International students will now have more incentive to enroll at Iowa State because the aerospace and mechanical engineering departments have developed a connection with Pakistan which will attract graduate students from Pakistan to ISU.

Zaffar Khan, a Fulbright scholar from the National University for Sciences and Technology (NUST) in Pakistan, has worked with the engineering department and college heads to establish an exchange program of graduate students between his home university and ISU’s aerospace and mechanical engineering departments.

The Fulbright program was established “to make this world a happier place to live in” by promoting international understanding through academics, Khan said, “and this exchange program should be another step toward that end.”

James Melsa, dean of the College of Engineering, said six or so graduates from Pakistan initially will come to ISU next year to work on their masters. In the future the program may expand to include Ph.D.s and undergraduates, and may become a two-directional exchange with ISU students going to Pakistan.

“NUST already participates in several such exchange programs, sending their students to universities in the United States and England to better prepare the top engineering students in Pakistan to be future industrial leaders and professors,” said Tom Rudolphi, aerospace engineering and engineering mechanics department chair.

“NUST is already the leading university in Pakistan for engineering,” Khan said.

Michigan State University (MSU) has had an alliance with NUST for several years. “However,” Rudolphi said, “they have made no contact with MSU in forming this program.”

Rudolphi’s reasoning behind this is that ISU is “trying not to do exactly what they’re doing.” He said the program should develop according to the department’s own style and uniqueness.

“This is the initial agreement of a program that is going to continue to evolve,” Rudolphi said.

“There is some difficulty foreseen with getting ISU students to go to Pakistan,” Khan said. Despite this, Khan said he feels “very strongly that eventually it will be a two-way traffic [program].”

Rudolphi said it will also take time to establish close faculty ties between ISU and NUST. With the two institutes working together, NUST students will take classes for credit in Pakistan that, he said, “will prepare them for curriculum here.”

“I feel a sense of accomplishment that my efforts may make the world a better place to live and a smaller place to live. It should promote a better understanding between people on this mother earth and contribute toward improving the socio-economic standings of both our countries,” said Khan.

Khan is not the only NUST graduate currently at ISU. He said there are three others, including Jahangin Kayani, in electrical engineering, who received the Research Excellence Award from ISU for his work in development and application of spread-spectrum ultrasonic evaluation technique.

Kayani was also ranked in the top ten percent of ISU students for overall quality and was the first NUST graduate to earn a Ph.D. from ISU.

“Learning is a continuous process,” Khan said. “We keep learning from one another’s experiences.”

When Khan returns to Pakistan next January he will be teaching at NUST and will also continue researching. He also plans on following the progress of the new exchange program between NUST and ISU.

“I hope the seeds that I have sown will flourish and grow into a big tree. Then everyone will benefit from its fruit,” Khan said.