This article is reprinted with permission from Khabr-o-Nazar Magazine, July-August 2013 issue.
Want to learn more about how computer scientists are using technology to fight terrorism? Check out the book “Simulation of Suicide Bombing: Using Computers to Save Lives” by Pakistani Fulbright alumnus Dr. Zeeshan-ul-hassan Usmani (Ph.D., Florida Institute of Technology, ’09).
A prolific author, computer scientist, and self-described “shameless idealist,” Zeeshan has also authored numerous technical papers, edited an anthology of Fulbright reminisces, Ambassadors of Peace, and just published a new Urdu language novel called The Journey of Endeavor. To learn more about Zeeshan’s important research, we asked him to answer a few questions for Khabr-o-Nazar.
Tell us about your book. How can computer software help investigators analyze bombings and pursue perpetrators of terror in Pakistan?
The book presents my Ph.D. work on the simulation and modeling of suicide bombings. To model a suicide blast is a very complex task—you need to know the characteristics of the explosive being used, crowd density and formation, physical properties of the environment, stand-off distances, probable injury patterns, shrapnel flight properties, and the psychological mindset of the victims and perpetrators. Once we input this information, we can answer several questions to reduce casualties and injuries, and this is exactly what my software is doing. It answers questions like, how many people will be killed and injured in a suicide blast for a particular scenario? What kind of injuries will result, i.e. lung rupture, amputation, laceration, burns, bruises? What would be the scaled-off distance? By knowing these answers, we can form recommendations that will reduce the casualties and injuries.
But doesn’t computer modeling deal in hypotheticals? How does it really save lives?
The software can be specifically used in several ways to save lives:
- Triage of Patients: We can make a complete list of what to expect following a blast, i.e. how many dead versus how many injured, so we can plan how many paramedical staff and ambulances we might need, how many blood bottles, what kinds of injuries and surgeries we need to perform, and the complete medical supply list before an attack even happens.
- Forensics Analysis: When we don’t know anything about the blast, the software has the capability to reverse-engineer the event, and help investigators find out what happened, when, how, the size of explosive being used, the type, and the crowd formation. Based on this analysis, investigators may be able to pin-point the terrorist outfit responsible for the attack by comparing the injury patterns of a blast with a historic database of data on suicide bombing attacks on which the software is based. A part of this database is available on my website www.PakistanBodyCount.org
- Terrorism Forecast: By using all the data we have accumulated over last eight years or so, we are using some dense mathematics to predict the next suicide bombing attack before it happens. This is a work in progress, and currently we are generating a few false alarms, but we can see a lot of improvements as we add more input to the database.
Wow! That sounds very useful. We look forward to learning more as it develops. So going back to your studies in the United States, what was the biggest lesson you learned?
The biggest lesson I’ve learned during my time in the United States is “justice for all.” It doesn’t matter if you are poor or rich; if there is a line, everyone stands in line regardless of their profession, political status, or well-being. I was in a queue in Disneyland once with the Governor of Florida. That’s something that I can never imaging happening in my mother land. We need to tolerate each other, we need to respect conflicting views, we need to listen to opposing opinions, and we need to provide justice for all. That’s the key to success and that’s the difference that has kept us far away from nations like the United States.
How are you applying knowledge from your studies back here in Pakistan?
I learned quite a few things in United States. I am a different person now, whether it is my technical knowledge, who I am as a person, my professional ethics, work planning or taking a leadership role. I am trying to apply whatever I’ve learned during my work and family life bit by bit, but there is a huge reluctance and opposition here in general. Everyone is happy doing things the way they have been doing for the past couple of decades, and to bring about change in anything, from workplace to mindset changes, we need to be patient, and should propose the change logically and politely so everyone accepts it. I try to do one thing different every day and then spent the rest of the day managing the aftershocks!
We get lots of questions from young Pakistanis who are wondering if studying in the United States is right for them. What is your advice to them?
Here is my blunt answer: The United States is one of the best places on Earth to study. You will learn directly from those who are creating the knowledge, and will also get a chance to explore the culture, government, and daily life of the massive nation we call the United States of America.
Your new Urdu language novel Justuju Ka Safar (The Journey of Endeavor) has just been published by Narratives. What’s it about?
After teaching and communicating with youth in Pakistan for the last four years since my return, I was shocked to realize that our biggest problem is clear vision. We are becoming a vision-less nation as a whole and chasing mundane goals and targets. I realize most of us spend half of our lives chasing so-called “success,” and then the rest of the life spent on finding out what “significance” is. That’s the hypothesis of this book. It explores why we need so-called “success” in the first place, and what happens after we have all we can wish for. How about doing something significant that will have an impact on the lives of people around us from the day one? By doing that, we will ultimately earn the success that is a bi-product of significance. I intentionally wrote this book in Urdu so a majority of my countrymen can read it. The second book of this three-part series is coming out next month and is called Ander Ka Musafir (The Traveler Within). The third part, Pachtawa (Regret), is due by the end of this year.
You’ve written more than a dozen books and don’t seem to be showing any signs of stopping! For all those aspiring authors out there, how do you recommend they get started?
Pick up a pen, close your eyes, listen to your heart, and start jotting down the conversation that is happening between your heart and mind. When you open your eyes, you will have a masterpiece right there to get published. It would be so unique, catching, and absorbing that you wouldn’t believe your own eyes.
Want to learn more about Zeeshan? Check out his 2010 Tedx Talk “Countering Terror with Technology” at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rLng7tBXa1U, and his blog at the Express Tribune: http://blogs.tribune.com.pk/author/1152/zeeshan-ul-hassan-usmani/.
