By Prof. Dr. Muhammad Iqbal Bhanger

THE NATIONAL Centre of Excellence in Analytical Chemistry is one of the leading research centres in Pakistan offering a substantial study programme with focus on Analytical, Environmental and Bioanalytical Chemistry. Our students are learning all the fundamentals and advances of modern analytical methods. The curriculum offered at NCEAC makes study this subject for sure quite attractive and will pave the way to a professional carrier of our graduates.
Our faculty is engaged in teaching and research covering areas like spectrophotometric, electrochemical, mass-spectrometric, chromato-graphic and thermal methods of analysis. Our major goal is to develop new analytical methods, collect reliable data for environmental pollutants including toxic metals, dyes and trace organics, prepare new materials for removal of pollutants, investigate role of metal ions in human physiological disorders, supramolecular chemistry, lipids, functional foods, biosensors, immobilization of enzymes on metal nanoparticles and DNA biosensor technology. We offer MS/ M.Phil and Ph.D. programmes in Analytical Chemistry to students with strong background of chemistry.
Recent achievements
The academic staff and the students of the NCEAC have won several awards during the year 2011;
1. Fifteen Ph.D. Research Fellows were awarded scholarship under “Research Fellowship Programme for Foreign Citizens” by the Technical Research Council of Turkey (TUBITAK). They are currently carrying out extension of their research work at universities in Turkey. Five Ph.Ds are awarded postdoctoral fellowship under the same programme.
2. Seventeen scientists from NCEAC got Productive Scientists Awards by the Pakistan Council of Science and Technology. The top prize in category A was won by Prof. M.I. Bhanger, Prof. Tasneem G. Kazi and Dr. Imran Afreedi. Beside, Dr. Shahabuddin Memon, Dr. Tufail Sheerazi, Dr. Sirajuddin, Dr. Amber, Dr. Najma, Dr. Sarfaraz and 8 Research Fellows of this Centre have also won the awards under various categories.
3. Dr. H. Imran Afridi, Lecturer, has won the “Best Young Scientist” award conferred by the Higher Education Commission,
4. The HEC “Best Research Paper Award” was given to a paper published in Journal of Hazardous Materials, by Dr. Shahabuddin Memon and his student Imdadullah Qureshi.
5. One International Conference on Currents Technologies in Oils and Fats was held on March 21-23, 2011 and a Workshop on Advance Electroanalytical Techniques was organized (October 21-23, 2011) in which Prof. Jiri Barek of Charles University Prague, Czeck Republic, was the main resource person.
6. A Memorandum of Understanding was signed recently with the Department of Chemistry, Charles University, Prague, to facilitate the ongoing research collaboration between the two institutions.
7. The biannual “Pakistan Journal of Analytical and Environmental Chemistry” (recognized by the HEC) of the NCEAC has been added to the Directory of Open Access Journals.
Manpower development;
8. The National Centre of Excellence has immensely contributed to skilled manpower in the country. Recently 18 students of this Centre have successfully qualified the Sindh Public Service exams and appointed as teaching faculty in degree colleges of Sindh.
9. During the current year, as many as 9 Researchers have been awarded Ph.D. degrees in Analytical Chemistry by the University of Sindh.
For more information visit website www.ceacsu.edu.pk
The writer is Director, NCEAC, University of Sindh, Jamshoro, Sindh, Pakistan.

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