Senior scientist Prof Dr Viqar Uddin Ahmed passes away
Karachi:14 July:Prominent senior scientist Prof Dr Viqar Uddin Ahmed, who served science and research in Pakistan for more than five decades, died at the age of 79 in Karachi on Saturday morning.
He had been unwell for the last one month mainly because of old age and weakness. The funeral prayer for the deceased was held after the Asr prayer at the Moti Mosque in Kehkashan, Block-8, Clifton. He is survived by his wife, three daughters and grandchildren.
Dr Ahmed was born in Allahabad, India on July 6, 1940. He passed his MSc examination in 1959 from the Allahabad University. He stood first in his class, for which he was awarded a gold medal by his alma mater.
He was the first person to be awarded a PhD degree in chemistry by the University of Karachi (KU) in 1966 under the supervision of the legendary scientist Prof Dr Saleemuz Zaman Siddiqui.
Dr Ahmed was awarded a doctorate degree by the University of Bonn in West Germany in 1968. He was awarded a DSc degree by KU in 1992.
In his condolence message, KU Vice Chancellor Prof Dr Khalid Iraqi expressed grief over the death and termed it a national loss not only for the university but also for the nation.
Paying tribute to Dr Ahmed’s remarkable services, Prof Attaur Rahman, chairman of the Prime Minister’s Task Force on Science & Technology and patron-in-chief of KU’s International Centre for Chemical & Biological Sciences (ICCBS), said he was an outstanding scientist who made tremendous contributions in the field of natural product chemistry. “We spent about 50 years together as colleagues and published many important research papers together.”
Dr Ahmed contributed to the development of alkaloid, terpenoid and carbohydrate chemistry. His services for the promotion of science and research in the country would always be remembered, said Prof Rahman, and prayed for the peace of the departed soul.
ICCBS Director Prof Dr M Iqbal Choudhary said Dr Ahmed was a truly great scientist whose contributions in the field of chemistry would be remembered forever. He prayed for a special place in heaven for the soul of the late professor. He also prayed for patience for the members of the bereaved family.
Dr Ahmad was awarded various national and international awards in recognition of his outstanding contributions in the field of chemistry. He was awarded two gold medals by the Pakistan Academy of Sciences for his outstanding work in the chemistry of natural products.
He received the much coveted Scientist of the Year cash award and the Prime Minister Gold Medal for the year 1986, and the first prize in Chemistry by the National Book Council of the Government of Pakistan in 1990. He received the Sitara-e-Imtiaz from the Pakistan president on March 23, 1996.
He was awarded the Khwarizmi Prize by the Iran president on February 4, 1998 in Tehran, Iran. He was awarded the DuPont Science Cash Award in Chemistry in 2003 and was appointed distinguished national professor by the Higher Education Commission (HEC), Islamabad in March 2004.
The civil award Hilal-e-Imtiaz was awarded to him by the Pakistan president on March 23, 2006. He was awarded the HEC Outstanding Research Award for the year 2005-06.
He was elected fellow of various organisations, including the Third World Academy of Sciences, the Pakistan Academy of Sciences and the Chemical Society of Pakistan. He held the charge of co-director of the HEJ Research Institute of Chemistry at the ICCBS from 1990 to 1999.
On March 19, 1994 he was appointed dean of KU’s Faculty of Science, a post that he held until his retirement on July 5, 2000. On July 12, 2000 he was reappointed as professor at the HEJ Research Institute of Chemistry.
According to the booklet ‘Productive Scientists of Pakistan’, published by the Pakistan Council for Science & Technology in 2011, Dr Ahmed was ranked third in the list of most productive scientists of the country.
He wrote more than 511 research papers for various national and international journals of repute. He also has more than 600 impact factors, 3,512 citations and eight published books to his credit.
He supervised research of 52 PhD students and four MPhil students who have received their degrees. He was editor of the Journal of Chemical Society of Pakistan. He was an elected member of the Council of Pakistan Academy of Sciences.
Dr Ahmed had discovered a large number of new biologically active natural products from the medicinal plants of Pakistan and determined their structures. They have the potential of being used as drugs for the treatment of various human and animal diseases.
News Desk adds: KU VC Dr Iraqi, who attended the funeral of Dr Ahmed, prayed that the Almighty Allah grant courage to the members of the bereaved family to bear the irreparable loss and grant the departed soul rest in eternal peace.
Dr Iraqi said that Dr Ahmed was a truly great scientist whose contributions in the field of chemistry would always be remembered.
The funeral was attended by a large number of teachers, including ICCBS Director Choudhry.
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