Mir Changez Khan Jamali, Federal Minister for Science and Technology has stressed the need for developing a strong research culture in the country. He said that due to excellent initiatives of the Higher Education Commission (HEC), our scholars are paying more attention to the research activities.

He was addressing the “Outstanding Research Awards” ceremony held at HEC secretariat on Monday, where 33 outstanding researchers were conferred awards under different categories, including Lifetime Academic Achievement Award (2), Best Innovator (1), Best Book Publication (3), Best Research Paper (21) and Best Young Research Scholar (6).

The winners belong to six disciplines, including Biological Sciences, Engineering and Technology, Basic and Applied Sciences, Management Sciences, Social Sciences, and Humanities.

Congratulating the award winners, the Minister underlined the significance of needs based research which, he said, was vital for the socio-economic development of the country. He emphasized that education is the biggest solution to the problems of this country.

Dr. Javaid R. Laghari, Chairperson HEC said that the purpose of these awards is to recognize and reward achievements of Pakistani researchers/scholars in research, innovation and publication in all areas of knowledge. He said that the university research is directly linked to the economic growth of any country and that has been proved by the developments taking place across the globe.

Dr. Sohail Naqvi, Executive Director, HEC said that these awards are conferred on those who have promoted research and innovation in the country. “Our researchers have proved that they are second to none in world-class research,” he added.

Each year, applications are invited from all over Pakistan for these awards. A transparent, competitive and acceptable mechanism has been adopted for selection of the scholars. After scrutiny, research work of applicants is evaluated by the Judges who are nominated by the Research Awards Management Committee.

The awardees include (Life Time Achievement Award) Dr. Anwar-ul-Hassan Gilani, Vice Chair/Professor, Aga Khan University, Karachi and Dr. Bina Shaheen Siddiqui, Professor, University of Karachi (Best Innovator Award) Dr. Robina Farooq Associate Professor, COMSATS Institute of Information Technology (CIIT), Abbottabad (Best Book Publication Award) Dr. Ghazala Nasim, Assistant Professor, University of the Punjab, Lahore, Dr. Nasim A Khan, Vice Chancellor, Hamdard University, Karachi, Dr. Sikandar Hayat, Directing Staff (Research), National Management College, Lahore (Best Research Paper Award) Dr. Muhammad Saeed Akhtar, Principal Medical Officer, Punjab Institute of Nuclear Medicine, Faisalabad, Ms. Samina Anwar, Junior Scientist, National Institute of Biotechnology and Genetic Engineering, Faisalabad, Dr. Muhammad Ilyas, Research Associate, University of the Punjab, Lahore, Dr. Muhammad Irfaq Khan, Senior Scientist, Nuclear Institute for Food and Agriculture, Peshawar, Dr. Asif Mir, International Islamic University (IIU), Islamabad, Dr. Muhammad Ayub Kakar, Assistant Professor, University of the Balochistan, Quetta, Dr. Syed Tauseef Mohyud-Din, Professor, HITEC University, Taxila, Dr. Muhammad Atif, Senior Scientist, Pakistan Institute of Engineering and Applied Science, Islamabad, Dr. Ahmer Mehmood, Lecturer, IIU Islamabad, Dr. Asif Masood, Assistant Professor, Military College of Signals, Rawalpindi, Mr. Imdadullah Qureshi, HEC Research Fellow, University of Sindh, Jamshoro, Ms. Maria Siddique, Scientific Officer, CIIT Abbottabad, Mr. Kashif Imran, Assistant Professor, CIIT Lahore, Dr. Khanji Harijan, Professor, Mehran University of Engineering and Technology, Jamshoro, Mr. Qarab Raza, Principal Engineer, SES Directorate, Industrial Area, Islamabad, Dr. Abdul Aziz Bhatti, Dean, University of Management and Technology, Lahore, Dr. Faheem Uddin, Professor, Balochistan University of Information Technology, Engineering and Management Sciences, Quetta, Dr. Muhammad Usman Awan, Assistant Professor, University of the Punjab, Lahore, Dr. Nasir Mahmood, Associate Professor, University of the Punjab, Lahore, Dr. Muhammad Munir, Director, IIU Islamabad, Dr. Muhammad Arshad, Lecturer, University of the Punjab, Lahore (Best Young Research Scholar Award) Dr. Pashtoon Murtaza Kasi, Intern, Aga Khan University, Karachi, Dr. Hassan Imran Afridi, Lecturer, University of Sindh, Jamshoro, Dr. Syed Muneer Hussain Shah, Lecturer, Quaid-i-Azam University, Islamabad, Dr. Tassawar Hayat, Associate Professor,           Quaid-i-Azam University, Islamabad, Dr. Syed Ali Khayam, Assistant Professor, School of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, National University of Sciences and Technology, Islamabad and Mr. Aijaz Ahmed Gujjar, Lecturer, Federal College of Education, Islamabad.