Research Support & Funding

Project Title: Novel Nanotechnology Approaches to Indigenous Wastewater Treatment for a Cleaner and Climate-Resilient Future

The main objective of this partnership is to develop and implement “Novel Nanotechnology Approaches to Indigenous Wastewater Treatment for a Cleaner and Climate-Resilient Future.”
This project aims to leverage advanced nanotechnology to treat wastewater, addressing both environmental and public health challenges while contributing to a more sustainable and climate-resilient future.
This project represents the first of its kind in the country to effectively address wastewater treatment through the application of nanotechnology.
The initiative aligns with several United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), including:
SDG 6: Clean Water and Sanitation, SDG 9: Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure, and SDG 13: Climate Action.

Project Title: Advanced Level CanSATs for STEM Education, Space Exploration, Agriculture, Disaster Management, Climate and Environmental Research and Experimentation

The project focuses on the design and development of student satellites along with a dedicated ground station, aiming to engage students at school, college, and university levels. It encompasses the creation of a student satellite launch platform and the advancement of high-level student satellite for diverse applications, including agriculture, climate control, remote sensing, weather monitoring, disaster management, and space exploration. To support satellite launches and recovery, a reusable, solid-fueled, single-stage model rocket equipped with an integrated recovery system is also being developed.

This project adopts a systematic research methodology that integrates simulation, optimization, and performance evaluation to design high-performance Ultrawide Band Antennas (UWB) antennas and antenna arrays. The outcomes will be benchmarked against existing UWB antenna array models to establish best practices and design guidelines for antenna arrays for space applications.

In a significant stride towards advancing engineering and technology through space research and education, the Space Research Center at the University of Central Punjab (SRC-UCP) has reason to celebrate. The Ministry of Planning, Development, and Special Initiatives in Pakistan has given its resounding approval for SRC-UCP’s ambitious research project on “CanSAT Student Satellite and Rocketry.” The approved grant is 7.6 million for the design and development of CanSats (Student Satellites) for school, college, and university-level students.
Dr. M. Kamran Saleem, who is leading the Space Research Center at the University of Central Punjab, will be the principal investigator of the project. The CanSAT initiative aims to offer educators and students a useful and engaging learning environment. This interdisciplinary project includes components on project management, sensors and data acquisition, microcontroller programming, telemetry, communication, and satellite architecture. The in-house designed and developed CanSATs will be launched for specific assignments as the project concludes.

UCP takes great pride in informing that the Faculty of Science and Technology has signed an MoU with the Department of Environmental Health Sciences, School of Public Health, University at Albany, State University of New York, USA.
In light of this memorandum of understanding, both parties will be conducting joint research on “Air pollution monitoring of PM2.5 in Lahore to investigate the cause of smog and its effects on health”. The cost of the project is Rs. 4.21 M.
Lahore is one of the major cities of Pakistan, having high levels of air pollutants and adverse effects on health. However, the lack of reliable data on air quality and cause-specific morbidity and mortality remains a significant impediment to conducting such studies in major cities of the country. Air pollution in major cities of Pakistan comes from many different sources like significant stationary sources – industries, power plants, smelters, brick kilns; Combustion – coal, burning refuse (garbage and biomass); and Mobile sources such as vehicular traffic. Pakistan’s economy bears considerable costs of poor air quality. Direct costs could include infant mortality, debilitating diseases (cancer, CVD, asthma, and bronchitis), and acute morbidities\ (obesity, mental illness, and cognitive dysfunction. Indirect costs could include lower labour supply and productivity, higher incidence of violent crime, migration of skilled labour, volatility in the financial sector, and absence of school children and workers. Dr. Muhammad Akhyar Farrukh will conduct this collaborative research project on air pollution monitoring, representing FOST-UCP, while the University at Albany, USA, will be represented by Dr. Haider A. Khwaja. Dean Fost, Dr. Hafiza Rizwana Kausar thoroughly appreciated the principal investigators. She believes this project will also help FOST research students to learn advanced techniques used in air sample collection and analysis of air pollutants. Dr. Nassar Ikram, Pro-Rector of UCP, congratulated the team and said the project would benefit society at large, and the project’s outcomes would be conveyed to the government to take appropriate measures.

Prof. Dr. Muhammad Akhyar Farrukh from the Faculty of Science and Technology has won a research project worth Rs 7.4 Million under the Joint Scientific Exchange Program between Pakistan Science Foundation (PSF) and National Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC). The project titled “Application of spectral process manufacturing analysis technology in intelligent manufacturing” would be joint research between UCP and Shandong University of Science and Technology, China.
Prof. Dr. Muhammad Akhyar Farrukh is one of the leading researchers at UCP who is acclaimed internationally. Dr. Hafiza Rizwana Kausar, Dean Faculty of Science and Technology appreciated Prof. Dr. Muhammad Akhyar Farrukh, for winning the research project through a competitive process, assuring her full support in its execution. Dr. Nassar Ikram, UCP’s Pro-Rector congratulated the Dean and Dr Farrukh team for securing the project which would enable UCP in advancing research, international linkages, and collaborations aimed to create societal impact.

A team of scientists from University of Central Punjab (UCP), GC University Lahore, UVAS Pattoki with the industrial partner has won project titled Indigenous Technology Development worth Rs 6.639 M under Pakistan Science Foundation – PSF’s Competitive Research Programme on Triple Helix Model. Dr. Muhammad Akhyar Farrukh, Professor of Chemistry at UCP is the Co-Principal Investigator, while Principal Investigator is Prof. Dr. Ikram ul Haq, Professor Emeritus/ Distinguished National Professor from GC University Lahore. Other Co-PIs are Prof. Dr. Saima Ahad from UVAS, Pattoki and Dr. Ali Nawaz from GC University Lahore
The use of antibiotics in poultry feed has been an increasing concern which affects birds’ growth. The scientific team has therefore, pooled up their resources and intelligentsia to find alternate ways. Accordingly, objective of the project is to find alternative means replacing the existing antibiotics with the natural resources including plant extracts/essential oils. The project will help to reduce the use of antibiotics by up to five times per 1 KG of the bird weight to get the similar result. Dr. Hafiza Rizwana Kausar, Dean, Faculty of Science and Technology congratulated the team of the project, especially Prof. Dr. Muhammad Akhyar Farrukh, Co-Principal Investigator of the project from UCP. She highlighted that Faculty of Science and Technology is taking initiatives to connect the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) with research projects as well as taught courses offered at FOST. This project will help us in achieving the goals. Dr. Nassar Ikram, Pro-Rector of UCP congratulated the team for undertaking applied research project under collaboration with other Universities. He appreciated the team for their resolve to address the problems of local industry to create societal impact and contribute towards SDGs. He advised the team to complete the project within the stipulated period.

Prof. Dr. Muhammad Akhyar Farrukh, Faculty of Science and Technology, is the principal investigator of Nano-Materials Fabrication Lab, one of the affiliated labs to be established under the National Center for Nanoscience and Nanotechnology (NCNN).

The Central Development Working Party (CDWP), Planning Commission, Government of Pakistan has approved the PC-1 project titled “Establishment of National Center for Nanoscience and Nanotechnology (NCNN)” with a total cost of Rs. 3325.598 million. NCNN is a collective effort of 11 partner institutions including the University of Central Punjab (UCP) across the country with the significant objectives to pave the way for advancements in the field of nanoscience and nanotechnology in Pakistan. It was inaugurated on August 01, 2023.

Its objectives are to fabricate a large-scale supply of high-quality nanomaterials in Pakistan to meet the local demand (academia and industry) for their applications in Agriculture, Cosmetics, Food, Textile, Chemical Industry, Medicines/Health, Environment, Construction, Polymer, Energy, Petrochemical, etc. It catalogues and establishes an inventory of locally sourced nanomaterials accessible to all the stakeholders in the country.

The Nano-Materials Fabrication Lab will help in import substitution, capacity building with hiring of Research Associates, Research Assistants, fellowships to PhD/MS students and particularly to achieve the SDGs of Goal 3: Good Health and Well-Being for People, Goal 6: Clean Water and Sanitation, Goal 9: Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure, and Goal 13: Climate Action.

Project Title: Implementation of Computationally Efficient Numerical Approach to Analyze a Covid-19 Pandemic Model

Coronavirus disease (Covid-19), which has caused frustration across the human community, remains a major global concern as governments continue to struggle against the pandemic.
To address this challenge, we extensively studied a Covid-19 model to provide deep insight into the disease dynamics.
A mathematical analysis of the model, utilizing preventive measures, was performed to reduce the disease burden.
Several comprehensive mathematical techniques were applied to demonstrate essential properties of the solutions.
We proved the existence and uniqueness of solutions, identified equilibrium points (both in the absence and presence of the pandemic), and computed the threshold parameter to predict future disease dynamics.
The model’s stability was verified at equilibrium points under necessary conditions on the threshold parameter.
A reliable and competitive numerical analysis was conducted to assess the effectiveness of implemented strategies and verify analytical results.
Sensitivity analysis identified the most influential parameters.
A key feature of this study was employing the Non-Standard Finite Difference (NSFD) numerical scheme instead of traditional methods like the fourth-order Runge–Kutta method (RK4).
Numerical simulations validated the theoretical analysis, revealing that quarantine of exposed individuals and other strategies substantially reduce the diseased population and help achieve herd immunity.

Project Title: PAK-UK Education Gateway Mobility Partnership Grant For Students

In this project, the University of Central Punjab (UCP), Pakistan, and the University of Central Lancashire (UCLan), UK will carry out a student exchange program.
One faculty member from both universities will also accompany the students.
MPhil and PhD students of FMMC at UCP will gain exposure to Western culture and advanced research techniques through workshops and interaction with electronic media journalists at UCLan, UK.
UCLan students will have the opportunity to learn about Pakistani culture, religion, and marginalized groups, interacting with Pakistani experts and practitioners to develop a deeper understanding of the issues, their roots, and complexities.

Project Title: Harnessing the Untapped Therapeutic Potential of Phthalazine Scaffold as Small-Molecule Inhibitors of Ectonucleotidases for the Treatment of Diabetic Complications

The major goal of the project is to address the unprecedented productivity challenges in the drug discovery industry for the treatment of diabetic complications.
The proposed project aims to exploit structure-based virtual screening and the synthesis of phthalazine compounds using robust and reliable Suzuki-Miyaura cross-coupling
for the inhibition of ENTPDase-3 and ENPP1 enzymes. This project represents the first example of phthalazine-based inhibitors of both targets,
meeting national healthcare needs while streamlining the production of diabetes therapeutics.

Project Title: Establishment of National Center of Robotics and Automation, Human-Centered Robotics Lab, UCP

The goal of this lab is to make modern assistive devices, such as exoskeletons, accessible to disabled people
living in countries with severe financial constraints like Pakistan. A major focus area is walking disabilities,
which affect around 1 million people in Pakistan. Several exoskeleton prototypes have been developed and tested
for polio and spinal cord injury patients.

Project Title: Towards Affordable Leg Exoskeleton for Polio Patients

Therapeutic procedures designed for the rehabilitation of polio patients involve the use of orthotic devices.
In Pakistan, several hospitals and rehabilitation centers are providing these services; however, the devices
provided are mostly low-tech, rigid, and non-powered. Natural walking is not possible with these devices,
leading to their eventual abandonment. The goal of this project was to engineer advanced assistive devices aimed
at improving walking function in such patients. The project resulted in the design of a novel knee joint for
knee-ankle-foot orthoses, which has since been tested in a partner hospital.

Project Title: Intelligence and Autonomy Extension for Low Cost Freshwater Inspection Vehicles

The project focuses on developing intelligent and autonomous low-cost robotic systems for freshwater inspection.
It aims to enhance the operational capabilities of inspection vehicles, enabling them to navigate and collect
environmental data efficiently in various aquatic conditions.

Project Title: Forest Monitoring and Change Detection using Remote Sensing Data

Project Title: Detection of Fungus in Fields using Autonomous Robots

Project Title: Optimization, Validation and Multiplexing of 11CHRX MiniSTRs in Pakistan Population

Project Title: NGIRI-Ignite Final Year Projects Funding

For the promotion of creativity and innovation in ICT-related projects, UCP has participated in the NGIRI funding cycle of the year 2020, where UCP has secured the financial assistance of 15 final year projects (FYPs) to develop the working models/prototype of these projects. Remarkably, UCP has won the highest number of projects at the Punjab level when compared with Private Universities/Institutes, while it stands at 3rd position when compared with both Public & Private Universities/Institutes of Punjab. The table shown below indicates the approved funding amount of the projects and details of the focal person.

Project Title: ASIA-CONNECT Project “ICT Research and Development for Rural/Remote Areas of Pakistan”

Many rural areas, hospitals, schools, colleges and village towns are without communication and internet facilities. This is one of the major causes of backwardness and poor social/economic conditions of rural community. The proposed solution consists of the design and development of a wireless system that could be deployed off the grid at the locations without power or network infrastructure. A wireless back-haul mechanism will be developed based on multi-hop techniques and long distance WiFi terminals to connect the rural community with the internet coverage and to connect Open BTS base stations to the outside world.