2017 Annual Conference Program

Association of Muslim Scientists, Engineers and Technology Professionals (AMSET)  
Annual Conference at ISNA Annual Convention 2017, Chicago, IL
Saturday -Sunday, July 1-2, 2017

Session I “Career / Business Development Session” 

Welcome and introduction to AMSET – Afzal Mohammed.

• Shafeeq Bandagi – Establishing Career and Business Development Programs at Local Mosques ‐ It is important to develop programs at every local mosque and community center that prepares its members for the highly competitive jobs and businesses in the area of technology, engineering, IT, medicine, law, education, finance, etc. This talk will discuss the need for such programs in Mosques/Islamic Centers and the practical steps to establish them successfully. The community leaders, Imams, Mosque board members, and students can take away good strategies from this session to implement in their local communities.
• Asad Mohammed – Myths and Realities of Job Search In Technology Sector: Is it better to search jobs using the tried and tested route or is it better to take the road less travelled? How does a fresh graduate make the cut, when experienced candidates are also competing? Is it possible to get a job in an area different from the education? Are there any stories in the Quran and Sunnah about finding job? The session will deal with finding the right Roadmap, Guidance for Personalized Search (GPS) and Milestones that will be helpful for job seekers
• Riyazuddin Mohammed – A Visionary Platform to Strengthen Muslim Professional Community – Introducing ALMPG: Strongly adhering to the principles of community advancement, The Muslim Professional Groups (ALMPG) aims at supporting its members through training, guidance and resources for meaningful career development. This network provides a solid platform where the members with similar interests and ideals can unite and work towards enhancing opportunities for each other by job referrals, professional guidance and extend help to one another.

Panel discussion and audience participation
Speakers: Shafeeq Bandagi, Asad Mohammed, Riyazuddin Mohammed
Moderator: Afzal Mohammed
Time & Location: Saturday, July 1, 2017, 10:00 – 11:00 AM, Room -7

Session 2. “Human Memory Function and Name Disambiguation”

• Dr. Taher Saif – Memory under tension: The most profound question in biology is how a cluster of neurons gives rise to memory, learning, and ultimately our consciousness and individuality. In contrast to muscles and bones, neurons are not part of any load bearing or generation system. While it has been observed that neurons generate force both in vitro and in vivo, the link between neuronal force and neuronal functionality is not clear. This talk will present evidence that this mechanical force is essential for neurotransmission which could offer a new paradigm in understanding neurological diseases.
• Muhammad Al-Hasan  – Name Disambiguation in Real-life: Challenges, and Solution: All individuals are unique, but millions of people share names. How to distinguish among, or disambiguate, people with the same names is an important real-life problem including law enforcement. Effectively solving name disambiguation requires collecting features and developing a classification model from training data. However, the feature collection process may violate the privacy laws in many countries. This talk will first discuss the challenges associated with name disambiguation and discuss ways to overcome them through data mining algorithms.

Speakers: Sohel Anwar, PhD; Dr. Taher Saif; Muhammad Al-Hasan
Moderator: Sohel Anwar, PhD
Time & Location: Saturday, July 1, 2017, 1:30 – 2:30 PM, Room -7

Session 3 “Islamic Ethical Perspective on New Technologies & Cybersecurity” 

All About AMSET – Syed M. Shah, PhD is AMSET Past President.

• Abdullah Rahman – Ethical Dilemmas of Technological and Intellectual Advancements – An Islamic Perspective: Cloning, Nanotechnology, Artificial Intelligence, Internet of Things – just a few of the technological miracles that have the potential of fundamentally changing the world as we know. In-depth understanding of the human brain and new explanations of personal identities are posing unprecedented questions to individuals and family structures. These technological and intellectual feats can present an enormous ethical dilemma – especially to Muslims. In this talk Dr. Rahman will discuss these issues and offer ways to approach them based on Islamic principles.
• Abu S. Mahfuz – Emerging Information Technology Addressing Quality, Information Security from Islamic perspectives: Technology and software are among the most widely used products in human history. However, it has also one of the highest failure rates and risks of any products in human history due to lack of robust security. One of the fundamental aspects in Information Security is the identity and access management. This talk will cover types of cyber crimes, security failures, international standards, and some recommendations. It will also discuss the Islamic aspects of information quality, privacy and security.

Panel discussion and audience participation
Speakers: Syed M. Shah, Abdullah Rahman, Abu S. Mahfuz
Moderator: Syed M. Shah
Time & Location: Sunday, July 2, 2017, 10:00 – 11:00 AM, Room -7