The Pakistan Institute of Engineering and Applied Sciences (or PIEAS), formerly known as the Center for Nuclear Studies (CNS), is a public and co-educational research university located in the Islamabad Capital Territory, near the remote town of Nilore. It was established by the Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission under the advise of Abdus Salam. It began as a postgraduate institution in 1967 with the University of Islamabad and achieved independence and its current name in 1997. Students reside on grounds of the 150 acres (0.61 km; 0.23 sq mi) campus while attending the university, which offers academic and technical education in the fields of Computer and Control Systems, Applied Electronics, Applied Mathematics & Numerical Analysis, Analytical Chemistry, Nuclear Engineering, Materials Science and Materials Engineering, Chemical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Radiation Physics, Optics and Laser Physics, and Nuclear Medicine. The university offers Bachelor's, Master's and Doctor of Philosophy degrees. As per HEC rankings, PIEAS is a no.1 engineering institute in Pakistan.