaur Rahman, has become the first Pakistani whose genome has been mapped by Pakistani scientists at a cost of $40,000 in just 10 months.

“This historical achievement has made him the first Pakistani and the first Muslim in the world history with a complete genomic mapping,” said Dr Muhammad Iqbal Choudhary, the director of the International Centre for Chemical and Biological Sciences, on Thursday at the Dr Panjwani Centre for Molecular Medicine and Drug Research (PCMD). The work was done with scientists from the Beijing Genomic Institute.
Pakistan has also become the sixth country in the world to map the sequence of one of its nationals after the US, China, UK, Japan and India, he added with pride.

Dr Rahman’s genome shows that Pakistanis are more similar to Europeans than Chinese and Africans, said Assistant Professor Dr Muhammad Kamran Azim who headed the team of the Pak Genome Project. It also shows 200,000 specific sites unique to the Pakistani human and 80,000 sites common with the Indian human. However, this is not the exact representation of a Pakistani and facts may differ once they develop an average genome of Pakistan since the ‘nation’ is a mix of several ethnicities, he said.
An average genome, he explained, will be obtained by making a pool of all the characteristics, ie, the differences and similarities of all the people living in the country.

The decision to choose Dr Atta ur Rahman was a conscious one as he is not only the most prominent scientific figure in Pakistan but one whose ancestors spent almost three centuries in Multan and then moved a hundred years back to Delhi. Human Genome mapping is the process of producing a sequence of DNA that makes our genes. It holds all our genetic instructions i.e. hereditary information, and provide the “genetic code” that allows our bodies to develop, grow, and function.

Thus the knowledge of a ‘nation’s’ genetic code can be used to see what diseases are common to that people so that it can be avoided, said Dr Choudhary. “It is also a source of immense national pride,” he said emotionally. The first Human genome mapping project involved 18 countries and started in 1990. The genome of the first American was mapped at a cost of six billion dollars over ten years.

However as the genome research was carried out on individuals from the North American eastern coast and western Europe, criticism soon rose that it only represented a western human instead of the whole world. China stepped in and mapped its first human. The UK, India and Japan followed suit.
The Pakistan Genome Project cost was shared equally by Pakistan and China. The machines were in Beijing and the knowledge was supplied by Pakistan. While we have the same technology, our set is so small that it would have taken our machines a hundred years to complete the sequencing of three billion base pairs, he said. This is not to say that Pakistan is a novice in the field. It has already submitted the genome of the mango chloroplast and date palm chloroplast to the international database.

The complete sequence will be published in the prestigious scientific journals Nature and Nature Biotechnology. The complete data will also be submitted to an American databank and will be accessible to everyone, said Dr Kamran Azim. He added that the main goal of the centre now is to attach the same extensive technology to the PCMD and launch the project of mapping of an average Pakistani, which desperately needs funding. Dr Yong Zhang, the head of genomics at the Beijing Genomics Institute in Shenzhen, was on the team.

- Published in The Express Tribune, July 1st, 2011.


-----------------------------

I assume the 'hundred years' vs '10 months' is because we seriously lag behind in supercomputers?

So we're Aryans....

Nice. More impressed with our mapping of the mango and date.

Even with these tests done, I still don't know what we are. I can't seem to figure out what is common between most Pakistanis other than religion.

Pakistan successfully launched its first geostationary Communication Satellite : PAKSAT-1R

http://images.thenews.com.pk/updates_pics/8-12-2011_20555_l.jpg

XICHANG: Pakistan successfully launched into space its state-of-the-art PakSat-1R communication satellite here from Xichang Satellite Launch Center in southwest China's Sichuan Province, late Thursday night.

A select group of senior Pakistani officials witnessed the Long March-3B rocket successfully carrying the communication satellite from the launch pad here with rounds of applause and jubilations visible on their faces.

Prominent among those present included Director General SPD Lt. General (Retd.) Khalid Ahmed Kidwai, Foreign Secretary Salman Bashir, Pakistan's Ambassador to China Masood Khan, Secretary Defence Lt. General (Retd) Syed Ather Ali and Chairman Space and Upper Atmosphere Research Commission (SUPARCO), Major General Ahmed Bilal, besides senior officials from the Chinese government.

PakSat-1R, a geostationary and advanced communication satellite, has been jointly built by scientists and engineers from SUPARCO under the technical guidance and financial assistance from their Chinese counterpart, China National Space Administration.

The satellite carries communication payload to facilitate the introduction of a range of new services, including broadband Internet, digital television broadcasting, remote and rural telephony, emergency communications, tele-education and tele-medicine. The satellite is expected to have a lifespan of 15 years, and will be operated from SUPARCO Satellite Ground Stations located in Lahore and Karachi.

Speaking after the successful launch of the satellite, DG SPD who is leading the delegation, congratulated the entire team of Pakistani and Chinese engineers which contributed towards making this project successful. He expressed his gratitude to the government of China for providing support to Pakistan in space technology. He expressed the confidence that cooperation between the two countries in the field of space technology will continue to grow in the future, enabling Pakistan to reap rich benefits.

Foreign Secretary Salman Bashir said "the successful launch is yet another shining illustration of the time-tested friendship between Pakistan and China and has ushered in a new era of cooperation in space technology between the two countries".

"This also marks the next step in taking forward Pakistan's space Programme "2040", Salman Bashir said.

The launch of PakSat-1R has added a new chapter to the mutual cooperation between the all-weather allies in the field of space technology.

Ambassador Masood Khan regarded PakSat-1R's launch as important for the country for many reasons. "It is a symbol of Pakistan-China cooperation in the area of space technology. It is the first of the kind to be launched by China and Pakistan. Therefore it establishes a new platform, and marks a new beginning", he said.

Ambassador Khan said it is our natural aspiration that a Pakistani astronaut aboard a Chinese spacecraft flies to the space, adding that "this is possible because Pakistan and China enjoy relations of trust and confidence".

Chairman SUPARCO Ahmed Bilal termed the launch as a "historic event" as it is for the first time that a commercial, fully capable communication satellite has been launched in which scientists and engineers of SUPARCO have worked very closely with the Chinese in all stages of its design and development. They have also gained firsthand experience of designing and manufacturing of Satellite, he said.

The Paksat-1R satellite is designed and manufactured by China Academy of Space Technology (CAST), a subsidiary of China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation (CASC).

The satellite has 30 transponders onboard, including 12 C band and 18 Ku band transponders. To meet the coverage requirements, Paksat-1R has advance communication antennas, covering South Asian Sub-continent, the Middle East, east Africa and part of Western European areas and cities.

The Paksat-1R Programme is China Great Wall Industry Corporation's (CGWIC) third satellite in-orbit delivery contract with its international customers.

President CGWIC, Yin Liming and Assistant President of China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation (CASC) Zhao Xiao Chen, Assistant President of CASC also spoke on the occasion.

They said the launch took place as Pakistan is celebrating its 65th Independence Day on August 14 and both Pakistan and China are celebrating the 60th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations.

He said the agreement to this effect was signed in October 2008, when President Asif Ali Zardari visited China, who also witnessed its signing ceremony along with President Hu Jintao.

http://www.thenews.com.pk/NewsDetail.aspx?ID=20555&title=Pak-launches-communication-satellite

The title should rather read: China launches paksat-1R for Pakistan instead.

so this means DTH in PK soon?

http://p5.img.cctvpic.com/20110812/images/1313109362123_1313109362123_r.jpg
Long March 3-B rocket ready for launch at Chinese Space station with PAKSAT 1R

Area Coverage of PAKSAT 1R in both bands on world map

C-Band:
http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-aJzHK4yzf78/TkO8iW8QsuI/AAAAAAAAAVM/7TiQw6yob8Q/s1600/paksat1r-cband.jpg

Ku Band
http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Q3rJ1kt5hPM/TkO8X5-EzuI/AAAAAAAAAVE/ZoPyzta7imY/s1600/paksat1r-kuband.jpg

http://i54.tinypic.com/10d5tu0.jpg

http://i0.sinaimg.cn/dy/c/2011-08-12/U4166P1T1D22976399F21DT20110812030127.jpg

http://i2.sinaimg.cn/dy/c/2011-08-12/U4166P1T1D22976399F23DT20110812030127.jpg

http://i2.sinaimg.cn/dy/c/2011-08-12/U4166P1T1D22976399F1394DT20110812030127.jpg

http://i3.sinaimg.cn/dy/c/2011-08-12/U4166P1T1D22976399F1395DT20110812030127.jpg

Good news...

wow... nice to see PK flag on the Sat.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/science/space/8698608/China-launches-satellite-for-Pakistan.html

S0YeNPZFHIU

so did pakistan make the whole thing by itself? or was there chinese help?

so did pakistan make the whole thing by itself? or was there chinese help?

Chinese made the whole thing with some pakistani people there to learn how its done.

Another good news.

Medical advancement: First liver transplant in Pakistan (http://tribune.com.pk/story/229948/medical-advancement-first-liver-transplant-in-pakistan/)


LAHORE: The first liver transplant in Pakistan was successfully conducted at Sheikh Zayed hospital.

The surgery, headed by the Chairman of the Sheikh Zayed hospital Amir Raza, was carried out by a team of doctors including Dr Tariq Bangash.
The 12-hour long transplant was done on a resident of Sialkot, Amir Raza.

The liver transplant centre at the Sheikh Zayed was inaugurated a year ago by the Capital Development Authority (CDA) with the total cost of Rs400 million.

Before this, India was the nearest place to get the transplant done from.

Source (http://tribune.com.pk/story/229948/medical-advancement-first-liver-transplant-in-pakistan/)

Chinese made the whole thing with some pakistani people there to learn how its done.


that was my initial thought. :laugh:

Pakistan to launch Remote Sensing Satellite in 2014

Posted: 15 Aug 2011 11:13 PM PDT

After the successful launch of communication satellite Paksat-IR, the Pakistan Space and Upper Atmosphere Research Commission (SUPARCO) plans to launch high resolution Remote Sensing Satellite System (RSSS) in 2014 to meet the national and international user requirements in the field of satellite imagery.

The system is planned to be a progressive and sustainable programme. Initially, the commission planned to launch an optical satellite with payload of 2.5 meter PAN in 700 km sun-synchronous or bit by the end of current, which will be followed by a series of optical and SAR Satellites.

SUPARCO Secretary Arshad H Siraj said it would be helpful in exploiting the potentials of space technologies for natural resource surveying and environmental monitoring. The system will also be significant in executing application projects of national significance, transfer technology to users in public and private sectors as remote sensing along with its allied technologies has become an industry in itself.

He said the commission was the pioneer in introducing these technologies in Pakistan using the satellite remote sensing techniques and the system would also be helpful in improving agriculture of the country, water resources, environment and other such issues.

The SUPARCO is aimed at contributing to the socio-economic development of the country by demonstrating the potential of space technologies for natural resources surveying and environment monitoring, he added.

Pakistan entered the space age with the formal launching of a second hand purchased Paksat-I in January 2003.

“Since then, our scientists and engineers had been making endeavours to launch indigenous satellite and ensure country’s permanent presence in the space”.

In replying to a question, the SUPARCO secretary said under the vision 2040 of Pakistan’s Space programme, more satellites would be launched, which would help improve socio-economic condition of the country. As far as launch of spaceship is concerned, no such planning is in considerations and the focus is to launch more communication satellites, he maintained.

Via The Nation

Pakistan to launch Remote Sensing Satellite in 2014

Posted: 15 Aug 2011 11:13 PM PDT

After the successful launch of communication satellite Paksat-IR, the Pakistan Space and Upper Atmosphere Research Commission (SUPARCO) plans to launch high resolution Remote Sensing Satellite System (RSSS) in 2014 to meet the national and international user requirements in the field of satellite imagery.

The system is planned to be a progressive and sustainable programme. Initially, the commission planned to launch an optical satellite with payload of 2.5 meter PAN in 700 km sun-synchronous or bit by the end of current, which will be followed by a series of optical and SAR Satellites.

SUPARCO Secretary Arshad H Siraj said it would be helpful in exploiting the potentials of space technologies for natural resource surveying and environmental monitoring. The system will also be significant in executing application projects of national significance, transfer technology to users in public and private sectors as remote sensing along with its allied technologies has become an industry in itself.

He said the commission was the pioneer in introducing these technologies in Pakistan using the satellite remote sensing techniques and the system would also be helpful in improving agriculture of the country, water resources, environment and other such issues.

The SUPARCO is aimed at contributing to the socio-economic development of the country by demonstrating the potential of space technologies for natural resources surveying and environment monitoring, he added.

Pakistan entered the space age with the formal launching of a second hand purchased Paksat-I in January 2003.

“Since then, our scientists and engineers had been making endeavours to launch indigenous satellite and ensure country’s permanent presence in the space”.

In replying to a question, the SUPARCO secretary said under the vision 2040 of Pakistan’s Space programme, more satellites would be launched, which would help improve socio-economic condition of the country. As far as launch of spaceship is concerned, no such planning is in considerations and the focus is to launch more communication satellites, he maintained.

Via The Nation

Pakistan's really going for satellites.

Is this going to be launched from Pakistan or China?

are you that naive or just pretending to be?

^^ lol

Pakistan will have its own SLV soon.

PAKSAT-1R to start commercial ops in Oct

http://nation.com.pk/uploads/news_image/large/PAKSAT1RtostartcommercialopsinOct_32744.jpg

Communication Satellite, PAKSAT-1R will start its commercial operations in October 2011 is expected to enhance broadcast and broadband capabilities of the country.

The Satellite, successfully launched in August this year, will orbit at 23,000 miles above the surface of the earth. It is a great milestone in the field of science and technology for the people of Pakistan and a big step towards the economic prosperity of the country.

The Communication Satellite will operate from orbital location of 38 degree east longitude and will offer C and KU band coverage in over 75 countries across Europe, Africa, Middle East, South and Central Asia.

It will not only play important role in socio-economic development of the country but will also provide educational opportunities, better health services, stimulate private sector business and investment.

Communication Satellite will provide telecom operators and government, a cost effective way to extend essential telecom services to the farthest corners of the country. Developing countries around the world face an acute shortage of medical professionals and situation is worst in rural areas of such countries which often lack communication infrastructure.

Today, Communication Satellites are being employed the world over, to offer tele-medicine services in rural communities to improve access to medical care, enhance its quality, provide earlier diagnosis and treatment and improve the health care delivery.

By enabling physicians to consult with their peers, have access to specialists and continue their education, tele-medicine could also increase the number of physicians located in rural areas.

Giving further details, Secretary SUPARCO Arshad H Siraj said “This satellite will also help to increase diversity and access to educational programmes by providing opportunities for adult community education and in-service teacher training”.

He said world has now entered a new era called the “Information society”. This era is marked by dramatic technological developments in computers, electronic media and telecommunications and growing aspects of information in all aspects of human life.

Access to the information and the facilities, to produce, store and transmit information is now considered vital to development.

In this race between information needs and new information capabilities, Communication Satellites give the ability to compete and maximise the use of limited resources towards an expanding population.

For Pakistan, satellites are not only a communication tool, rather a unique opportunity to bring meaningful change in the lives of its citizen.

Realising the importance of extending the benefits of information revolution to rural communities, governments the world over are implementing innovative universal services programmes in the areas of communication, health care, education and governance.

Communication Satellites have become an integral part of all such programmes extending their reach to the remotest corners of the world and providing reliable and cost effective means of extending the benefits of information revolution to people living in these times.

Replying to a question, Secretary SUPARCO said, “Under the vision 2040 of Pakistan’s Space programme, many more satellites will be launched, which will help to improve socio-economic condition of the country”.

As far as launch of spaceship is concerned, he said, no such planning is in consideration, and focus is to launch more communication satellites.

PAKSAT-1R has a design life of 15 years and will provide TV broadcasting, Internet and data communication services across South and Central Asia, Eastern Europe, East Africa and the Far East. The satellite will now enable the extending of communication services to all areas of Pakistan.

There are more than 45 clients of PAKSAT-1R, including leading telecom companies such as Mobilink, and broadcasters.

The PAKSAT-1R weighs 5,115kg and is based on the DongFangHong-4 platform with 18 Ku-band and 12 C-band transponders onboard.

KARACHI: Satellite provider NewSat has signed a 10-year contract worth $134 million with Pakistani telecommunication company, 3A Technology, to provide it with satellite capacity following a similar $105 million deal earlier this month.

Pakistani companies may be gearing up for the rollout of 3G and 4G networks, according to an analyst. Special satellites – with the capacity for supporting both 3G and 4G bands – will be used for a cellular backhaul in Pakistan and Afghanistan. The satellites may also be there to help expand the range of the network and allow for more remote areas to pick up the signals, analyst added. NewSat is planning to launch the satellite, Jabiru-1, in 2012.

(sorry, I'm having trouble posting the news link but this one's from the Pakistan Tribune)

Pakistan will have its own SLV soon.

Actually SUPARCO abandoned their SLV program a while ago.
Pakistan has no need for it's own SLV when we can hitch a ride on the Chinese Long March series of vehicles.
Building an SLV and related infrastructure is very costly, and given that Pakistan have only launched a few satellites so far there really isn't a desperate need for one either. As much as I hate to admit it it's probably the right direction to take.

Actually SUPARCO abandoned their SLV program a while ago.
Pakistan has no need for it's own SLV when we can hitch a ride on the Chinese Long March series of vehicles.
Building an SLV and related infrastructure is very costly, and given that Pakistan have only launched a few satellites so far there really isn't a desperate need for one either. As much as I hate to admit it it's probably the right direction to take.
I know that rockets are converted ICBMs. Don't know if the same is true of SLVs too. If yes, then it'd only make sense to develop SLVs when we develop ICBMs. So it's the right commercial decision to not have our own SLVs.

Is it some problem with me or really facebook, twitter and every webpage having a link to facebook blocked in pakistan??

^^ I have no problem in using them...

Facebook is going to be blocked in Pakistan from 6th October, as far as I know.

Facebook is going to be blocked in Pakistan from 6th October, as far as I know.

do u know why?

No website is getting blocked, as far as I know. Only 'offensive' pages. These guys need to get a fucking life. Losers. But it isn't beyond the retards at the LHC to ban the entire site. If FB or any site like twitter/youtube is banned, I'm getting the heck out of this country.

Who the hell is behind this banning? Seriously, WTF?? I hope everyone behind it dies in an accident.

And I don't even use facebook.

Its not banned, all the social networking sites were out temporarily today, apparently. But they're fine now. It was probably some dumb**** at the PTA who messed up again trying to ban a particular FB page and caused the outage. At least they didn't block these sites for the entire world unlike that one time youtube was blocked worldwide by the PTA by accident :rofl:

Hey, this is Science and Technology thread and not about banning facebook. Use Gupshup for that (Misc thread).

I know that rockets are converted ICBMs. Don't know if the same is true of SLVs too. If yes, then it'd only make sense to develop SLVs when we develop ICBMs. So it's the right commercial decision to not have our own SLVs.
An ICBM could be used as an SLV, but SLVs generally tend to be larger in order to carry larger payloads, and if a commercially viable space program is the goal then just using an ICBM is not enough, a larger purpose built SLV would be needed, so that multiple satellites can be placed into orbit in one mission.
IMHO Pakistan will not be developing an ICBM, and most definitely wont be developing an SLV any time soon. Even having an ICBM does not mean that an SLV should follow. An SLV requires related infrastructure that has its own added cost as does managing a space program, and like I said Pakistan's level of activity in space so far does not justify building an SLV.
From a commercial standpoint it does not make sense either. Most customers wont buy from a new, less mature program, when there are so many other space programs with decades of experience. Building an SLV for commercial purposes will likely take at least a decade or two to pay off with enough international and national clients. Therefore no SLV, i'ts not worth the effort and investment.
Of course that does not mean that the know-how and capability is not there, because it likely is.

We produce a good number of annual sci-tech and cpu grads, we have the labour pool to grow rapidly in this field.

PPL introduces stress field detection technology in Pakistan




Dr. Asim Hussain, attended an event marking the first-ever application of Stress Field Detection (SFD) technology by Pakistan Petroleum Limited (PPL) at the Quaid-e Azam International Airport Karachi.

A PPL statement here on Saturday said that developed by NXT Energy Solutions (NXT), a geophysical service company based in Canada, SFD is a proprietary cutting edge, eco-friendly airborne reconnaissance method to identify potential hydrocarbon traps and reservoirs in a time- and cost-effective manner, especially in unexplored on- and off-shore frontier regions with limited access and infrastructure.

It said that the SFD is expected to be particularly useful in the current energy scenario, warranting fast track identification of, and production from, relatively deeper, more complex reserves of hydrocarbons to bridge the supply-demand gap.

Welcoming the guests, PPL's Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, Asim Murtaza Khan, underscored the increasing importance of deploying latest exploration technology to meet production and reserves replacement targets to address the current deficit and ensure future energy security. SFD technology has been successfully applied by leading oil and gas companies in North America, Colombia and other countries. PPL is proud to be the first company to apply the technology in Pakistan', he said.

Science Foundation, Intel ink MoU




ISLAMABAD - Pakistan Science Foundation (PSF) and Intel Pakistan joined hands to promote science activities in the country by signing a Memorandum of Understanding here at PSF on Tuesday.

PSF Chairman Prof. Dr. Manzoor H. Soomro and Intel Pakistan Country Manager Naveed Siraj signed the MoU on behalf of their respective organisations. Secretary Ministry of Science and Technology (MoST) Akhlaq Ahmad Tarar was the chief guest who witnessed the signing ceremony to encourage both organisations in their science promotional pursuits.


A large number of scientists from different organisations and media persons were present on this occasion. Under the MoU, both the organisations will work together to implement the Intel Science Fairs Programme all across Pakistan for the betterment of economic condition of the masses by creating awareness, promoting and popularisation of research in sciences and mathematics through mutual collaborative activities, aiming to infuse a stronger spirit of discovery in schoolchildren and to increase their interest in science and technology. Science fair will help to achieve this purpose, thus strengthening science education at pre-college level.


Speaking on this occasion, Tarar said PSF-Intel Pakistan collaboration is a welcoming example of public-private partnership for a national cause to achieve the goals of science and technology promotion in the country. He lauded Intel Pakistan and PSF role in betterment of the society through science promotional activities among students.
He thanked both organisations and assured full support of the Ministry of Science and Technology in their science education activities. The Secretary said it is a very happy moment that Intel Pakistan, a private sector organisation as a corporate social responsibility, has extended a hand for jointly executing educational activities programme already being undertaken by PSF.


He also spoke on PSF’s International Science Expo programme being carried on in collaboration with Embassy of France. He also highlighted MoST’s entrepreneurship programme and Research Commercialisation Cell activities. PSF Chairman Prof Dr Manzoor H. Soomro said Intel and PSF are working together for the past many years and the Foundation is helping Intel in science fairs by providing science experts as judges of the fairs.
The Chairman said PSF in collaboration with France Embassy launched 5th International Travelling Expo titled “Energy for a Sustainable World” in Pakistan on March 1 by organising the exhibition at National Centre for Physics, Quaid-i-Azam University, Islamabad. He invited students and teachers to visit the Expo which will remain open till March 7 and then move to other major cities.

https://fbcdn-sphotos-g-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-ash3/44430_622782841072079_1240496915_n.jpg

I made one last year as my final year project.

http://i1356.photobucket.com/albums/q733/paklove1/11201305040542_zps6368a108.jpg (http://s1356.photobucket.com/user/paklove1/media/11201305040542_zps6368a108.jpg.html)