You can tell that it makes Asad Hashmi a little uncomfortable when people notice he's exceptional. You can also tell he likes it.

It's an interesting combination of deeply ingrained humility and burgeoning confidence at the same time.

This dichotomy makes him a fascinating conversationalist. If you ask him what his plans are, for example, he'll tell you in a quiet, confident voice, that he plans to change the world. And there's not a hint of bluster in it, either.

He'd like to continue playing squash as well.

A senior on the men's squash team, even the humble Hashmi had to say something to someone, somewhere ... anywhere ... when research he'd been working on for the last few years was recently published in a scientific journal called Tetrahedron Letters.

Led by Bard professor Craig Anderson, Hashmi was one of nine Bard students - current and former - who were credited with the paper called "Regioselective formation of six-membered platinacycles at C-X and C-H oxidative addition," published in the Nov. 18 edition.

The research began before Hashmi even got to Bard. He tried to sum it up for a general audience and failed on his first attempt; on his second attempt he explained that the research had to do with creating artificial photosynthesis. It's a potential, efficient way to create a new energy source. If you think your brain can handle it, read the paper here.

What it means for Hashmi is a leg up on graduate school, since he's had a paper published as an undergraduate. Professor Anderson says he publishes one to two papers a year with Bard students.

Hashmi feels fortunate to be at Bard and to have been included in this research.

"Professors often specialize in a certain field," Hashmi said. "Usually the professor comes up with an idea to research, to look into, and then the group might tweak something from previous research to come up with a new derivation. We discuss it with the professor, and if it looks good, we go with it."

Professor Anderson says his laboratory's work is fundamental in origin, but the applications include cancer drugs and catalysis.
 

The native of Pakistan stumbled into this group quite by accident. After taking a gap year and studying in Turkey, Hashmi followed his sister to Bard, on the promise that he'd see much smaller class sizes and actually have access to the professors. It's been everything he hoped and more.

"To have individual attention from a professor, to have a working relationship with a professor ... I was one of 200 students in a class in Turkey," Hashmi said. "But I had no idea what I was getting into when I started this research. I was just going after relevant work experience, then I was selected by the professor to participate.

"The more I got into it, the more I realized that if a big corporation or someone with a lot of money had our research and took it from there," he continued, "it's something that could really work, and help developing countries all over the world."

Hashmi's time at Bard has been spent in the lab - including the last two summers - and on the athletic playing field. He's been on the soccer team, the track and field team, and currently the squash team.

"My family has always been into sports and physical activity was an is always a must," he said. "Healthy body, healthy mind.

"But I underestimated Div. III soccer," he continued. "There are some incredible players here at Bard and the standard of play is very high. Track and field because I need to keep moving. And now squash, which is almost a national sport in Pakistan, but I never picked up a racquet until I got to Bard."

The squash program at Bard took a major step forward last year with the introduction of Craig Thorpe-Clark as head coach. The Raptors started winning, which they hadn't done in a couple of years, and the squash bug has clearly bitten Hashmi. Bard has begun the season with a 7-2 record, and the program high mark for wins in a season is eight.

"I've never had a better coach in any sport I've played," Hashmi said. "He's brilliant. He's friendly. He's direct, and it's been one hell of an experience."

For Hashmi, he doesn't go from the lab to the squash court and back. He works as a lab assistant on campus, he's a chemistry tutor at the Bard Learning Commons, and he assists the International Student Advisor in helping new students transition to life in the United States.

Next, he believes, will be graduate school for a Masters Degree, most likely in Chemical Engineering. Eventually he wants to work at a multinational firm, then go home.

"The better graduate schools are on the East Coast, the jobs are on the West Coast," Hashmi said. "Eventually I'm going to start something myself back home. There are problems with infrastructure I could help with, and that's eventually what I'm going to do."

He'll graduate in May. A master of efficiency, he's already noted that many of the locations he's considering for graduate school have local squash leagues.

"Having professors like this, having a research experience like this, it's life-changing," Hashmi said. "It's a great way to network, find resources and build contacts. And you really get to talk with an expert in the field about your direction."

Change the world and play squash. Sounds like a plan.