Intel ISEF 2012: Peshawar girl wins science accolade

Talks about inspiration behind her winning project.

PESHAWAR:

Seventeen year old Shiza Gulab, who secured fourth place in the world’s largest pre-college science fair, arrived in her hometown in Swati Patik on Sunday.

The Intel International Science and Engineering Fair (ISEF) 2012 was held in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania in the United States. Three Pakistani teenagers Shiza Gulab, Mahnoor Hassan and Bushra Shahed attained fourth position for their project titled ‘Energy Square for Cattle.’

Gulab, a first-year engineering student at the Institute of Computer and Management Sciences (ICMS), Peshawar, talks about her project and the inspiration behind it.

“We attended a workshop in Islamabad in which the organisers suggested that we work in the fields of biology, mathematics, physics and computer science.”

Gulab said she decided to select a topic from the field of biology on her mother’s advice. “I discussed the idea with my colleagues Mahnoor and Bushra and they also agreed with me and we started working on our project.”

“Our project attained first position at the national level competition in which 86 teams participated and the regional level in the Pak-Turkish School Peshawar. When we found out that our team had been selected for Intel ISEF, we felt a mixture of extreme happiness and confusion.”

Gulab’s father Gul Shah is understandably filled with pride. “I am very happy. She has not only made me proud, but also the province and our country.”

Shah said he has cows in his home which are not raised for a source of income or milk, but to nurture his children’s interest in animals. He added that his daughter was destined to work for the development of the country.

Gulab’s mother maintains that her daughter is a very intelligent student and gets first position in school every year.

Principal of ICMS college for girls, Ambareen Batol said it was a “pleasure that our students have been selected for the international fair.”

ICMS Director Malik Tajamul Hayat said the prize winning students are already on scholarship and will be facilitated in every possible way to excel in their studies. Giving details about the project, she said it was designed to provide livestock with adequate nutrition even in times of natural disasters. The formula, which is a dry mix of a variety of ingredients such as mulberry, wheat, maize, rice polish, urea and calcium, provides vitamins and protein to the animals. It also contributes in controlling diseases, increasing milk production and weight in cattle in just 28 days.

Published in The Express Tribune, May 21^st, 2012.