ABOUT ME

Born in the metropolitan city of Karachi, Pakistan, I grew up with a GRITFUL and problem-solving mindset — the kind megacities demand to live in them! As a student, I attended several schools before completing my 10th year at Civilisations Public School (Class of 2012), Karachi. I then moved on to one of Karachi's renowned private colleges, NCR CET College (Class of 2014). This was my academic journey through adolescence.

Academic Career/Journey: I then went on to pursue EASA Part 66 B1 Aviation Engineering at Aviation Training Hub - Institute of Space Technology, Karachi. Alongside my studies, I joined industry as an Aircraft Engineering Technician from 2015 to 2019. Before COVID, I had worked in aviation for about three and a half years as an Aerospace Technician, and I realised that engineering was not my long-term purpose — my future lay in academia and science, where I could question, explore, and think about the broader questions of life. I restarted my academic journey in December 2019 as a Space Science (B.Sc) student at the Institute of Space Sciences & Technology, University of Karachi, graduating with the Class of 2023 with an M.Sc in Computational Astronomy & Astrophysics. It was here that I finally rediscovered my lifelong passion for natural science — especially space science — which gave me a true sense of purpose and a never-ending journey.

Teaching Experience: I later joined my alma mater, ATH - IST, as an Aviation Instructor and Quality Auditor in 2021, teaching B1 aerospace-related courses as a permanent faculty member until September 2025. While also completing my studies at ISST - University of Karachi, I joined the university as a visiting faculty member for 2024–25, teaching undergrad courses in Astronomy and Aerospace.

Research Experience: I'm interested in Space Sciences broadly, exploring the field from different angles, with a particular focus on Astronomy and Remote Sensing. My M.Sc thesis focused on exoplanetary atmospheres, titled "Measuring and Predicting the Presence of Clouds in Exoplanet Atmospheres with Transmission Spectra for Recommending JWST Observations." - Supervised by Mr Anas Qureshi and Dr Munazza K. Alam.

I've also worked on UAV/drone design and fabrication, founding my university's first UAV team within the Aerospace Sciences department. Additionally, I've worked on multiple projects using Mars HiRISE and Landsat data during my undergraduate studies.

I'm currently enrolled in the MS Physics program at Baku State University in Azerbaijan, focusing on "Laser Monitoring of the Atmosphere and its Applications." Supervised by Prof. Dr. Vagif Salmanov (Chair of the Department of Semiconductor Physics at BSU, Azerbaijan)

Science Communication Work: Back in 2020, I joined Scientia Magazine (the only digital English-language science magazine in Pakistan) as a science writer, and have since helped transform it into a leading source of science writing and communication in the country as a co-founder today. At Scientia, we've published more than 800 science articles across major science and technology domains, and we run science writing internships twice a year, having trained over 85 young science writers to date. We also organised Pakistan's first science writing workshop last year at Habib University, Karachi, hosting more than 65 participants from the city in collaboration with ACM-W.

Furthering my science communication work, I also lead a U.S.-based nonprofit, Kainaat Studios founded by Prof. Dr. Salman Hameed, as Manager of Science Outreach, where we create space and astronomy videos for the general public in English, Urdu, and Hindi. It's one of my long-term passions — to build curiosity and wonder through astronomy and to make the dissemination of science more accessible for Global South countries and the world at large.