|
Nasim is my batch mate (1964-1969), and he is
probably one of the most vibrant of Petarians.
When we parted in 1969, he was probably the
shortest guy in our class. I never met him again
for 26 years. And then when we met again in 1995,
it was like we had never parted. He was now a tall
guy - over 6feet tall. It is amazing that he
finally grew up after the age of 17.
And then I met Sadaf Bhabi. She was the light of
his life. And I think I wouldn't be wrong to say
that she was the one who took Nasim's spark to its
heights.
She
seemed to be the driving force behind him.
She was one of the most vibrant of
personalities and one of the most caring and
loving. Though Nasim is no less, but
her laughter and
constant talk ring in my ears. She was so full of
life.
She was
amongst the most wonderful of people and
had an impact on me the very first time I met her
in 1995.
Indeed she was
the center of her family. I have yet to see a more
loving couple than Nasim and
Sadaf Bhabi. It seemed like they were the
life of any gathering - never ending. And I say
this without any exaggeration.
Her death had a great impact on all of us.
Nasim joined NED
College in 1969 right after Petaro, and graduated
with a degree in Mechanical Engineering in 1974.
While he was still a student at NED, he had joined
Pakistan Army in the EME Corps as well.
Over the next three
decades, Nasim's career was closely linked with
the Army. Despite this, he turned more and more
towards academics and generation of new ideas and
thoughts. Therefore, it was not surprising that he
chose to do his M.S. and Ph.D. as well. In 1981,
he proceeded to the University of Pittsburgh, and
completed his M.S. in Energy Resources in 1983. He
came back to Pakistan, but 5 years later in 1988
he got admission to the Colorado State University
in the Ph.D. program. He completed this in 1992
with an emphasis on solar energy.
He was now a
professor par excellence. He was inducted into the
EME College, Rawalpindi as a professor, where he
built a solar laboratory - the first of its kind
in Pakistan. During those years, he was deep into
research and development work and made prototypes
of more than 20 different solar products with
different applications like the solar heaters,
shamsi mashks, solar cells, solar cookers, solar
sterling engine, solar house, solar tents, solar
roof insulation, solar stills, solar generators,
solar pumps, etc. He had products for different
types of markets. Many of these products were
tested in different parts of Pakistan and in
extreme climates like in the heights and cold of
Siachen and the deserts of Sindh and Balochistan.
While he worked on
solar energy, he got deeper into other areas of
alternate energy as well. In particular, his work
on wind energy, geothermal energy, bio-energy and
other areas is of great importance.
During this period,
he published a number of books and over 30
articles in journals of international repute. His
first book was "Solar Energy Guide and Data Book
for Pakistan" published in 1986 by the EME
College. He was given the award for writing the
Best Technical Book of the Year by the National
Book Council.
He received a number
of awards and research grants during this period.
The organizations that supported his work include
the Pakistan Science Foundation, UNESCO, Ministry
of Science and Technology, Pakistan Army, WAPDA,
Dr. A.Q. Khan, and Green Solar.
He remained
professor of Mechanical Engineering at the EME
College, Rawalpindi for many years. Then finally,
when the Alternate Energy Development Board (AEDB)
was created in 2003 under the Prime Minister's
office, Nasim was given the position of Secretary
of the Board. In this position, he was
instrumental in developing an alternate energy
policy for the country, promoting a program for
development of wind farms, wind mapping of the
country, and development of a bio-diesel policy
for the country which was approved by the Economic
Coordination Council of the Federal Cabinet in
February 2008.
Nasim had come to
the end of his career with the Pakistan Army, and
he retired as a Brigadier in April 2008. At the
same time, he also resigned from the AEDB to move
to the pinnacle of his career.
Even before he
resigned, he was picked up to become the Vice
Chancellor of Hamdard University in Karachi. He
now has a massive task ahead of him to make this
university into one of the finest institutions in
the country.
Nasim is recognized
as one of the greatest authorities in Pakistan in
alternate energy, and particularly in wind and
solar energy. He is in great demand as a speaker
at conferences and seminars on energy and
alternate energy.
During the Golden
Jubilee celebrations at Cadet College Petaro,
Nasim delivered a lecture on alternate energy in
Pakistan on 24 February 2007. You can see this
lecture by clicking on to the following links:
-
"Alternate Energy in Pakistan" part 1
-
"Alternate Energy in Pakistan" part 2
-
"Alternate Energy in Pakistan" part 3
It is an honour for
me to be the batch mate of Dr. Nasim Akhtar Khan. |
