QUETTA: A young Pakistani scientist who until recently was little known even in his own area has now become a national hero because his name is now synonymous with the discovery of gravitational waves predicted by Albert Einstein a century ago.

Imran Khan, a 25-year-old scientist who was born to a middle-class family in Quetta, was one of the two Pakistanis who were parts of the team which detected the gravitational waves.

The other Pakistan-born scientist is Dr Nergis Mavalvala, astrophysicist and associate department head of physics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).

Scientists from the California Institute of Technology, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and the LIGO Scientific Collaboration announced in Washington last week that they had detected gravitational waves which experts believe will usher in a new era for astronomy.

Son of a retired officer of armed forces, Imran got prominent position in his intermediate examination. He was offered a scholarship by the Fast University, Peshawar, from where he got Bachelors of Science (BS) degree in Telecommunication Engineering in 2011.

Later, a Turkish scientific research institute offered him scholarship in MS Optoelectronics and Photonics Engineering in 2015.

At present, Imran is doing his PhD at the Gran Sasso Science Institute (GSSI) in Italy.

Irfan Khan, a brother of Imran, said his family was very happy over his accomplishments. “We are very happy that our brother has contributed to a scientific research which is being admired all over the world.”

Irfan said his brother received early education at the Federal Government Public School and College in Quetta.

Published in Dawn, February 17th, 2016