About the Symposium

The Dhanani School Undergraduate Research Symposium (DURS) is an annual academic initiative that provides undergraduate students a platform to showcase their research work, innovations, and scholarly contributions. The symposium encourages knowledge-sharing, interdisciplinary collaboration, and intellectual engagement among students, faculty, and industry experts.

Symposium Date

21st May, 2025 (Wednesday) | 09.00 AM - 6.00 PM

Keynote title:Contemporary approaches to learning about the physical universe in a data-rich world

Keynote Speaker

Muhammad Sabieh Anwar

Dr. Muhammad Sabieh Anwar is a Professor of Physics and former Dean at the Syed Babar Ali School of Science and Engineering (SBASSE), Lahore University of Management Sciences (LUMS). He played a pivotal role in establishing the School and its experimental physics facilities, and has been a driving force behind innovative physics education in Pakistan. His instructional laboratories, known as PhysLab, have been replicated in over ten universities across the country.

He completed his PhD in Physics as a Rhodes Scholar at the University of Oxford and was a postdoctoral researcher at the University of California, Berkeley. Dr. Anwar’s research spans spintronics, magnetism, and optics, with around a hundred publications in leading international journals such as Science, Physical Review, and Optics Express. He is the author of a book on tabletop quantum mechanics experiments published by the Institute of Physics, UK.

Beyond academia, he is the co-founder and General Secretary of the Khwarizmi Science Society, which is focused on the popularization of science at the grassroots levels. He curated the Lahore Science Mela, which has attracted over 100,000 visitors, and has led numerous national science outreach initiatives.

Industry Panelists

Farjad Aman Umrani

Farjad Aman Umrani

Plant Manager
Dawlance Factory # 1

Farjad Aman Umrani

Farjad is currently serving as Plant Manager at Dawlance, where he has spent the past decade contributing to various areas of the business. With experience spanning both operations and engineering functions, he has had the opportunity to lead and support a wide range of projects focused on improving efficiency, product quality, and operational reliability. His approach is rooted in practical problem-solving, teamwork, and a continuous desire to learn and adapt. Throughout his journey at Dawlance, he has built a reputation for being dependable, grounded, and committed to making meaningful contributions through collaborative effort.

Muhammad Abdullah Bin Azhar

Muhammad Abdullah Bin Azhar

Manager Instrumentation, Lotte Chemical Pakistan Ltd.

Muhammad Abdullah Bin Azhar

Muhammad Abdullah Bin Azhar is a seasoned control systems and industrial automation specialist with over a decade of experience across the petrochemical sector. He currently serves as Manager Instrumentation at Lotte Chemical Pakistan Ltd. He holds a Master’s degree in Automation and Robotics from the Technische Universität Dortmund, Germany. His professional journey includes roles in R&D for deep earth drilling automation at Baker Hughes as well as sensors and robotics research at multiple universities. Abdullah is a TÜV-certified Functional Safety Professional working on advanced control systems and techniques for the safety of people, machinery and environment.

Syed Areeb Ahmed

Syed Areeb Ahmed

Head of Plant Operations Department, Toyota - Indus Motor Company Ltd.

Syed Areeb Ahmed

Syed Areeb Ahmed is an accomplished industrial leader with around a decade of progressive experience at Toyota - Indus Motor Company Ltd., where he currently heads the Plant Operations Department, including TPS, Innovation, Digital Transformation, Costing, and Trainings. Known for pioneering Pakistan’s automotive transformation, he has led groundbreaking initiatives like the establishment of Monozukuri Innovation Center and the launch of the country's first locally manufactured hybrid electric vehicle, the Corolla Cross. Areeb’s expertise spans Toyota Production System (TPS), lean manufacturing, and AI-driven automation, backed by international experience at Toyota’s regional HQ in Thailand. He is also a visiting faculty at NED University, fostering industry-academic collaboration and knowledge transfer.

Symposium stream:
Promoting Technical Advancement, Diversity, And Sustainability In STEM Through Undergraduate Research

Symposium sub-streams:

Artificial Intelligence & Machine Learning

Applications of AI for societal challenges

AI for transforming healthcare, education, agriculture, and banking

AI in bioinformatics

Deep learning innovations and applications

Natural language processing & computer vision

Generative AI & LLMs

Ethical Considerations & Implications of AI

AI bias, fairness, and accountability

Misinformation detection

Ethics in AI-generated content: Deepfakes and beyond

Computational Social Science & Humanities

Digital humanities: Text analysis, archiving, and visualization

Computational social science: Modeling social behaviors and networks

AI and ethics in society: Bias, fairness, and accountability

Human-centered AI and cultural analytics

Data-driven research in history, linguistics, and anthropology

Social network analysis: Examining relationships, influence, and community structures

Sustainable Technologies for Global Health and Climate

Renewable energy and efficient systems for sustainability

Technological advancements for health and climate resilience

Smart grids and energy management

Systems Thinking and One Health

Bioethics and gene editing

Robotics and Emerging Technologies

Latest developments in robotics technology

Applications of autonomous systems and wearable devices

Virtual reality & augmented reality (VR/AR) for immersive user experiences

Bionics

Cyber Security & IoT

Threat detection & data protection

Cryptography and blockchain

Cybersecurity in IoT

Cloud computing

Health Technologies

Important Dates

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Symposium committee members

Muhammad Farhan

Muhammad Farhan

Assistant Dean, DSSE, Program Director & Associate Professor, ECE (Dhanani School of Science and Engineering)

Ayesha Enayat

Ayesha Enayat

Assistant Professor, CS (Dhanani School of Science and Engineering)

 Humaira Jamshed

Humaira Jamshed

Associate Professor, iSciM (Dhanani School of Science and Engineering)

Waseem Hassan

Waseem Hassan

Assistant Professor, ECE (Dhanani School of Science and Engineering)

Raheel Tajuddin Lakhani

Raheel Tajuddin Lakhani

Assistant Director, Research & Faculty Development (Office of Teaching, Learning & Research)

Syed Ali Haider Rizvi

Syed Ali Haider Rizvi

Research and Program Development Specialist (Office of Research & GSCP)

Zareen Tabassum

Zareen Tabassum

Senior Research Associate (Dhanani School of Science and Engineering)

Saad Fahim

Saad Fahim

Program Coordinator, iSciM (Dhanani School of Science and Engineering)

Hira Mustafa

Hira Mustafa

Research Associate, ECE (Dhanani School of Science and Engineering)

Abeera Farooq Alam

Abeera Farooq Alam

Research Assistant, ECE (Dhanani School of Science and Engineering)

 Omema Rizvi

Omema Rizvi

Research Assistant, CS (Dhanani School of Science and Engineering)

 Maham Tabassum

Maham Tabassum

Research Assistant, Electrical and Computer Engineering

 Beena Zafar

Beena Zafar

Senior Program Coordinator, ECE (Dhanani School of Science and Engineering)

Hajira Khurram

Hajira Khurram

Assistant Manager, Research – Office of Research

DURS Internal Review Members

Artificial Intelligence & Machine Learning Dr. Unaiza Assistant Professor, CS Dr. Abdul Samad Associate Professor, Computer Science Dr. Usman Arif Assistant Professor, Computer Science Dr. Faisal Alvi Assistant Professor, Computer Science Dr. Ayesha Enayet Assistant Professor, Computer Science Ms. Hira Mustafa Research Associate, Electrical and Computer Engineering Abeera Alam Research Assistant, Electrical and Computer Engineering
Ethical Considerations & Implications of AI Coline Ferrant Assistant Professor, SDP and Director, Dean's Fellowship Program, School of Arts, Humanities and Social Ahsan Mashood Deans Fellow, Social Development & Policy Dr. Faisal Alvi Assistant Professor, Computer Science
Computational Social Science & Humanities Maham Tabassum Research Assistant, Electrical and Computer Engineering
Sustainable Technologies for Global Health and Climate Dr. Usman Salahuddin (iSciM) Assistant Professor, Integrated Sciences and Mathematics Anum Ijaz (iSciM) Dean’s Fellow, Integrated Sciences and Mathematics Khuzaima Khan Research Assistant, Electrical Engineering Maham Tabassum Research Assistant, Electrical and Computer Engineering Dr. Ahmad Usman Associate Professor, Electrical and Computer Engineering
Robotics and Emerging Technologies Dr. Waseem Hasan Assistant Professor, Electrical and Computer Engineering Zeeshan Nafees Senior Research Associate, Electrical and Computer Engineering
Cyber Security & IoT Dr. Waseem Hasan Assistant Professor, Electrical and Computer Engineering Dr. Farhan Khan Assistant Professor, Electrical and Computer Engineering Ms. Zareen Tabassum Senior Research Associate, Electrical and Computer Engineering Maham Tabassum Research Assistant, Electrical and Computer Engineering Abeera Alam Research Assistant, Electrical and Computer Engineering