Mohammed Naseer Khan

Mohammed Naseer Khan (Urdu: محمد نصیر خان‎; 1941 – 10 July 2006) was a Pakistani physicist and academic administrator, the former Rector of the Ghulam Ishaq Khan Institute of Engineering Sciences and Technology and Vice-Chancellor of Bahauddin Zakariya University.[1][2] He also served as a special advisor to the government for education, Federal Minister, Grade MP-1.

Early life

Khan was born in 1941 in Abbottabad, Pakistan. His family were local nobility and from the Jadoon tribe;[1] his father was a police officer and his mother a homemaker. He had three brothers, two of whom also became physicists. His eldest brother served in the military.

Education and career

After completing his basic education locally, Khan completed a BSc and MSc, both in physics, at the University of Sindh. After graduating, he worked for the Oil and Gas Development Corporation. He then obtained a scholarship to study abroad and emigrated to the United Kingdom in 1971.

He received an M.Tech from Brunel University in London in 1972, and a PhD in 1978. His thesis focused on lasers.

Khan became an assistant professor at the King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals in Saudi Arabia in 1979. He later moved to Bahrain, where he helped set up the physics department at the University of Bahrain. In 1996, he took a position as the Dean of the Faculty of Engineering Sciences at the GIKI Institute in Topi, Pakistan, and later became the university's Prorector and then Rector.[3] He also established a research laboratory on the ‘Fabrication and Characterisation of Advanced Materials’ in the Faculty of Engineering Sciences.[2]

After serving as Rector of GIKI, Khan became the Vice-Chancellor of Bahauddin Zakariya University in May 2005. There "he endeavoured to create conducive work environment in the previously politicised and troubled institution and took unprecedented bold steps to achieve outstanding results."[2]

Death

Khan was killed on Pakistan International Airways Flight 688, which crashed in Multan on 10 July 2006, killing all 45 passengers and crew aboard. Following his death, The News International described him as one of the "most productive" scientists in Pakistan.[2] A memorial service was also held in Bahrain.[4]

Awards
  • Honorary Doctor of Science (DSc), Brunel University, for contributions to physics
  • 20th Century Award for Men of Achievement, awarded by the UK Government in 1994
  • Overseas Pakistan Institute (OPI) Gold Medal awarded by the President of Pakistan for services to Pakistan, 1995
  • President's Award for Pride of Performance, for services to education, 1999
  • Sitara-i-Imtiaz, awarded for services to education in the field of physics, 2002[5]

References
  1. "Notable Jadoons". JADOONS. 27 January 2009. Retrieved 27 January 2017.
  2. "Country loses one of the 'most productive' scientists". www.thenews.com.pk. Retrieved 28 January 2017.
  3. "SWABI: Researchers urged to help solve country's problems". DAWN.COM. 1 June 2004. Retrieved 28 January 2017.
  4. "Gulf Daily News » Local News » University's ex-professor killed in plane crash". archives.gdnonline.com. Retrieved 28 January 2017.
  5. "Two foreigners among 94 conferred civil awards". DAWN.COM. 14 August 2002. Retrieved 28 January 2017.
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