Office of Academic Affairs
Associate Deans and Directors
Assistant Deans & Program Directors
School of Arts, Humanities & Social Sciences
Dhanani School of Science and Engineering
Dr. Christopher Taylor
Vice President
Academic Affairs and Dean of Faculty
Dr. Christopher S. Taylor (Chris) is the Vice President for Academic Affairs and Dean of Faculty. Dr. Taylor joined Habib in January 2019, following nearly three decades as a faculty member and Dean at Drew University in Madison, New Jersey. Dr. Taylor is a scholar of medieval Islamic history and he has lived and traveled extensively in the Middle East before his appointment at Habib University. Prior to his appointment to the faculty at Drew University, Dr. Taylor served as the Acting Executive Director of the Center for Arabic Study Abroad (CASA) at the American University in Cairo and as the Dean of Calhoun College (now Grace Hopper College) at Yale University. Dr. Taylor earned his B.A. in History from The Johns Hopkins University and his M.A. and Ph.D. in Near Eastern Studies from Princeton University. chris.taylor@habib.edu.pk, x5221.
Dr. Aamir Hasan
VICE PRESIDENT ACADEMIC AFFAIRS OFFICE OF ACADEMIC AFFAIRS
Acting Associate Dean, Undergraduate Education Accreditation
Dr. Aamir Hasan joined Habib University as an Associate Professor and Program Director for Electrical & Computer Engineering Program at the start of 2018. In April, 2020 he was appoonted as Associate Dean for Undergraduate Education and Accredidation. He is presently serving the University as an Vice President, Academic Affairs and Dean of Faculty. He has a Ph.D. in wireless communications from University of Texas, Austin and his reserach area focusses on using stchastic geometry tool for modeling ad hoc networks.
Prior to joining Habib, Dr. Hasan was in Pakistan Air Force in the engineering branch as an Aeronautical Engineer with specialization in Avionics. He graduated with a bachelor’s degree from College of Aeronautical Engineering (CAE) at PAF Academy Risalpur in May’ 91 and has an M.S. in Electrical and Computer Engineering from University of Southern California in Aug’ 02. He has also completed Master’s in War studies and Strategic studies from PAF Air War College, Karachi and an MBA in Project Management.
Muneera Batool
Associate Dean,
Teaching and Learning
Muneera Batool earned her MFA in Theatre from Arizona State University (ASU), USA, where she studied media and projection design along with performance. At ASU she taught courses in design & composition as well as narratology.
Muneera is a practicing theatre director and media designer. In her work as well as in her pedagogy she is particularly interested in devised theatre created through the use of Moment Work and Viewpoints & Composition – the postmodern devised theatre modalities that sanctify everyday movement as inherently theatrical. She also employs Jacques Lecoq’s teachings in her work. Her pedagogy centers on the idea of play, creating from intuition, and silencing the mind through meditation.
She is a core collaborator and designer for Whistling Moon – a community-based theatre company from Arizona, USA. Recently she collaborated with Nighat Chaudhry as a media designer for a dance performance that was shown live in India.
Dr. Mohammad Shahid Shaikh
Associate Dean,
Academic Systems & Registrar
Dr. Shahid Shaikh is the Associate Dean for Academic Systems and Registrar in the Office of Academic Affairs. He reports to the Vice President for Academic Affairs (VPAA) and Dean of Faculty. Dr. Shaikh supervises academic systems and the Office of the Registrar. He has a leading responsibility for ensuring high quality, timely, professional and responsive service to students, academic programs, faculty, administrators and other key stakeholders who rely on the Office of the Registrar for a range of critical functions, including: the accuracy and confidentiality of academic records, course registration, degree audits, annual catalogue revision and production and data analysis. He also represents Habib University as the official University Registrar in communicating and meeting with accreditation bodies, regulators and other relevant external bodies.
Dr. Waqar Saleem
Assistant Dean
Dhanani School of Science and Engineering
Dr. Waqar Saleem is the Assistant Dean for the Dhanani School of Science and Engineering (DSSE). He reports to the Associate Dean for Undergraduate Education and Accreditation. Dr. Saleem is responsible for management and enrichment of current academic programs in DSSE, ensuring the academic success of students, supporting the Dean of Faculty with the review and management of faculty, as well as creating, developing and supporting innovative and rigorous academic programs across disciplines in the Sciences and Engineering. He leads the implementation of special programs and engagement with international partners and institutions to enhance academic programs and services provided by the school. He also supervises all Program Directors and Center Directors that fall under the DSSE.
Salman Khimani
Director,
Academic Operations & Strategic Planning
Salman Khimani is the Director of Academic Operations and Strategic Planning in the Office of Academic Affairs. In this role he leads the University’s strategic initiatives in the areas of faculty recruitment and onboarding, manages academic analytics for strategic planning and decision making and oversees academic operations. Salman is a former Fulbright Scholar with a Master’s in International Education Policy from Harvard University and has sixteen years of experience in the education sector. He joined Habib in 2018. In addition, Salman has a Bachelor’s in Computer Science and an MBA from IBA, Karachi. His major professional experience has been with the agencies of the Aga Khan Development Network (AKDN) where he was engaged in planning and implementing large-scale national programs and projects, recruitment, monitoring and evaluation, policy development and review of processes. Salman has also worked with a technology-based strategy consulting organization, leading the implementation of a large education sector project to support the education departments of Balochistan and Sindh.
Shamez Mukhi
Director,
Student Life and Health & Wellness
Shamez joined Habib University in August 2019. He has over 15 years of professional experience in education and youth development. He attained his M.Sc. in Computer Science from the University of Kent, UK and his M.A. in Global Diplomacy from the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS), University of London, UK. In the field of education, Shamez has worked extensively in student recruitment, career development, alumni programs and co-curricular activities, including student-led clubs at the tertiary level. He also has vast experience in the design and implementation of youth development programs including arts, sports, youth camps and civic projects. Shamez is a certified trainer and has conducted skill-based training sessions for over 8,000 youth and volunteers in Pakistan.
Raheel Tajuddin Lakhani
Assistant Director,
Office of Research & Faculty Development
Raheel Tajuddin Lakhani has professional experience in Educational Development and Digital Learning. Prior to joining Habib University, he headed the Digital Publishing department at Oxford University Press, Pakistan. He has also served as an Educational Technologist at The Aga Khan University Network of Blended and Digital Learning, where he trained faculty members and co-designed blended learning courses in the schools of Medicine, Nursing and Teacher Education. He received High Honours in his Master’s of Education from The Aga Khan University – Institute for Educational Development. He also holds an MA in Technology and Social Change from Lunds University (Sweden). His interests include eLearning pedagogy, learner autonomy, pluralism education and visual narratives. Raheel provides support to both the Center for Pedagogical Excellence CPE and the Office of Faculty Research.
Nooruddin Merchant
Assistant Director,
Library and Educational Programs
Nooruddin joined Habib University in September 2015. He participated on the original team working on developing the space plan for Habib University, including the Library spaces. He has over 20 years of professional experience developing programs and managing projects in the field of education, learning and development. Nooruddin has previously worked on a number of educational endeavors and programs for teacher education, ICT integration for K-12 schools, media and learning, career counseling and staff development. He has also played a pivotal role in developing and implementing spaces and programs for youth vocational skills development and sports for positive youth development sponsored by the Ministry of Sports and Youth Affairs, Government of Sindh. He has also served as an executive board member of the Pakistan Library Association (PLA). Nooruddin has a Master’s in Education Planning and Management, Master’s in Business Administration and a Master’s in Library and Information Sciences.
Dr. Munzir Zafar
FACULTY DIRECTOR GRADUATE SCHOOL CURATION PROGRAM,
ASSISTANT PROFESSOR ELECTRICAL AND COMPUTER ENGINEERING – DHANANI SCHOOL OF SCIENCE AND ENGINEERING
Munzir Zafar is a highly accomplished Ph.D. graduate in Electrical & Computer Engineering, with a specialization in Robotics. His extensive educational background, rich research experience, and significant contributions to the field of robotics make him a sought-after professional in the industry. Throughout his career, Munzir has showcased exceptional skills in controls, robotics, mechanical dynamics, and software development. His research focuses on the whole-body control of wheeled inverted pendulum humanoids, and he has made significant strides in dynamic modeling, novel control algorithms, and simulation-based verification. Munzir is also adept in C/C++, Linux/Unix, MATLAB, SolidWorks, and electrical circuits design.
Dr.Muhammad Haris
ASSISTANT DEAN
ASSISTANT PROFESSOR &
PROGRAM DICRECTOR – COMPARATIVE HUMANITIES
SCHOOL OF ARTS, HUMANITIES AND SOCIAL SCIENCES
Dr. Muhammad Haris is the Assistant Dean for the School of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences (SAHSS) and the Program Director for Comparative Humanities (CH) in the Office of Academic Affairs, reports to the Vice President Academic Affairs (VPAA) and Dean of Faculty (DoF). As a Program Director, he is responsible to ensure that the program’s mission, vision, learning outcomes are aligned to University’s mission. Having one of the key academic leadership roles he needs to ensure excellent learning outcomes for the students of their program through robust academic planning, operations and review. These responsibilities encompass a wide range of activities that include curriculum development and its implementation, its review and improvement, resource planning, and faculty and academic staff development.
Assistant Dean is an additional responsibility assigned to him as one of the existing Program Directors within a school, for coordinating academic and other programmatic activities between the programs within the school, and supporting the Dean of Faculty with the review and management of faculty. He primarily supports Associate Dean of Undergraduate Education and Accreditation in the management and enrichment of current academic programs; developing and supporting innovative and rigorous academic programs across disciplines; and in accreditation related tasks.
Christie Marie Lauder
INTERIM PROGRAM DIRECTOR &
ASSISTANT PROFESSOR
COMMUNICATION AND DESIGN
SCHOOL OF ARTS, HUMANITIES AND SOCIAL SCIENCES
Christie Marie Lauder is a multifaceted professional who has excelled in both the academic and literary spheres. With a Ph.D. in Creative Writing from Louisiana State University and a Bachelor’s degree in American Studies from Temple University, Christie combines her passion for American popular culture with her literary pursuits. Currently serving as an Assistant Professor in Communication and Design at Habib University in Karachi, Pakistan, she imparts her knowledge and expertise to the next generation of communicators and designers.
Christie is not only an educator but also a board member of The Salam Award for Imaginative Fiction, where she supports imaginative storytelling. Her post-doctoral instructor role at Louisiana State University and her previous position as a graduate teaching instructor reflect her commitment to academic excellence. She has also been actively involved in various editorial roles, contributing to the literary community. Christie’s extensive experience and dedication make her a valuable asset to both her students and the literary world.
Aaron Mulvany
PROGRAM DIRECTOR & ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR
SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT AND POLICY
SCHOOL OF ARTS, HUMANITIES AND SOCIAL SCIENCES
Dr. Aaron Mulvany is the Program Director for the Social Development and Policy Program (SDP) and Reports to Vice President Academic Affairs and Dean of Faculty (DoF). As a Program Director, he is responsible to ensure that the program’s mission, vision, learning outcomes are aligned to University’s mission. Having a key academic leadership role, he needs to ensure excellent learning outcomes for the students of their program through robust academic planning, operations and review. These responsibilities encompass a wide range of activities that include curriculum development and its implementation, its review and improvement, resource planning, and faculty and academic staff development. All these activities are undertaken in close coordination and support from the Offices of Associate Deans, Assistant Deans and Academic Operations.
He is the primary point of contact for faculty guidance in teaching within the program and the role model for the program faculty to develop and maintain a positive and productive work environment that promotes excellence in teaching, learning, advising, scholarly achievement and service by all program members.
Dr. Ahmad Usman
PROGRAM DIRECTOR AND ASSISTANT PROFESSOR
ELECTRICAL AND COMPUTER ENGINEERING
DHANANI SCHOOL OF SCIENCE & ENGINEERING
Dr. Usman has received his B.Sc. and M.Sc. from the University of Engineering and Technology (UET), Lahore, Pakistan in 2008 and 2011, respectively. He has received his M.Sc. in Electrical Engineering (majors in Optics and Microsystems), M.Sc. in Mechanical Engineering (majors in MEMS, Packaging, and Nanotechnology), and Ph.D. in Electrical and Computer Engineering in 2014, 2016, and 2018 from the Georgia Institute of Technology, respectively. He is a recipient of the prestigious US Fulbright scholarship and was also awarded HRDI-UESTPs/UETs scholarship award from the Higher Education Commission (HEC) of Pakistan. He also holds the certification of Microelectromechanical Systems (MEMS) from the Georgia Institute of Technology.
DR. ABDUL SAMAD
PROGRAM DIRECTOR AND ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR,
COMPUTER SCIENCE
DHANANI SCHOOL OF SCIENCE & ENGINEERING
Dr. Abdul Samad is the Program Director for Computer Science (CS) and Reports to Vice President Academic Affairs and Dean of Faculty (DoF). As a Program Director, he is responsible to ensure that the program’s mission, vision, learning outcomes are aligned to University’s mission. Having a key academic leadership role, he needs to ensure excellent learning outcomes for the students of their program through robust academic planning, operations and review. These responsibilities encompass a wide range of activities that include curriculum development and its implementation, its review and improvement, resource planning, and faculty and academic staff development. All these activities are undertaken in close coordination and support from the Offices of Associate Deans, Assistant Deans and Academic Operations.
He is the primary point of contact for faculty guidance in teaching within the program and the role model for the program faculty to develop and maintain a positive and productive work environment that promotes excellence in teaching, learning, advising, scholarly achievement and service by all program members.
DR. HUMAIRA QURESHI
ASSISTANT DEAN
ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR AND
PROGRAM DIRECTOR – INTEGRATED SCIENCES & MATHEMATICS
DHANANI SCHOOL OF SCIENCE AND ENGINEERING
Dr. Humaira Qureshi is the Program Director for the Integrated and Science and Mathematics (iSciM) and Reports to Vice President Academic Affairs and Dean of Faculty (DoF). As a Program Director, she is responsible to ensure that the program’s mission, vision, learning outcomes are aligned to University’s mission. Having a key academic leadership role, she needs to ensure excellent learning outcomes for the students of their program through robust academic planning, operations and review. These responsibilities encompass a wide range of activities that include curriculum development and its implementation, its review and improvement, resource planning, and faculty and academic staff development. All these activities are undertaken in close coordination and support from the Offices of Associate Deans, Assistant Deans and Academic Operations.
She is the primary point of contact for faculty guidance in teaching within the program and the role model for the program faculty to develop and maintain a positive and productive work environment that promotes excellence in teaching, learning, advising, scholarly achievement and service by all program members.
DR. Ishtiyaq A. Makda
Associate Dean,
Academic Systems and operations
Dr. Ishtiyaq Makda the temporary Director for the Office of Undergraduate Education and Accreditation in the Office of Academic Affairs, assisting and working closely with the Associate Dean Undergraduate Education and Accreditation. Reporting to the Interim Vice President Academic Affairs (VPAA) and Dean of Faculty, he is also working with the Quality Enhancement Cell at Habib University helping in the University’s accreditation efforts.
His role also includes working with the programs and initiatives that support student success, curriculum development and review, assessment of student learning and institutional efforts for Accreditation. And ensures that the academic management and governance bodies at program, school and institutional levels, formed as per the Charter, are reviewing the curriculum and courses with rigor and consistency.
DR. Jessica Werneke
Director
Habib Graduate School Curation Program
Jessica Werneke received her Ph.D. in Modern European History with a concentration in Russian and Soviet visual culture from the University of Texas at Austin, USA. She has since held a postdoctoral research fellowship at the International Centre for the History of World War II and its Consequences at the Higher School of Economics in Moscow Russia and was a British Academy Newton International Fellow at Loughborough University in the UK. Dr. Werneke has taught broadly in history, but primarily courses on historiography and modern Russian cultural history.
Dr. Hassaan Khan
Associate Director
Habib Graduate School Curation Program
Sustainably addressing water challenges of the 21st century requires approaches that move beyond individually applying engineering, hydrology, management, sociology, or economics. In his interdisciplinary research, Dr. Hassaan F. Khan tackles water resource allocation and management questions using integrated water systems analysis. His research aims to help policy makers in water-stressed developing countries make better decisions regarding investments in, and management of, water resources.
Dr. Hassaan was previously a Postdoctoral Scholar at Stanford University in the Department of Earth System Science working with Dr. Steven Gorelick. At Stanford, he was part of the FUSE team developing integrated hydrogeologic and human systems model to inform sustainable urban water management in Amman (Jordan) and Pune (India). He also serves as a visiting scholar with LEAD Pakistan where he is working on a water systems model for the transboundary Kabul River in collaboration with governmental and non-governmental stakeholders.
Anum Asi
DIRECTOR,
GRADUATE SCHOOL CURATION PROGRAM & ASSISTANT PROFESSOR – COMMUNICATION AND DESIGN PROMOTION
Anum Asi holds an M.F.A. in Creative Writing from Cornell University and was a Fulbright Scholar at Columbia University where she studied Sociology and Education; her research investigated the educational strategies of South Asian Muslim students and parents in NYC. Her creative work has been published widely and won the 2021 Emily Clark Balch Prize for Fiction. She has over ten years of experience in teaching and in program and curriculum development, focusing on equity, meaningful mentorship and rigorous instructional design. Most recently, she served as a Lecturer in Cornell University’s Department of Literatures in English, where she taught courses in Creative Writing and Memoir.
Coline Ferrant
DIRECTOR,
DEAN’S FELLOWSHIP PROGRAM & ASSISTANT PROFESSOR – SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT AND POLICY PROGRAM
I obtained my Ph.D. in Sociology from Northwestern University and Sciences Po. My professional interests include urban & rural sociology, cultural sociology, and ethnography. Within my dissertation research, I studied the dietary tastes and culinary practices of first- and second-generation immigrants in neighborhoods of Chicago and Paris.
I enjoy collaborating with colleagues and students of various backgrounds and experience levels. For instance, I have been an investigator in projects on: – social times and eating practices in Santiago and Paris; – barriers to participation in the WIC (Women, Infants, and Children) program in the United States; – electoral participation and human development in Mexico and Central America; – worldviews of garbage collectors in Paris; – Egyptians’ recollections of the 2011 revolution.
Lastly, I have a longstanding interest in writing for cultural, literary, and political magazines, mostly Ibero-American.
DR. MUHAMMAD FARHAN
PROGRAM DIRECTOR & ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR
ELECTRICAL AND COMPUTER ENGINEERING
DHANANI SCHOOL OF SCIENCE AND ENGINEERING
Dr. Muhammad Farhan has been involved in the field of Research and Academia for the past decade. It started from him joining SUPARCO, Pakistan in Jan. 2007 where he worked on Embedded Systems at Digital Systems Lab for around 2 years. During 2009-2014 he worked as Researcher and also as Lecturer in Department of Signal Processing, Tampere University of Technology, Tampere, Finland. From 2015 onwards, he has been involved in undergraduate engineering education in Pakistan with a mission of inculcating active R&D culture in the university as well as among students. He joined HU to carry on this mission and also to employ modern pedagogical methods focusing more on collaborative and engagement-based learning and instigating critical thinking, problem analysis and problem solving among students using active-learning approach.
DR. AEYAZ J. KAYANI
PROGRAM DIRECTOR & ASSISTANT PROFESSOR
INTEGRATED SCIENCES & MATHEMATICS
DHANANI SCHOOL OF SCIENCE AND ENGINEERING
Dr. Aeyaz has had a long-standing interest in foundational issues in mathematics and the sciences. This includes both the methodological/philosophical and the technical aspects of these disciplines. In addition, Dr. Aeyaz has an interest in foundational issues in the theory of computability.
In pursuit of gaining more knowledge in these areas, Dr. Aeyaz completed his Ph.D in Logic, Computation, and Methodology from Carnegie Mellon University in 2019. The focus of his research was on the use of structural notions in mathematics (which have dominated the field in the 20th century) in foundational studies in the sciences, especially when it came to the axiomatization of scientific theories and the use of logical machinery (i.e. the semantics of models) to such scientific axiomatics. After completing his Ph.D Dr. Aeyaz worked as a Lecturer at Carnegie Mellon in 2020.