The Pakistan Institute of Engineering and Applied Sciences (PIEAS), () is a public research university located in Islamabad, Pakistan. The university is modelled on international standards with a strong focus on the scientific advancement of the nuclear science-related STEM fields.
Founded in 1967 as Reactor School from the sponsorship of the Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission in response to support and manage the nuclear energy infrastructure in the country, the institute started its educational activities with the affiliation of Quaid-e-Azam University, and became Centre for Nuclear Studies (CNS) in 1976— the center gained its new name and became independent as public university in 1997. In 2000, the PIEAS was granted the status of a doctorate degree awarding institute. PIEAS is based on a campus and has around 135 full-time faculty members.
As of 2017, Higher Education Commission rated PIEAS as the 1st leading engineering university in Pakistan. The QS World University Rankings ranked it as 390th worldwide while QS Asia University Rankings ranked it as 3rd in Pakistan, 189th overall in Asia in 2022. It is ranked 47th in QS top 50 under 50.
History
In 1967, the institute was found and established as the Reactor School by I. H. Usmani who put the administrative management of the school under the Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission (PAEC)— the school was originally aimed towards providing technical training to support Pakistan's nuclear energy infrastructure. The first college classes were offered in a lecture auditorium at the Pakistan Institute of Nuclear Science and Technology (PINSTECH), and had only one faculty member Dr. Inam-ur-Rehman from the Mississippi State University to teach courses in engineering. Its training program was very limited in its scope apart from teaching basics in engineering and the institute itself was housed in a 625 sq.ft– the auditorium of the Institute of Nuclear Science and Technology.
The Reactor School received much greater attention from Munir Ahmad Khan who instituted the fellowship program in 1972, inviting the science and engineering graduates to compete for the award of attractive fellowships for the duration of the course. It was Khan who lobbied to the government to secure funding to move the Reactor School from Nilore to Islamabad. In 1976, the Reactor School was renamed as Centre for Nuclear Studies (CNS) as Khan and Rehman were the first to serve on its original faculty and painstakingly instituting the engineering education program by building the criteria for the bachelorette and master's degree programs offered in engineering and physical sciences.
In 1989, the degree program in medicines and the doctoral program in engineering and physical sciences was established in 1990. Due to enhancements in its infrastructure that created the capability for offering programs in many different fields of science, its name was changed to Pakistan Institute of Engineering and Applied Sciences (PIEAS) in 1997— the year when the Institute of Applied Sciences was granted its status as public research university. Today, PIEAS is a multi-faceted, degree-awarding university-level educational institution, with academic and training programmes being conducted at the highest level in a broad spectrum of disciplines. .
Campus
The PIEAS campus is sprawled over an area of about 360 acres. The physical structure comprises nine academic blocks, eight workshops, production plants for liquid nitrogen and oxygen, 30 laboratories, lecture halls, a video-conferencing facility, conference rooms, and a 400-seat auditorium.
A state-of-the-art computer center with 200 computers provides computational facilities around the clock, seven days a week. PIEAS is an associate of PERN network and has access to HEC Digital Library that can be accessed from any one of the 1500 nodes of PIEAS Local Area Network. Internet facilities are available even in student hostels. The PIEAS library holds a repository of more than 15000 artifacts and it also subscribes to both technical and academic journals. PIEAS Library has extended hours to facilitate students' access A new library block is under construction.
Residential facilities
PIEAS provides hostel facilities for both female and male students. Most students stay there. There are eight hostel blocks including a separate female hostel, No profit no loss mess, canteen, fitness centre, rest-house, and indoor and outdoor sports facilities. A post office, bank and shops for commonly required items are available in the vicinity. A mosque is a recent addition and it is Large.