A huge shoutout also to Professor Dr. Samina Mehnaz from Forman’s Kausar Abdulla Malik School of Life Sciences for once again being included in the Stanford University annual list of the “top two percent” “top two percent” of researchers world-wide; this is the fourth consecutive year that Dr. Samina has received this honor, introduced by Stanford in 2019 to recognize notable researchers and based in part on publications.
Saadia Sumbal, Associate Professor of History, published articles in two international journals, “Voices from the Periphery: Punjabi Poetry, Resistance and Anti-Colonial Nationalism” (South Asian Studies Volume 40 Issue 2, 2023: https://doi.org/10.1080/02666030.2024.2396182) and “Parsi Identity and Community Legislation in Colonial Punjab” (Journal of Punjab Studies Volume 30 Number 2, 2023: http://giss.org/researchnew.html). Her book Islam and Religious Change in Pakistan: Sufis and Ulema in 20th Century South Asia (Routledge, Taylor & Francis, 2022) was also recently reviewed in two international publications, Journal of Religious History and Journal of Sufi Studies.
Dr, Firasat Jabeen from Forman’s Department of Mass Communication was invited to join the International Communication Association (ICA) task force on Global Representation and Engagement. In addition, Dr. Firasat received a $2,000 Fulbright grant to help support the ICA Regional Conference scheduled to be hosted by Forman in December.
Dr. Adeel Ahmad Aamir, Assistant Professor in our Department of Mass Communication, served as a communication expert in a panel discussion on urbanization and air pollution organized at the Lahore University of Management Sciences (LUMS) in partnership with the British High Commission.
Irtiza Shafaat Bokharee, Lecturer in Forman’s Political Science Department, reports that his department recently partnered with the Strategic Vision Institute (SVI), an Islamabad-based think tank, to expose students to national security issues and the role that youth can play in helping to advance them. During their visit, SVI Executive Director Dr. Naeem A. Salik (a Forman graduate) joined with SVI Director of Research Dr. Nasir Hafeez to brief the students.
Maheen Zia from our English Department reports two notable achievements over the summer, starting with her selection as the only participant from Pakistan to attend this year’s Digital Humanities Summer School at Oxford University (only 11 out of the more than 80 teachers who applied were selected). In addition, Maheen was awarded second prize in the ELT Lesson Design Competition organized by Education University Hong Kong.
Syeda Khair-ul-Bariyah, Assistant Chemistry Professor (College), was invited to attend the Pakistani Writer’s Retreat, sharing her long journey as a writer that started at the age of four and has included publications in both English and Urdu, culminating most recently in her novel Peregrinations of the Soul which reflects the values and character-building that are so much a part of the Forman college experience.
Urdu Professor Dr. Shahida Dilawar Shah’s debut novel Zindagi Aik Naraaz Matan (“Life is an Anguish Text”), published in 2023, was recently selected as the subject of a post-doctorate research thesis at International Islamia University in Islamabad, having been singled out as a pioneering example of metafiction in Urdu literature.
Dr. Sulman Munir, Assistant Geography Professor (College), successfully defended his PhD (“Drought Monitoring and Hazard Assessment for Climate Resilience in the Punjab, Pakistan”), in this case from the University of Punjab’s Institute of Geography.
Forman’s Geography Department was officially certified under the UPG Sustainability Leadership Program, having completed a departmental “mini course” on promoting sustainability.
Forman’s Department of Sociology has issued a Call for Abstract Submissions for the Sixth Annual Conference on Marginalized Populations, scheduled to take place on December 11. The deadline for submissions is October 14.
FCCU Physics Professor Dr. Hamid Latif spoke to the “Forman Einsteins” (College Physics Club) as part of a lecture titled From the Mysteries of Quantum Mechanics to the Nobel Prize-Winning Quantum Dots and their Interdisciplinary Applications, encouraging students to explore the field of quantum physics while also offering a glimpse into the exciting possibilities available to those studying physics in the future.