PASTIC::News Letter

Executive Editor

Prof. Dr. Muhammad Akram Shaikh

Director General, PASTIC

Managing Editor

Dr. Syed Aftab Hussain Shah

Composer

Kashif Farooqui

ECHNOLOGY

OUNDUP

Technology Information Services Section (TIS)

Pakistan Scientific & Technological Information Centre

PASTIC

July-August, 2021

Vol.13 No 4

A NEWS BULLETIN

Tech News Headlines

Tech & Trade Offers

Phone: 051-9248103-4, 9248128
Fax: 051-9248113
Email: tis.pastic@gmail.com
Web: www.pastic.gov.pk

PASTIC National Centre
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P.O. Box 1217, Islamabad

Editorial Board

Pakistan Initiates Smart phone export

35 High Growth startups graduate from Ignite's National
Incubation center Karachi

Swarm of Autonomous Tiny Drones can localize Gas Leaks

Woven Nanotube Fibers turn Heat Energy into Electrical
Energy

New Method Developed to Solve Plastics Sustainability problem

New Technology will allow Important Metals to be made more
Efficiently

New Technology shows promise in detecting, blocking Grid
Cyberattacks

Developing Enhanced Fish Vaccines with Nanocellulose

Forthcoming Tech Events

World Congress on Information Technology and

Computer Science

International Conference on Cell and Tissue Science

International Conference on Environment and Life

Science

International Conference on Science, Engineering &

Technology

International Conference on Management and

Information Technology

International Conference on Natural Science and

Environment

World Congress on Cell & Tissue Science

Pakistan Cables

Technology Roundup

PAKISTAN INITIATES SMART PHONE EXPORT

Pakistan has initiated exporting 4G smart phones with the first shipment of its kind to the United Arab Emirates.

Courtesy: https://www.dawn.com/news/1640737

The first consignment of 5,500 mobile sets of 4G smartphones manufactured by Inovi Telecom has been
exported to the UAE. There is need to regulate the export supportive policy thus allowing Pakistan to surpass the
competitors in the Middle East region.

Inovi Telecom Pvt Ltd was issued authorisation for mobile device manufacturing in April, 2021 and it has
managed to fulfil its first export order within four months. Chief Executive Zeeshan Mian Noor said that their
main target was to penetrate in low-end markets of Middle East including Iraq, Iran and Afghanistan. “We are
manufacturing the Chinese brands and there are a large number of expat workers in the Gulf countries,” he said,
adding the hi-end consumers of Gulf countries prefer top world class mobile brands and we should not even try
to get involved in that market.” The Pakistan Telecommunication Authority expects that the exports of smart
phones would enhance in future.

Source:

https://www.dawn.com/news/1640737

Technology Roundup

35 HIGH GROWTH STARTUPS GRADUATE FROM IGNITE'S

NATIONAL INCUBATION CENTER KARACHI

National Incubation Center, Karachi (NICK) organized a Startup Graduation Ceremony to celebrate the
achievements of its fourth and fifth cohort startups, in which 35 high growth startups made the graduation
wal

During the course of their incubation at NIC Karachi, startups were challenged to not only show progress
in the various training programs that were organized for them as a part of their incubation, but also display
growth in their businesses as well. A consultation session with 10 of NIC Karachi star startups was also
held during the occasion. Federal Minister for IT & Telecom, Syed Amin UI Haque, applauded the efforts
of the graduating founders. He said, “NIC Karachi has contributed tremendously in regional and national
economy of Pakistan by supporting innovation & promoting entrepreneurial culture. The center is
serving as a hub of innovation and entrepreneurship for Karachi and has launched many successful
startups”.
The ceremony was also attended by CEO Ignite Mr. Asim Shahryar Husain, VC NED University Dr.
Sarosh Hashmat Lodi, Member IT Mr. Junaid Imam, Ignite Board member Mr. Danish Lakhani, GM
Projects Mr. Jawad Azfar, VP LMKT, Mr. Faisal Jamil, senior officials of the ministry and Ignite teams,
and other dignitaries.
Federal Secretary for IT & Telecom, Dr. Muhammad Sohail Rajput said, “Seeing young people aspire to
create a positive impact through innovation is always a welcome sight. The growth shown by the
graduating businesses is a testament to all the hard work that has been done by the Ministry of IT and
Telecom, Ignite, and NIC Karachi.” CEO Ignite Mr. Asim Shahryar Husain stated that “Startup
ecosystem of Pakistan is heating up in 2021 with a growth of more than 200% in investments in Pakistani
startups over the last year. Government of Pakistan's pro-entrepreneurship policies have been
instrumental in playing a key role in this regard. Ignite is planning more incubators in other cities and new
technology verticals in future to ignite the startup ecosystem of Pakistan.”
Director, NIC Karachi, Omar Abedin, thanked all the esteemed guests for attending the ceremony and
encouraging the graduating startups. He shared the significant contributions of NICK startups to the
economic growth and prosperity of Karachi, and the nation, through startups such as Bykea, Azcorp,
Lorryz, Asani, HukumJanab, The Learning Hut, Tensorminds, Carvan, Saaya Health, QriosityNet and
160 other. At the closing of the event, a cake cutting ceremony was held to celebrate NIC Karachi's 3rd
birthday as well as the recent announcement of Ignite's National Incubation Centers as a Champion
project in the enabling environment category at the International Telecommunication Union's WSIS
Process Prizes 2021.

Source:

www.ignite.org.pk/35-high-growth-startups-graduate-from-ignites-national-incubation-center-karachi

Technology Roundup

SWARM OF AUTONOMOUS TINY DRONES CAN LOCALIZE GAS LEAKS

When there is a gas leak in a large building or at an industrial site, human fire fighters currently need to go in with
gas sensing instruments. Finding the gas leak may take considerable time, while they are risking their lives.
Researchers have now developed the first swarm of tiny - and hence very safe - drones that can autonomously
detect and localize gas sources in cluttered indoor environments.

Credit: Time lapse image of one of the experiments. The red squares represent the starting points of the drones
that were equipped with blue lights. The yellow square is the gas source location. The green squares are the
final positions of the drones. The blue-white dots are the robots captured by the camera over time.

https://www.tudelft.nl/en/2021/tu-delft/swarm-of-autonomous-tiny-drones-can-localize-gas-leaks

The main challenge the researchers needed to solve was to design the Artificial Intelligence for this complex task
that would fit in the tight computational and memory constraints of the tiny drones. They solved this challenge by
means of bio-inspired navigation and search strategies. The scientific article has now been made public on the
ArXiv article server, and it will be presented at the IROS robotics conference later this year. The work forms an
important step in the intelligence of small robots and will allow finding gas leaks more efficiently and without the
risk of human lives in real-world environments.

The development of this type of technology to a fully functioning product still requires further work. For instance,
the current work does not yet tackle moving in three dimensions to locate gas sources at a height. Furthermore, the
robustness of navigation should also be improved before deploying the drones in a real emergency scenario.
However, the current work is very promising. The developed algorithms are not only useful for detecting gas leaks
in buildings, but also for scientific missions such as detecting methane on Mars or economical use such as the early
detection of diseases or pests in greenhouses.

Source:

www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2021/07/210714110540.htm

Technology Roundup

WOVEN NANOTUBE FIBERS TURN HEAT ENERGY INTO

ELECTRICAL ENERGY

Carbon nanotubes woven into thread-like fibers and sewn into fabrics become a thermoelectric generator that
can turn heat from the sun or other sources into other forms of energy.

Credit:

https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-021-25208-z.pdf

The Rice University lab of physicist Junichiro Kono led an effort with scientists at Tokyo Metropolitan
University and the Rice-based Carbon Hub to make custom nanotube fibers and test their potential for large-
scale applications. Their small-scale experiments led to a fiber-enhanced, flexible cotton fabric that turned heat
energy into enough electrical energy to power an LED. With further development, they say such materials could
become building blocks for fiber and textile electronics and energy harvesting.

The same nanotube fibers could also be used as heat sinks to actively cool sensitive electronics with high
efficiency.

The effect seems simple: If one side of a thermoelectric material is hotter than the other, it produces usable
energy. The heat can come from the sun or other devices like the hotplates used in the fabric experiment.
Conversely, adding energy can prompt the material to cool the hotter side.Until now, no macroscopic assemblies
of nanomaterials have displayed the necessary "giant power factor," about 14 milliwatts per meter kelvin
squared, that the Rice researchers measured in carbon nanotube fibers.
The Department of Energy Basic Energy Science program, the National Science Foundation, the Robert A.
Welch Foundation, the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science, the U.S. Air Force and the Department of
Defense supported the research.

Source:

www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2021/08/210816091557.htm

Technology Roundup

NEW METHOD DEVELOPED TO SOLVE PLASTICS SUSTAINABILITY

PROBLEM

A research group is developing polymers that can be broken down into their constituent parts; thus, when the
catalyst for depolymerization is absent or removed, the polymers will be highly stable and their thermal and
mechanical properties can be tuned to meet the needs of various applications.

Credit:

https://www.nature.com/articles/s41557-021-00748-5#Sec41

Plastics sustainability has come a long way in recent years thanks in large part to scientific advances. But even as
plastics become more and more environmentally friendly, the world continues to be polluted as many industries rely
on them for their widely used products. The latest research from Dr. Junpeng Wang, Assistant Professor in UA's
School of Polymer Science and Polymer Engineering has a solution to reduce such waste and clear a scientific
pathway for a more sustainable future that can appeal to the rubber, tire, automobile and electronics industries.
Although this work is supported by UA, Wang recently earned a National Science Foundation CAREER Award that
will support future developments from this research.
The problem at hand: Synthetic polymers, including rubber and plastics, are used in nearly every aspect of daily life.
The dominance of synthetic polymers is largely driven by their excellent stability and versatile mechanical
properties. However, due to their high durability, waste materials composed of these polymers have accumulated in
the land and oceans, causing serious concerns for the ecosystem. In addition, since over 90% of these polymers are
derived from finite natural resources, such as petroleum and coal, the production of these materials is unsustainable
if they cannot be recycled and reused.
A promising solution to address the challenges in plastics sustainability is to replace current polymers with
recyclable ones in order to achieve a circular use of materials. Despite the progress made thus far, few recyclable
polymers exhibit the excellent thermal stability and high-performance mechanical properties of traditional
polymers. The recyclable materials Wang and his team have developed are unique in the superior thermal stability
and versatile mechanical properties. The key in the design of chemically recyclable polymers is to identify the right
monomer. Through careful computational calculation, the researchers identified a targeting monomer. They then
prepared the monomer and polymers through chemical synthesis, using abundantly available starting materials.
"The chemically recyclable polymers we developed show excellent thermal stability and robust mechanical
properties and can be used to prepare both rubber and plastics," says Wang. Next for Wang's research group is to
expand the scope of the chemically recyclable polymers and to develop carbon-fiber reinforced polymer
composites. The team will also analyze the economic performance of this industrial process and life-cycle analysis
for commercialization of the polymers.

Source:

www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2021/08/210817193022.htm

Technology Roundup

NEW TECHNOLOGY WILL ALLOW IMPORTANT METALS TO BE

MADE MORE EFFICIENTLY

University of Minnesota Twin Cities College of Science and Engineering researchers have invented a cheaper,
safer, and simpler technology that will allow a "stubborn" group of metals and metal oxides to be made into
thin films used in many electronics, computer components, and other applications. This patented technology
will improve production of many electronic and computer components

Credit:

https://www.pnas.org/content/pnas/118/32/e2105713118.full.pdf

The researchers worked with the University of Minnesota's Technology Commercialization Office to patent
the technology and have already garnered interest from industry.

Many metals and their compounds must be made into thin films before they can be used in technological
products like electronics, displays, fuel cells, or catalytic applications. "Stubborn" metals, however -- which
include elements like platinum, iridium, ruthenium, and tungsten, among others -- are very difficult to convert
into thin films because they require extremely high temperatures (usually more than 2,000 degrees Celsius) to
evaporate.

Typically, scientists synthesize these metal films using techniques like sputtering and electron beam
evaporation. The latter consists of melting and evaporating metals at high temperatures and allowing a film to
form on top of wafers. But, this conventional method is very expensive, uses a lot of energy, and may also be
unsafe due to the high voltage used.

Now, University of Minnesota researchers have developed a way to evaporate these metals at significantly
lower temperatures, fewer than 200 degrees Celsius instead of several thousands. By designing and adding
organic ligands -- combinations of carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen atoms -- to the metals, the researchers were
able to substantially increase the materials' vapor pressures, making them easier to evaporate at lower
temperatures. Not only is their new technique simpler, but it also makes higher quality materials that are easily
scalable. "Bringing down the cost and complexity of metal deposition while also allowing for deposition of
more complex materials like oxides will play a large role in both industrial and research efforts.

Source:

www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2021/08/210806155858.htm

Technology Roundup

NEW TECHNOLOGY SHOWS PROMISE IN DETECTING, BLOCKING GRID

CYBERATTACKS

Researchers from Idaho National Laboratory and New Mexico-based Visgence Inc. have designed and
demonstrated a technology that can block cyberattacks from impacting the nation's electric power grid.

To demonstrate the ability of the Constrained Cyber Communication device to block a cyberattack on the
power grid, researchers constructed a 36-foot long mobile substation and connected it to INL's full-scale
Power Grid Test Bed. Credit:

https://inl.gov/article/new-technology-shows-promise-in-detecting-blocking-grid-

cyberattacks/

During a recent live demonstration at INL's Critical Infrastructure Test Range Complex, the Constrained
Cyber Communication Device (C3D) was tested against a series of remote access attempts indicative of a
cyber attack. The device alerted operators to the abnormal commands and blocked them automatically,
preventing the attacks from accessing and damaging critical power grid components. The C3D device uses
advanced communication capabilities to autonomously review and filter commands being sent to protective
relay devices. Relays are the heart and soul of the nation's power grid and are designed to rapidly command
breakers to turn off the flow of electricity when a disturbance is detected. For instance, relays can prevent
expensive equipment from being damaged when a power line fails because of a severe storm. However, relays
are not traditionally designed to block the speed and stealthiness of a cyberattack, which can send wild
commands to grid equipment in milliseconds. To prevent this kind of attack, an intelligent and automatic
filtering technology is needed. The C3D device sits deep inside a utility's network, monitoring and blocking
cyberattacks before they impact relay operations." To test the technology's effectiveness, researchers spent
nearly a year collaborating with industry experts, including longtime partners from Power Engineers, an
international engineering and environmental consulting firm. INL and the Department of Energy also
established an industry advisory board consisting of power grid and cybersecurity experts from across the
federal government, private industry and academia.After thoroughly assessing industry needs and analyzing
the makeup of modern cyber threats, researchers designed an electronic device that could be wired into a
protective relay's communication network. Then they constructed a 36-foot mobile substation and connected it
to INL's full-scale electric power grid test bed to establish an at-scale power grid environment.

With the entire system online, researchers sent a sudden power spike command to the substation relays and
monitored the effects from a nearby command center. Instantly, the C3D device blocked the command and
prevented the attack from damaging the larger grid. The development of the device was funded by DOE's
Office of Electricity under the Protective Relay Permission Communication project. The technology and an
associated software package will undergo further testing over the next several months before being made
available for licensing to private industry.

Source:

www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2021/07/210720160817.htm

DEVELOPING ENHANCED FISH VACCINES WITH

NANOCELLULOSE

In an effort to support Maine and the nation's growing finfish aquaculture industry, University of Maine
scientists seek to develop more effective, safe, sustainable and affordable fish vaccines using nanocellulose
produced from Maine's renewable wood pulp industry.

Credit:

https://umaine.edu/news/blog/2021/08/17/umaine-researchers-to-develop-enhanced-fish-

vaccines-with-nanocellulose/

The U.S. Department of Agriculture's National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) awarded a team of
UMaine aquaculture and engineering experts $495,000 to investigate if novel nanocellulose vaccines protect
Atlantic salmon against lethal pathogens. The project will target vaccine development to combat Infectious
Salmon Anemia Virus and Vibrio ordalii, two globally significant Atlantic salmon pathogens. Researchers
hope this project will lay the groundwork for using nanocellulose in future vaccine formulations to protect
against many other types of diseases impacting aquaculture and agriculture.

UMaine researchers say injectable vaccines are presently the most effective form for protecting aquacultured
fish species, but current vaccines made with adjuvants that are water and oil based are expensive to make and
can cause undesired side effects resulting in decreased growth rates and adhesions and pigmentation around
the injection site.

Nanocellulose is a biologically derived natural polymer found in the cell walls of wood and plants and may
offer several benefits as a vaccine component. Nanocellulose is considered to be biocompatible, meaning it
has no known harmful effects to tissue and is unlikely to cause cellular damage. Vaccines developed with
nanocellulose may also be less expensive to manufacture than their oil-based counterparts, researchers say.
Its chemical properties allow it to be easily modified and could help increase the effectiveness and longevity
of the vaccine without the associated undesired side effects of traditional fish vaccine adjuvants, according to
UMaine researchers. Disease among fish stocks can be costly for finfish producers, with the Food and
Agriculture Organization of the United Nations reporting in 2018 that the global aquaculture industry loses
more than $6 billion per year to outbreaks. As the aquaculture industry grows, so does the risk of disease,
UMaine researchers say, prompting the demand for more effective and less expensive vaccines.

ARI researchers plan to share the study results and develop licensing agreements and commercialization
strategies through industry sponsorships and/or programs like the Small Business Technology Transfer
program coordinated by the Small Business Administration.

Source:

www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2021/08/210818153735.htm

Technology Roundup

Pakistan
World Congress on Information Technology and Computer Science

1-2 October, 2021
Peshawer

www.allconferencealert.com/event-detail.html?ev_id=586581

International Conference on Cell and Tissue Science

12-13 October, 2021
Multan

www.allconferencealert.com/event-detail.html?ev_id=574247

International Conference on Environment and Life Science

22-23 October, 2021
Islamabad

www.allconferencealert.com/event-detail.html?ev_id=587831

International Conference on Science, Engineering & Technology

28-29 December, 2021
Best Western Hotel, Islamabad

www.10times.com/icset-pakistan

International

International Conference on Management and Information Technology

6-7 October, 2021
Pattaya, Thailand

www.allconferencealert.com/event-detail.html?ev_id=495106

International Conference on Natural Science and Environment

7-8 November, 2021
Tokyo, Japan

www.allconferencealert.com/event-detail.html?ev_id=505363

World Congress on Cell & Tissue Science

18-19 November, 2021
Santiago,Santiago,Chile

www.conferencenext.com/event/1395848

International Conference on Engineering & Technology

24-25 November, 2021
Brasilia,Brasilia,Brazil

www.conferencenext.com/event/1395834

Forthcoming Tech Events

Tech & Trade Offers

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Pakistan Cables

Pakistan Cables is the premier
cable manufacturer and
market leader in Pakistan.
Conceived in 1953 by our
founder, the late Mr. Amir S.
C h i n o y , a w e l l - k n o w n
entrepreneur and industrialist
of Pakistan, the company has
continuously strived to attain
excellence by maintaining
q u a l i t y s t a n d a r d s p a r
excellence. Pakistan Cables is
the only cable manufacturer
with a history of foreign
affiliations with international
cable manufacturers of
stature. Between 1953 and
1 9 9 3 P a k i s t a n C a b l e s
operated under the authority
o f B r i t i s h I n s u l a t e d
Callender’s Cables (BICC).
BICC was one of the world's
leading cable companies of
the world during this period.
During 2010-2017 General
C a b l e , a F o r t u n e 5 0 0
c o m p a n y r e m a i n e d a
minority shareholder in
Pakistan Cables holding
24.6% of the company equity.

Contact:-
Pakistan Cables, Arif Habib Center, 1st Floor,
23, MT Khan Road, Karachi.
Email Address info@pakistancables.com
Website www.http://www.pakistancables.com

Technology Roundup

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