KARACHI: Highlighting the significance of nanotechnology, speakers at an international conference shared that the science of manipulating matter on an atomic and molecular scale can help address the many challenges and pressing issues the world and the country face today, including environmental concerns.

Organised at Karachi University (KU) on Monday, the International Congress on Nanoscience and Nanotechnology (ICNN-1) opened at Prof Salimuzzaman Siddiqui Auditorium, International Centre for Chemical and Biological Sciences (ICCBS). Over 600 national and international scientists are attending the three-day hybrid global science event.

Speaking at the inaugural session, KU Vice Chancellor Dr Khalid Iraqi emphasised the importance of adopting modern technologies, noting that the recent Iran–Israel and Pakistan–India conflicts had shown that “technological superiority often determines victory”.

He also stressed the need for investing in science and education, while citing the example of China, where the government allocated a significant share of the gross domestic product (GDP) to education.

Over 600 scientists participate in three-day international congress at ICCBS

“The true wealth of nations lies in their skilled human resource,” he remarked, adding that Pakistan needed to follow suit.

Former federal science minister Dr Attaur Rahman, prof emeritus, said that development and social plans should be drafted while keeping future needs in focus. “That’s why the National Commission on Nano Science and Technology (NCNST) was established in Pakistan 20 years ago to promote and develop nanotechnology,” he recalled.

He thanked Aziz Latif Jamal, chairman of the Husein Ebrahim Jamal Foundation (HEJ), for his continued support in establishing the Latif Ebrahim Jamal (LEJ) Nanotechnology Centre at the ICCBS.

ICCBS Director Prof Muhammad Raza Shah said that nanotechnology was a cutting-edge discipline that had garnered significant global attention in recent times because it operated at the nanoscale.

He also talked about how the HEJ Research Institute of Chemistry had been making strides in research over the years and playing a critical role in providing the much-needed scientific support to other institutions in the country.

Prof Noor Muhammad Butt, an expert in nanotechnology, shared that nanoscience, at the nanoscale, provides the fundamental knowledge and principles that make nanotechnology possible.

Samman Aziz Jamal said that since its inception, the HEJ Foundation has contributed to the establishment of various centres of excellence, while the LEJ National Science Information Centre and the LEJ Nanotechnology Centre stand as cornerstones of modern scientific research in Pakistan.

Published in Dawn, August 19th, 2025