Pakistani awarded at int’l science fair

[Neo]

Monday, May 15, 2006javascript:; http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/print.asp?page=2006\05\15\story_15-5-2006_pg6_12

* 15-year-old wins second prize for chemistry project

By Mateen Kaul

A young Pakistani was on Friday honoured for his pioneering research in chemistry at the Intel International Science and Engineering Fair (ISEF), the world’s largest pre-college science competition with some 1,500 participants from 47 countries.

Hamza Sheikh, 15, from Islamabad was awarded second place, worth $1,500, in the chemistry category for his experiment on the effectiveness of pea flour as a cheap and environment friendly insecticide against stored grain pests, a common scourge at grain mills in Punjab. He was also awarded a certificate of recognition and student membership of the Society of Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry at the ISEF Special Awards Ceremony on Thursday.

But Hamza is not resting on his laurels. He is already planning another chemistry project for next year’s ISEF, to be held in Albuquerque, New Mexico. “I’m going to do more research on allelochemicals (the substance in peas that act as insecticide) to see how they affect other pests,” he says.

Also representing Pakistan at the five-day ISEF, held in the Indianapolis Convention Centre, Indiana, were 17-year-olds Asif Jafferani, Asif Surani and Shahzad Manzoor from Aga Khan Boys School, Karachi. Their experimental work established a link between the dietary intake of margarine and asthma, a respiratory disease that affects millions worldwide.

These keen students are trying to get their research published in a medical journal, and their work is under consideration for publication in the McGill University Journal of Medicine. Unfortunately, that was not all that was on their minds as they presented their work at ISEF. “We have intermediate exams the day after we get back to Karachi,” says Shahzad. “It’s going to be hectic!”

All three have applied for further studies at Aga Khan University, where they hope to continue their research. “There were some constraints to our experiment because we didn’t have the advanced facilities required at our school lab. We could do more experiments at AKU,” says Asif J.

Hamza, who is also an enthusiastic participant in sports, dramatics, arts and music at Headstart School, Rawalpindi, attributes his success to the support of his proud parents, project mentor Dr Lal Khan of the National Physical Standards Laboratory, and the personal attention paid him by Intel officials in Pakistan.

Sharleen Ghauri, Intel education manager for Pakistan, believes Hamza’s success, in just the third year of Pakistan’s participation in the fair, will boost interest in science education in the country. “I think this is a really big thing for our country in terms of generating interest among students, parents, schools and the government in science fairs. It should also increase our already strong collaboration with the Pakistan government.”

Since signing a memorandum of understanding with the Ministry of Education in 2002, Intel has trained 104,000 Pakistani teachers, from both the public and private sector, in information and communications technology (ICT). They have also jointly organised science competitions in Pakistan.

Student participation in these science fairs has increased in each of the last three years, says Ms Ghuari, and over 2,500 students from all over Pakistan competed this year in district and provincial fairs and then the National Science Olympiad (NSO) in Islamabad. The pick of the 215 students and 92 projects at the NSO were selected to represent Pakistan at ISEF.

“We plan to hold a separate provincial fair for NWFP next year to increase participation from that province, as well as to try and expand participation from students in rural areas,” Ms Ghauri says. She adds that strong government support is a large part of the reason for the rapid expansion of Intel education programmes in Pakistan. “The government roadmap for education places strong emphasis on ICT education, and that matches our idea of what’s important.”

Sadly, tough US visa procedures have restricted Pakistani participation in ISEF, says Sajid Hasan, Pakistan’s education secretary. Two students were unable to get US visas to attend last year, and one this year. Sadan Nasir from Quetta was selected at the NSO to go to ISEF both in 2005 and 2006 for his research in computer science. He applied for a US visa in March 2005, but over a year later, his application is still ‘under process’.

ISEF 2006 was also a big success for the Indian delegation and those from other Asian countries. Four of the six projects presented by Indian students were awarded in various categories. Also noticeable among the American winners were the high proportion who were of Asian descent, such as Madhavi Gavini, one of the three winners of the top ISEF award, the $50,000 Intel Foundation Young Scientist Scholarship. A 1,000-strong panel of judges, including Nobel laureates, selected the winners and advised the students on their experiments.

For the students, perhaps the best thing about ISEF was the chance to meet their counterparts from other countries. “It has been a wonderful experience meeting kids my own age from all over the world,” says Hamza.

The Pakistani students were also delighted to meet the Indian students, and the feeling was mutual, as evident from the cheerful bonhomie between the two delegations. “They’re nice people. They’re just like us,” says Shahzad, as he poses cheerfully for photographs with the Indian students.

The International Science and Engineering Fair has been administered by Science Service, a non-profit organisation, since its inception in 1950. The fair has since expanded to include participants from all over the world. Intel has been the title sponsor of ISEF for 10 years. This year’s finalists came through a field of over 65,000 students competing at more than 558 regional ISEF-affiliated science fairs.

http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2006\05\15\story_15-5-2006_pg6_12

 

[Zeeshan S.]

Thats nothing, i have heard a news of 10 year old passing the CISCO final exam which officially certified him in the program, but i doubt anybody in Pakistan would take him and really pay for it..

 

[Neo]

Yeah, we should be proud of our youth, they represent our future and hope!
:flag:

 

[sparten]

Headstart school. My old Alma Mater! And Hamza Sheikh, I knew his brother well.