NOTE FROM THE EDITOR-IN-CHIEF
I am pleased to present Vol. 3(2) of the Newsletter of the Academy and hope that the readers would find its contents informative. Since the Newsletter of the Academy covers ongoing and planned activities of various scientific establishments on country wide basis, we keenly look forward to receiving inputs promptly and on regular basis. The Academy has established an electronic facility, newsletter@paspk.org, for rapid communication of news for inclusion in the Newsletter. In case the required information is sent by post, a soft copy (3.5 inch floppy, MS-Word) is necessary to facilitate editorial process. The readers are reminded that the schedule of publication of the Newsletter is January, April, July and October. We also look forward to receiving suggestions for improvement in the Newsletter.

Daily Allowance for PAS Fellows Enhanced
Daily Allowance of Fellows attending meetings of the Academy has been enhanced from Rs. 400/- to Rs. 1,000/- per day.

Membership of the Academy Now Open to Young Scientists
Young Pakistani scientists (under 40 yrs), particularly those who have rendered outstanding and conspicuous service to Pakistan in the field of Science and Technology may be nominated for membership of the Academy by a Fellow of the Academy.

Monthly Seminar Series of Local Chapters of PAS
The following seminar was conducted by the Islamabad/Rawalpindi Chapter of PAS.

Summary
STENT is a metallic device used as peripheral and coronary arterial implant to provide intraluminal support by its scaffolding action in arterial diseases. Most commonly used stents rely on the plastic deformation of metal beyond its elastic limits when a tubular STENT with special cuts is expanded by a balloon at high pressure. Some of the important characteristics of a stent are biocompatibility, high radiopacity, radial and longitudinal elasticity and resistance to thrombosis and corrosion. Typical dimensions of a STENT are 1-2 mm in diameter, 20-30 mm length and strut size of approximately 100 microns.Indigenous Development of the Cardiac Stent in Pakistan is a prime example of how the expertise and knowledge developed because of fundamental research in science can help the poor masses in a country. This purely welfare project is an outcome of the expertise developed in the field of Lasers at NESCOM. Microcutting of the Cardiac Stent is carried out using a high repetition rate, low power Nd:Yag Laser from a stainless steel, cobolt Alloy or Nitinol tube. The stent is further processed by electropolishing and thermally treated to become clinically usable entity. The stent finally is mounted on a balloon catheter and sterilized to make it a Stent Delivery System.
The Stent Delivery System along with the other items used in an angioplasty procedure would be marketed at a cost of approximately Rs. 20,000 compared with the present cost in excess of Rs. 100,000. Extra Stent Delivery System would cost only Rs.10,000.

Prof. Dr. Richard R. Ernst Visits the Academy

Professor Dr. Richard R. Ernst (Nobel Laureate) from Switzerland visited the
Pakistan Academy of Sciences on 9th January 2006 and delivered a lecture on "Exploring the fascinating secrets of nature by NMR applications in Chemistry, Biology and Medicine". The seminar was attended by a large gathering of scientists and students from
universities and R&D organizations.


The Council of the Academy Approves Awards in Various Scientific Disciplines

PAS Gold Medals 2005 (Open)

2. Dr. Sabira Begum                                           Chemistry
    Associate Professor
    HEJ Research Institute of Chemistry
    University of Karachi
     Karachi

3. Dr. Sheikh Ahmed Saeed                             Biochemistry
    Professor of Pharmacology
    Dr. Panjwani Center for Molecular
    Medicine & Drug Research
    University of Karachi
    Karachi

4. Dr. Bilquees Gull                                             Botany
    Assistant Professor
    Department of Botany
    University of Karachi
    Karachi

5. Dr. M. Sarwar Khan                                        Agriculture
    Senior Scientific Officer
    NIBGE
    Faisalabad

6. Prof. Dr. Tahir Shah                                        Earth Sciences
     National Center for Excellence in Geology
     University of Peshawar
     Peshawar

Dr. M. Raziuddin Siddiqi Prize 2005 (under 40 yrs)

7. Mr. M. Raheel Mohyuddin                               Mathematics
     Department of Mathematics
     Quaid-i-Azam University
     Islamabad

Dr. M.N. Azam Prize 2005

8. Mr. Ahsan Abdullah                                         Computer Sciences, Software
    Associate Professor
    National University of Computer & Emerging Sciences
    Islamabad

PAS/COMSTECH Prize 2005

9. Dr. Hafiz Farooq Ahmad                                 Computer Science/IT
    Associate Professor
    NUST Institute of Information Technology
    Islamabad


Prof. Atta-ur-Rahman Gold Medal/Prize 2005

10. Dr. M. Iqbal Bhanger                                        Chemistry
       Professor & Director
       Center of Excellence in Analytical Chemistry
       University of Sindh
       Jamshoro

TWAS Prize

11. Dr. Shazia Anjum                                              Chemistry
       Assistant Professor,
       HEJ Research Institute of Chemistry,
       University of Karachi,
       Karachi.

COMSTECH NEWS

International Conference on Coastal Oceanography & Sustainable Marine Aquaculture (May 2-4, 2006)

COMSTECH Inter-Islamic Network on Oceanography will be organizing an international conference on Coastal Oceanography & Sustainable Marine Aquaculture: Confluence & Synergy. INOC will be organizing the conference during 2nd to 4th May 2006 at Borneo Marine Research Institute, University of Malaysia Sabah at Kota Kinabalu, Sabah, Malaysia, in collaboration with the Malaysian Ministry of Science Technology and Innovation (MOSTI) and Malaysian Centre for Remote Sensing (MCRS).

The Conference will bring together researchers, industry, and other stakeholders to identify and address constraints limiting marine seafood production, and thoroughly deliberate on the need for adopting a forward-looking approach based on new knowledge and ideas.

The Conference program, running over three days, will consist of inaugural session on the first day, plenary sessions in the early morning followed by parallel sessions consisting of selected oral and poster presentations in the late mornings and afternoons.

HIGHER EDUCATION COMMISSION (HEC) NEWS

HEC to send Students for Training Abroad

The Higher Education Commission (HEC) would send 2000 students for M.Sc./Ph.D. level training in leading universities of Europe, Canada and USA. This program was approved at a recent meeting of the Central Development Working Party. The scheme will supplement HEC’s efforts for provision of adequate number of masters and Ph.D. level human resource to meet the challenges in the fields of agriculture, veterinary, biological, medical sciences, engineering & technology, physical sciences, business education, social sciences and arts and humanities.

All students sent abroad will have pre-assigned faculty positions to occupy on their return.

HEC launches Short Term Teacher Exchange Program

The Higher Education Commission has launched an in-country “Short Term Teacher Exchange Program - (STEP)” to facilitate the movement of full time / retired faculty members of Public / Private Sector Universities / Degree
Awarding Institutes and Professionals working in R&D Organizations to visit Public Sector Universities to deliver lectures for a short duration of one to four weeks. Under this program, teachers will be invited by Public Sector Universities / Degree Awarding Institutions / Centers of Excellence / Pakistan Study Centers / Area Study Centers, with the permission of the parent institution against a specified visiting program. The Host/Borrowing University will provide him/her accommodation, local hospitality and transportation (pick/drop) facility while the Parent/Lending University shall treat the visiting period as on duty. The Higher Education Commission will provide an economy class return airfare or rail/road entitlement in addition to Rs. 2000/-per lecture as an honorarium for 4 to 6 lectures per week, or Rs.5000/-per week in case he is not delivering lectures and is invited to do some experiments; help in the curriculum development, or to provide assistance in the development of respective department, labs., libraries etc.

This program is being launched because sizeable number of highly qualified teachers and scientists are available in the older universities and R&D Organizations which could be utilized for helping and guiding public sector universities, especially the new universities in the disciplines of mutual interest. It is hoped that the concerned organization will make maximum use of this facility by either inviting or sending teachers to and from other Universities/DAIs and R&D Organizations. A detailed itinerary of the intending teachers proposed visit along with the consent of the Lending University/Organization may kindly be sent on the prescribed Performa (see HEC website) at the earliest so that it could be further processed.

AGA KHAN UNIVERSITY (AKU) NEWS

AKU Holds a National Conference

The Head and Neck Oncology Society of Pakistan held its second National Conference on March 10-12, 2006 at the Aga Khan University Hospital in Karachi. Dr. Ashok Shaha the renowned Head and Neck Surgeon at the Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center was the honored guest.

One of the sessions was dedicated to Thyroid and Parathyroid disorders. At its last meeting, the society arranged presentations from Cincinnati and Madrid via satellite and this year too a few lectures were heard via video conference system.

PAKISTAN INSTITUTE OF NUCLEAR SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY (PINSTECH) NEWS

PINSTECH Develops Fuel Cell Technology

Pakistan Institute of Nuclear Science & Technology (PINSTECH), a premier Institute of Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission, has developed a new technology to fabricate the fuel cell indigenously, taking lead in the development of Fuel Cell Technology in Pakistan. Fuel cells are efficient and environment friendly power sources, which mostly operate on hydrogen gas that can be obtained from different sources including electrolysis of water by nuclear and other sources. Polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cells are useful for stationary, automobiles as well as portable applications. In many countries automobiles are being run on fuel cells and auto-manufacturers are working on the production of vehicles powered by fuel cells. Fuel cells have widespread applications in many other fields like space and defence. Fuel cells are also alternate energy sources for the future when oil and gas reserves would be depleted.

PINSTECH initiated an R&D programme on the subject as a result of which it has developed fuel cells indigenously. A low power fuel cell stack has been fabricated and tested successfully. It can be extended to produce power sources as per requirement, particularly for automobiles and off grid utilizations, etc.

PAKISTAN TELECOMMUNICATION AUTHORITY (PTA) NEWS

PTA Takes Steps to Create New Market Opportunities

Information Communication Technologies (ICT) is setting up the foundation of information society and knowledge based economy, worldwide. It is being considered as a key to create new market opportunities, overcome global barriers and enhance efficiencies of businesses and practices. The productivity gains across the globe due to ICT penetration are suggesting substantial growth in the economies, and many governments have committed to pursue policies for the proliferation of ICT.

Asia pacific region with its large population, growing economy and emerging world’s largest telecommunication market has a great potential to become center of the world for the ICT. With this vision ICT ministers from the member
countries of APT gathered at Bangkok on 1st and 2nd of July 2004 to plan and develop an agenda for the development of ICT in this region. This meeting confirms the commitment of APT countries for action at the National, Sub-regional and regional level for [1]:
 

1. Raising Awareness, Capacity Building and HRD

2. Creating and Enabling Environment to Encourage Broadband and ICT Investment

3. Improving Access and Encouraging Broadband and ICT Usage

4. Increasing Confidence and security for broadband and ICT usage

5. Strengthening International Cooperation