Education
- Ph.D. in Computer Science, University of Georgia, Athens, GA, USA — Dissertation modeled the biomolecular structure prediction problem as finding the maximum spanning tree on backbone graphs, RNA-Informatics Lab
- B.S. in Computer Science, BUITEMS, Pakistan (2002–2006)
Awards & Honors
- Fulbright Scholarship (MS leading to PhD), 2008
- Invited Speaker, 5th International Conference on Education (ICE) 2017
Research Interests
- Deep learning and machine learning
- Natural language processing (Urdu/Sindhi/regional languages)
- Computer vision
- Bioinformatics
- Algorithm analysis
Biography
Dr. Abdul Samad has served as Assistant Dean of the Dhanani School of Science and Engineering at Habib University since August 2023, alongside his role as Program Director (Computer Science) since August 2021 and Associate Professor since December 2022. He joined Habib as Assistant Professor in September 2013.
Before Habib, Dr. Samad was a Research Associate (2006) and, later, Lecturer (2007) at BUITEMS, Balochistan, where he also served as Assistant Professor and Graduate Coordinator after completing his Ph.D. He was awarded a Fulbright scholarship (MS-leading-to-PhD) in 2008 and completed his doctorate at the University of Georgia’s RNA-Informatics Lab, modeling biomolecular structure prediction using spanning-tree methods on backbone graphs.
At Habib, Dr. Samad has built an active applied-AI research group, publishing extensively with undergraduate students at international shared-task venues including CLEF, SemEval, and IEEE conferences on topics spanning generative AI detection, fact-checking, sexism identification, Urdu/Sindhi NLP, dyslexia screening, and disease diagnosis. He secured Habib’s Introduction to Large Language Models research grant (2024) and has supervised numerous undergraduate capstone projects, including HabibChatBot, TaxGPT, and a deep-learning dyslexia screener for Pakistani children’s handwriting. He serves as a reviewer for CLEF and SIGCSE, and as an NCEAC accreditation evaluator.
Selected Publications
- Zaidi, S. A., Ahmed, H. T., Akbar, S. A., Shakeel, Z., Alvi, F., and Samad, A. “Team Nexus Interrogators at PAN: Voight-Kampff Generative AI Detection.” CLEF, 2025.
- Asad, A. M., Patel, S. S., Mushtaq, S., Abid, L., Samad, A., and Kumar, S. “Pashto Poetry Attribution using Deep Learning Techniques.” HONET, 2025.
- Waheed, O., Sajid, H., Chandani, K., Kazmi, M. A., Kumar, S., and Samad, A. “Bridging the Gap in Text-Based Emotion Detection.” SemEval-2025.
- Dad, I., He, J., Noor, W., et al. “Cross Classification Matrix to Evaluate the Performance of Machine Learning Algorithms in Predicting Students’ Performance of Developing Regions.” SN Computer Science, 5, 2024.
- Habib, M. A., Amin, S., Ogba, M., Jaipal, S., Khan, M. J., and Samad, A. “TaxTajweez: A Large Language Model-based Chatbot for Income Tax Information In Pakistan Using RAG.” FLAIRS, 37(1), 2024.
- Ding, L., Xue, X., LaMarca, S., Mohebbi, M., Samad, A., Malmberg, R. L., and Cai, L. “Accurate Prediction of RNA Nucleotide Interactions with Backbone k-Tree Model.” Bioinformatics, 31(16), 2015.
Selected Undergraduate Capstone Projects Supervised
- HabibChatBot — chatbot for prospective students
- TaxGPT — AI assistant for income-tax filing consultants in Pakistan
- Mai — transformer-based domain-specific chatbot for menstrual health
- Deep-learning-based dyslexia screener for Pakistani children’s handwriting
- Nutrify — recipe-based nutrition recommender for Pakistani cuisine
Professional Service
- CLEF 2024 Reviewer; SIGCSE TS 2024/2021 Reviewer; NCEAC Program Evaluator
- Evaluator, Innovative and Collaborative Research Grant (Pak-UK Education Gateway); Evaluator, HEC Grand Challenge Fund
- External Board of Studies Member, IT & CS, University of Turbat
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