LAHORE: (Monday, February 20, 2023): Punjab University Vice Chancellor Prof Dr Niaz Ahmad Akhter has said that modern research should be promoted in higher education institutions to solve the problems of the industry. He was addressing the opening ceremony of the first three-day international conference on “Advances in Functional Materials” organized by Department of Physics, at Al Raazi Hall. On this occasion, Chairman Department of Physics Prof Dr Mahmood-ul-Hassan, faculty members, scientists, researchers and students were present. In his address, Dr Niaz said that the science departments of Punjab University were getting the services of the best experts and scientists. He said that to stabilize the country's economy, more money has to be spent on modern research. He said that PU’s various departments should work together to improve industry-academia relations. He congratulated the organizers for organizing the conference on a good topic and hoped for good results. He advised the students to play a role in practical life by learning from the experiences of experts in such events. Dr Mahmood-ul-Hassan said that the purpose of organizing the conference was to provide a platform to theoretical and applied physics experts. He said that more than 200 delegates from Pakistan and other countries would present 50 oral and 30 poster presentations in the three-day conference. Later, souvenirs were presented to the distinguished guests.