Aligarh Muslim University News

AMU : indian Society of Toxicology

admin — Wed, 28 Apr 2010 07:25:07 +0000

Dr. Yasir Hasan Siddique, Lecturer, Department of Zoology, Aligarh Muslim University, Aligarh has been appointed as the Vice President of Indian Society of Toxicology (IST) for a period of two years (2010-2012). As a Vice President of the Society, he will work to promote academics and research in toxicology under the aegis of Indian Society of Toxicology.

He is also the first Fellow of the Society (IST). Earlier, he was the Executive Committee Member for a period of Two years (2008-09) of the IST. He has also organized a National Seminar in 2009 under the aegis of the Indian Society of Toxicology. His has 80 publications including 2 edited books to his credit published in prestigious International and National Journals.

He was awarded with Young Scientist Award by Council of Science and Technology, DEF-Young Scientist Award- 2009 by Academy of Environmental Biology (AEB), IITR, Lucknow, Scientist of the Year Award-2009 by National Environmental Science Academy (NESA), New Delhi, Young Scientist Award-2005 by National Environmental Science Academy (NESA), New Delhi, Best Paper Award 2004 in the field of Life Sciences by The Muslim Association for the Advancement of Science (MAAS), Aligarh. He is also the Member of the Editorial board of more than a dozen scientific international and national journals. Currently he is engaged in DST sponsored project on Natural plant products

AMU to get Rs. 35 Crore

admin — Wed, 28 Apr 2010 07:21:28 +0000

The Aligarh Muslim University’s effort to bring into national academic fold the most excluded social segment by establishing its special centres in the development deficit districts received a big push. The University Grants’ Commission has released an amount of Rs. 35 Crore grant-in-aid to AMU for establishment of its special centres one at Murshidabad and one at Malappuram. The UGC Under Secretary has further informed that an amount of Rs. 25 Crore is earmarked for Murshidabad campus and an amount of Rs. 10 Crore for Malappuram Centre. AMU Vice Chancellor Prof. P. K. Abdul Azis, while thanking the Centre and the UGC for releasing the grant said that the funds provided is the first step in realizing the cherished dream of ensuring a better future for the marginalized and poor people and thereby ensuring a better and stronger nation at large.

Awarded Erasmus Mundus ECW15 scholarship for doing Masters By Faizan Ahmad Khan

admin — Wed, 21 Apr 2010 10:01:15 +0000

Its been an honour for our university that persons from different genres are being awarded with Erasmus mundus scholarship (Europe’s best scholarship) . Prof. Wasim Ahmad of the Department of Zoology, Aligarh Muslim University has been one of them who has been selected ERASMUS MUNDUS SCHOLAR to carry out research and teaching assignment with Erasmus Mundus Masters course “European Master of Science in Nematology” funded by European Union
With the grace of Allah subhanu tallah, I have also been awarded Erasmus Mundus External Cooperation Window 15 Scholarship for doing Masters from NTNU (Norwegian University of Science and Technology), Trondheim, Norway.
This scholarship comprises of many salient features like:
1) Full tuition fees,
2) Insurance for health, travel and accident,
3) Return ticket and visa,
4) Subsistence allowance of 1000 euro per month for full duration of course (This is what they have awarded me but for Phd students it is 1500 euro per month).

I suppose this is for the first time in Z.H.C.E.T’s history that any student has been awarded this scholarship for doing Masters.

Description of Erasmus Mundus ECW 15 Scholarship:

The Erasmus Mundus External Cooperation Window Lot 15 for India is designed to fund higher education student and teaching staff mobility activities between 12 European universities and 8 Indian universities (IIT Kanpur is among those 8 partner univ.). The EMECW15 scheme is part of the EMECW, a project funded by the European Commission to increase cooperation and exchange between Europe and other parts of the world. The coordinating institution for EMECW15 is Lund University (Sweden).

They have divided students in 3 target groups:

Target Group 1. Students and academic staff currently enrolled in or affiliated with one of the Partner Universities (there are 8 partner univ. in India which includes IIT Kanpur also). Note that you must provide documents that prove that you are currently enrolled in one of the universities member of the partnership. The scholarship is offered at the following levels: Undergraduate, Master, Doctoral, Post-Doctoral, Academic staff.

Target Group 2. Indian Nationals who are studying or have a degree from an Indian higher education institution that is not a partner university; Indian Nationals who have finished their degree at a partner university and are no longer enrolled in one; Indian Nationals who are working in public administration, public and private enterprises. The scholarship is offered at the following levels: Master, Doctoral, Post-Doctoral.

Target Group 3. Indian Nationals who are studying at or have a degree from an Indian higher education institution that is not a partner university
and who are:
refugees, asylum beneficiaries, or have been subjected to discrimination (ethnic, racial, sexual or disability related). Note that you must provide proof of qualifying for target group 3. The scholarship is offered at the following levels: Undergraduate, Master, Doctoral.
(For more information log on to www.erasmuswindow15.org )

Student from AMU belongs to Target Group 2.

Presently calls are closed for this year. But keep checking the site for next call to open.
(http://www.erasmuswindow15.org/application.html)

To apply, you have to just upload your scanned documents.

“Generally IITians and other very good colleges students get this scholarship therefore make yourself more competitive like maintain your good academic record, present papers in journal or attend seminars (these all things count), score good in IELTS or TOEFL, GRE(not mandatory but will add some positive points). Try to get good work experience (i.e. related to your branch of study)”.

This scholarship is for students from all branches. This year scholarship is given only for Master, Doctoral, Post-Doctoral courses for students coming under Target group 2.

For any help you can contact at faizan5001@gmail.com

At last, I just want you to convey that there is nothing wrong in applying. We should take part in these activities. Insha allah these things will make our AMU more famous and prestigious (Ameen).

Thanks & Regards,
Faizan Ahmad Khan
B.Tech (Mechanical Engg.)Year???
Presently working as Guest Faculty in Department of Mechanical Engg., AMU, Aligarh

Can Aligs Ever Make AMU The No-1 University?

admin — Wed, 21 Apr 2010 09:54:14 +0000

Aligarh Muslim University has gained a spot in top 10 Universities. Is that enough? Do Aligs possess the mettle to make it number one? Is an Alig eligible to be tagged as the best in his or her own filed?
One one hand Aligs are basking in the glory of a great library, various journal access, and some coveted placements but still it seems there is a long way to go. Its time to stop discussing meager issues and focus on the more important goals of life.
How many of you have the guts to pledge that you will do your best in order to make AMU the number one university? What do you think is the major cause or hindrance behind this ? Write down your comments in the comments section below.

Chandrayan Alig visited AMU

admin — Tue, 13 Apr 2010 07:28:04 +0000

Ms. Khushboo Mirza, a distinguished alumnus of AMU and well known for being a member to the team of engineers working on Chandrayan project visited the Department of Applied Chemistry, Aligarh Muslim University and interacted with the research scholars of the department. Ms. Khushboo Mirza joined ISRO after graduating from Zakir Husain College of Engineering and Technology of AMU.

Her presence at the AMU inspired the research scholars of applied chemistry and provided an impetus for hard work. Addressing the research scholars, she said that all the missions are interdisciplinary in nature. She urged them to adopt creativity, honesty, hard-work and commitment that lead men and mission to the success.

The question-answer session was the most exciting part of the interaction that encouraged the students to develop the skills of a good scientist with a human heart.

The Chairman, Department of Applied Chemistry, Professor Ali Mohammad, welcomed the faculty members and students at the interaction session after a short introduction of the guest and thanked her and audience at the end of the session.

Board of Governors meeting

admin — Tue, 13 Apr 2010 07:26:59 +0000

The 27th meeting of Board of Governors of the Foodcraft Institute, University Polytechnic was held at the University Polytechnic Workshop, Aligarh Muslim University. The Director General & Secretary (Tourism), Govt. of U.P., Shri Awanish Kumar Awasthi, lAS presided over the meeting. Other members who participated in the meeting included Vice-Chancellor’s nominee Prof. Ziauddin Khairoowala, Prof. Ainul Haque, DSW, Prof. S.M.A. Rizvi, Dean, Faculty of Engineering and Technology, Mr. A.K. Singh, Principal, Institute of Hotel Management, Lucknow, Dr. V.K. Tripathi, the nominee of the Director, Horticulture & Food Processing Department, Lucknow, Mr. T.E. Mishra, nominee of the Director, Technical Education, Kanpur, Prof. V.K. Parashar, nominee of the Principal, University Polytechnic, AMU, Mr. Minhaj Khan, nominee of the Registrar, AMU and Actg. Secretary/Principal, Foodcraft Institute, Aligarh.

The Secretary (Tourism), Govt. of U.P. inaugurated the new building of Larder Lab of Foodcraft Institute, Aligarh after the meeting Board of Governors was over. Prof. S. Iqbal Ali, Principal, Foodcraft Institute welcomed the distinguished guests and briefed about the development of Foodcraft Institute.

The keynote address was delivered by Shri Awanish Kumar Awasthi. He explained the development of tourism and hotel industry in India, which increased the demand of manpower. He emphasized that Foodcraft Institute could play a vital role in providing manpower to Tourism & Hotel Industry. He announced a plan to elevate the status of the Foodcraft Institute to the Institute of Hotel Management which was appreciated by the students, staff and the guests. He further requested the University authorities to expedite the process of Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) of land, which was already allotted to Foodcraft Institute and had to be handed over by the University under Lease Deed. Shri Awasthi also appreciated the efforts made by the staff for the development of the Institute under the supervision of Principal, Prof. S. Iqbal Ali.

Prof. V.K. Parasher, senior faculty of University Polytechnic proposed the vote of thanks and explained that Mr. Awanish Kumar Awasthi in spite of his extremely busy schedule, devoted sufficient time to us and gave assurance to elevate the Foodcraft Institute to the status of Institute of Hotel Management.

The other eminent guests who graced the inaugural ceremony were Prof. Saleemuddin, Prof. Nazim Ali, Mr. Sabir Ali Khan, Mr. Rizwan-ur-Rehman Khan etc. Mr. Ehsan Akhtar, senior faculty of Foodcraft Institute coordinated the programme.

Mother Teresa Lifetime Achievement Award

admin — Sun, 11 Apr 2010 07:26:19 +0000

The Aligarh Muslim University Vice Chancellor Prof. P. K. Abdul Azis has been conferred up on the Blessed Mother Teresa Lifetime Achievement Award by the Mother Teresa International Award Committee, Kolkata for the year 2010 in a grand function held at the Science City Auditorium, Kolkata. The award was given to Prof. Azis by the Governor of West Bengal, Shri M. K. Narayanan in the presence of the Governor of Bihar, Shri Devanand Konwar and a galaxy of distinguished personalities.

The award has also been given to Shri Subroto Mukherji, Shri Devanand Konwar, Governor of Bihar, Chairman of University Grants Commission Prof. Sukhadeo Thorat, former Captain of Indian Cricket Team Ajit Wadekar, former Captain of Indian Hockey Team Gurbakhsh Singh, former distinguished tennis player Joydeep Mukherjee and former football player Tulsidas Balaram.

The award committee comprised of former Governor of West Bengal and former Chief Justice of Calcutta, Justice Shyamal Sen, Financial Director of Archdiocese of Calcutta, Rev. Fr. Peter Arulraj, Chairman Sahyog Foundation Mr. Ram Jawhrani, Chairman of the Award Committee, Mr. Anthony Arun Biswas and Mr. Ramesh Prasad, General Secretary. The committee has selected Prof. P. K. Abdul Azis for the award in recognition of his invaluable services in the fields of education and for championing the cause of deprived social classes.

The Blessed Mother Teresa Lifetime Achievement Awards have been previously conferred on several distinguished persons who have excelled in the fields of Education, Culture, Music, Social Work, Sports, Industry, Media, Medicine and Politics. Some of the eminent recipients of this prestigious award were Sri Jyoti Basu, former Chief Minister of West Bengal, Mrs. Hillary Clinton, Sri Rajiv Gandhi, Smt. Sheikh Hasina, Prime Minister of Bangladesh, Sri Girija Prasad Koirala, former Prime Minister of Nepal, Sri Subrata Roy, Chairman, Sahara Group, Sri Priya Ranjan Das Munshi, Sri Laloo Prasad Yadav, Sri Oscar Fernandes, Sri Ram Jethmalani and others.

The Mother Teresa Lifetime Achievement Awards were presented to eminent personalities in India and abroad who have practically served the humanity in their own capacity in their respective areas with a sense of service above self.

Demonstration on Micro-teaching

admin — Sun, 11 Apr 2010 07:25:32 +0000

he Medical Education Unit of Faculty of Medicine organized Faculty Development Programme on Medical Education Technology on “Large group teaching-How to make it interesting and interactive” and “Demonstration on Micro-teaching”. Thirty-nine faculty members participated in the interactive session.

The aim of the programme was to refresh the faculty members on Medical Education Technology. Prof. Seema Hakim, Coordinator, Medical Education Unit, Faculty of Medicine presented the introductory note.

Prof. Hakim said that Just about 200 years ago flying for human was laughed upon until two brothers came up and flying became a norm. Till just about 100 years ago, the smallest thing known to man was atom & it took a group of scientists to some trivial experiments to split it open & change an idiosyncrasy. Prof. Hakim said that this is the power of innovation. It can unsettle the dust of mediocrity settled over the centuries and straighten our lines of thought.

She pointed out that our teaching system is plagued by the omnipresent problem of bigger groups and fewer teachers which result in lower one-to-one interaction and (commonly) cynical student response. What we need is a common intersection point for the dichotomist landscape of better teaching & larger groups. She said that one such innovation that has the power to change the somewhat jaded education system is Microteaching, a method wherein the teacher videotapes his lectures and undertakes a post-mortem on it to find better ways to convey his thoughts. It was invented in the 1960s by Mr. Dwight Allen of Stanford University & has undergone significant changes from its first draft cousin.

Prof. Seema Hakim said that the best part about Microteaching is its inclusive nature. Everyone from the teacher to his/her colleagues and his/her wards is involved towards the upward Teaching Skills Evolutionary Continuum. It also presents the teacher with a snapshot of how well he/she teaches & how well are his/her teaching methods received by his/her students. Thus Microteaching provides fertile breeding grounds that yield innovations in teaching styles. She said that good things happen when minds are at work, we just have to wait & see how far the teachers of Faculty of Medicine take this highly ingenious method of Microteaching.

Prof. M.H. Beg, Officiating Dean, Faculty of Medicine, Prof. Seema Hakim, Coordinator, Medical Education Unit, Prof. Noor Afshan Sabzposh, Prof. Imam Bano, Prof. S.C. Sharma, Prof. S.F. Hashmi, Prof. Mohd. Yaseen, Prof. Geeta Rajput, Prof. R.K. Tiwari, Prof. Rana K. Sherwani, Prof. Nazoora Khan, Prof. S. Manazir Ali, Dr. Tamkin Rabbani, Dr. S.S. Ahmad, Dr. Shagufta Moin, Dr. Moinuddin, Dr. Shadab M. Rizvi, Dr. Wasi Khan, Dr. Afzal Haroon, Dr. Nazish Fatima, Dr. M. Nasiruddin, Dr. Jameel Ahmad, Dr. M.K. Jindal, Dr. S. Ameer Haider Jafri, Dr. Abhinav Gupta, Dr. Anees Ahmad, Dr. Saira Mehnaz, Dr. Fazl-ur-Rahman, Dr. Farah Ghaus, Dr. Shadab A. Khan, Dr. M.S. Zaheer, Dr. Mohd. Aslam, Dr. Gul-ar-Nabi Khan, Dr. Hammad Usmani, Dr. Abu Nadeem, Dr. Asiya Mateen, Dr. M.A. Bilal Hussain, Dr. Amit Kumar Garg and Dr. Mumtaz Alam attended the programme.

Management Of Trigeminal Neuralgia Radiofrequency Technique At Aligarh Muslim University

admin — Thu, 08 Apr 2010 09:57:10 +0000

ALIGARH April 7: The Department of Anaesthesiology, J.N. Medical College Hospital, Aligarh Muslim University organized a live workshop on the management of patients of trigeminal neuralgia with the latest radiofrequency technique. Two senior faculties and experts in the management of trigeminal neuralgia, Prof G. P. Dureja, Director, Delhi Pain Management Centre and Prof. H.H. Dash, Head of the Department of Neuroanaesthesiology, AIIMS, New Delhi demonstrated the different blocks of trigeminal nerve and its branches with the latest radiofrequency technique in Pain Clinic of the Department of Anaesthesiolgy, J.N. Medical College Hospital.

Trigeminal neuralgia is usually a unilateral current like sensation affecting the face of human being. The treatment options available for treating the pain of trigeminal neuralgia are neuropathic drugs like Carbamazepine, Gabapentin, Pregabalin, Baclofen etc. However these drugs provide pain relief for short duration only along with some serious side effects. Nerve blocks with neurolytic agents like phenol and alcohol provide relief for few months to year. The radiofrequency ablation of trigeminal nerve and its branches have become popular due to its long lasting pain relief with minimal side effects.

The workshop was attended by about 100 doctors from different specialties of J.N. Medical College Hospital and Sir Ziauddin Ahmed Dental College Hospital including private practitioners as well as delegates from outside Aligarh.

The Chairman of the Department of Anaesthesiology Prof S. Bano welcomed the invited faculties and the delegates. Coordinator of the workshop and consultant in Pain Clinic Dr. Hammad Usmani introduced the different procedures planned for the workshop. Dean, Faculty of Medicine Prof. S. Abrar Hasan expressed happiness over the organization of the event and presented memento to Prof H. H. Dash. Principal and Chief Medical Superintendent, JNMC, Prof. Ashraf Malik congratulated the department for organizing the live workshop and presented memento to Prof. G. P. Dureja. Prof. G. P. Dureja informed the delegates that this workshop is first of its kind in India.

About eight patients suffering from various forms of trigeminal neuralgia received free of cost treatment in the workshop. The usual cost of radiofrequency treatment for trigeminal neuralgia in Delhi varies from Rs. 5000 to Rs. 10,000. These patients will be followed up in the Pain Clinic of J.N. Medical College Hospital for further counseling. The active guidance of senior teachers of the department like Prof. M. M. H. Siddiqi, Dr. S. Haleem, Dr. A. Quadir, Dr. S. N. Jamil, Dr. Q. E. Ali and the hard work of Dr. Hussain Amir, Dr. Abu Nadeem, Dr. Farah, Dr. Obaid, Dr. Yasir, Dr. Shahna, Dr. Aftab, Dr. Kamran, Dr. Suhail, Dr. Asad and members of the Pain Clinic team including Dr. Muzaffar, Dr. Arshad, Dr. Nazia and sister Shaista made the event successful.

Muslim Forum Condemns killing of 73 CRPF Personnel by Maoists

admin — Wed, 07 Apr 2010 10:25:36 +0000

April 6,2010 Lucknow: April, 6,2010 – All India Muslim Forum strongly condemns the dastardly massacre of 73 CRPF personnel today by Maoists in Chaattisgarh and has appealed to the government to seek emancipation from this new form of terrorism which is shaking the foundations of the country.It is indeed a matter of great astonishment as why the Union government is so slack in tackling the Maoist menace, which if not suppressed instantly, is having the potential of striking at the root of the nation’s democratic polity and will pave the way for anarchy in the country. Once again it is the time for the people of the country, the governments concerned and all political parties to work as a single unit to face the challenge of this disastrous development that has become greater danger than what till now is being viewed as the terrorism in its various ramifications. Dr. Mustafa Kamal Sherwani LL.M.’76 Lucknow, U.P. India