Main Research Directions
SCME Key Research Thrust Areas
Energy and Environment
As the fossil fuel consumption has increased dramatically over the past few decades, environmental issues like global warming, smog and ozone layer depletion etc. have become major threats to the human life. These issues have surged the demands of developing resourceful energy generation, conversion or storage systems. Researchers at SCME are working closely to develop materials/technologies to obtain energy from renewable resources, its efficient storage and environmental remediations. Domains like catalyst development and testing, electrodes of batteries and supercapacitors, solar cell making testing and conversion of bio/industrial waste etc. are the domains in which research is focused. SCME is equipped with several labs and necessary equipment to carry out research in this area. Following researchers are working in close collaboration in this key area:
Polymers & Composites
Polymers are an important category of materials replacing conventional materials in almost all fields of engineering applications. Being lightweight and with ease of processing, demand of polymers is increasing day by day. Also, new formulations and combinations are being explored to make further improvement in properties. Development of composites is also a dimension in which polymers have played a vital role. Combining metals, ceramics and polymers with other hard materials in the form of particulate, continuous and discontinuous fibers is a useful mean of enhancing properties of the matrices.
Functional Nanomaterials & Applications
Nanotechnology is the nexus of sciences; its umbrella covers a huge range of disciplines. The possible applications of this technology are immense. Realizing the enormous potential of Nano science and nanotechnology to solve the issues of energy, agriculture, water, health, environment and homeland security, countries all over the world have been making substantial investment for promoting this area. In the Nano Mission of SCME it is planned to become center of excellence and promote institution-industry linked projects through increased public private partnerships. As part of the Nano Mission our main goal is to educate and train students in Nanotechnology, teach them skills necessary to become the future leaders in this rapidly emerging industrial revolution, support research and development projects, strengthening of characterization and infrastructural facilities, joint projects between educational institutions and industry for application development etc.
Biomaterials
Biomaterials is one of the most important but least explored research area for Materials Scientists and Engineers in Pakistan. It is an interdisciplinary field that is experiencing very rapid development. The major focus of this research area is to develop and design biocompatible materials for different applications and develop a deep understanding of the interaction of materials with biomolecules. The major applications of this field are the development of materials for drug delivery, tissue engineering, medical imaging and dental applications. As the field is interdisciplinary, therefore students with different background can contribute in the development and characterization of new materials. Currently the research focus of this group is development and characterization of metallic implants and polymeric implants for tissue regeneration, magnetic and polymeric materials for drug delivery application and polymeric materials for food packaging application.
Advanced Ceramics & Coatings
Advanced engineering ceramics made by modern fine manufacturing technologies possess high hardness, acceptable toughness and exceptional refractoriness which are useful for enormous practical applications like ball bearings, mechanical water seals or water lubricated sliding bearings, tribo-materials, cutting tool materials that are better than traditional high speed steel and material for guides and dies in manufacturing process etc. Additionally, material deterioration due to the interaction with environment can degrade the performance of components over time. Corrosion, one of the leading causes of part failure, damages the surfaces of the materials, and sometimes combines with wear leads to accelerate deterioration process. Thus, there is a dire need for the modification of the surface properties instead of improving the bulk material. Following faculty members are working in close collaboration in this area of research.
Membrane Technology
Membrane Technology is one of the key thrust areas related to the Chemical Engineering Department at SCME. Faculty and Researchers are working on multifunctional diverse membranes for gas separations, water purification and dialysis membranes. All the required hightech equipment related to membrane fabrication, characterization, permeability Analysis and permeation study test rig is available for real time study. Following are the faculty members working closely in this research area.