Syed Riaz Ahsan (24 December 1951 – 8 September 2008) was a Pakistani

statistician A statistician is a person who works with Theory, theoretical or applied statistics. The profession exists in both the private sector, private and public sectors. It is common to combine statistical knowledge with expertise in other subjects, a ...

and

mathematician A mathematician is someone who uses an extensive knowledge of mathematics in their work, typically to solve mathematical problems. Mathematicians are concerned with numbers, data, quantity, mathematical structure, structure, space, Mathematica ...

who has worked in

applied statistics Statistics (from German: ', "description of a state, a country") is the discipline that concerns the collection, organization, analysis, interpretation, and presentation of data. In applying statistics to a scientific, industrial, or socia ...

, applied analysis, applications of special functions. He was a noted

professor Professor (commonly abbreviated as Prof.) is an Academy, academic rank at university, universities and other tertiary education, post-secondary education and research institutions in most countries. Literally, ''professor'' derives from Latin ...

University of Karachi The University of Karachi (; informally Karachi University, KU, or UoK) is a public research university located in Karachi, Sindh, Pakistan. Established in June 1951 by an act of Parliament and as a successor to the University of Sindh (which is ...

Karachi Karachi is the capital city of the Administrative units of Pakistan, province of Sindh, Pakistan. It is the List of cities in Pakistan by population, largest city in Pakistan and 12th List of largest cities, largest in the world, with a popul ...

. Previously, he has served as the

president President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television *'' Præsident ...

of Sindh Professors and Lecturers’ Association (SPLA). Prof. Riaz Ahsan was born on 24 December 1951 and he died on 8 September 2008.

Education and career

Born in

, Ahsan had his initial education at the BYJ School, Karachi, and completed his intermediate from

Adamjee Government Science College Adamjee Government Science College (AGSC) () is an educational institution in Karachi, Pakistan. The college is frequently rated as one of the best public college, and only the students securing high grades in matriculation are eligible for ...

, Karachi. He received his B.Sc. (Hons) in

Statistics Statistics (from German language, German: ', "description of a State (polity), state, a country") is the discipline that concerns the collection, organization, analysis, interpretation, and presentation of data. In applying statistics to a s ...

and

Mathematics Mathematics is a field of study that discovers and organizes methods, Mathematical theory, theories and theorems that are developed and Mathematical proof, proved for the needs of empirical sciences and mathematics itself. There are many ar ...

. He did his

M.Sc. A Master of Science (; abbreviated MS, M.S., MSc, M.Sc., SM, S.M., ScM or Sc.M.) is a master's degree. In contrast to the Master of Arts degree, the Master of Science degree is typically granted for studies in sciences, engineering and medicine ...

with distinctions in statistics and

M.A. A Master of Arts ( or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA or AM) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Those admitted to the degree have ...

in mathematics with honors from

Karachi University The University of Karachi (; informally Karachi University, KU, or UoK) is a public research university located in Karachi, Sindh, Pakistan. Established in June 1951 by an act of Parliament and as a successor to the University of Sindh (which is ...

. Later, he received his double Ph.D. in

and

applied mathematics Applied mathematics is the application of mathematics, mathematical methods by different fields such as physics, engineering, medicine, biology, finance, business, computer science, and Industrial sector, industry. Thus, applied mathematics is a ...

from the same

alma mater Alma mater (; : almae matres) is an allegorical Latin phrase meaning "nourishing mother". It personifies a school that a person has attended or graduated from. The term is related to ''alumnus'', literally meaning 'nursling', which describes a sc ...

in 1974.

Academic career

In 1975, he started his career from DJ Science College,

. He also served as the president of Sindh Professors and Lecturers Association (SPLA) that works for the betterment of professors and lecturers in the province of Sindh. In 1982, he went to

Nigeria Nigeria, officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf of Guinea in the Atlantic Ocean to the south. It covers an area of . With Demographics of Nigeria, ...

on deputation and taught statistics and mathematics at the

University of Nigeria, Nsukka A university () is an institution of tertiary education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. ''University'' is derived from the Latin phrase , which roughly means "community of teachers and scholars". Univ ...

. Upon his return continued as a teacher at the Government Degree Science College, Karachi, from where he was later transferred to Saint Patrick's College, Karachi. In early 1990s, Ahsan joined

as a

full professor Professor (commonly abbreviated as Prof.) is an academic rank at universities and other post-secondary education and research institutions in most countries. Literally, ''professor'' derives from Latin as a 'person who professes'. Professors ...

of statistics and mathematics and continued his career until his death.

Death

Dr. Ahsan was diagnosed with

cancer Cancer is a group of diseases involving Cell growth#Disorders, abnormal cell growth with the potential to Invasion (cancer), invade or Metastasis, spread to other parts of the body. These contrast with benign tumors, which do not spread. Po ...

in one of his legs in 2004 and was on medication since then. He recovered for a while and participated in many campaigns launched by the SPLA and fell ill again in 2008, never to recover. Registrar Prof. Raees Alvi paid him the following tribute: "He was a wise man who always guided teachers in the right direction. He always searched for development and never had any prejudice. He always worked for the promotion of merit. This great man always fought for the rights of teachers and I would call it an irreparable loss for all of us." "The void he left behind can never be filled. It is a huge loss for SPLA and we would never get a personality like him in future", SPLA Senior Vice-president Manzoor Hussain Chishti said.

Family

His father, Professor Syed Zaheer Ahsan, was a

Geography Geography (from Ancient Greek ; combining 'Earth' and 'write', literally 'Earth writing') is the study of the lands, features, inhabitants, and phenomena of Earth. Geography is an all-encompassing discipline that seeks an understanding o ...

.http://www.dinnews.tv/dinnews/national/prof_riaz_ahsan_passes_away-7348.aspx

References

External links

Prof. Riaz Ahsan
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ahsan, Riaz Academic staff of the University of Karachi Pakistani mathematicians Pakistani statisticians 1951 births 2008 deaths Academic staff of the University of Nigeria