Founders
M. BASHEER AHMED M.D
Co-founder and president Emeritus
Basheer Ahmed celebrates many years of experience in his professional network and has been noted for the achievements, leadership qualities, credentials and successes he has accrued in his field.
After graduating from Osmania University in Hyderabad India, he completed his medical degree from Dow Medical College in Karachi, Pakistan. Dr. Ahmed then attended Glasgow University in Scotland to complete his postgraduate studies in Psychiatry.
He is a fellow of the Royal College of Psychiatrists (FRCPsy) London, Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians (FRCP) Canada and he is a distinguished life fellow of the American Psychiatric Association.
His academic career started in St. Louis, Missouri as an instructor of psychiatry at the University of Missouri at St. Louis and later as the assistant professor of psychiatry at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine and the executive director of the Soundview Throgsneck Community Mental Health Center New York. In 1976, Dr. Ahmed moved to Dayton Ohio to become a professor of psychiatry at Wright State University and also the chief of psychiatry at the Dayton VA Hospital. He moved to Texas in 1978 as a professor of psychiatry at the University of Texas Health Science Center –Southwestern Medical School Dallas Texas. He has been in private practice since 1985 in Fort Worth Texas.
He served as the chairman of the Tarrant County Chapter of the Texas Society of Psychiatric Physicians. He is the past president of the Islamic Association of Tarrant County, the past president of the Islamic Medical Association of North America, and the past president of the Board of Regents of the Islamic Medical Association of North America. He is the founding member of the Board of Directors of the International Institute of Islamic Medicine. He is a former member of the Board of Directors of the Multi Cultural Alliance of North Texas (an interfaith organization). He is also a member of the Muslim Jewish Council of North Texas.
Dr. Basheer Ahmed is a pioneer by establishing the first Muslim charitable organization in Texas in 1995; the Muslim Community Center for Human Services which provides medical, dental and social services to indigent residents of the Dallas Fort Worth area, irrespective of the ethnicity, religion, race or country of origin. Dr Ahmed serves as Chairman Emeritus and the center still provides needed services to immigrants and the refugee community in the Dallas Fort Worth area.
After serving as the chairman of 4 regional conferences of Association of Muslim Social Scientists (AMSS) on Muslim contributions to world civilization, Dr Ahmed established another organization - the Institute of Medieval and Post Medieval Studies (IMPMS) in 2009. The mission of IMPMS is to make people aware of the great contributions that Muslim medieval scholars made to the world civilization by presenting and disseminating written and audiovisual material, as well as organizing conferences on this subject. Two years ago, IMPMS joined hands with another organization, Discover/Stem, to inspire and train young Muslim students to become innovators and future scientists. Dr Ahmed has organized several conferences in the Dallas Forth area and presented papers at the International Congress on Medieval Studies at Western Michigan University, Kalamazoo Michigan.
In 2014, Dr Ahmed established another organization – the Institute of Quranic Knowledge and Intra-faith Religious Acceptance (IQRA) to promote a harmonious relationship among the various Muslim sects and to reduce sectarian hatred and violence. He currently serves the organization as president emeritus.
Dr. Ahmed has presented numerous papers nationally and internationally and published numerous articles in various professional journals and has recently edited/written six books and wrote the book My Story as a Muslim Immigrant in America”.
(i) Muslim Contribution to World Civilization;
(ii) The Islamic Intellectual Heritage and it’s Impact on the West;
(iii) Domestic Violence Cross Cultural Perspective;
(iv) My Story as a Muslim Immigrant in America
(v) The Rise and Fall of Muslim Civilizations- Hope for the Future
(vi) Why are Americans Obsessed with Guns
All these book are available on Amazon.
Dr Ahmed can be contacted at mbahmed08@gmail.com
LATE AMBASSADOR SYED A. AHSANI
Co-founder and ex-president Emeritus IMPMS
Ambassador Ahsani has been a political and social activist for several years in the Dallas/Ft. Worth area. He was the founder and chairman of the American Muslim Alliance - Southwest Region. He was the founding member of the Texas Muslim Democratic Caucus. He was the co-founder and president emeritus of the Institute of Medieval and post Medieval Studies. Born at Bareilly, India, he did his undergraduate work in Pakistan and Post-Graduate studies at McGill University, Montreal, Canada and obtained his diploma in French in Paris. He joined the Pakistan Foreign Services in 1952 and served in Pakistani missions in Cairo, Rome, Beirut, Kabul and Calcutta. He attended the Ramsar summit with President Ayub Khan, Shah of Iran and president Suleman Demirel in 1967. He served as Ambassador to Sudan, Ghana and Sierra Leon between 1971 and 1979. After serving as Ambassador to Brazil from 1979 to 1981, with
accreditation to Paraguay, Bolivia, Columbia and Surinam, he returned to the Foreign Office in Islamabad where he was the co-founder Director of Pakistan Foreign Service Academy from1981 till his retirement in 1988.He coordinated an international conference in Lahore Pakistan on ISLAMIC SPAIN. He presented a paper at the Association of Muslim Social Scientists meeting in Lansing, Michigan on “Current State of Research on Islamic Spain” and also the
“Strategy for development of Muslim Ummah” at the Islamic Research Foundation Chicago. After retiring, he moved to the United States and settled down in Arlington in 1988 where he taught at the University of Texas -
Arlington and Tarrant County Junior College as visiting professor. In 2000, he was elected as a delegate to the Democratic National Convention at Los Angeles. He was a very active member of the
Historic Ballot Box Barbecue for DFW area Muslims in 2002. He remained very active in raising awareness about political activism in the Muslim community along with Dr. Inayat Lalani and Syed Hasan. He is a co-founder of Institute of Medieval and Post Medieval Studies (IMPMS) and was the president from 2009 to 2011. He has presented academic papers on Muslim contributions to world civilization in world conferences in various parts of the country. He was co-chairman of four regional conferences of the Association of Muslim Social Scientists in Dallas Forth area.He was a co editor of the book, “Muslim Contributions to World Civilization.” In 2012 he became President Emeritus of IMPMS and received the lifetime achievement award and he will be always be remembered for his tireless work to build IMPMS.
The city of Arlington, Texas recognized Ambasedor Ahsani by naming a street “Ambassador Syed Ahsani Street” near Downtown Arlington, TX.
Board of Directors
AMBER MALIK SHEIKH
Amber Malik Sheikh is the founder of ALIA, the first K-12 Accredited Urdu and Arabic language school in the USA. She is co-founder of GEM Academy & Center where she runs a licensed afterschool and weekend school.
Amber holds a Bachelor’s in Accounting & Marketing and a Master’s in Hospitality & Asset Management from New York University. She is currently pursuing a Doctorate of Education from Northeastern University.
Amber Sheikh has been a member of IMPMS board of directors since 2019, and has been serving as treasurer of IMPMS since 2022
Amber resides in Plano TX with her husband and their four children. She is an active parent and a devoted community activist.
AZIZ BUDRI
President Elect IMPMS
Aziz was born and raised in Kabul, Afghanistan. At age 17, finishing first in his class, he was granted an American Field Service scholarship to complete the last year of his high school at Iowa Falls High School, in Iowa Falls, Iowa. While attending school, he was hosted by the family of Bishop Oswald, living with them as a member of their family. A few highlights of that year was being elected King of Winter Holidays, being invited to the White House, watching the first moon landing with the late Senator and presidential candidate, Eugene McArthy at his
Washington residence, and casting his vote for a historical bill: adding warnings on cigarette packages; “Smoking may cause cancer” Following his graduation, as a condition of his visa, he
returned back to Kabul. Two years later, in August 1972, he came back to Iowa to start his college education at Mount Mercy University. He graduated in 1976 with double majors in Sociology and Business Administration. He was also winner of the President's award and was added to Who is Who Among Students in American Colleges and Universities. Following his
graduation, he attended the University of Iowa where he completed his Masters in Public Administration.
In 1982, he moved to Dallas, where he started a management career in financial services with a Fortune 500 company, and earned over three dozen awards for excellence, chief among them was the coveted manager of the year in the entire home office. His last posting was that of Marketing Director. However, due to ill health, his career was cut short and he was placed on disability retirement 1996.
Public speaking and interviews with the media have been an important part of Aziz’ life. He has given hundreds of talks in colleges and universities, high schools, churches, and social clubs. He has been interviewed by the media, including TV stations, newspapers, radio, and magazines, at least over one hundred times.
Aziz is a firm believer in serving others. Starting with middle school and continuing to date, he has served in many organizations, in addition to his years of helping Afghan refugees, and the wounded Afghan freedom fighters that the late congressman Charlie Wilson brought to Texas.
A cursory list of organization Aziz has served, as a founder, officer or a member of the board of directors, is as follows:
- Founder and president of International Students Association, Mount Mercy University
- Sociological Club, vice president, Mount Mercy University
- President of International Students Association, University of Iowa
- Founder, president, chairman of Afghan Unity
- Chairman of the Board, Islamic Association of Texas
- World Affairs Council
- Unicef Texas Chapter
- Gendercide Awareness Project Advisory Board member
- American Muslim Caucus, officer and member of the board of directors
- Advisory Board member of MCCHS
- Founding and board of directors member, IMPMS
- Founding Member and president of Islamic Association of Texas
- Board of Directors member of Mosque in Cedar Rapids, Iowa
- Founding member of Colleyville Mosque
- Board member of STEMmatters
Board Members
Mirza Faizan
Faizan is a world-renowned aerospace scientist and inventor of the Ground Reality Information Processing System (GRIPS), an innovative system to prevent runway incursion, runway excursion and detect foreign objects & debris on runways in real-time.
He has vast experience working on the design and development of aerospace, defense, and mission-critical systems. His research and algorithm for predicting collision between random particles in a semi-controlled environment are highly admired by scientists from NASA, Pentagon-AMRDEC (Army Missile Research, Development & Engineering Center), and US Air Force. Global R&D communities often seek his expertise in research, innovation, aerospace systems design & development, and aviation safety.
As a nominated judge of the R&D100 Awards, Faizan has evaluated research & technologies which are exclusively funded/owned by NASA, the United States Department of Homeland Security, Advanced Research Projects Agency (ARPA) of the Department of Homeland Security’s Science and Technology Department, United States Department of Energy, United States Department of Defense – Joint Cyber Center, United States Defense Threat Reduction Agency (DTRA) and Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).
Faizan is also keenly interested in Psychology and possesses a Bachelor’s Degree in Psychology with a special interest in child learning and development. For his innovations and contributions to the global aerospace and defense industry, Faizan was granted permanent residency in the United States under the ‘Alien of Extraordinary Ability’ category, also known as “Einstein Visa” a category generally reserved for Noble Laureates or top scientists.
Dr. Yushau Sodiq
Dr. Yushau Sodiq is an Associate Professor of Religion and Islamic Studies at Texas Christian University, Fort Worth, since 1992. He specializes on Islamic Studies, Islamic Law, African religions and Islam in America. He taught at Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond from1990 -92 and was a Lecturer at the Faculty of Law, University of Sokoto, Nigeria from 1980-83. He also lectured at the Muslim Teacher's College, Farmville, VA. Born in Sagamu, Ogun State, Nigeria, he holds a B.A (1976) in Islamic studies and an M.A (1979) in Islamic law from the University of Medina, Medina, Saudi Arabia and an M.A and Ph.D. (1991) in religious studies from Temple University, Philadelphia, PA. Dr. Sodiq has presented papers and participated in panels at numerous scholarly meetings and has provided Islamic legal and professional advice to Muslim communities in Philadelphia, Richmond, Fort Worth, Houston and Dallas. His published articles include "The Application of Islamic Law in Nigeria: A Case Study," in the Islamic Studies Journal, (Pakistan) (Spring, 1992); "A History of Islam Among the African American Muslims of Richmond," in The Muslim World (July/October, 1994); “Muslim-Christian Relations in Nigeria: Causes of Tension,” in Journal of Ecumenical Studies, vol. 31, no. 3 & 4 (Summer-Fall, 1994): 279-306. His recent works include entries in different encyclopedias: “Noble Drew Ali, 1886-1929” vol. 1, pp. 86-87; Malcolm X (1925-1965) vol. 2, pp. 721-723; Nation of Islam, vol. 3, pp. 803-807; Nigeria, vol. 3, pp. 822-825; Yoruba, vol. 3, pp. 1155-1156 in African and the Americas: Culture, Politics, and History, edited by Richard M. Juang and Noelle Morrissette. Santa Barbara, California: ABC-CLIO, 2008. Another entry is: “Abyssinia/ Ethiopia” published in Encyclopedia of the African Diaspora, edited by Carole E. Boyce Davies. Santa Barbara: ABC-CLIO, 2008. His other works include: “Imam Malik and His Conception of Maslahah (the Public Good) as a Legal Theory,” in Al-Hadarah, Lagos State University, Journal of Arabic and Islamic Studies, vol.7, (June 2007): 1-26; “African Muslims in the United States: The Nigerian Case” in African Immigrant Religions in America, edited by Jacob K. Olupona and Regina Gemignani N. Y.: New York University Press, 2007; “Can Muslims and Christians Live Together Peacefully in Nigeria?” in The Muslim World, vol. 99, no 4 (October 2009): 646-688; “Muslims and Christians in Yorubaland: Unavoidable Neighbors,” in A New Day: Essays on World Christianity in Honor of Lamin Sanneh, edited by Akintunde E. Akinade, New York: Peter Lang, 2010. His latest book is: An Insider’s Guide to Islam, Indianapolis: Trafford Publishing Co., 2011.
Mr. Usman A. Ghani
Usman Ghani is a widely-respected consulting executive, distinguished by his record of developing powerful governmental policies and business strategies for a variety of industry leaders, including McKinsey & Company, Royal Dutch/Shell Group, Exxon Mobil Corporation, and Hewlett Packard/EDS. Usman has held leadership roles in strategic planning, market growth, operational effectiveness, organizational development, IT, and executive education and, as well, has led cross-functional, multi-cultural, core-process teams globally.
Usman is a high-energy visionary. He is passionate about helping complex organizations and institutions see the big picture so they are capable of transformation. He consistently applies fresh thinking and refined strategic models that reveal the best resolutions to intricate issues. He is inspired by the potential of global connectivity, helping business organizations and government leaders to differentiate themselves and grow organically as well as through enduring, mutually-trustworthy partnerships.
Usman’s original work is respected by select leaders who value timeless solutions over short-term fixes. He is a disciple of Peter F. Drucker and has also worked with Robert Blake, Jay Forrester, David McClelland, Edgar Schein, and Peter Senge. He pioneered the concepts of governance dynamics, meeting metaphors, and multi-firm supply chains, published as chapters in prominent publications and adopted by futuristic leaders. He is also featured with great reverence in the 2022 McGraw-Hill textbook Strategic Management.
Usman holds three Masters Degrees from MIT: in Management of Technology, Business Administration, and Policy Planning from the Harvard/MIT joint program. He is an Adjunct Professor at The University of Texas at Dallas where he teaches Enterprise Transformation, and International Management; and is an advisor to its dean of management. He is a sponsor of the Harvard Business School Club and an author of The Leader of the Future 2, a bestseller that describes his concept of The Leader Integrator.
As chairman of ConfluCore, in Las Colinas, Texas, Usman has continually developed winning strategic agendas for a variety of organizations and has been responsible for facilitating the implementation of board-driven strategies. His pioneering SIGOMO® approach is serving global leaders across six continents, acquiring a reputation for building trust with senior executives and teams that consistently exceed expectations. As an executive educator, he leads powerful leadership development and team-building programs in corporate America.
Usman emphasizes education and technology as the future differentiators. He is a popular keynote speaker at various forums worldwide, having addressed several CEO Clubs and management associations. He was a Benjamin Franklin Fellow in Paris, and is listed in Who’s Who Worldwide. He lives in Las Colinas, TX with his Brazilian-American wife, Aparecida. His hobbies include classical music (he learned the sitar from the late, great Ustad Asad Ali Khan, a ranking Padma-Bhushan), private piloting, and travel photography.
MUHSIN SHAHEED
Muhsin Shaheed is a chaplain with DFW International Airport Interfaith Chaplaincy since September 1998, A retired educator with Fort Worth Independence School District, a former representative for the Association of Texas Professional Educators (ATPE), and a member of the International Association of Civil Aviation Chaplains, which meets annually throughout the world.
He has a Bachelor Degree in Criminal Justice and a Minor in Social Work and a Master in Liberal Arts Degree with a focus in History from TCU, 1992 and 1994 respectively; has a Master Degree in Islamic Studies from The Graduate School of Islamic and Social Sciences in Sterling Virginia, June 2004, in which the school is a member of Washington Theological Consortium; studied Classical Arabic, Language I and II at the Institute of Arabic and Qur’anic Sciences in Fairfax, Virginia, Spring 2004; studied for Doctorate Degree in Humanities at UTA, and studied at The International Linguistics Center (sister school of UTA) in Duncanville, Texas, 1995 and 1996 respectively; studied theology and semantics at Brite Theological Seminary at TCU, 1996.
He completed course work for Doctorate Degree in Islam: from Metaphysics, Social Cultural Reformation in the African American Community to Al-Islam Proper, 1930 to 2008, from The Muslim Teacher’s College in Randolph, Virginia, Spring 1998; studied Classical Arabic and Tajweed (proper Qur’anic Arabic) in Cairo, Egypt at Al-Azhar University, Summer 2008.
He graduated from Simon Wiesenthal Center of The Museum of Tolerance and The National Institute Against Hate Crimes & Terrorism in Los Angeles, California, January 2007.
He was the former president of The Institute of Medieval Post Medieval Studies (IMPMS) and current executive board member; he is the current Texas Director for The International Museum of Muslim Cultures (IMMC) housing medieval manuscripts dating back to the 13th Century. Jackson, Mississippi
He serves on call for chaplain Staff at Texas Health Harris Methodist Hospital in Fort Worth, Texas, and was a former member on the chaplain staff at Tarrant County Detention Center.
He co-founded the “Children of Abraham,” along a Rev. Richard (Dick) Lord, (deceased) Rush Creek Christian Church; and Rabbi Jeffery Kaye at Congregation Beth Shalom, promoting diversity and commonality in faith. He gives lectures at synagogues, churches, mosques, universities, colleges, schools, etc., and speaks about Al-Islam, promoting diversity and commonality in religion.
He has led weekly Jumu’ah Prayer Service at DFW International Airport over 20 years. He has served 6 years on the Advisory Board for the National Public Radio (NPR) 90.1 FM Radio and Channel 13 in Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex/North Texas.
He wrote an article, Analyzing the Recidivism Rate Between Muslims and Non-Muslims, published in The McNair Journal in 1995 Currently updating an article written about Imam W. Deen Mohammed, published in Africa and the America, a 21 Volume Encyclopedias set, in Volume II, in the Spring of 2008.
He has travelled in Mecca and Medina, Saudi Arabia, Nigeria, Ghana, Egypt, Turkey, Sweden, Spain, England, Finland, Australia, France, Kenya, Morocco; completed Umrah and Hajj in 2000 and 2016, respectively.
He edited 4 books, the most recent: An insider’s Guide to Islam and 40 Hadiths: An Explanation, Dr. Yushau Sodiq, Professor of Religion and African Studies at TCU.
He is a native Texan and actively involved in the interfaith community; working with Muslims, Christians, Jews and other faith peoples to build bridges of tolerance, respect, understanding, harmony, etc., in order to build a better society through our common bonds for human dignity, for the good of humanity.
KHAWAJA NOUMAN ANWER, MD, Cardiologist
Born May 24, 1951 in Lahore, Pakistan
Matriculation: 1996 from Central Model School, Lahore
F, Sc: 1969, Government College, Lahore
M. B, B.S 1975, KE Medical College, Lahore, Pakistan
Came to the US in May, 1976
Specialized as Cardiologist from the Cleveland Clinic in 1982
Moved to North Texas for medical practice in 1982
US citizen since 1981
Married to Ghazala Anwar since 1980
Have four children
Dr. Ausaf Husain
Dr. Ausaf Husain is a specialist in Atomic Energy and has been a leader in the Muslim community for over fifty years.
Dr. Ausaf Husain is an Engineer and a community leader in the United States. He completed his Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in Mechanical Engineering from the prestigious Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur, India. He came to the USA for higher education and, in 1975, completed his Ph.D. in Nuclear Engineering at the University of Cincinnati, Ohio. He then starts his professional career supporting the safe operation of nuclear power plants in the United States. While working in Dallas, he completed his Executive MBA from Southern Methodist University in 1975, He moved to UAE in 2008 to help with the construction and operation of four nuclear power plants in the UAE. He recently retired as the Chief Nuclear Officer of the UAE government owned company Emirates Nuclear Energy Corporation (ENEC). He works part time now and serves as a Senior Advisor to the MD & CEO of ENEC.
Since his arrival in USA in 1969, Dr. Ausaf Husain has been involved with the development of the Muslim community in USA. He has been a founding member of the Muslim cultural and religious organizations in Cincinnati, Ohio; Worcester, Massachusetts; and Plano, Texas.
He has been a member of the Board of Directors of IMPMS since 2021. He is instrumental in developing his strategic planning for IMPMS.
SAMEER AHMED, J.D
Sameer received his B. S. in Biology from Southern Methodist University and his J.D. from South Texas College of Law. He began his legal career in McAllen, Texas, but returned to the DFW area to establish The Ahmed Firm, PLLC, where he currently represents many diverse North Texas businesses in transactional and litigation matters. His genuine concern for the well-being of the local community has inspired his service on the Board of Directors of the Multicultural Alliance in Fort Worth and Chairman of the Board of the Muslim Community Center for Human Services. He joined MCC as a board member in 2019.
SHAHID AHMED, retired US Navy
Communications Engineer
Master Chief – US Navy, retired
Dr. Mustapha Ishak-Boushaki
President IMPMS
Dr. Mustapha Ishak-Boushaki is a Professor of Physics and Astrophysics at the University of Texas at Dallas (UT-Dallas). He is known for his contributions to the studies of cosmic acceleration and dark energy, gravitational lensing, and testing the theory of General Relativity of Einstein at cosmological scales. He published over 90 scientific articles with over 4100 citations in prestigious scientific journals. He was elected in 2021 as Fellow of the American Association of Advancement of Sciences (AAAS) and in 2022 as Fellow of American Physical Society (APS) with quote: “For distinguished contributions to the field of theoretical cosmology, particularly for testing modifications to general relativity at cosmological scales, and for sustained excellence in teaching and mentoring of students.”
Ishak-Boushaki completed his graduate work in Cosmology and Relativity at Queen’s University at Kingston in Canada. He finished his Ph.D. degree with distinction and received the prestigious NSERC fellowship from the Research Council of Canada. He showed in his graduate work that a 30-year-old conjecture made by Nobel Laureate Chandrasekhar about axial oscillations in compact objects such as neutron stars does not hold and provided explicit counterexamples. He also developed an inverse approach to Einstein’s equations with application to cosmological models of the universe. After that, He joined Princeton University as a research associate in the fields of Modern Cosmology and Astrophysics. He worked there on comparing cosmological models to astronomical observations, the problem of cosmic acceleration, and gravitational lensing and made a first detection of intrinsic alignments of galaxies in the SDSS survey. He joined UTD in 2005 and has built since an active research group in astrophysics and cosmology contributing to research, teaching and outreach activities.
He received in 2007 and 2018, the Outstanding Teaching Award from the School of Natural Sciences and Mathematics at UT-Dallas. In 2021, he received the UT-Dallas President’s Teaching Excellence Award and, in 2022, the UT System Regents’ Outstanding Teaching Award. In 2020, he was granted Builder Status for the Legacy Survey of Space and Time collaboration for his achievements – becoming one of the 35 recognized members over 1100 members. He is also an active member of the international DESI cosmology collaboration. In 2013, he received the Robert S. Hyer Award for Excellence in Mentoring and Research from the Texas Section of the APS. In 2008, one of his publications was selected by Nobel Laureate Gerardus't Hooft to be on the Chief Editor List of the Foundation of Physics Journal. One of his publications was voted by the Editorial Board of Classical and Quantum Gravity as one of the journal’s highlights of 2002. His publication in Physical Review Letters was selected by the editors to be highlighted in Spotlighting Exceptional Research in Physics website of the American Physical Society. In 2019, he published an extensive invited review in the prestigious Living Reviews in Relativity Journal – a first at UTD. He also delivered in 2019 the Opening Plenary Talk of the International Conference of the 100th anniversary of the 1919 Solar Eclipse expedition and experiment that confirmed the Theory of General Relativity of Einstein.
Ishak-Boushaki current research interests include cosmological models of the universe, the problem of cosmic acceleration and dark energy, gravitational lensing, comparisons of models to cosmological data, general relativity and computational astrophysics. He made significant contributions to the study of possible causes of cosmic expansion acceleration and testing General Relativity in Cosmology. The problem has been recognized by the National Academy of Sciences as one of the most important current problems in physics.
Ishak-Boushaki’s research work received funding from NASA, DOE, NSF, Texas Space Grant Consortium, Hoblitzelle foundation, John Templeton Foundation, and the corporate sector. He served on the Committee on Astronomy and Astrophysics of the National Academies of Sciences. He served on the university’s academic senate and several university-wide committees including the Advisory Committee on Research. In Physics, he served and chaired various committees. He co-chaired the 27th Texas (Jubilee) Symposium on Relativistic Astrophysics in 2013 with 471 attendees. He continued since to oversee the meetings all over the world. He chairs regularly sessions at international meetings.
During the last 17 years, Ishak-Boushaki mentored 23 graduate students and 21 undergraduate students. He mentored 11 Ph.D. students to completion and 4 others are at various stages of their dissertation completion. He also advised for research 6 Masters’ students, 21 undergraduates, and 10 summer interns from high schools. Over the years, he taught the graduate physics courses Classical Mechanics, Mathematical Methods, Cosmology, General Relativity, Special Relativity and the undergraduate physics courses Mechanics, Classical Mechanics, and Introduction to Cosmology. These courses were very well received by UTD students and received the highest evaluations.
Dr. Ishak-Boushaki has a very long-standing interest in the thousands of contributions of Muslim scientists during the golden era of Muslim civilizations that illuminated the world for over 8 centuries (form year ~750 to ~1600). He occasionally contributed to informal discussions on the topic and met Dr. Basheer Ahmed at UT-Dallas over 10 years ago. He then participated only occasionally to some of IMPMS activities and attend a few board meetings. In Spring 2022, he joined IMPMS as a formal Board Member and contributed to various activities since. He led the organization of a Muslim Heritage Scholar Exhibition in Fall 2022 Sponsored by IMPMS at the library of the University of Texas at Dallas. Thousands of students were able to enjoy the exhibition and the event was a great success. He was elected by the Board to work as IMPMS president-elect in 2023. He fully embraces the goals of IMPMS in informing the public about the Muslim Scientific Heritage and promoting mutual respect between all communities via sciences, technology, and discovery.
DR. BASHOO NAZIRUDDIN
Bashoo Naziruddin, PhD, is the Director of the islet cell processing laboratory at Baylor University Medical Center in Dallas since April 2003. He is also an Adjunct Professor at the Institute of Biomedical Studies at Baylor University, Waco, Texas. He graduated with a PhD in Biochemistry from the University of Madras, India in 1986 and has been active in biological research at several institutions in the USA since 1987. He has worked in academic institutions, biotech industry and health care system. Recently he was elected as a fellow of the American Society of Transplantation (FAST). He is currently leading the team that performs pancreatic islet cell transplants into type 1 diabetics and chronic pancreatitis patients. He has published 170 manuscripts in peer-reviewed journals and presented more than 200 abstracts at international and national scientific meetings. He is a mentor for PhD students and post-doctoral fellows. He has successfully received grants from the National Institutes of Health, Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation, American Heart Association and other intramural sources. He has delivered invited talks at reputed academic institutions. He has served as the chairperson of scientific sessions at international and national research meetings. He is a reviewer for several scientific journals in the field of immunology and transplantation. His current research is focused on improving the clinical outcomes of human islet cell transplantation and understanding the immune response against islet cells. He lives with his wife Syedah Durriya and two children Omar and Zahra in Allen, Texas. Due to his keen interest in the development of scientific talent among youth, he has joined the Institute of Medieval and Post Medieval Studies and is currently serving as a member of the Board of Directors.
Past Presidents
Edward Thomas
Edward Thomas’s involvement with other parts of the world began many years ago when, after completing a B.A. in Mathematics at Yale University, he taught that subject for two years at a high school in Kabul, Afghanistan. After completing an M.A. at Columbia University in International Relations, he joined the Foreign Service. His assignments included posts in Iran and North Africa, a year of post-graduate Middle East Studies at Princeton University, and a year at the State Department in Washington. At his own request, he was then detailed to the newly established Peace Corps, where he held successive administrative positions in Washington, Iran, Libya and Morocco. After three more years in Washington, he left the State Department and became a regular staff member of the Peace Corps. His positions included one at Peace Corps headquarters as Chief of Programs and Training for the Francophone region of Africa, then Country Director in Upper Volta (now named Burkina Faso), and finally Country Director in Iran. After the Islamic Revolution of 1978-79 in Iran, he taught for a time in France. Later he worked in Morocco, first as Chief of an AID Social Services project and then for nine years as Executive Secretary of the Moroccan-American Fulbright Commission for Educational and Cultural Exchange. Since 1995 he has lived in Dallas, where he has been active in the International Visitors Program, the United Nations Association, and the Dallas Peace Center. He is a founding member of the Institute of Medieval and Post-Medieval Studies (IMPMS). In 1999-2000 he was a Fulbright lecturer at a university in Uzbekistan. Articles by Mr. Thomas have appeared in such publications as The Christian Science Monitor, The Muslim World, Middle East International, Central Asia Monitor, The Journal of North African Studies, and the Foreign Service Journal. Beginning in 2005 he has been an instructor in SMU’s Continuing Education program, most recently teaching a course there entitled “Great Thinkers of the Islamic World.” He is fluent in French and Persian and has a working knowledge of Arabic and Uzbek. He was one of the IMPMS participants who presented papers at the biennial convention of the Association for the Study of Persianate Societies, held in Lahore, Pakistan, February 26–March 1, 2009.
