Dr Maliha Uroos becomes the first female scientist at Punjab University to publish a U.S Patent Application as a lead scientist.

The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) has published the patent about the use of technology aimed at converting agricultural waste into chemicals important for industries, developed by Dr Maliga Uroos of Punjab University.

“Extraction of Lignin from Lignocellulosic Waste Material using Pyridinium Ionic Liquids” is developed by Dr Maliha Uroos as a lead scientist. The other co-inventors include her PhD student Azmat Mehmood and collaborator Dr Nawshad Muhammad.

Dr Maliha Uroos is the first female scientist at Punjab University to publish a U.S Patent Application as a lead scientist. In a statement, Dr Uroos said that "Pakistan being an agricultural country produced a massive amount of waste each year including wheat straw, rice husk, bagass, etc., which were mainly burnt that led to creating environmental problems in the form of smog."

She further added that they had developed the process through which agricultural waste could be converted into industrially important chemicals at ambient conditions using green solvents, without heating or burning the waste.

The United States Patent & Trademark Office (USPTO) has published the technology aimed at converting agricultural waste...

Posted by The Campus Roundup on Tuesday, August 11, 2020

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Dr Uroos said the technology was developed as part of her research project “Technology Development Fund” granted by the Higher Education Commission of Pakistan worth Rs 14 million, which is a triple helix industrially linked project.

She said that in the same context, her project under HEC NRPU worth PKR 7.28 million was already underway. PU in a statement said the entire research work for the development of this technology was conducted in the laboratory at Institute of Chemistry, Punjab University.

She has been awarded the grant of US $ 8000/- by the Higher Education Commission, Pakistan to file her patent. She was amongst one of the three scientists from the entire country in 2019-20, who received this highly competitive grant.