Attended Symposium on Youth Mental Health & Responsible AI Innovation: Clinical Perspectives and Future Roadmaps

08 October 2026

I attended the Symposium on Youth Mental Health & Responsible AI Innovation: Clinical Perspectives and Future Roadmaps at the STEM Centre, NED UET main campus, on 8th October 2026. After reciting verses from the Holy Quran and the National Anthem, the host welcomed the participants. The event included several talks, a panel discussion, and speeches by the Senator and Pro VC. 

Co-Chaired Technical Session at GRID 2026 Conference Organized by KSBL

Saturday 03 October 2026

The 2026 Global Research and Instructional Dialogue (GRID 2026) international conference was organized by the Karachi School of Business and Leadership (KSBL) and held on 2-3 October 2026. I thank the GRID 2026 conference organizers for inviting me as a technical session co-chair. 

Hamdard University Organized Hands-On Workshop: Fundamentals of PowerLab for Teaching and Learning

29 September 2026

Hamdard University Department of Biomedical Engineering has organized a hands-on workshop entitled, Exploring Biosignals: Fundamentals of PowerLab for Teaching and Learning, held on 29th September 2026 at the Faculty of Engineering Sciences & Technology. We are thankful to the HUVC and Dean FEST for approving the proposal submitted by Dr Maryam Gulshan, Assistant Professor, BME - provided coordination. Thanks to Mr Naseem, Admin FEST, and his team for making arrangements. The resource person was Dr. Nauman Aziz, ADInstruments. PowerLab by ADInstruments is a high-performance data acquisition hardware and software system used to record and analyze analog and digital physiological signals in life science research and education. After the review of essentials by Dr Nauman, the hands-on sessions were conducted to measure the photoplethsmogram (PPG) and the electrocardiogram (ECG). Another important aspect of the workshop was the participation of faculty members from the Faculty of Pharmacy and Faculty of Health & Medical Sciences. The Department of Biomedical Engineering at Hamdard University provides services to HU organizational units in the development and implementation of solutions for teaching, learning, and research. 

Discrete Convolution Sum Visualizer

Wednesday 05 August 2026

The GUI is developed using Google AI Studio with prompt: GUI for Convolution Sum that visualizes discrete-time signals and computes the output response in real-time.

Discrete Convolution Sum Visualizer

https://ai.studio/apps/6b56d181-e4c8-4d3d-8dc8-721d62128c52

Coursera Certificates 2025-2026

Created on Monday 20 July 2026, Updated on None.

Coursera is a good platform. 

Thanks to HEC, Pakistan for providing opportunity under the DLSEI. 

THE BIG IDEA: A Dataset from Tajrabat-e-Tabeeb

Wednesday 10 June 2026

A Dataset from Tajrabat-e-Tabeeb

The idea to develop a medical database is not new. A dataset acts as as source to train artificial intelligence model. Hakim Mohammed Said Shaheed has written a valuable book titled, Tajrabat-e-Tabeeb, published in 1973. The book contains 145 case studies organized in 9 sections; and 82 records. An early effort was established 02 May 2024 outlined two phases. Phase-1 outcome in the form of dataset. Phase-2 outcome in the form of a collaborative research and development roadmap.

The proposed idea converts the experiential journey as written by Hakim Mohammed Said Shaheed and published by Hamdard Foundation Pakistan; into a form directly useable by the advanced technology, such as, artificial intelligence based approaches and development of cyber-physical systems to assist medical expert.

Status: Submitted

Cryptography: True Randomness and Pseudorandomness

Sunday 24 May 2026

A random number (binary string) is a number drawn (selected) from a set of numbers in an unpredictable, independent manner. So each member of the set has an equal chance of being selected. This means the outcome (selected number) has nothing to do with the past or future selection. In computing, this is true randomness. Pseudorandomness is a number selection from the set of numbers that looks random-like. The application areas include cryptography, computer simulation, gaming, and statistics, to name a few. 

Example: Random string selection from a set of 3-bit binary strings 

Set = {0, 1}^3 = {000, 001, 010, 011, 100, 101, 110, 111}

Probability [ each 3-bit binary string ] = 1/8 

Probability distribution = {1/8, 1/8, 1/8, 1/8, 1/8, 1/8, 1/8, 1/8}

Example: Pseudorandom string selection from a set of 3-bit binary strings according to a given selection process Pr [ string ].

Pr [ string ] = ¼, for strings 001, 011, 101, 111

                   = 0,  for strings 000, 010, 100, 110

Probability distribution = {0, 1/4, 0, 1/4, 0, 1/4, 0, 1/4}

Collatz Conjecture or 3n+1 Problem

Saturday 09 May 2026

Well, it is not a solution as the great mathematicians tried! After some rough work and thinking about probabilities in my mind. Calculation of probabilities for even or odd outside the loop and inside the loop reveals a difference of half. If input is even, there are two possibilities inside the loop, whereas for odd input, there is only even output. Considering internal probabilities equally likely, that is, 1/3.  

 

Simulating Randomized IND-CPA (Indistinguishability under Chosen-Plaintext Attack) on ASCON-AEAD 128

28 April 2026

The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) published NIST SP 800-232 [1] standards for lightweight cryptography for constrained devices in August 2025, based on the Ascon cipher. I am teaching a course on cryptography in the Spring 2026 semester at Hamdard University. With some effort, I simulated the indistinguishability experiment, chosen-plaintext attack [2] on the Ascon-AEAD 123 encryption scheme. The Ascon-AEAD 128 Python code was acquired from [3]. Additionally, a few more resources were explored for learning. 

The methods in the Python module ascon.py included both the encryption and decryption methods: ascon_encrypt and ascon_decrypt. For the simulation, only the ascon_encrypt was required. "Chosen-plaintext attacks capture the ability of an adversary to exercise (partial) control over what the honest parties encrypt." 

The smart adversary has access to the encryption scheme as a black box. A guess to make by the adversary against the challenge ciphertext to succeed with a probability much higher than 1/2.

The results of the experiment show: Pr[Exp = 1] ≤ 0.5 + negligible. In other words, the Ascon-AEAD 128 encryption scheme is CPA-secure.  

Note: Adversary has no choice but to output a guess in response to a challenge!

References:

[1]  Meltem Sönmez Turan, Kerry A. McKay, Donghoon Chang, Jinkeon Kang, John Kelsey (2025) Ascon-Based Lightweight Cryptography Standards for Constrained Devices. (National Institute of Standards and Technology, Gaithersburg, MD), NIST Special Publication (SP) NIST SP 800-232. https://doi.org/10.6028/NIST.SP.800-232

[2]  Katz. Introduction to Modern Cryptography, 3rd Ed. 2021

[3]  https://github.com/meichlseder/pyascon.git

15th Meeting of HU ERB

Tuesday 21 April 2026

The 15th meeting of Hamdard University Ethical Review Board was held at Bait al-Hikmah Board Room at 10 AM. I missed the last (14th) meeting as I have to visit Daska, Sialkot due demise of mother (may Allah bless her Janat ul Firdous Ameen). And father (may Allah bless him Janat ul Firdous Ameen) who passed away after a month. 

Orientation Day Spring 2026 Intake DAS

Monday 20 April 2026

The orientation session was held at FEST conference room. 

PEC CPD Online 2026 Certificates

27 February 2026

Thanks to the Pakistan Engineering Council for the CPD sessions. 

HU FEST BME Students Participated in 5th IEP IBDC Conference

Fri-Sat Feb 13-14, 2026

Hamdard University BME congratulates Engr Syed Ibad Husnain for two research papers accepted and presented at the 5th IEP IBDC (digital health) conference. Three papers from HU FEST BME were presented at the conference. BME students presented their research works. Ms. Fatymah and Ms. Wania presented in technical sessions, and Ms. Fizza presented in the poster session. A few more BME students, including Ms. Esha and Mr. Syed Muntazir Mehdi, attended as well. BME faculty have commitments in the HU convocation; therefore, unable to participate physically. 

[1] Syed Ibad Hasnain, Tariq Javid, Muhammad Faris, Fizza Kamran. Machine Learning–Based Early Detection of Polycystic Ovary Syndrome (PCOS). 5th International Biomedical and Digital Health Conference (IBDC), February 13-14, 2026.

[2] Syed Ibad Hasnain, Tariq Javid, Muhammad Faris. Simulation-Based Multimodal Fusion of ECG Signals and Laboratory Data for Cardiovascular Disease Prediction. 5th International Biomedical and Digital Health Conference (IBDC), February 13-14, 2026.

[3] Tariq Javid, Minhaj A. Qidwai, Muhammad Faris, Maryam Gulshan, Fatymah Sarfraz Khan, Muhammad Mansoor Mughal, Syeda Yusra Tirmizi, Syed Ibad Hasnain, Syed Muntazir Mehdi. Technological Innovations in CFD, CPS, and QC with a Mapping to the 5S Model for Healthcare. 5th International Biomedical and Digital Health Conference (IBDC), February 13-14, 2026.

Hamdard University 28th Convocation 2026

Saturday 14th February 2026

Pictures from the Hamdard University 28th Convocation 2026

Engr. Shahzaib Khalid received Gold Medals in the categories: Merit, Hakim Mohammed Said Shaheed, and Institution of Engineers Pakistan.

Congratulations, we pray for success in all aspects of life and profession for our alumni.

Prof. Dr. Saghir A. Sheik, Prof. Dr. Muhammad Saeed Awan, myself (right)

Graduates of S22 intake batch with Dr. Muhammad Faris, Assistant Professor & Program In-Charge BME

Best University Teacher Award

 

Prof. Dr. Khan Brohi, Dr. Umer Farooq, Prof. Dr. M. Aamer Saleem, myself, and Dr. Azhar Dilshad