At the end of last year, Dr. Fazlul Haq joined the Byrd Center as a Byrd Post-Doctoral Scholar to study the physical and human dimensions of glacial and hydrological dynamics in the Hindukush-Karakoram-Himalayan (HKH) Region of Pakistan under the mentorship of Byrd researchers Drs. Bryan Mark and C.K. Shum. Now, 6 months later, Dr. Haq has been awarded a research grant  in the amount of  PRK. 18.67 million (U.S. $90.29 thousand) by the Higher Education Commission of Pakistan which he will use to fund further research in the HKH region. Pictured here, the Vice Chancellor of the Government College University Faisalabad, Prof. Dr. Shahid Kamal presented Dr. Haq the award letter along with a letter of appreciation from the Dean and the Director of the Office of Research Innovation and Commercialization.

While most cryo-climate-hydrological studies focus on the physical aspects of these processes and give little attention to anthropogenic impact (or vice versa), Dr. Haq aims to adopt an integrated research approach that utilizes both the human and physical sciences. He will also use in situ field data alongside remote sensing, filling another gap in the scholarship which has mostly relied on remote satellites with little or no in situ validation or field expeditions. To meet these ends, Dr. Haq will lead a team of graduate and undergraduate students and research assistant/associates, with additional guidance from Dr. Mark and Dr. Shum.

His project will ultimately aid his home country of Pakistan whose economy largely depends on the agricultural production of the Indus Plain and the water from the region’s mountain glaciers.