Directory Employee Information, education, work experience, office hours

Work Experience

I have more than 22 years of teaching, research, academic leadership, and management experience. I hold a dual PhD in Applied Computer Science from the University of Potsdam, Germany and in Computer and Control Engineering from Politecnico di Torino, Italy. Currently I am relocated to Delaware, United States after Eb1A (extraordinary ability) petition approval as Computer and Information Research Scientist.
My research focuses on human–machine interfaces, usability evaluation of mobile health (mHealth) applications, adaptive interface design, and health informatics. A distinctive aspect of my contributions is the development of novel models, frameworks, and guidelines that enhance accessibility and inclusivity in digital health technologies. My work particularly addresses the needs of marginalized populations including elderly users, individuals with hearing impairments, and those with limited technological literacy, ensuring equitable access to critical healthcare applications. I have published 35+ papers in international journals and conferences, along with 2 book chapters, and I lead the People-Centred Technology Research Group, where I have supervised numerous MS and PhD theses. I serve as a Senior Member of IEEE and as an Editor for the journal Blockchain in Healthcare Today.
Previously, I served as Associate Dean at Iqra University, Islamabad Campus, Pro Vice Chancellor at the University of Sialkot, Director of the People-Centred Technology Research Center at the University of Central Punjab, and held leadership roles as Head of Computer Science departments at multiple universities. My leadership experience includes curriculum design, launching new graduate programs, accreditation processes, establishing research labs, and fostering academia–industry collaborations.
I am passionate about advancing inclusive digital health technologies, mentoring the next generation of computing researchers, and building impactful collaborations across academia and industry worldwide.

Committees

1. Programs Evaluator
 National Computing Education Accreditation Council (NCEAC), Islamabad (Oct-2023- Oct-2025).
 Evaluated BS Software Engineering program of Abasyn University Peshawar, 25th October 2024.
 Evaluated BS Data Science program of Comsats University Islamabad, 8th May 2025.
 Evaluated BS Information Technology program of Mirpur University AJK, 26th May 2025.

2. Member Selection Board & Member Academic Council.
 University of Education, Lahore Pakistan (Aug 2018 – Jul 2024).

3. Convenor and Member Board of Selection
 The University of Sialkot (Jan-2020- Nov-2021)
 Convener doctoral committee.
 Core committee member Eurasian industrial research center.
 Convener university vision mission committee.
 Convener university grievance committee.
 Member board of selection for recruitment of faculty.

4. External Examiner
 Government College University, Faisalabad, Pakistan (March 2006 -Sep 2006).
 Paper setting, checking and administration of examinations.

Awards

1. Academic Excellence Award (2024) – Awarded by the Blockchain in Healthcare Today Journal in recognition of outstanding scholarly contributions to healthcare technology research.
2. EB-1A Extraordinary Ability U.S. Permanent Residency (2025) – Granted U.S. Permanent Resident status under the EB-1A Extraordinary Ability category in recognition of significant academic and research achievements.
3. Higher Education Commission (HEC) Ph.D. Scholarship (2009–2014) – Recipient of a highly competitive national scholarship awarded by the Higher Education Commission (Pakistan) to pursue doctoral studies at Politecnico di Torino and University of Potsdam.
4. International Travel Grant (2017) – Awarded by the Punjab Higher Education Commission to present research at the 21st International Conference on Knowledge-Based and Intelligent Information & Engineering Systems (KES 2017) in Marseille, France.
5. Scholarship Holder Throughout Academic Career – Recognized for consistently achieving scholarship support throughout undergraduate and postgraduate education based on academic excellence.

Professional Affiliation and Recognition:

1. Senior Member, IEEE (recognition of professional standing and contributions).
2. Editor, Blockchain in Healthcare Today (Scopus-indexed journal).
3. Program Evaluator, National Computing Education Accreditation Council (NCEAC), responsible for evaluating Computer Science, Data Science, Software Engineering, and Information Technology programs.
4. HEC Approved Ph.D. Supervisor.

Publications

1. N. Ahmad, I. Feroz and F. Ahmad (2024) Creating synthetic test data by generative adversarial networks (GANs) for mobile health (mHealth) applications, Forthcoming networks and sustainability in the AIoT era, second international conference FoNeS-AIoT 2024 – Volume 1, Lecture notes in networks and systems (LNNS), Volume 1035, pp. 322-332, Cham: Springer Nature Switzerland, E-ISSN: 2367-3389. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-62871-9_25

2. I. Feroz and N. Ahmad (2022), Usability based rating scale (UBRS) for evaluation of mobile health (mHealth) applications. HCI and beyond: advances towards smart and interconnected environments. Vol. 2, Bentham science publishers. pp:27-48, ISBN: 978-981-5036-40-4, 2022. https://doi.org/10.2174/9789815036398122010005

3. A. Sami, M. Ali, F. Malik, Q.W. Khan, N. Ahmad, A. Smerat, N.A. Samee, and M.M. Jamjoom (2026). Privacy-aware eye disease diagnosis using federated learning with swin transformer. PeerJ Computer Science. I.F = 2.5, ISSN: 2167-8359. [Paper accepted, under publication].

4. S. Nasri, N. Ahmad, Q. UAAini, A. Qayyum, N. ULIslam. (2025), A YOLOv9: Deep Learning-based framework Defect Detection Method for PCBs. Journal of Electronic Testing: Theory and Applications. Springer, Volume 41, Number 4, ISSN: 1573-0727. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10836-025-06194-2

5. Abdullah, H. MHaque, N. Ahmad, Q. UAAini, A. Saeed (2025), AGRITECH: A Smart System for Sustainable Farming. VAWKUM Transactions on Computer Sciences. HEC Y category. ISSN: 2308-8168. https://doi.org/10.21015/vtcs.v13i1.2138

6. E. Hassan, F. Malik, QW. Khan, N. Ahmad, M. Sardaraz, FK Karim, H. Elmannai (2025), A hybrid K-Means++ and particle swarm optimization approach for enhanced document clustering, IEEE access, ISSN: 2169-3536. https://doi.org/10.1109/ACCESS.2025.3535226

7. A. Sami; F. Malik; QW. Khan; N. Ahmad; S. Shah; M. Elaffendi (2024). Federated Learning for Sarcasm Detection: A Study of Attention-Enhanced BILSTM, GRU, and LSTM Architectures. IEEE access, vol. 12, pp. 196786-196802, 2024, ISSN: 2169-3536.
https://doi.org/10.1109/ACCESS.2024.3520659

8. I. Feroz and N. Ahmad (2024). Systematic Review of Usability Factors, Models, and Frameworks with Blockchain Integration for Secure Mobile Health (mHealth) Applications. Blockchain in healthcare today journal, volume 7, issue 3. Published by partners in digital health. ISSN: 2573-8240. https://doi.org/10.30953/bhty.v7.357

9. M. Seedat, Q. Abbas, N. Ahmad, I. Feroz, A. Qureshi and A. Amelio (2024). Transition Strategies from Monolithic to Microservices Architectures: A Domain-Driven Approach and Case Study. VAWKUM Transactions on Computer Sciences, 12(1), 94–110. HEC Y category. ISSN: 2308-8168. https://doi.org/10.21015/vtcs.v12i1.1808

10. W. Iqbal, N. Ahmad, K. Shahzad, R. Naqvi, B. Ayub and Z. Ali (2021), User context ontology for adaptive mobile-phone interfaces, in IEEE access, ISSN: 2169-3536, Vol. 9, pp: 96751-96762, I.F= 3.476. https://doi.org/10.1109/ACCESS.2021.3095300

11. I. Durrani, N. Qureshi, N. Ahmad, T. Naz and A. Amelio (2019), A health informatics reporting system for technology illiterate workforce using mobile phone, Applied clinical informatics, ISSN: 1869-0327, Vol. 10, Issue 2, pp:348-357, IF= 2.762. https://doi.org/10.1055/s-0039-1688830

12. I. Feroz, N. Ahmad, W. Iqbal, N. Ali and K. Shahzad (2019), People perception of autonomous vehicles: legal and ethical issues, International journal of advanced and applied sciences (IJAAS), ISSN: 2313-626X, Vol. 6, Issue 5, pp: 92-101, IF= 0.59. https://doi.org/10.21833/ijaas.2019.05.015

13. W. Iqbal, N. Ahmad, K. Shahzad, I. Feroz and N. Ali (2018), Towards adaptive user interfaces for mobile-phone in smart world, International journal of advanced computer Science and applications (IJACSA), ISSN: 2158-107X, Vol. 9, Issue 11, pp: 556-565, I.F=0.9. http://dx.doi.org/10.14569/IJACSA.2018.091177

14. M. Adrees, N. Ahmad, A. Amelio and A. Qadeer (2018), Enhancing web usability: exploiting interactional properties of web interfaces with vocabulary and comprehension learning in non-native English speakers, International Journal of computer science and Network Security (IJCSNS), ISSN: 1738-7906, Vol. 18, Issue 11, pp: 164-172. http://paper.ijcsns.org/07_book/201810/20181024.pdf

15. W. Iqbal, N. Ahmad, K. Shahzad, R. Naqvi and I. Feroz (2018), Usability aspects of adaptive mobile interfaces for color-blind and vision deficient users, International journal of Computer Science and network security (IJCSNS), ISSN: 1738-7906, Vol. 18, Issue 11, pp: 179-189. http://paper.ijcsns.org/07_book/201810/20181026.pdf

16. Z. Aslam, R. Shahzad, N. Ahmad and W. Iqbal (2017), Web usability and user trust on E-commerce websites in Pakistan, International Journal of advanced computer science and applications (IJACSA), ISSN: 2158-107X, Vol. 8, Issue 12, pp: 509-517. I.F= 0.9. http://dx.doi.org/10.14569/IJACSA.2017.081267

17. N. Ahmad, M. Shoaib, A. Ishaq and A. Wahab (2017), Role of expert systems in identification and overcoming of dengue fever, International journal of advanced computer science and applications (IJACSA), ISSN: 2158-107X, Vol. 8, Issue 10, pp: 82-89. I.F= 0.9, http://dx.doi.org/10.14569/IJACSA.2017.081011

18. N. Ahmad, U. Shoaib and P. Prinetto (2015), Usability of online assistance from semi-literate Users’ perspective, international journal of human-computer interaction. ISSN: 1532-7590, Vol. 31, Issue 1, pp: 55-64, I.F= 3.353. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/10447318.2014.925772

19. U. Shoaib, N. Ahmad, P. Prinetto and G. Tiotto (2014), Integrating multiWordNet with Italian sign language lexical resources, Expert systems with applications, ISSN 0957-4174, Vol. 41, Issue 5, pp: 2300-2308, I.F= 8.665. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.eswa.2013.09.027

20. Aini, Q. U. A., Nasri, S., Ahmad, N., Uddin, Z., & Ashfaq, I. (2026, May). Agent-Based Model for Real-Time Forest Fire, Early Warning and Alerting System. In 2026 International Conference on Robotics and Automation in Industry (ICRAI) (pp. 1-7). IEEE. http://dx.doi.org/10.1109/ICRAI70912.2026.11551955

21. Abbasi, H., Aini, Q. U. A., Ahmad, N., & Uddin, Z. (2026, May). Indistinguishability in Generative AI: Detection Challenges, Techniques, and Ethical Considerations. In 2026 International Conference on Robotics and Automation in Industry (ICRAI) (pp. 1-6). IEEE. http://dx.doi.org/10.1109/ICRAI70912.2026.11551931

22. A. Amelio, I. Ahmad, A. Farman, A. Merla, F. Scozzari, N. Ahmad (2025) A Comparative Analysis of Artificial Intelligence Methods for Breast Cancer Interpretation, 2025 International Joint Conference on Neural Networks (IJCNN 2025). Special Sessions – Distributed Learning and Intelligent Systems: Advancing Privacy and Scalability for IoT and Edge Networks. June 30 to July 5, 2025. Rome, Italy [Accepted].

23. N. Ahmad, I. Feroz and A. Anjum (2020), Usability analysis of educational information systems from student’s perspective. ICBDM 2020: Proceedings of the 2020 international conference on big data in management. The university of Manchester UK, Nov 20-22, 2020, ISBN: 978-1-4503-7506-1, pp: 130-135. https://doi.org/10.1145/3437075.3437104

24. R. Shehzad, N. Ahmad, M. W. Iqbal and I. Feroz (2019), Gestural user interfaces for hearing and speech impaired people using KINECT, International conference on engineering and emerging technologies (ICEET), Lahore, Pakistan, Feb 21-22, 2019, ISBN:978-1-7281-0279-5, pp: 1-8. http://dx.doi.org/10.1109/CEET1.2019.8711838

25. I. Feroz, N. Ahmad and M. W. Iqbal (2019), Usability based rating scale for mobile health applications, International conference on engineering and emerging technologies (ICEET), Lahore, Pakistan, Feb 21-22, 2019, ISBN:978-1-7281-0279- 5, pp. 1-7. http://dx.doi.org/10.1109/CEET1.2019.8711845

26. S. urooj, I. Feroz and N. Ahmad (2018), Systematic literature review on user interfaces of autonomous cars: liabilities and responsibilities, 1st International conference on advancements in computational sciences, Lahore Pakistan, Feb 19- 21, 2018, pp: 1-10. https://doi.org/10.1109/ICACS.2018.8333489

27. W. Iqbal, K. Shahzad, N. Ahmad, A. Amelio and D. Brodic (2018), Adaptive interface for Color-blind people in mobile-phones, 1st International conference on advancements in computational sciences, Lahore Pakistan, Feb 19-21, 2018. pp: 1-8. https://doi.org/10.1109/ICACS.2018.8333488

28. N. Ahmad and J. Siddique. (2017), Personality assessment using Twitter tweets. 21st International conference on knowledge-based and intelligent information & engineering Systems, Marseille, France, Sep 6-8, 2017. Procedia computer science, Vol. 112, ISSN 1877-0509, pp 1964-1973. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.procs.2017.08.067

29. M. Iqbal, N. Ahmad and S. Shahzad. (2017), Usability evaluation of adaptive features in smartphones. 21st International conference on knowledge-based and intelligent information & engineering systems, Marseille, France, Sep 6-8, 2017. Procedia computer science, Vol. 112, ISSN 1877-0509, pp: 2185-2194. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.procs.2017.08.258

30. S.K. Shahzad, M. Iqbal and N. Ahmad (2017), Privacy agents for IoT cloud Communication. In proceedings of the 2nd International conference on internet of things, Big data and security: IoTBDS, Porto Portugal, Apr 24-26, 2017. ISBN 978-989-758-245-5, pp: 239-245. https://doi.org/10.5220/0006286502390245

31. D. Brodić, A. Amelio, N. Ahmad, S.K. Shahzad (2017) Usability analysis of the image and interactive CAPTCHA via prediction of the response time. In multi- disciplinary trends in artificial intelligence, MIWAI 2017, Lecture Notes in computer science, Springer, Vol 10607. ISBN: 978-3-319-69456-6, pp: 252-265, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-69456-6_21

32. Ahmad, N. (2013) Virtual character based interactive interfaces for deaf and functionally illiterate users. In software business: from physical products to software services and solutions, Springer, Berlin, Germany, ISSN: 1865-1348, Scopus Indexed, Vol. 150, pp: 223-224. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642- 39336-5_23

33. N. Ahmad, D. Barberis, N. Garazzino, P. Prinetto, U. Shoaib and G. Tiotto (2012), A virtual character based Italian sign language dictionary. 13th International conference on computers helping people with special needs, Linz, Austria, 11-13 July. 2012, pp: 31-36. www.uld-conference.org/files_of_downloads/2012/ULD2012_Proceedings.pdf

34. U. Shoaib, N. Ahmad, G. Tiotto and P. Prinetto. (2012), A platform-independent user-friendly dictionary from italian to LIS. The 8th International conference on language resources and evaluation (LREC), Istanbul, Turkey, May 21-27, 2012, ISBN 978-2-9517408-7-7, pp: 2435-243. http://www.lrec-conf.org/proceedings/lrec2012/pdf/907_Paper.pdf

35. D. Barberis, N. Garazzino, P. Prinetto, G. Tiotto, A. Savino, U. Shoaib and N. Ahmad. (2011) Language resources for computer assisted translation from Italian-to-Italian sign language of deaf people. Accessibility reaching everywhere-AEGIS workshop and international conference, Brussels, Belgium, Nov 28-30, 2011, pp: 363-370.
https://iris.polito.it/handle/11583/2462601

Presentations

• Session Chair, from analog to digital: navigating the future of work, economy and governance. Social science conference: State society and culture, dynamics of power, identity and change. February 25, 2025. Iqra University, H-9 Campus, Islamabad.
• Invited speaker in 11th International conference on education with theme innovating education for sustainable futures: leveraging AI pedagogies for quality education. Talk delivered on “Artificial intelligence in teachers training & professional development”. Organized by University of education, Lahore Pakistan on 4th December 2024.
• Second International conference on recent advances in computer science and information technology (RACSIT-2024) by department of information sciences, University of Education Lahore, Pakistan. March 05-06, 2024, https://dv.ue.edu.pk/racsit2024/
• Co-chair in session “Equipped to adapt to new and emerging technologies”, in 4th International conference on future-proofing quality assurance in higher education by Pakistan network of quality assurance in higher education (PNQAHE) at Jinnah convention center Islamabad Pakistan. 3-5th March 2024.
• Guest editor in International conference on advanced research in technologies, information, innovation and sustainability (ARTIIS 2023), Intelligent systems in forensic engineering (ISIFE Workshop), Universidad a Distancia de Madrid, Spain, October 18-20, 2023.
• Organizer of 25th IEEE International multi-topic conference 2023 (INMIC 2023) in University of Central Punjab, Pakistan. 17-18 Nov 2023.
• 5th international conference on information systems engineering (ICISE2020), The University of Manchester UK, Nov 20-22, 2020.
• 20th International conference on knowledge-based and intelligent information & engineering systems (KES-2016), York, UK. Sep 5-7, 2016.
• 1st international conference on advancements in computational sciences (ICACS), Lahore Pakistan (ICEET), The University of Lahore, Lahore, 19-21 Feb, 2017.
• 1st International conference on engineering and emerging technologies (ICEET), The Superior University, Lahore, 21-22 Feb, 2017.
• Session chair in International multi-disciplinary conference (IMDC-2015, 2016), Gujrat, Pakistan.
• Language, Linguistics and AI, talk delivered in University of Potsdam, Germany organized by Alumni Society on July 13, 2023.
• Session chair in international conference on, “Pakistan Eurasian heartland connectivity: towards socio-economic, academic, and legal cooperation”, organized by area study center (Russia, China & Central Asia), the University of Peshawar, Sep 21-22, 2021.
• Keynote talk in Int. Conference “PAK- SINO partnership: prospects and challenges in higher education collaboration” by Bahria University, Islamabad, Sep 8-10, 2021.
• Delivered talk in International Conference on “Belt and road initiative (BRI) and regional Connectivity” organized by the center for global & strategic studies (CGSS), Islamabad, October 19, 2020.
• Data science in Practice, 4th hands on workshop, panel discussion, Dec 27, 2018, Nishat Hotel, Lahore.
• User interfaces for low literate people, research workshops in CS & IT department, University of Lahore, Aug 2015.

Interests

Research Interests:
1. Human-Computer Interaction (HCI) & UX: User-Centered Design, Natural User Interfaces, Usability Frameworks, Adaptable Interfaces, and Social Computing.
2. Artificial Intelligence & Deep Learning: Generative AI, Large Language Models (LLMs), Transformer architectures, Neural Networks, Explainable AI (XAI), and Federated Learning.
3. Digital Accessibility & Inclusive Design: Developing user-friendly software interfaces and assistive digital solutions for low-literate, deaf, and vision-deficient populations.
4. Health Informatics: Mobile health (mHealth) applications, ontology-based decision support systems, and secure healthcare technology integration.
5. ICT for Development (ICT4D): Creating easy-to-use interfaces that empower diverse user groups to participate meaningfully in an information-based society.