Karachi Girl Students Win Top Prize at International Science Competition Held in Atlanta, Georgia

[Riaz Haq]

Two Pakistani girl students from Karachi have won the first physical science award of $1,500 each at Regeneron International Science and Engineering Fair (ISEF 2022) held May 7 through 13 in Atlanta, Georgia, United States. Ume Kulsoom and Talia Kusloom, the winners from Pakistan, are 12th grade students at Pak-Turk School in Gulshan-e-Iqbal, Karachi. 

Pakistani Student Participants at ISEF 2022 in Atlanta, Georgia, USA. Source: Maarif Foundation

Ume and Talia Kulsoom topped in the physical science category with their project titled "Vegan Leather Obtained from Cedrus Deodara (deodar tree)", according to an announcement by the Society for Science which organized the event. Regeneron ISEF is the world’s largest international science competition held annually. Each year, nearly 1,800 high school students from more than 63 countries participate to showcase their work.  

The winning project from Pakistan was completed under the supervision of Hira Bashir, a science teacher at the Pakistan-Turkey Maarif International Schools College in Karachi. "Our intelligent students believe in the green world and in the conservation of resources, which encouraged them to come up with this unique idea," the school said.

The ISEF is an annual event organized by the Society for Science and Engineering, a non-profit group headquartered in the US. The organization describes the event as "the world's largest international science competition," bringing together approximately 1,800 high school students from more than 63 countries each year. The Maarif Foundation has 28 schools and colleges across Pakistan that provide quality education to thousands of students in several cities, including Islamabad, Karachi and Lahore. 

Aqsa Ajmal, a graduate of Pakistan's National University of Science and Technology, was among six finalists for Lexus Design Award 2020 for industrial design. She won 3 million Yen (over $25,000) in funding and mentorship in an exclusive program in New York City under the guidance of prominent design leaders from a variety of design fields.

Pursewit Sewing Machine. Source: Lexus

The Mayet Family from Karachi, Pakistan won AI Family Challenge World Championship held in Silicon Valley, California on May 20, 2019.  The family's entry called "Cavity Crusher" uses artificial intelligence algorithm to monitor a child's brush time and determine their oral health habits to notify parents accordingly. It was organized by Iridescent, a global technology education nonprofit organization that empowers underrepresented young people to become self-motivated learners, inventors, and leaders.

In 2018, A team of undergraduate students representing Peshawar won a silver medal in a genetic engineering competition organized by the International Genetically Engineered Machine (iGEM) Foundation in Boston, Massachusetts.

Growing numbers of young Pakistanis are now participating and winning in international science and engineering competitions. Examples include Stanford Design Contest, AI Family Challenge World Championship and International Genetically Engineered Machine Competition. These wins offer increasing evidence of Pakistan's expected demographic dividend.

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[Riaz Haq]

Pakistani students win laurels in international competition

https://www.dawn.com/news/1701749/pakistani-students-win-laurels-in...

The success of Pakistani students who study in schools without walls in the global Huawei competition shows that there is no alternative to dedication and hard work, deputy chief executive officer of Huawei Pakistan Ahmed Bilal Masud said on Tuesday.

He was speaking at a ceremony to honour Sateesh Kumar, Bhagchand Meghwar and Iqra Fatima, winners of the Sixth Huawei ICT Competition 2021-2022.

They were able to beat competitors from different parts of the world at the Global Final of the event held in Shenzhen, China.

The participants were informed that Mr Kumar belonged to a remote village of Tharparkar that is not even listed in maps while Bhagchand Meghwar hails from a village in Dadu district.

“This proves that now, nobody in Pakistan can say that they lack resources, internet at homes or there was not enough support to make a name,” Mr Masud said, adding that, “these gentlemen did not even have walls in the schools they went to for initial learning.”

Similarly, he said the third member of the winning team was a female. “When she can fight the odds why not others,” he added.

Ms Fatima belongs to Bahawalpur and studied in Bahawalpur University, while the other two members had studied in Mehran University Jamshoro. Every year the competition is announced by Huawei, starting from the local level to encourage fresh students and fresh graduates to excel in information technology (IT) services.

Out of around 12,000 applicants in Pakistan in 2021, six were selected and Huawei managers formed two teams – team 1 and 2 for Pakistan. Sateesh Kumar led team 1 which continued its winning streak to beat competitors in the global final. The competition attracted 150,000 hopeful students from more than 2,000 universities in 85 countries and regions around the world.

The first prize in the competition was $20,000 for the winning team, along with mobile phones for each participant. Public Relations Director Wu Han said the success of the 2021 competition has shown that there was huge potential of growth among Pakistani youth.

[Riaz Haq]

At the award ceremony of the Huawei ICT Competition 2021-2022 Global Final held by Huawei Pakistan on Tuesday, a Pakistani team consisting of Sateesh Kumar, Iqra Fatima, and Bhagchand Meghwar, was awarded the first prize of 20,000 USD along with a mobile phone for each team member.

http://en.ce.cn/Insight/202207/27/t20220727_37911036.shtml

The competition, which was concluded in Shenzhen, China, attracted 150,000 students from more than 2,000 universities in 85 countries and regions. After national and regional competitions, 130 teams from 43 countries and regions faced off in the global final. Two teams from Pakistan participated in the Network Category of the Practice Competition with Team One clinching the 1st prize, and Team Two grabbing the 3rd prize.

 

Osman Ahsan Sheikh, Muhammad Abdullah Ahsan Sheikh and Aqsa Amir represented Team One ‘Homevism’, which comprised students from NUST. Team Two ‘Boltay Haroof’ from LUMS was represented by Umer Farooq, Tabish Rafiq and Areej. In the Innovation Competition, Team Boltay Haroof won the 2nd prize, while Team Homevism seized the 3rd prize.

 

Mr. Ahmed Bilal Masud, Deputy CEO of Huawei Pakistan, congratulated the winners and affirmed their infinite potential. On the occasion, he highlighted, “the competition is a great opportunity for Pakistani youth. Through this event, young Pakistanis have gained a deeper understanding of ICT and have a platform to make a name for themselves in the ICT industry.”

 

The star student of the winning team, Mr. Bhagchand, addressed the ceremony, saying “the Huawei ICT Competition served as a platform that allowed us to compete with and win against teams at regional and international levels for Pakistan.”

 

Sateesh Kumar, a Mehran University bachelor who came from a small town in Sindh, was motivated by his teacher to take part in the competition. He said it was an amazing initiative by Huawei, offering equal opportunities to engineering students all over Pakistan to showcase their talent, whether they’re from large bustling cities or small remote towns.

 

The next installation of the global event, The Huawei ICT Competition 2022, will be held under the theme ‘Connectivity, Honor, Future’. It will run from August to December and is a large part of Huawei’s commitment to nurturing the next generation of ICT leaders across the world.

 

[Riaz Haq]

A Babar Azam cover drive question appears in Pakistani physics book, PIC goes viral

https://zeenews.india.com/cricket/wait-what-a-babar-azam-cover-driv...

Here's the question: "Babar Azam has hit a cover drive by given kinetic energy of 150J to the ball by his bat. a) At what speed will the ball go the boundary if the mass of the ball is 120g? b) How much kinetic energy footballer must impart to a football of mass 450g to make it move at this speed?" says the question that has been widely shared on social media platforms."

The picture of this question in the book has gone viral on the internet with some fans even trying to find the answer.

https://twitter.com/shaun_tait32/status/1569662589462024192?s=20&am...

(Picture shows the following kinetic energy = 0.5x mass x velocity squared. 120 grams ball driven with 150 joules energy achieves 50 meters/sec speed)