Pervez Hoodbhoy

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Pervez Hoodbhoy
Pervez hoodbhoy.jpeg
Born (1950-07-11) July 11, 1950 (age 62)
Karachi, Sindh Province, West-Pakistan
Residence Islamabad, Islamabad Capital Territory
Citizenship Pakistan
Nationality Pakistani
Fields Nuclear Physics
Institutions Quaid-e-Azam University
National Centre for Physics
Alma mater Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)
Known for His work on the Parton distribution functions, Field Theory, Phenomenology, supersymmetry and Abstract algebra
Influences Abdus Salam, George Bernard Shaw[1]
Notable awards UNESCO Kalinga Prize (2003)
Fulbright Award (1998-99)
Faiz Ahmed Faiz Award (1990)
Abdus Salam Award (1984)
Baker Award for Electronics[2] (1968)

Pervez Amirali Hoodbhoy (Urdu: پرویز ہودبھائی; born 11 July 1950), is a Pakistani nuclear physicist, essayist and defence analyst. He has also taught as the visiting professor of Physics at Lahore University of Management Sciences (LUMS) where he also worked on topics in theoretical applications in the topological insulators, various Hall effects and Graphene. Before joining LUMS, he was the professor of nuclear and high-energy physics, and also the head of the Physics Department at the Quaid-e-Azam University (QAU). He graduated and also received a PhD from MIT and continues to do research in Particle physics. He received the Baker Award for Electronics in 1968,[2] and the Abdus Salam Prize for Mathematics in 1984.[3] He has authored various scientific research papers in peer-reviewed journals.[3]

Hoodbhoy is also a prominent environmentalist and social activist and regularly writes on a wide range of social, cultural and environmental issues. He is the chairman of Mashal, a non-profit organization which publishes Urdu books on feminism, education, environmental issues, philosophy, and modern thought. Dr. Pervez Hoodbhoy is a strong and avid supporter for peaceful use of nuclear technology in Pakistan, nuclear non-proliferation, and nuclear disarmament; and criticizing the United States, Israel, Pakistan's and India's nuclear program in many national and international forums.

Contents

Biography [edit]

Youth and academic career [edit]

Hoodbhoy was born into an Ismaili household. However, with time he rebelled as he believed the system to be exploitative. His beliefs eventually got influenced by reading George Bernard Shaw and subsequently he has drawn a strong line of separation between science and religion.[1]

Hoodbhoy did O and A-Level from Karachi, Sindh. While in Pakistan during his college studies, Hoodbhoy was tutored by Nobel Laureate in Physics Professor Abdus Salam in Mathematics and Physics.[4] Hoodbhoy showed great interest in Electronics and Mathematics, and his love for science led him to travel to United States to pursue his education.[4] In United States, Hoodbhoy studied for his double major and gained his double Bachelor of Sciences in Mathematics and Electrical engineering, followed by M.S. in Solid-State Physics from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1973.[5]

He went on to obtain a D.Phil. in Nuclear Physics in 1978 from the same institution.[4] During his doctoral studies, Hoodbhoy had worked with numerous Manhattan Project scientists (who had worked closely in the development of a first implosion device— Fat Man atom bomb in the 1940s) in the field of nuclear physics.[4] Later, he remained a post-doctoral research fellow at the University of Washington.[5] Hoodbhoy, joined the Institute of Physics, later Department of Physics, as professor of Physics, since 1973.[5] He spent his research career extensively on Quantum field theory, Particle Phenomenology, and Supersymmetry in the area of Particle physics.[5] Hoodbhoy currently teaches at Lahore University of Management Sciences, and is a visiting professor of Mathematics at the Carnegie Mellon University, and visiting professor of physics at both University of Maryland at College Park, and remains a senior visiting scientist at the Stanford Linear Accelerator Center.[5] Hoodbhoy also occasionally lectures on various topics in Mathematics and Physics in the American and European research institutions. Hoodbhoy is a prominent sponsor of The Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, representing the Pakistan's delegation.[6] Hoodbhoy is also a senior member of Pakistan Atomic Scientists Federation (PASF). He also serves on the International Advisory Council of the Brookings Doha Center. After receiving his doctorate in physics, Hoodbhoy, at MIT, met with the renowned scientists Dr. Abdus Salam and Riazuddin where Salam gave his lectures on particle physics. Hoodbhoy then traveled to Trieste where he became a research associate at the International Centre for Theoretical Physics (ICTP).[7] At ICTP, Hoodbhoy began his research in particle physics that was supervised by Professor Salam.[7] In 1999, Hoodbhoy with Ishfaq Ahmad and Riazuddin, played a major and influential role in the establishment of National Centre of Physics (NCP). With its establishment, Hoodbhoy became one of the earliest academic scientists who joined the NCP at its inception.

Defence and political views [edit]

Apart from his specialist field of research, Hoodbhoy extensively writes and speaks on general topics ranging from science in Islam to education and nuclear disarmament issues around the world.[8] He is author of Islam and Science: Religious Orthodoxy and the Battle for Rationality, that has been translated into five languages.[3] In his book, Hoodbhoy outline the history of Pakistan, implications of theocracy and military dictatorships in Pakistan, and the abstract textbook system in education system of Pakistan. His articles on various issues related to science and social issues are often published in international media. Nowadays, Dr. Pervez A. Hoodbhoy is considered one of the prominent and renowned scientists, who had published his work on every aspect of life. His publications are repeatedly published in both technical and non-technical papers.[3] Hoodbhoy widely writes about the role and modernization of Pakistan Armed Forces, particularly the defence budget spending by the Government of Pakistan on Pakistan Armed Forces. While he is critical of the role of Pakistan Armed Forces in politics, Hoodbhoy gives much criticism to the Pakistan Army for imposing unlawful Martial Law. Hoodbhoy heavily criticizes the militant and fundamental Islam, while avidly supporting Pakistan Armed Forces to initiate their operations against the Islamic extremism in his country. Hoodbhoy was among the first activists who raised their support for the Pakistan Armed Forces Operation Black Thunderstorm, as part of conflict in West-Pakistan.

In an interview on secularism he mentioned that obsession with scientific-religious Apophenia may have caused lack of scientific advancement among Muslims in recent years.[9] In 2003 he was one the signers of the Humanist Manifesto.[10]

Nuclear weapons in South Asia [edit]

Hoodbhoy remains a leading vocal critic of nuclear weapons, and especially of the on-going nuclear weapons expansion in South Asia.[11] Hoodbhoy openly criticizes the United States' foreign aide to expand the Indian nuclear programme, and held India responsible for Pakistan's symmetric nuclear weapons programme as part of Pakistan's self credible deterrence after the country was dismembered in 1971 by India.[11] While, he agreed that Pakistan's nuclear deterrence programme had protected and avoided Pakistan in numerous war threatening situations with India and the present relations with the United States.[11] Hoodbhoy remains staunch supporter for Pakistan's nuclear energy programme exclusively devoted for the industrial and economical use and human welfare.[11] According to Hoodbhoy, Pakistan puts tremendous and extreme science efforts to developed its deterrence programme which was developed in extreme secrecy under Munir Ahmad Khan.[11] If the same the finance and efforts on economical and technological progress, Pakistan would be equivalent to that of either Japan or South Korea.[11] In his recent article, Hoddbhoy gave a vehement and vigorous criticism to India's 1974 nuclear test (Smiling Buddha) and the second nuclear tests (Operation Shakti) in 1998. According to Hoodbhoy, India nuclear tests forced and pushed Pakistan to jump into nuclear arena in 1974, and again in 1998, after war-threatening statements were made by Indian government to Pakistan; Pakistan equalized (see Chagai-I and Chagai-II) this magnitude over the nuclear edge that same month.[11]

Science research [edit]

Hoodbhoy made important contributions in physics, particularly in particle physics. Many of the Hoodbhoy's lectures are shown in the Urduphysics.com, sponsored by National Center for Physics. Hoodbhoy lectures in Newtonian Mechanics, Einsteinian Mechanics, Electricity and Magnetism, Vibration and Waves, among others.[12] At NCP, Hoodbhoy conducted his research on different aspects of particle physics, and pioneered his studies in modern physics and its extension to mathematical and nuclear physics. In 2006, Hoodbhoy published his brief mathematical description on Generalized Parton Distributions or GDP. In 2007, Hoodbhoy re-published the work of Jens Lyng Peterson the on Maldacena conjecture where he contributed mathematically on the theory. A Maldacena conjecture is a conjectured equivalence between a string theory and gravity defined on one space, and a quantum field theory without gravity defined by one or less dimension.[13] In the same year, he also re-published the work Edward Witten on Anti de Sitter space and its extension to the field of Holography. While, the paper was published experimentally in 1998 by Witten, Hoodbhoy provided the brief mathematical proofs and description to understand, logically, the subject of Sitter space— a scalar curvature in general theory of relativity.[14]

On 14 April 2001, it was announced that Dr. Hoodbhoy would be receiving Sitara-i-Imtiaz from the former President, General (retired) Pervaiz Musharraf which he refused to accept. His refusal prompted the Friday Times to interview him.

I am reasonably [satisfied] with my (scientific) work... I do not think it is earth-shaking or... that it deserves any kind of [award]. On the other hand, receiving an [award] – even if it is a high national award – would give me absolutely no sense of achievement or satisfaction... because it carries no credibility or prestige in professional circles. Such things do not indicate that you have done good work in your field. Therefore I decided to refuse the award
—Pervez Hoodbhoy, issued the statement on The Friday Times, 2001, [15]

Documentary films [edit]

He produced a 13-part documentary series in Urdu for Pakistan Television on critical issues in education, and two series aimed at popularizing science. In 2004, he made a documentary film 'Crossing the Lines: Kashmir, Pakistan, India' along with Dr. Zia Mian.[16] The Center for Global Peace and Conflict Studies. University of California, Irvine. 11 May.[3] Documentaries of his carry heavy emphasis on the issues of education, public health and scientific revolution in Pakistan.

In his documentaries, Dr. Hoodbhoy heavily criticized Pakistan and India's nuclear weapons program. He also pointed out the seriousness of the Talibanization in Pakistan and its immediate effects on South Asia. His documentaries also pointed out that Americans and NATO forces in Afghanistan didn't help the Afghan people's life and there was no reform in Afghanistan's social and public sector instead the insurgency and corruption grew, which also destabilized Pakistan's western front.[3]

Filmography [edit]

  • Crossing the Lines: Kashmir, Pakistan, India (2004)
  • The Bell Tolls for Planet Earth (2003)
  • Pakistan and India Under the Nuclear Shadow (2001)

Pervez Hoodbhoy on Higher Education Commission (HEC) [edit]

Hoodbhoy was a harsh critic of the Higher Education Commission (HEC) while it was headed by Dr. Atta-ur-Rahman. This led to numerous print and television media debates.

The administrative competency of HEC was called into question. The achievements of the HEC initiative which involved the development, staffing and management of universities, with the aim of attracting foreign academics to Pakistan, were described as ‘dismal’. In the case of UESTP-France, in Karachi, out of an expected faculty strength of between 450 to 600, no French faculty or administrative staff actually arrived.

The data used to support the positive appraisal of HEC’s activities was questioned in a series of communications between Hoodbhoy and HEC Chairman Atta-Ur-Rehman. It was claimed by the latter that in mathematics, Pakistani authors received 20% more citations than the worldwide average. Hoodbhoy questioned this on several grounds including the number of self-citations these publications received and said that this was a crucial aspect that the HEC left out of its interpretation.

Criticism was levelled by Hoodbhoy at the practice of hiring those foreign academics in local universities who were said to have difficulty in communicating and teaching, although they contributed to boosting the number of research publications originating from Pakistani universities.

An article published in ‘Nature’ on 3 September 2009 was the source of much debate. While it reported many achievements and showered much praise on the activities of the HEC, Hoodbhoy asked that the education system be assessed on the changes in quality of teaching in public universities, procedures for selection of students, and on whether campuses began to see greater academic freedom, greater transparency and less violence from extremist groups.

Awards and honours [edit]

He is also the recipient of:

Publications [edit]

Books [edit]

Scientific papers and articles [edit]

  • Two-Photon Effects in Lepton-AntiLepton Pair Photoproduction from a Nucleon Target using Real Photons, Authors: Pervez Hoodbhoy, Phys.Rev. D73 (2006) 054027
  • Probing Quark Distribution Amplitudes Through Generalized Parton Distributions at Large Momentum Transfer, Pervez Hoodbhoy, Xiangdong Ji, Feng Yuan, Phys.Rev.Lett. 92 (2004) 012003
  • Explicit Proof that Electroproduction of Transversely Polarized Vector Mesons Vanishes in Perturbative QCD, Pervez Hoodbhoy (University of Maryland and Quaid-e-Azam University), Phys.Rev. D65 (2002) 077501
  • Does the Gluon Spin Contribute in A Gauge Invariant Way to Nucleon Spin? Pervez Hoodbhoy, Xiangdong Ji, Phys.Rev. D60 (1999) 114042
  • Nucleon-Quarkonium Elastic Scattering and the Gluon Contribution to Nucleon Spin, Pervez Hoodbhoy, Phys.Rev.Lett. 82 (1999) 4985-4987
  • Implications of Color Gauge Symmetry For Nucleon Spin Structure, Pervez Hoodbhoy, Xiangdong Ji, Wei Lu, Phys.Rev. D59 (1999) 074010
  • Quark Orbital-Angular-Momentum Distribution in the Nucleon, Pervez Hoodbhoy, Xiangdong Ji, Wei Lu, Phys.Rev. D59 (1999) 014013
  • The Spin Structure of the Nucleon in the Asymptotic Limit, Ji, J. Tang (MIT), P. Hoodbhoy (Quaid-e-Azam, Pakistan), Phys.Rev.Lett. 76 (1996) 740-743
  • Helicity-Flip Off-Forward Parton Distributions of the Nucleon, Pervez Hoodbhoy, Xiangdong Ji, Phys.Rev. D58 (1998) 054006
  • Wavefunction corrections and off-forward gluon distributions in diffractive J/psi electroproduction, Pervez Hoodbhoy, Phys.Rev. D56 (1997) 388-393
  • Relativistic and Binding Energy Corrections to Direct Photon Production In Upsilon Decay, Mohammad Ali Yusuf, Pervez Hoodbhoy, Phys.Rev. D54 (1996) 3345-3349
  • Beyond The Colour-Singlet Model For Inelastic J_psi Photoproduction, H. Khan, P. Hoodbhoy, Phys. Lett. B382 (1996) 189
  • The Spin Structure of the Nucleon in the Asymptotic Limit, X. Ji, J. Tang (MIT), P. Hoodbhoy (Quaid-e-Azam, Pakistan), Phys.Rev.Lett. 76 (1996) 740-743
  • Novel approach to decays, gluon distributions, and fragmentation functions of heavy quarkonia, Rafia Ali, Pervez Hoodbhoy, Phys.Rev. D51 (1995) 2302-2310
  • Quark fragmentation functions in a diquark model for proton and $\Lambda$ hyperon production, Muhammad Nzar, Pervez Hoodbhoy, Phys.Rev. D51 (1995) 32-36
  • Systematic gauge invariant approach to heavy quarkonium decays, Hafsa Khan, Pervez Hoodbhoy, Phys.Rev. D53 (1996) 2534-2540
  • Twist-Four Distributions in a Transversely-Polarized Nucleon and the Drell-Yan Process, Pevrez Hoodbhoy, Xiangdong Xi, Phys.Rev. D50 (1994) 4429-4435
  • Detecting Two-Photon Exchange Effects in Hard Scattering from Nucleon Targets, in Mathematical Physics: Proceedings of the 12th Regional Conference, Islamabad, Pakistan 27 March - 1 April 2006, World Scientific, Singapore, 2007. ISBN 978-981-270-591-4
  • Abdus Salam: Past and Present- The News (29 January 1996)
  • Generalized Parton Distributions, Pervez Hoodbhoy, Quaid-e-Azam University ,Islamabad

Appeared in TV shows [edit]

  • Aik Din Geo Kay Saath on Geo TV, February 2010
  • Capital Talk on Geo TV, 29 August 2012

Notes [edit]

  1. ^ a b [1] Dr. Sohail Interview, Retrieved 2012-03-29
  2. ^ a b c Pervaiz Hoodbhoy, Sohail Varaich (2010). ADGKS Parvez Hood Bhoy 187605 C3.mp4 =channel (Television production). Quaid-i-Azam University, Islamabad, Islamabad Capital Territory: Geo TV. 
  3. ^ a b c d e f (FPS), Fulbright Scholar Program (2007). "U.S. and Non U.S. Scholar: Dr. Pervez Hoodbhoy". Global Zero. Fulbright Program. Retrieved 2011. 
  4. ^ a b c d Parvez Hood Bhoy (2010). ADGKS Parvez Hood Bhoy 187605 C1.mp4 (Television Production). Geo TV. 
  5. ^ a b c d e (Global 0), Global Zero. "Dr. Pervez Hoodbhoy". Global Zero. Global Zero. Retrieved 2011. 
  6. ^ CGPACS (2006) 15th Annual Margolis Lecture with Dr. Pervez Hoodbhoy. The Center for Global Peace and Conflict Studies. University of California, Irvine. 12 May. Retrieved on 22 May 2008
  7. ^ a b "Fascinating encounters: Prof Abdus Salam". Hoodbhoy. Retrieved 2011. 
  8. ^ Hoodbhoy (1998) Talk by Dr. Pervez Hoodbhoy on nuclear tests in the Indian subcontinent. The Alliance, Pakistan Students Society at MIT, and the MIT Program In Science, Technology, and Society. 12 May. Retrieved on 22 May 2008
  9. ^ Pervez Amirali Hoodbhoy: "Islam and Science Have Parted Ways"; Interview in Middle East Quarterly; Winter 2010, pp. 69-74, Retrieved 2012-03-02
  10. ^ "Notable Signers". Humanism and Its Aspirations. American Humanist Association. Retrieved October 6, 2012. 
  11. ^ a b c d e f g Hoodbhoy, PhD (Nuclear Physics), Pervez Amerali (Januar 23rd, 2011). "Pakistan’s nuclear bayonet". Dr. Pervez Hoodbhoy, Doctor of Philosophy (Nuclear Physics), Professor of Nuclear and High-Energy Physics at the Quaid-e-Azam University and Senior academic research scientist at the National Center for Nuclear Physics. Dr. Prof. Pervez Amerali Hoodbhoy and the The Herald. Retrieved September 9, 2011. 
  12. ^ Pervez Hoodbhoy. Urdu-Physics lectures by Pervez Hoodbhoy (Kashif Nazar's Science Medium). Islamabad, Institute of Physics of the University of Islamabad: Professor Pervez Hoodbhoy. 
  13. ^ Peterson, Jens Lyng; Dr. Prof. Pervez Hoodbhoy (December 28–31, 2009). "Introduction to Maldacena conjecture". Islamabad, Islamabad Capital Territory: Dr. Pervez Hoodbhoy of National Center for Physics; Second National Winter Meeting on Particles and Fields and Jens Lyng Peterson. p. 41. Retrieved 2011. 
  14. ^ Witten, Dr. Prof. Edward; Dr. Prof. Pervez Hoodbhoy (December 28–31, 2009). "Anti de Sitter Space and Holography". Islamabad, Islamabad Capital Territory: Dr. Pervez Hoodbhoy of National Center for Physics; Second National Winter Meeting on Particles and Fields and Edward Witten (1998). p. 41. Retrieved 2011. 
  15. ^ Chowk
  16. ^ CGPACS (2006) Crossing the Lines: Kashmir, Pakistan, India

External links [edit]

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