Athar Mahboob

Athar Mahboob (Urdu: اطہر محبوب; born January 13, 1971) is a Pakistani academic who is the Vice-Chancellor of the Islamia University of Bahawalpur, Pakistan, a large public sector university of the Southern Punjab region. Earlier he served as Vice-Chancellor of Khawaja Fareed University of Engineering and Information Technology, Rahim Yar Khan, Pakistan. 
Mahboob was decorated with the civil award of Tamgha-e-Imtiaz (TI) on 14 August 2012 by the President of Islamic Republic of Pakistan based on his contributions to Science (Engineering & Technology).
==Early life and education==
Mahboob was born on 13 January 1971 in Karachi. He got his primary education from Stoke Newington School in London while his father was posted as Air Attaché at the Embassy of Pakistan in UK. Mahboob got his middle school education in various institutions of Pakistan Airforce such as P.A.F Model School Drigh Road, P.A.F Model School, Badaber and P.A.F Degree College Peshawar. He did his Secondary School Certificate from Hyderabad Board while he studied for three years (1983–1986) at the Cadet College Petaro. Mahboob received his Undergraduate and Master's degrees from Florida State University, Tallahassee, USA during the 1990s and his doctorate Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering from National University of Sciences and Technology (NUST), Pakistan in 2005.
==Career==
Athar Mahboob began his career as a General Manager at A to Zee Electronics & Audiophiles, Tallahassee, Florida, USA in 1995. He came back to serve his country in 1996 and joined as an assistant professor & system manager (Head of IT) at Sir Syed University of Engineering & Technology, Karachi and was later promoted to associate professor. 
In 2006, he joined as associate professor at National University of Sciences and Technology (NUST), Pakistan. Mahboob became the president & CEO of Ibn Khaldun Systems in 2005 and served for a period of 10 years. As president & CEO Ibn Khaldun Systems, he successfully managed more than 50 industrial projects.
In April 2012, he was appointed as Professor of Electrical Engineering and later Dean at DHA Suffa University, Karachi. He founded the electrical engineering department and also designed the curriculum and managed the accreditation process with Pakistan Engineering Council (PEC). He was also given the additional charge of Director IT & acting registrar during his tenure at DHA Suffa University, Karachi.
In 2015, he became the vice-chancellor of Khawaja Fareed University of Engineering and Information Technology, Rahim yar khan. Under his leadership nearly 1 million square feet of building space consisting of more than 140 classrooms and laboratories, 200 faculty offices have been completed. By the time Mahboob completed his stint as vice-chancellor, the university had already grown to a student strength of nearly 9,000 and 230 faculty members with 105 PhD-qualified faculty. The number of academic programmes being offered increased to 65.
Since Athar Mahboob joined The Islamia University of Bahawalpur, the enormous potential for socio-economic impact has increased and a number of initiatives in quality education, environment particularly climate change action, health and wellbeing and community engagement are taken. The varsity under the leadership of Athar is also on the mission to be recognized as among the top 100 universities of the world. During his charge, the Islamia University has also become a 4th generation university and is continuing to grow more. Another significant development under Athar stands in the projects and initiatives that are in the process of execution, particularly in University infrastructure and new academic facilities.
==Research==
Mahboob has published more than 30 research papers in referred international journals and international conferences. Mahboob has performed as a reviewer for a number of ISI-indexed Impact Factor journals including IEEE Sensors Journal, IET Networks, IET Computers & Digital Techniques, Elsevier Computers and Electronics in Agriculture. Mahboob also serves on the Editorial Board for the Journal of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science ISSN: 2306-8620, International Journal of Business Quantitative Economics and Applied Management Research (IJBEMR) & Guest Editor the Sensors & Transducers Journal (ISSN: 2306-8515, e-ISSN 1726-5479)
==Awards==
* Tamgha-e-Imtiaz, Government of Pakistan – 2012 https://www.nation.com.pk/01-Feb-2020/new-era-of-advancement-and-expansion-comes-to-islamia-university-of-bahawalpur
Category:1971 births
Category:People from Karachi
Category:Pakistani people
Category:Florida State University alumni
Category:Academics