Pakistan is a relatively new nation with just a 67 year old history. Once the center of development and scientific discovery, our true identity has been muddied! But work goes on behind the scenes, work that does not get any attention, work that is lost to your eyes and mine. Its time to take a look at some of the greatest Pakistani inventions. These inventions are the REAL reason, we have an identity. Time to be proud!
1. Brain – Chip Connection
We have all seen the movies and heard the concept – mind integration with computers. Our very own Dr. Naweed Syed, a biomedical engineer and faculty of University of Calgary, was the first scientist to connect the human brain with a silicon chip! This groundbreaking step has paved the way for major scientific breakthroughs like giving people control over their artificial limbs, reversing memory loss, curing blindness etc.
2. Community Sanitation
Professor Sohail Khan had a dream. The dream was to provide community-led total sanitation so that third world countries which are plagued with disease due to lack of modern sewage system, could improve. So he led a team from Loughborough University and designed a lavatory that turned human waste into charcoal and minerals. The minerals can be used to enrich the soil while the process also produces clean water. Now THAT is what you call an invention.
3. Sagar Veena
Raza Aslam started working on this variation of the Veena, called the Sagar Veena, in 1970. His daughter who helped him test it, is currently the only person who has complete mastery over it. So what is Sagar Veena (Ocean Chordophone)? It not any Veena, it is a unique design with an unmatched range of timbres and pitch registers. The sound has an extremely high resonating quality and the instrument provides artists an extensive palette of sounds to evoke human emotion. There is nothing like classical music accompanied by the music from the Sagar Veena!
4. The Human Development Index
Anyone in touch with Economics knows about the Human Development Index. Well, it was developed by a Pakistani, Mahbub-ul-Haq in 1990. When it was developed, it revolutionized how economists and policy makers viewed the World. Focus shifted from just income (a hugely misleading quotient) to human centered indices. HDI takes into account factors like health, education and living standards to measure the development.
5. Pleuroperitoneal Shunt
Syed Amjab Hussein, a doctor from Peshawar, invented the shunt. This surgically implantedcatheter transports fluid from a pleural space into the peritoneal cavity where it is absorbed, relieving breathlessness in patients suffering from cancer. It is used to treat malignant pleuraleffusions, basically a condition where cancer causes fluid to gather in the space between tissues(pleura) lining the lungs and chest, making it hard to breathe. S.A. Hussein’s work has led him to being inducted into the Medical Mission Hall of Fame.
6. Cheap Electricity
A young boy from Quetta, Shahzaib, was just in Grade 11 when he made this breakthrough. He created a non-metal device that can use normal electricity and make more from it. Exhibit A – He lit 44 LED lights that normally require 3 watts, using just 1.5 watts that were passed through his invention. The invention is still in the prototype stage and work is in progress to make it into something huge. Watch this space…
7. Ommaya Reservoir
The Ommaya Reservoir is named after… a Pakistani neurosurgeon by the name of Ayub K. Ommaya. The Ommaya Reservoir is a system through which chemicals can be injected into the brain of a patient suffering from brain tumor. Before the Ommaya Reservoir, the treatment for brain tumors was nowhere. Kudos to Mr. Ommaya.
8. Water Generator
Rehan Aziz Farooqi, an Engineer from Swat has invented a unique power generator that runs solely on water. But that is not all, the generator allows for any engine (whether it runs on diesel, petrol or gas) to run on water as well. The generator does this by separating the hydrogen and oxygen in the water and converting them into power. The invention is real, but due to the presence of the highly explosive hydrogen in the process, Rehan Aziz wants to make sure it is perfectly safe before making the generator available in the market.
9. Higgs Boson
Abdus Salam, a Nobel Prize Winner for Physics, along with Steven Weinberg predicted the presence of the Higgs Boson subatomic particle. There is the whole mumbo jumbo of nuclear physics involved, but in short this particle is theorized to add mass onto other particles. Its a huge deal in Physics, it really is!
10. SMB Probe
Anything to do with Nuclear Power is dangerous. Some of the biggest disasters in history have been due to accidents at nuclear facilities, toxic waste from these facilities and insufficient precautions at these facilities. Sultan Bashiruddin Mehmood invented the SMB Probe which cuts down the chances of these disasters by a significant percentage. What it does is, it keeps the power plant operations in check by ensuring that there are no heavy water leakages and thus reducing the chances of accidents.
11. (c) Brain
Farooq Alvi Brothers from Lahore were the creators of one of the first and most powerful boot sector viruses ever. The virus was called (c) Brain and it is widely used still. You must be wondering, what can a virus be useful for. The (c) Brain is one of the most powerful programs to deter piracy and prevent hacking.
12. Anti-Terrorist Algorithm
In 2014 a Start-up Company by the name of Go-Fig Solutions entered into a competition called Startup Cup Pakistan. They had a simple concept. Eliminate Terrorism! Sounds simple enough. This group of forward thinking Pakistanis had developed an algorithm to detect where the next International terrorist attack would take place. The algorithm was based on complex behavioral patterns and data-mining techniques. It has a success rate of an outstanding 35%. Go-Fig after that, won the World Start-up Cup as well. Since then, the Anti-Terrorism Algorithm has found its way to Silicon Valley, USA.
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