23 researchers from the National University of Sciences and Technology (NUST) have risen to prominence this year by standing among the world’s top 2 percent researchers and have been attracting international attention right now. NUST is currently ranked number 334 in the world, number 74 in Asia, and number one in Pakistan, as per QS University Rankings 2023, and among the top 200 universities of the world as per THE Impact Ranking 2022. The number of NUST researchers featuring among the top 2 percent of the world has steadily increased over the past three years. The data for ranking is published by Elsevier, a global leader in the information and analytics business.
Many of these have also been recognized for their career-long impact for example; recently NUST launched Formula Electric Racing NUST (FERN) program that works for upgrading and makes NUST’s racing Electric Vehicle, the first in the world. FERN has been able to bring the multi-billion dollar Electric Vehicle manufacturing giant, Tesla Inc. as its innovative partner. Though FERN has secured many other international partners as well, this is by far the biggest achievement of the program.
The researchers are ranked based on versatile research and considerations, including citations, Hirsch-index and authorship positions, etc. The researchers are from seven different institutions of NUST and twelve different disciplines, including artificial intelligence, signal processing, materials, chemical, mechanical, bio-medical, robotics, cyber security, computer science, design and manufacturing, humanities, and mathematical methods in fluid mechanics.
Another recent research that included in that 23 researchers is a group of Undergrads from NUST as they have been able to make Pakistan’s first autonomous drone by representing Pakistan in various international competitions and exhibitions. They have won many competitions worldwide and are impressing the world with their creativity and hard work.
The students involved in making these drones are Muhammad Hassan Khan, Hafiz Hamza Jalil Qureshi, Ali Shair Muhammad Bhutta, Muhammad Taaha Rana, and many others. They were fourth-year mechanical engineering students who built these drones in 2016 and were studying at CEME.
As soon as their product was complete, they started appearing in national technological competitions and getting recognition. They participated in the 2018 IMechE UAS Challenge held in the UK as their first-ever international appearance. After winning that challenge, they regularly started to participate in many international competitions. The group has won 9 international awards since 2018, representing Pakistan worldwide. These include Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) Challenge 2021 and the best safety award. The judges of the challenge gave remarks praising the creativity and practical sense of the team.
Zain and Abdullah, two NUST Software Engineering and Computer Science Junior Year students, have developed an AI-powered photo editor that enhances and auto-tunes your selfies using on-mobile Artificial Intelligence. Both students started launching apps during the second year of their degree and later on opened their startup which was first incubated by Technology Incubation Center, Nust (TIC).
The app is called Blur which on a single tap can blur out the background of your photos offering DSLR-type retouching. It features automatic human detection combined with various beauty filters to help you edit your photos without a hassle. The app is currently available and trending on the Google Play Store with more than 100k downloads gained in a very less period of production.
The esteemed researchers recognized this year include Dr. Noreen Sher Akbar, Dr. Meraj Mustafa, Dr. Mubasher Jamil, Dr. Salman Raza Naqvi, Dr. Faisal Shafait, Dr. Adeeb Shahzad, Dr. Shahid Iqbal, Dr. Muhammad Moazam Fraz, Dr. Iftikhar Ahmed, Dr. Irfan Ahmad Rana, Dr. Irfan Hussain Gul, Dr. Muhammad Usman Akram, Dr. Haider Abbas, Dr. Hassan Ali Khattak, Dr. Tayyaba Noor, Dr. Farooq Ahmed Tahir, Dr. Abdul Ghafoor, Dr. Muhammad Jawad Khan, Dr. Safia Akram, Dr. Tahir Abdul Hussain Ratlamwala, Dr. Tahir Mehmood, Dr. Syed Ali Hassan, and Dr. Muhammad Ishaq.
The esteemed researchers recognized for their career-long impact include Dr. Noreen Sher Akbar, Dr. Mubasher Jamil, Dr. Meraj Mustafa, and Dr. Faisal Shafait.
In another laudable development, researchers at the National University of Sciences and Technology (NUST) have completed full functional testing of “NTiny-E”, the country’s first truly indigenously designed microprocessor.
This was revealed by the Pro-Rector (Research, Innovation, and Commercialization) NUST Dr. Rizwan Riaz during a press conference on Monday. He was accompanied by Principal SEECS Dr. Ajmal Khan and NTiny design and development team leader Dr. Rehan Ahmed.
This is a remarkable accomplishment because as a country, Pakistan has so far failed to truly capitalize on the ever-present need for semiconductor technology across the world. Global semiconductor sales amounted to $595 billion in 2021, and the ability to indigenously design microprocessors could be the first step toward having a slice of that pie.
