KARACHI Asian Institute of Technology (AIT), Thailand, has conferred upon the AIT honorary doctorate degree to former Chairman Higher Education Commission (HEC) Prof Dr Atta-ur-Rahman. The degree was awarded to Dr Atta on the occasion of the Institutes 114th graduation ceremony, held on 17 December 2010 in Bangkok, Thailand. As per an AIT official letter, Prof Atta-ur-Rahman has become the first distinguished personality form Pakistan, who has been awarded this honorary degree. The award is in recognition of his outstanding contribution as an academician and in bringing silent revolution in the higher education sector in Pakistan by reforming the erstwhile University Grants Commission into the HEC. It is pertinent to mention here that Prof Rahman has over 830 publications in leading international journals in several fields of organic chemistry including 654 research publications, 18 patents, 99 books and 59 chapters in books published by major U.S. and European presses. Seventy two students have completed their Ph.D. degrees under his supervision.