nedac organized its third annual dinner …qamar iqbal khan, passed away on 9 th january. we all...

of 20

FIRST QUARTER 2010 VOLUME 3, ISSUE 1

NED ALUMNI ASSOCIATION CANADA NEDAC NEWS

NEDAC’s 4TH ANNUAL DINNER & MUSICAL EVENING ON 4TH JUNE 2010 Mark your calendar. NEDAC has announced the date of its 4th Annual Dinner & Musical Evening. Complete details of the event will appear in the next issue of NEDAC News and on NEDAC website.

_____________________________________________________________________________________

04: SPECIAL COVERAGE PRESIDENT NEDAC’s ADDRESS TO THE NEDAC AGM 2009 Mr. Ismat Kamal, President NEDAC, covers the achievements of NEDAC Board during 2009.

13: MEMOIR IZHAR HAIDER NAQVI PASSES AWAY Mr. Ismat Kamal recollects the memories of the distinguished and renowned senior NEDIAN who passed away in Abu Dhabi UAE.

15: SPECIAL FEATURE INTERVIEW WITH ENGR ABUL KALAM – VICE-CHANCELLOR NEDUET Engr. Kalam speaks candidly on various issues facing the Engineers in Pakistan and in NEDUET. He explains how he has tackled the long out standing problems faced by NEDUET.

18: ENVIRONMENT THE ISSUES OF CLIMATE CHANGE Mr Aman Siddiqui explains how the global warming will affect us and if is there a hope.

_____________________________________________________________________________________

EDITORIAL BOARD Mr. Syed Imran Ahmad, Information and Publication Secretary NEDAC Mr. Mahmood Manzoor, Editor Mr. Aman Shabbir Siddiqui, Member _____________________________________________________________________________________

of 20

EDITOR’s NOTE

It is 2010 now, another new year and another new beginning.

It is again time to look back and do a self-audit. What we did right, what we did wrong, what went our way and what went the other way. Based on this audit, the 2010 targets should be set, strategies should be chalked out and efforts be put in place to achieve these targets. NEDAC Board wishes all its members a healthy, happy and a very successful 2010.

An ambitious undertaking, for all the NEDAC members will surely be a career climb. But given the current instability of the job market, whatsoever everyone is holding, should be held tight. One has to be grateful to have a job—any job—if one is lucky enough to have one. During times like these, people are less worried about where they’ll be in next 10 years and more concerned about the next 10 months—or days.

As the whispers of global economic recovery get louder, the time to think and plan for the future is now. It’s not always easy, and certainly not as easy as it once was, to climb the career ladder. Shrinking department sizes and limited company resources have seen to that. Getting ahead these days means standing out from the pack and look better than the others, and that requires a willingness to learn, grow and adapt to changing environments.

The year 2010 brought sad news for NEDAC. Our member, Qamar Iqbal Khan, passed away on 9th January. We all pray to Allah for his maghfarat and share the sorrow of the aggrieved family.

One development regarding the Newsletter is that Mr. Aman Shabbir Siddiqui has joined the Editorial team and he is planning to set up an Environment section on the Newsletter. Hopefully it would be liked by all.

This issue carries an exclusive interview of Engr. Abul Kalam, VC NEDUET, who has very kindly shared his thoughts with us. You will like his frankness on many issues. I would request your feedback on this interview.

The President’s address to the AGM is also in this issue, in case you missed to attend the AGM.

Mahmood Manzoor Editor

CONTACT US

MAILING ADDRESS

3569 Aquinas Avenue, Mississauga, ON

L5M 7L7

E-MAIL

[email protected]

WEBSITE www.nedalumnicanada.org

INSIDE THIS EDITION:

Title Page 1

Editor’s Note 2

President’s Message 3

President’s Address 4-7

Obituaries 7

NEDAC AGM 8-10

NEDAC News 11

NEDUET News 12

NA Alumni News 12

Izhar Haider Naqvi 13-14

Interview VC 15-17

Climate Change 18-20

mailto:[email protected]

of 20

PRESIDENT’s MESSAGE

After completion of a very successful first year, the present NED Alumni Association Canada board has entered into its second year of the elected term in 2010. Like the previous year, this year will also be eventful to achieve collective benefits for the NEDAC members and our Alma mater, NEDUET. This will be accomplished through closer interaction, social functions and meeting, technical lectures, seminars and skill upgrading training programs.

In December 2009 we had Annual General Meeting (AGM) of NEDAC and Eid Milan Dinner. The members took keen interest in this event. In addition to the President’s Report of the NEDAC activities, there was a question and answer session which was very well liked by the members.

They showed considerable interest in questioning the Board members on a wide range of topics. The topics covered areas such as financing, management of funds, seminar costs and topics, participation of members as speakers in technical seminars, by -laws amendments, accounts and tax returns, moderation of yahoo group emails, membership growth efforts, etc. All questions received patient hearing of the board members and were appropriately answered at length. The members were also provided with the

networking opportunities during the AGM 2009.

NEDAC board has planned a number of activities and events during 2010. We will have Sham-e-Ghazal, 4th annual dinner and musical night, picnic during the summer and technical seminars at frequent intervals. There will also be AGM 2010 and election of NEDAC board for the next term of office (2010-2012). I would encourage all members to get the benefit from these activities and events by participating in them.

Our fourth annual dinner and musical night would be held on Friday June 4, 2010 at Payal Banquet Hall in Mississauga, Ontario. The board members and volunteers are working very hard and are devoting most of their time to make this event a great success. I would urge interested NEDAC members to offer their services and participate in various tasks as volunteers.

In the end I express grief and sorrow at the untimely demise of our very dear and active NEDAC member Qamar Khan. I pray for the permanent abode of his soul in heaven and courage to the family to bear this irreparable loss. Ameen.

Ismat Kamal, P.Eng. President, NEDAC

NEDAC BOARD

President: Mr. Ismat Kamal, P. Eng.

Vice President: Mr. Mahmood Manzoor

General Secretary (Acting): Mr. Shiraz Rehmani, P. Eng.

Joint Secretary: Mr. Shiraz Rehmani, P. Eng.

Finance Secretary: Mr. Aslam Mirza

Social Secretary (Acting): Mr. Islam Nabi Khan

Information and Publication Secretary (Acting): Mr. Syed Imran Ahmed

NED Liaison Secretary: Mr. Muhammad Khaleeq Najmi, P. Eng.

Executive Members:

Mr. Arshad Azhar, P. Eng.

Mr. Irfan Arab, P. Eng.

Mr. Islam Nami Khan

Mr. Osaid Syed

Mr. Sahir Zamir

Mr. Syed Imran Ahmed

of 20

PRESIDENT NEDAC’s ADDRESS TO NEDAC AGM 2009

Dear NEDAC members:

It gives me great pleasure to welcome you all in 2009 NEDAC Annual General Meeting and Eid Milan Dinner and submit a report of activities of NEDAC for 2009.

We had an eventful year since the new board took over the office in November 2008 for the years 2008-2010. During this period various events to promote interaction and closer contacts among NEDAC members were undertaken with your full support and valuable cooperation. We have planned many more activities and events in the year 2010.

I am delighted to highlight some of our achievements in one year for your information as under:

1. GROWTH OF NEDAC MEMBERSHIP

I am delighted to report that membership of NEDAC has crossed the 300 mark and continues to grow steadily. Membership Committee chair Mr. Osaid Syed has pains takingly organized the membership database and corrected numerous mistakes in it. He and his committee members have worked very hard and have spent substantial amount of time and energy to achieve this result. I thank Mr. Syed and his team for this work.

We have a target to achieve a membership level of 500 in the

near future for which I request your assistance. If you meet any NEDIAN who is not a member of NEDAC, please encourage him / her to join NEDAC. I assure you and all new comers that NEDAC membership will prove to be beneficial for everyone.

2. PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT SEMINARS

I am pleased to report that Professional Development Committee of NEDAC has worked very hard to deliver outstanding seminars to the membership. These seminars have the goal of helping our members to improve their professional standing and effectiveness in the workplace. In 2009 we delivered three highly successful seminars on topics that were of great interest to the membership. The first one was on “Resume Development & Interviewing Skills”, the second on “Project management & PMP Certification” and the most recent one was on “How to Become a Professional Licensed Engineer in Ontario”. The selection of these topics was based on a formal membership survey and on feedback obtained at the seminars. All the seminars were delivered on a very modest budget and the second one was self-financed through sponsorship and participant’s voluntary contributions.

We arranged well regarded professionals in their respective fields as speakers for each of these seminars. These presenters were able to address all the unique and interesting questions posed by the participants on the subject matter. All the seminars were rated as excellent from the feedback we received from the participants. We upgraded the venue of the second seminar to a first class centrally located hotel which was very much appreciated by the participants and for which we received generous monetary contributions from them. However, as a result of a survey of the participants, we were obliged to relocate to the original venue for our third seminar.

I was very happy at the excellent participation from the membership in these seminars. The PDC works very hard to encourage participation in these seminars, with yahoo group notifications, personal phone

of 20

calls and more recently with individual prominent email announcements.

It is noted that many of our members did not attend these useful seminars and were deprived of their benefits in spite of our best efforts. I would request NEDAC members to make it a point to be benefited from these valuable seminars by attending them.

My thanks are due to PDC Committee chair Mr. Shiraz Rehmani and his team, Arshad Azhar, Imran Ahmed and the PDC volunteers.

3. THIRD ANNUAL DINNER AND MUSICAL NIGHT

NED Alumni Association of Canada (NEDAC) organized the 3rd annual dinner and musical night in the last week of May 2009 at Payal Banquet Hall. It was attended by more than 700 members, their families and friends. Hon. Peter Kent, Minister of State for Foreign Affairs was the chief guest. The event was a great success especially because of the kind participation of Engr. Abul Kalam, Vice Chancellor, NED University of Engineering and Technology who came all the way from Pakistan as a special guest at our invitation. Mr. Tassaduq Hussain, Consul General of Pakistan was guest of honour.

It is also heartening to note that the Prime Minister of Canada, The Rt. Hon. Stephen Harper extended his warmest greetings

to the participants of the 3rd annual function of NEDAC and conveyed his best wishes to us on behalf of Government of Canada for a memorable evening and for every future success. Local media, TV and press gave good coverage to this event. Feedback from our members indicated that the members and their families thoroughly enjoyed the evening and admired the quality of food and songs.

I congratulate the then Social Committee chair, Mr. Masood Rao, Committee members, all board members and numerous volunteers who worked very hard with great dedication as a team in organizing this event and making it a great success.

My thanks are also due to Mr. Khaleeq Namji for his efforts and effective coordination with NEDUET which resulted in the participation of the Vice Chancellor in this function and enviable efforts of Mr. Islam Nabi Khan, Sponsorship Committee chair for motivating sponsors to participate in our event. I also thank our sponsors for their generous contributions without which it was not possible to organize such a colourful event.

4. AN EVENING WITH VICE CHANCELLOR, NEDUET

The presence of the Vice Chancellor of NEDUET, Engr. Abul Kalam provided us a good opportunity to spend some time with him and listen to his wisdom. Therefore, on behalf of

the Social Committee, Mr. Islam Nabi Khan arranged an evening with him at Maple Banquet Hall. NEDAC members showed great interest and enthusiasm in attending this memorable evening with their spouses.

A very informative question and answer session took place in which the Vice Chancellor enlightened us about the activities at our Alma mater. This was followed by a delicious dinner supervised by the better half of our Finance Secretary, Mr. Aslam Mirza. Details of questions asked and the answers of the Vice Chancellor can be seen in Summer/Fall 2009 Newsletter.

5. FIRST NEDAC FAMILY PICNIC

Sports and Recreation Committee organized its first family picnic in the prestigious High Park, Toronto which was attended by a large number of NEDAC members and their families. Cricket and soccer matches were played between the teams selected from the enthusiastic sport lovers. Volley ball games were also played in addition to many other games and activities for children.

Later on the participants of the picnic enjoyed a mouth watering lunch. Presents were also given to children. The picnic provided a good networking opportunity to our members. We will have similar activities in future for the benefit of the members, their spouses and children.

of 20

I thank committee’s chair Mr. Irfan Arab, M/S Islam Nabi, Imran Ahmed, Khaleeq Najmi and other volunteers for working very diligently for success of this picnic.

6. SUMMER / FALL 2009 NEWSLETTER

Summer/Fall 2009 edition of NEDAC News was recently published. It is also placed on our website. Please go through it. I am sure you will find it interesting. NEDAC Vice President, Mr. Mahmood Manzoor is the new editor of the newsletter. I thank him for taking over this responsibility and putting together an impressive newsletter.

In passing, I may mention here, that Mr. Mahmood Manzoor was the person who worked meticulously behind the scene for the preparation of NEDAC Souvenir for the annual function. The future issues of NEDAC News will have a new look, broader scope and bigger canvas. He is working towards the goal of making NEDAC News a prestigious professional top class publication. This would require your support in the form of write ups and contributions of interesting articles.

7. LAUNCHING OF NEW NEDAC WEBSITE

It gives me great pleasure to inform you that we have launched an attractive new broad based NEDAC website. This was necessary to move with

times and fulfill the desire of the board and numerous NEDAC members to have a website we should be proud of. We selected “Web 2.0” for development of our website as it is perceived as a second generation of web development and web design. Mr. Imran Ahmed, our acting Secretary Information and Publication has spent a large amount of his time and hard work to make this happen. I thank Mr. Imran Ahmed for his dedication and excellent work in launching a very impressive and dynamic NEDAC website.

8. AMENDMENTS OF NEDAC BY-LAWS

The present by-laws are silent on many important issues such as by-elections, operational procedures, disciplinary actions, resignations and its acceptance, etc. Amendments to by-laws are normal for any dynamic organization. Recently NEDAC by-laws committee requested members to provide inputs related to amendments to the existing by-laws. The need to amend by-laws was also felt by the previous board and required some action to take the membership into confidence in the matter. Our idea was to bring the amendments on important matters effecting the operation of NEDAC and put it up for vote in today’s general body meeting. Our board is short of four persons who have resigned for various reasons. We should have

the by-law ready for it so that the elections are held accordingly.

Some people misunderstood the spirit behind seeking inputs from members for amendment of by-laws and some requested more time to debate the issue. Therefore, we have decided to bring the amendments in the next annual general meeting to be held in 2010 and extended the date to receive amendment proposals till February 28, 2010.

I would request the members to give a serious thought to it and provide their inputs to Mr. Mahmood Manzoor, By-Laws Committee chair as soon as possible so that the needed amendments can be drafted and fine tuned before putting them to vote.

9. LIBERALIZATION OF NEDAC YAHOO GROUP MAIL POLICY

As per earlier NEDAC policy, we were very strict in the use of NEDAC Yahoo group mail only for technical matters and for furnishing useful information to the members. Many of our members had requested that this mail group should also be used for social benefits, discussions and networking amongst NEDAC members. This will bring them closer and would encourage them to be more active as a group and provide assistance to each other in their day to day affairs.

of 20

In deference to the wishes of our members, the NEDAC board has decided to launch NEDAC Social Forum for interaction between the members. Rules for this forum have been formulated and announced. You will receive invitation to join NEDAC Social from the Moderator soon.

10. CONCLUDING REMARKS

In the end I express my sincere thanks to all my colleagues in

NEDAC board, volunteers and other silent workers for their dedication and selfless service to the cause of NEDAC. I am sure they will continue to provide their valuable services to this organization in future as well. Please give all of them a big hand. I am very happy to mention the name of Mr. Sahir Zamir who has become some sort of an official photographer of NEDAC by his zeal and interest in capturing every events

of NEDAC. He has also been very kind to offer his home for our board meetings. I thank him and his spouse for their hospitality during the board meetings.

Once again, I thank all of you for your attendance, support, cooperation and patiently listening to me. I assure you that we will meet your expectations and take NEDAC to greater heights. NEDAC Zindabad.

Ismat Kamal, P. Eng. President NEDAC

OBITUARIES - Inna Lillahe wa Inna Ilahe Rajeoon

QAMAR IQBAL KHAN, a valuable NEDAC member passed away on Saturday, the 9th January 2010. His Namaz-e-Janaza was held on Sunday, the 10th January at Makki Masjid in Brampton while his funeral was held on Monday, the 11th January at the Meadowvale graveyard. He left behind a widow, mother and a sister.

About three hundred people attended the Namaz-e-Janaza. Among them were President NEDAC, Mr. Ismat Kamal, NEDAC Board Members Mr. Imran Ahmed, Mr. Irfan Arab and Mr. Arshad Azhar, many other NEDAC members, his relatives and friends.

Qamar was born in January, 1967 in Karachi. His parents went to Nigeria where Qamar grew up and got his school education. He spoke Nigerian language fluently. He returned to Pakistan in 1983. Qamar got married on 16th June 1992 in Karachi. He did his BE (Civil) in 1993

from NEDUET and MS from the Oklahoma State University USA in mid 1990s.

Qamar immigrated to Canada in early 2000, and worked as a Design Engineer in Edmonton, Alberta. Then he came to Toronto and started working for Earth Tech Canada in late of 2000 as Designer. He then joined McCormick Rankin Corporation (MRC) in 2001 as Transportation Planner. He got his P. Eng. License from the Professional Engineers Ontario (PEO) in 2003. He left MRC and joined the City of Mississauga on 14th May, 2007 as Transportation Planner-Engineer, where he worked until his death.

SYED ASIF ALI SHAH (BE Mechanical/1991) passed away along with his wife, 3-years old daughter & 1-year old son, in very serious car accident near Madinah, Saudi Arabia on 14th January 2010. The family was returning after performing Umrah. The burial of the family took place in Jannat-ul-Baqi.

IZHAR HAIDER NAQVI, a very senior and internationally renowned NEDian (BE Civil/1965) passed away in Abu Dhabi UAE on 23rd December 2009. Mr. Ismat Kamal, President NEDAC has recollected his memories of Izhar Haider on page 13 of this issue.

The NEDAC Board and NEDAC members pray for maghfarat of the departed souls.

of 20

.NED ALUMNI ASSOCIATION CANADA HOLDS ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING AND EID MILAN DINNER

The NEDAC Bylaws call for holding of an Annual General Meeting (AGM) by the NEDAC Board. As such, the Board convened the AGM on 12th December 2009. Considering that Eid-ul-Azha was also celebrated a few weeks back, NEDAC Board decided to have an Eid Milan Dinner also along with the AGM. The venue of the event was the Etobicoke Olympium in Toronto. The venue wonderfully decorated in festive manner keeping with the spirit of the season. About fifty (50) NEDAC members were present at the AGM.

The meeting was brought to order by the emcee, Mr. Shiraz Rehmani, General Secretary (Acting) who welcomed the fifty participants. He then invited Mr. Syed Junaid to recite a passage from the Holy Quran. Following this blessed reading Mr. Ismat Kamal, President NEDAC, was requested to deliver his Report.

Mr. Kamal welcomed the participants and presented his report on the many achievements made by NEDAC during the term of the current Board. He highlighted the fact that the membership had grown from the mid two hundreds to over three hundred. He stressed that although this growth was good, but the membership at large has to work hard to bring a lot more

NEDians into the fold so that the target of 500 members is achieved by the end of 2010.

He went on to talk about the wonderful achievements made by the Professional Development Committee in arranging 3 excellent seminars during the year 2009. The topics of the seminar were of a great deal of interest to the membership as determined from their feedback on various occasions.

Next, Mr. Kamal talked about the very successful Annual Dinner and Musical Night arranged by the Social Committee. He congratulated the team who with their excellent efforts were able to manage a delightful evening for the members, their families and guests. The greatest feather in their caps was the presence of the current VC of NEDUET, Mr. Abul Kalam as a special guest, in addition to other dignitaries such as the Consul General of Pakistan. Mr. Kamal also talked about the special evening with the VC of NEDUET that was arranged by the Social Committee in which the participants were able to ask questions about the alma mater.

Mr. Kamal went on to discuss the achievements of the Sports & Recreations Committee in arranging for the first of its kind picnic for the members and their

families. The event was greatly enjoyed by all who participated.

He reported next on the important achievement of the launching of the new NEDAC website and congratulated the acting Information and Publications Secretary, Mr. Imran Ahmed and his team for their hard work to make it possible. He informed the participants that the editorship of the NEDAC Newsletter has been graciously taken over by Mr. Mahmood Manzoor, VP NEDAC and that great things are planned for the publication under his leadership. He mentioned about the Yahoo group liberalization and announced the new NEDAC Social Forum to meet the needs of the membership.

Mr. Kamal mentioned the need to amend the existing By Laws as the current ones are silent on a number of key issues which hinder the workings of the Board - one such issue being Bye-elections of Board members. He indicated that the Board’s attempts to solicit member’s support was misunderstood and led to lot of resistance and as such it was decided to postpone the approval of the amendments until the AGM in 2010. Mr. Kamal concluded his speech by thanking all participants for according him a patient hearing.

of 20

Next the floor was opened to questions from the attendees. A very successful new procedure for asking questions which afforded equal opportunity to all those wished to speak was adopted. Members, Mr. Abid Asghar, Mr. Fayyaz Siddiqui, Mr. Ghulam Malik, Mr. Idrees Khan, Mr. Mohammad Sharif, Mr. Samir Dossal among others, showed considerable interest in questioning the Board members on a wide range of topics.

The topics covered a wide variety of areas, such as financing of NEDAC events, management of funds, seminar costs and topics, participation of members as speakers in technical seminars, By Laws amendments, accounts & tax returns, moderation of yahoo group emails, membership growth efforts, etc.

All questions received the patient hearing of the Board members and were appropriately answered at length. The Q&A period went on for over the allotted 40 minute period and was followed by a scrumptious dinner which was enjoyed by one and all.

of 20

NEWS FROM NEDAC

HAJJ MUBARAK

Mr. ARSHAD AZHAR, P.Eng., (BE Civil/1984), who is also Executive Member of NEDAC, performed Hajj along with his wife this year.

Mr. SYED AFTAB RIZVI (BE Civil/1978) performed Hajj along with his wife Mrs. SOFIA AFTAB RIZVI (BE Civil/1978) this year.

The NEDAC Board heartily congratulates them on performing the Hajj.

NEW MODERATOR FOR NEDAC YAHOO GROUP

Mr. ARSHAD AZHAR, P. Eng., was appointed as the Moderator of the NEDAC Yahoo Group by the Board. We wish him the best success in his new role.

‘NEDAC NEWS’ EDITORIAL TEAM

Mr. AMAN SHABBIR SIDDIQUI (BE Civil/1987) has joined the Editorial team of ‘NEDAC News’. He will supervise a new ‘Environment Section’ on the ‘NEDAC News’. The NEDAC members will benefit from his experience.

NEW NEDAC MEMBERS

It is a great pleasure that three (03) new members have joined the NEDAC. With this addition, the total membership has reached the 303 mark. The three new members are Mr. MUHAMMAD WASEEM KHAN (BE Mechanical/1978), Mr. SYED KASHIF AKHTAR (BE Mechanical/1995) and Ms. ROZINA SETHI (BE Civil).

The NEDAC Board welcomes these three members aboard and assures them of its full support.

‘P. ENG.’ LICENSE

Mrs. SALMA SHAKEEL of (BE Civil/1983) cleared the Experience Requirements interview of the Professional Engineers of Ontario (PEO). Salma appeared for this interview in November 2009 just after attending the NEDAC seminar of “How to become a Professional Licensed Engineer She said that NEDAC seminar was so useful and helpful in clearing this biggest task of professional engineering licence.

Now Salma likes to share her experience of this interview with those NEDAC members who are waiting for their interview before the Experience Requirements Committee of PEO. If any of our members likes to know her interview experience, please contact Salma through NEDAC yahoo group.

Salma migrated to Canada in early of 2008. Prior to coming to Canada, she has been working with the Engineering Associates of Karachi for 18 years. She is an expert in bridge structural design and hydrology analysis. She has been involved in many prestigious projects of Pakistan such as Indus Highway, Lyari Expressway and Peshawar – Torkham Highway.

Currently she is working with the MNA engineering of Toronto as Quality Control technologist. She is now preparing to appear for the

Professional Practice Exam (PPE) for April 2010.

Salma is a proud mother of three daughters and a son who are studying in schools.

NEDAC Board appreciates Salma’s effort and wishing her best in advancing her professional career in Canada.

EMPLOYMENT

Mr, MOIN KHAN (BE Civil/1993) joined the Ministry of Transportation Ontario (MTO) in January 2010 as Project Engineer. He migrated to Canada in December 1997 and he is among one of those engineers who got their first job in their field of profession in Canada.

Moin joined Marshall Macklin Monaghan (MMM) as designer as his first job in Canada in February 1998 and since then he has been with them. Prior to joining MTO, he was working with MMM as Senior Transportation Engineer and Associate. Moin is a registered professional engineer with the Professional Engineers of Ontario. Moin has an expertise in highway design, functional planning, surveying, grading design and GIS.

Please join me to congratulate Moin Khan in winning the MTO job competition.

of 20

NEWS FROM NEDUET

The City District Government Karachi has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with NED University Karachi for utilization of its Command & Control Center for improvement of traffic flow and development of intelligent transportation system (ITS) for Karachi.

This is a research project being carried out by NED University of Engineering & Technology and University of Mississippi USA under USAID Project.

The MoU was signed by City Nazim Syed Mustafa Kamal and Registrar of NED University Engineer Javed Aziz Khan at a ceremony held in KWSB Head Office on Monday.

Sahibzada Farooq (Dean), Mir Shabbar Ali (Chairman Urban Engineering) and Javed Aziz Khan (Registrar) can be seen in the pictures taken on the occasion.

NEWS FROM NEDUET ALUMNI IN NORTH AMERICA

NED Alumni Association Alberta (NEDAAAB) is the Alumni association of NEDians residing in Alberta and is based in Calgary. Mr. Sharif Ahmed is the current President of NEDAAAB for the 2008-2010 term. Mr Sharif has provided us an overview of the activities of NEDAAAB during the last year for sharing with NEDAC members:

REGISTERATION

NEDAAAB was registered as a Non Profit Organization. The Pro-VC of NEDUET, Dr. Shams ul Haque, supported NEDAAAB for the registration.

RECORDS & WEBSITE

The NEDAAB website, Membership data record and Finance were updated.

MEDIA

NEDAAAB and its news were introduced in local Newspapers

like Nawa-e Pakistan, Express, Pakistan Post and Sunday Times. Now all NEDAAAB relevant news is published in local newspapers.

COURSES

Courses were organized on Primavera, Piping Materials, Pressure Vessels, PMI and Quality Assurance.

A presentation on Gas Insulated Switch Gear was organized.

A workshop ‘An Interview preparation and Resume Review workshop’ was organized.

GET TOGETHERS

An Eid Milan Party was organized. The efforts of Mr. Muhammad Ghufran and Mr. Murtaza (with the aid of other Task members) made the event successful.

An evening with Vice Chancellor organized (partially

reported in the last issue of NEDAC News). The evening was organized with the help of Elected Committee members support, like: Mr. Sharif Ahmed (who invited VC NEDUET Abul Kalam to Calgary), Mr. Naseem Suleman who volunteer himself as a host), Mr. Muhammad Ghufran (who volunteer himself for pledge collection), Mr. Nadeem Ishaq (who volunteer himself for buying shield for V.C) and Mr. Faiyaz Syed (who volunteer himself for making appreciation certificates)

PERFORMANCE REVIEW

After completion of one year, the NEDAAAB Elected Committee asked its members for the evaluation of its performance. Almost 80% members voted ‘GOOD PERFORMANCE’ and 20% voted ‘SATISFACTORY PERFORMANCE’.

of 20

IZHAR HAIDER NAQVI PASSING AWAY OF A GREAT NEDIAN

By: Ismat Kamal _____________________________________________________________________________________

In this article, Mr. Ismat Kamal has recollected his memories of (Late) Izhar Haider Naqvi. This article is a worthy reading to know how NEDians have excelled in their professional and how their achievements

have been recognized at international level.

Editor NEDAC News _____________________________________________________________________________________

The news of passing away of Izhar Haider Naqvi during the last week of December 2009 in Abu Dhabi was heard with grief and sorrow by all NEDians who knew him well and his achievements. His father was professor of biology in the D.J Science College. He was a close friend of mine since my school days. Our friendship continued during the time we were both studying civil engineering in NED College. He was one year senior to me and graduated in 1965.

He became President of NED Students' Union during 1964-65. I was elected Literary and Debating Secretary of this Union at the same time and served under his able guidance in that capacity. He was very honest and straight forward.

A small example of his honesty and better use of union funds was to cancel the prevailing practice of making blazers for all union office bearers including the president from the union funds. Only the NED Union logo

was provided to us and we were told to purchase our own blazers and stitch it on the front pocket of the blazer. Like me, many of us did not have the money to purchase a blazer at that time and had to be content with our own suits during various functions of the union. The savings were spent for the welfare of the NED students.

Izhar spent his time and energies only for the welfare and benefits of the students. He was always available to solve the problems of any NED student. For him helping a student was his primary job and his own engineering education was secondary.

He had no personal political ambitions unlike presidents of the unions of other colleges at that time who indulged in the national politics as agents of other political parties. This was blessing for all students of NED at that time as we continued with our engineering education without political disturbances and strikes.

Under his leadership we had a record number of activities and functions for the benefit of the NED students much more than those during the previous years.

He worked as Chief Engineer Abu Dhabi Municipality for a long time and contributed towards the social welfare of Pakistanis while living his whole remaining life in Abu Dhabi.

He was the first to run a radio channel from Abu Dhabi for Urdu program. He also started the practice of honouring Pakistani poets and writers in their lives by organizing their Jashans.

I pray for the peace of his soul. Haq Maqfirat Karay Ajab Murd –e- Azad Tha.

of 20

The Gulf News in its December 24, 2009 issue has paid rich tributes to him. I am reproducing it for information:

GULF NEW DECEMBER 24, 2009

Abu Dhabi: Izhar Haider, a Pakistani expatriate known for his social work and role in development projects in Abu Dhabi died yesterday at a hospital in the capital.

He was a well known Urdu poet, broadcaster, compere, social worker, event organizer and an eminent member and leader of the Pakistani community in the UAE. He is survived by two children, a daughter and a son.

His funeral prayers will be held today at 4pm at the Central Hospital in Abu Dhabi and the body will be flown to Karachi. He was suffering from heart disease and had undergone a bypass operation a few days ago.

Haider, 65, was a civil engineer by profession but has a long list of achievements in many other fields in Abu Dhabi.

He came to Abu Dhabi in May 1971 and Shaikh Zayed Bin Sultan Al Nahyan appointed him chief engineer at Abu Dhabi Municipality. He also served as

chief engineer in Al Buteen Municipality.

Born in Junagadh State before the partition of the Indian subcontinent, Haider's father Professor Zainul Abiddin Naqvi was a renowned educationalist who was based in Lucknow. His family migrated to Pakistan when he was a child.

FOUNDER MEMBER

In an interview with Gulf News in 1999, Haider said that it was an honor for him to be involved in the early planning of the capital and the countless construction projects.

Haider was also one of the eight founding members of the former Shaikh Khalifa Committee. He represented the Engineering Department of Abu Dhabi Municipality for five years on the committee until it was given the status of a department in 1974.

After the establishment of the UAE, a special committee was formed to organize the first UAE National Day. Haider was the secretary of the committee that made extensive arrangements for the celebrations.

Haider also played a major role in the welfare of the Pakistani community in Abu Dhabi. He

was elected president of the Pakistan Cultural Centre in Abu Dhabi three times.

He played a major role in the construction of the buildings of the Pakistani school and Pakistani centre and also served as secretary of many community committees for welfare projects. He also set up schools in various locations of Abu Dhabi emirate for the Pakistani community.

He had more than 1,000 poetic works to his credit, and also worked with the Urdu language service of Abu Dhabi Radio from its beginning in 1976.

He played a major role in the construction of the buildings of the Pakistani school and Pakistani centre and also served as secretary of many community committees for welfare projects.

From his hospital bed a few days ago he talked to Gulf News, saying that Abu Dhabi is the best place in the world to live.

"I am very happy to be here for such a long time and I really enjoyed my life. The land and people of Abu Dhabi are enriched with sincerity, love and affection, and for them Shaikh Zayed was a gift of God," he said.

BE AN AUTHOR

NEDAC Newsletter needs your literary contributions. Please send your technical and literary articles for the Newsletter.

If you wish to share any break through engineering news or an engineering ‘Great Achievement’, send it to Newsletter. Please include all necessary references for such articles.

Mahmood Manzoor

of 20

SPECIAL FEATURE

INTERVIEW WITH ENGR ABUL KALAM - VC NEDUET _____________________________________________________________________________________

It is an honour for the Editorial Team of NEDAC News that Engr Abul Kalam, Vice-Chancellor NEDUET very kindly agreed to give an exclusive interview for NEDAC News. He has very openly expressed his views on the various issues. The interview was conducted electronically. The Editorial Team of NEDAC

Newsletter is extremely thankful to Engr Kalam for his kind gesture and support.


What was your mission when you assumed the office of VC NEDUET?

I had no mission when I came to the University. I had retired on superannuation at the age of sixty in November 1983 and was living quite happily as retired person. I did some Consultancy Work, going to an Office only from 9, O’ Clock to noon; then I would pick up my grandchildren – then very young - and go home. When the idea of becoming Vice-Chancellor NED was suggested to me by Ardeshir Cowasjee, I laughed at the idea saying that no one would ask me and I had made it one principle in life never to ask for any job. However in November 1996 when Governor Kamal Azfar of Sindh invited me for lunch (which I never eat) and then asked me to take the job, I took it!

However as already stated, I had no mission but within one hour of my coming to the University, report was received from President of the Teachers Association saying that one fraudulent examination had been conducted in September 1996

and results declared just before I took charge!

This on investigation proved correct; as my predecessor – who had been abruptly shifted was involved, I refused to be involved in any inquiry. Ardeshir Cowasjee was then nominated by the Governor to hold the Enquiry. The Enquiry Report was brief; to sack both my predecessor and Makhdumi of Civil Engineering who was clearly also involved but presented in silly denials.

I cancelled the Examination and refused to sign the Degrees. The Syndicate then being highly politicised, however insisted that I sign them. The case went to the High Court where one of the Judges at that time Ghani Shaikh was involved because his son had been one of the favoured ones! On receiving the High Court decree, I signed the degrees with the typed and signed endorsement: “Degree awarded in compliance Sindh High Court decision dated 22-02-2000 on CP No. D-42 of 1999”

I was then accused of Contempt of Court – the case was fought and thanks to the late Chief Justice Sabihuddin, the judgment was in my favour saying that I had complied with High Court orders but no one could be compelled to agree with them. Even then the venomous judges especially Amir Hani Muslim and Mushtaq Memon took the case to the Supreme Court saying that it was Contempt of Court – which case also had to be fought. At last in April 2004 after nearly eight years, the case was closed in my favour! The so-called ‘mission’ of fighting to refuse

of 20

signature on bogus Degrees was literally thrust on me.

What main goals had you planned to achieve during your term and how successful you are?

I did not set many goals for myself. When I came to the University, I had found complete lack of discipline, absence of any time-keeping and the Vice-Chancellor bogged down in petty details. This state of affairs had to be rectified.

To begin with, all employees were made to adhere to working hours. Everyone in BPS-17 and above – including my self – had to sign the Register when coming in and going out. Discipline had to be maintained; when students walked out in any examination the whole class was failed; if employees went on strike, they were not paid.

Student politics was banned; there were demonstrations. As long as there was no violence they were tolerated even shouting and bad language was ignored but when on one occasion they indulged in physical violence, the Rangers who were always told to remain in the background thrashed them soundly.

Discipline was not restricted to students; it applied to all employees – teachers, Officers, everyone including myself.

NED University had been starved of Development funding by the former highly politicised University Grants Commission (UGC) which had systematically and deliberately neglected this University.

One of the good things that General Musharaf did – certainly not all – was to form the Higher Education Commission with Dr. Atta-ur-Rahman as its Chairman.

Dr. Atta as we called him was and still is great Research Scientist and Scholar – also visionary, good hearted but poor administrator!

When he started his Development programme for Universities, in July 2004, he came and addressed all Vice-Chancellors of Public Sector Universities in the presence of Governor Sindh; his advice to all Vice-Chancellors being to concentrate only on Research.

I was the only one out of seven to say that in my opinion – the first objective should instead be to produce first class Undergraduates within specified times who could easily find employment, next to produce excellent Master’s Degree postgraduate programmes and then concentrate on Research. It is only by the grace of the Almighty that it has been possible for me to stick to this sequence.

Are you satisfied with the standard of Engineering education in the country in general and NEDUET in particular? Does it comply with international standards?

I am never completely satisfied. In conformity with our ISO Certification with Lloyds, there have to be continuous attempts for improving quality. As regards international standards, it is for employers abroad to judge how NED graduates are performing their duties in current occupations. The only difficulty that we have in getting Accreditations from ABET is that NED University does not yet have full fledged Departments in all Basic Sciences – this is what I am going to try in the last three years of my stay – assuming of course that I would d.v. survive until 9th December 2012. However all our Graduates who have tried for postgraduate admissions abroad have been able to get them – at least I have not heard any case of refusal!

What would you say about the political elements among the NEDUET students?

No student can be blamed exclusively for the political activities. At present there are no political activities in NED University because they are not tolerated; no party activities whether political, religious or ethnic are tolerated within the

of 20

University; any breach of this, results in rustication at least for one year.

Actually responsibility for political activities rests with the political parties outside – none of whom have any real moral standards they wish to use students as tools for their parties to succeed. However they also need some assistance from Faculty – unless some Faculty members are included in their ‘fold’ or ‘grip’ whatever you might like to call it, they cannot politicise the students.

There are at present no political activities inside NED University. Almost all political parties – also religious and ethnic - accept this because they know that at least this University has remained impartial. It also does not interfere with student activities if any outside the University.

The NED University also has to express its gratitude to successive Governors of Sindh (for not interfering on this issue) I have now served under 7(seven) Governors – only one of them ever interfered – and even he did not press the case, when I refused to allow his intervention. The present Governor is undoubtedly strong ‘party man’ but he did not even interfere when one or two student Members of his party were rusticated for violent indiscipline.

Do you think the Engineering sector in Pakistan is contributing to the economic growth of the country?

The Engineering Sector can contribute but the present Government following the entirely unsuitable policies of Shaukat Aziz are not allowing it to do so.

The Privatisation policy adopted is completely unsuitable for this country. The propaganda that no Public Sector industry can be efficient is rubbish. I as an ordinary Works Manager had turned out 1730 Wagons (Railway) in one year (manufactured – not assembled then) from October 1963 to 1964 at Mughalpura – the cost then being less than even freight charges for their import! (N.B: These were all four-wheeler wagons; in the Western Hemisphere all Railway Wagons are eight wheelers; consequently the numbers have to be halved for real comparison of numbers.) Later, I established the Pakistan Machine Tool Factory in 1968 at Landhi in Karachi; it made 40 million Rupees net profit last year but the Government wants now to privatise it.

From December 1975 to March 1982, I was Managing Director Karachi Shipyard & Engineering Works – started about 60 million Rupees in the Red but wiped that off and ended with about twenty

millions in the black – not much of course but at least not in the red. The Navy took it over and have lost more than Four Billion! Consequently it is the political parties who are responsible for running our industries. Of course some Engineers have joined them but that is not the responsibility of institutions producing them unless of course you say that they have not developed enough moral strength – that of course would have to be accepted.

How can the NED Alumni in Canada be of any help to the NEDUET

Thank God for one question this can have short answer. NED University wants good wishes of its Alumni; it does not want their money. If they wish to send money, it would be put into Endowment and even spending proceeds of investment would be controlled by one Governing Body of NEDAN on which all Alumni Associations would have as much representation as they can provide. What NED needs actually is Advice from Alumni, advice based on its present condition not on what it was when they were students!

Any message for the NED Alumni in Canada

Yes. Do not forget your Alma Mater, God bless you all.

*****

of 20

THE ISSUE OF CLIMATE CHANGE By: AMAN SHABBIR SIDDIQUI P.Eng.

_____________________________________________________________________________________

Mr. Aman Shabbir Siddiqui, P. Eng., is a Civil Engineering graduate of NEDUET of 1987 batch. He has also completed his M. Sc (Environment). Mr. Aman has joined the Editorial Team of NEDAC News and will be responsible for an ‘Environment Section’ in the Newsletter. I am sure all the NEDAC members

will benefit from his experience.


‘GLOBAL WARMING IS MORE OF A THREAT THAN A NUCLEAR WAR.’

Lowell Sachnoff, Board member of the group BAS (Bulletin of Atomic Scientists), which includes 19 Nobel laureates.

THE ISSUE

Climate Change is gradually becoming the key concern on the agenda of the governments globally. On our planet, the changes in climatic conditions have been taking place since millions of years. However, the changes in the last three centuries, and specifically in the last few decades, are a direct consequence of the Industrial Revolution. With the increase of industrial activity, the emission of Greenhouse Gases (GHGs) is increasing, resulting in the accumulation of GHGs in the atmosphere. Pre Industrial Carbon Dioxide levels in the atmosphere were 280 ppm. Currently, the levels have escalated to 384-387 ppm, and are increasing every year.

The presence of GHGs creates Greenhouse effect that keeps the earth warm. But this unprecedented amount of GHGs building has warmed up the air around the earth to the levels that it has developed the imbalance in all the processes which are helpful in sustaining life on the earth and now the

ecology of the earth is under threat. This increase of the temperature of the earth is called Global Warming.

The 2007 Fourth Assessment Report (AR4) compiled by the IPCC (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change of the United Nations) noted that ‘changes in atmospheric concentrations of GHGs and aerosols, land cover and solar radiation alter the energy balance of the climate system’, and concluded that ‘increases in anthropogenic GHG concentrations is very likely to have caused most of the increases in global average temperatures since the mid-20th century’, where ‘most of’ is defined as more than 50%.

Carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide and three groups of fluorinated gases (sulphur hexafluoride, HFCs, and PFCs) are the major GHGs making global warming happen and the subject of the Kyoto Protocol, which came into force in 2005. In all of these gases, carbon dioxide is considered to be the most effective contributor and human activities are directly

related to Carbon Dioxide emissions in the largest quantities as compared to any other gases mentioned above.

WHAT ARE THE CONSEQUENCES?

Until a decade ago, the topic of Climate Change was limited to specialists, environmentalists, and activists and to large Corporations and Governments. But now everyone has started feeling the effects of changes taking place in the climate. The earth is becoming hotter, making glaciers melt which in turn are raising the sea level. This is an alarm for low elevation coastal settlements like Maldives Islands and Bangladesh, who are in danger of submerging into the ocean.

The patterns of precipitation (rainfall and snowfall) are altered, so that the heavy rainfall areas are getting fewer rains, affecting the agricultural yield, and heavier rains in dry areas are leading to floods. The crops are also affected by unseasonal rainfall. Fertile lands are transforming into deserts.

of 20

The variations observed in the frequency and intensity of weather events is also linked with Global Warming. These elevated GHG levels, have had a discernible influence on many physical and biological systems. Warming is projected to affect several vital issues such as freshwater resources, industry, food and health. Increases in the prevalence of malaria and dengue fever and reductions in the ozone layer are also considered to be the outcomes of global warming.

Biodiversity is one of the major concerns, as some of the species are already extinct and mostly are on endangered list. Carbon Dioxide dissolved in the ocean reacts with water to form carbonic acid, resulting in ocean acidification. On the other hand, due to rise in temperature of oceans, oxygen depletion takes place in the water. To remedy this situation, it may take hundreds of years to release the heat and carbon dioxide trapped in the oceans, even after GHG emissions are eventually reduced. All these are taking a toll on human behaviour. The society, politics and economies are equally affected by these changes in the climate. Developing countries do not have the apprehension of the situation, but they are more affected. Developed world is also affected but has started taking measures to tackle it.

What are the causes of Global Warming, has been a debate for long, but now the consensus has been reached that it is the anthropogenic (human) activities that have contributed

significantly to the warming of the atmosphere over the preceding three centuries.

The natural forces; tectonic plates, solar and volcanic activities, occurs rarely or gradually over a long period of time so their impacts on the increase of atmospheric temperature in the last century and in future forecasts can be ignored. Mostly, it is the increase in the quantity of GHGs present in the atmosphere, because of human activities causing global warming. It is noteworthy, that the lavish life style and blindly adapting new materials and technologies, which are harmful for the environment, is the main reason behind this entire problem.

For this havoc, the major responsibility undoubtedly goes to the developed world, especially US, Canada, Australia and European Countries. European countries are, however, showing some responsibility by taking measures to mitigate the problem and reduce the emissions of GHGs but the US, Canada and Australia are not ready to take appropriate actions. Now, with the economic growth, India and China have also joined the ranks of large emitters of GHGs.

HOW IT CAN BE HANDLED?

In principle, in order to restraint this process of global warming from happening, we have to reduce the amount of GHGs present in the atmosphere to a certain level.

There are only two courses of actions available to human beings to achieve this goal and prove that they are the responsible citizens of this planet which we call our home. The first course of action is to keep the emissions of GHGs under control, and the second is to capture the GHGs already present in the atmosphere. Measures are required to be taken at all three levels, micro (local and individual), macro (regional, governmental and associations) and global. IPCC has pointed out that many long-term climate scenario models require large scale man-made negative emissions (capture of GHGs from the atmosphere) in order to avoid serious climate change.

The main sources of carbon dioxide are burning of coal, gasoline, fuel oil and natural gas. There is an urgent need to check the sources of emissions like power plants using fossil fuels (petroleum, coal etc.), increase the use of mass transit and fuel efficient vehicles, and regulate the efficiency of industrial processes.

At the same time, methods of cleaning the atmosphere of Carbon dioxide are required to be started, like carbon sequestration, reforestation and curb deforestation. Changes in life style are the need of the time, lesser consumption of everything and improved transportation systems. The major end-user sectors emitting GHGs (in the order) are: industrial, transportation, residential, commercial and agricultural.

of 20

This figure was prepared by Robert A. Rohde from publicly available Data and is part of the Global Warming Art project.

WHAT IS BEING DONE?

Efforts are being made to reduce the emission of GHGs in the atmosphere. There are now newer technologies, improved industrial processes, new focus on capture of GHGs, more dependence on renewable sources of energy production, reduced energy consumption, encouragement of reforestation and discouragement of deforestation etc.

These measures are taken not only at local levels but globally also. Several NGOs are working internationally to help the governments and at local levels to improve the conditions. Most of the countries have realized the gravity of the situation long ago and joined an international treaty under United Nations called UNFCCC (United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change).

The main agenda of UNFCCC is to consider what can be done to reduce global warming and to cope with whatever temperature increases that are inevitable. An addition to this treaty, ‘Kyoto Protocol’ was signed in 1997, which is a legal binding on signatories, but is still not fully implemented because of non cooperation of US, Canada and Australia.

WHAT ARE THE OBSTRUCTIONS?

The main obstructions are the stubborn attitude of developed world in not to give up their wasteful lifestyle, poverty in developing world, lack of knowledge across the world population about environment, badly planned mega urban centres.

Now the new and the biggest threat comes from China and

India, as they continue to adopt the western style of living and insisting on it as they think it is the way of progress and development.

WHAT IS IN FUTURE OR CAN HAPPEN OR POSSIBILITIES.

There are signs that the powers at global level, politically, have realized that the survival of human race is at stake now.

They know that not much time is left to take actions. They have to come up with new ways and ideas. Fortunately, most of the nations have grasped the significance of the issue and shown political will to work out the solutions together.

nedac organized its third annual dinner …qamar iqbal khan, passed away on 9 th january. we all...

Documents