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Abdus Salam

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This article is about the Pakistani scientist. For other uses, see Abdus Salam (disambiguation).
Abdus Salam
File:Abdus salam.gif
Abdus Salam (1926-1996)
BornJanuary 29, 1926
Jhang, Punjab, Present-day Pakistan
DiedNovember 21, 1996(1996-11-21) (aged 70)
Oxford, England, United Kingdom
NationalityPakistani
CitizenshipPakistani[1]
Alma materUniversity of the Punjab
Government College
St John's College, Cambridge
Known forElectroweak theory
Pati-Salam model
AwardsNobel Prize in Physics (1979)
Smith's Prize
Adams Prize
Nishan-e-Imtiaz
Sitara-e-Pakistan (1959)
Scientific career
FieldsTheoretical Physics
InstitutionsPakistan Atomic Energy Commission (PAEC)
Space and Upper Atmosphere Research Commission (SUPARCO)
Punjab University
Imperial College, London
Government College
University of Cambridge
International Centre for Theoretical Physics (ICTP)
Doctoral advisorNicholas Kemmer
Paul Matthews
Doctoral studentsMichael Duff
Walter Gilbert
John Moffat
Yuval Ne'eman
John Polkinghorne
Raziuddin Siddiqui
Riazuddin

Abdus Salam[3] (Urdu: محمد عبد السلام) (January 29, 1926; Jhang Punjab – November 21, 1996; Oxford, England)[4] was a Pakistani theoretical physicist, Astrophysicist and Nobel laureate in Physics for his work in Electro-Weak Theory. Salam, Sheldon Glashow and Steven Weinberg shared the prize for this discovery. Salam holds the distinction of being the only Pakistani Nobel Laureate, and is the first Muslim Nobel Laureate in science. The validity of the theory was ascertained through experiments carried out at the Super Proton Synchrotron facility at CERN in Geneva, particularly, through the discovery of the W and Z Bosons.

Biography

Youth and education

Salam's father was an officer in the Department of Education in a poor farming district. His family has a long tradition of piety and learning.

At the age of just fourteen, Salam scored the highest marks ever recorded for the Matriculation Examination at the University of the Punjab. He won a scholarship to the Government College, University of the Punjab, in Lahore. As a fourth-year student there, he published his work on Srinivasa Ramanujan.[5] He got his master's degree at the Government College in 1946. That same year, he was awarded a scholarship to St. John's College, Cambridge University, where he got a BA degree with Double First-Class Honours in Mathematics and Physics in 1949. In 1950, he received the Smith's Prize from Cambridge University for the most outstanding pre-doctoral contribution to Physics.

He obtained a PhD degree in Theoretical Physics at Cambridge. His doctoral thesis contained fundamental work in Quantum Electrodynamics. By the time it was published in 1951, it had already gained him an international reputation and the Adams Prize.[2]

Religion

Abdus Salam was a devout Muslim, and a member of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community[6], who saw his religion as integral to his scientific work. He once wrote: "The Holy Quran enjoins us to reflect on the verities of Allah's created laws of nature; however, that our generation has been privileged to glimpse a part of His design is a bounty and a grace for which I render thanks with a humble heart."[2]

During his acceptance speech for the Nobel Prize in Physics, Salam quoted the following verses from the Quran:

Thou seest not, in the creation of the All-merciful any imperfection, Return thy gaze, seest thou any fissure. Then Return thy gaze, again and again. Thy gaze, Comes back to thee dazzled, aweary.

He then said:

This, in effect, is the faith of all physicists; the deeper we seek, the more is our wonder excited, the more is the dazzlement for our gaze.[7]

In 1974, when the Pakistan National Assembly declared Ahmadis to be non-Muslims, he left Pakistan for London in protest.

Later career

He returned to the Government College, Lahore as a Professor of Mathematics from 1951 to 1954 and then went back to Cambridge as a lecturer in mathematics.

During the early 1960s Salam played a very significant role in establishing the Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission (PAEC) - the atomic research agency of Pakistan - and Space and Upper Atmosphere Research Commission (SUPARCO) - the space research agency of Pakistan, of which he was the founding director. He was also instrumental in setting up five Superior Science colleges throughout Pakistan to further the progress in science in the country. He was founder and Director of the International Centre for Theoretical Physics (ICTP), Trieste, Italy from 1964 to December 1993. (The Centre has since been renamed, the Abdus Salam International Centre for Theoretical Physics). Salam was a firm believer that "scientific thought is the common heritage of mankind," and that developing nations needed to help themselves and invest into their own scientists to boost development and reduce the gap between the Global South and the Global North, thus contributing to a more peaceful world. Salam also founded the Third World Academy of Sciences (TWAS) and was a leading figure in the creation of a number of international centres dedicated to the advancement of science and technology.

In 1956 he was invited to take a chair at Imperial College, London, where he and Paul Matthews created a lively theoretical physics group. He remained a professor at Imperial until his retirement. In 1964, he founded the International Centre for Theoretical Physics, Trieste in the North-East of Italy. In 1959, he became the youngest Fellow of the Royal Society (at that time) at the age of 33.

In 1998, the Government of Pakistan issued a stamp carrying his portrait as part of a series of stamps entitled "Scientists of Pakistan."[8]

Death

Salam died at the age of 70 on 21st November 1996 in Oxford, England after a long illness. His body was brought to Pakistan and was taken to the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community headquarters of the city of Rabwah.[9] His body was kept in Darul Ziafat, where 13,000 men and women took a last glimpse of his face. Some 30,000 people attended the funeral prayers of the scientist.

Salam was buried without official protocol in the graveyard Bahishti Maqbara in Rabwah next to his parents' graves.[9] The epitaph on his tomb initially read "First Muslim Nobel Laureate" but, because of Salam's adherence to the Ahmadiyya Muslim sect, the word "Muslim" was later erased on the orders of a local magistrate, leaving the non-sensical "First Nobel Laureate".[10] Dr. Abdus Salam is considered to be one of the most prominent Astrophysicists to come from Pakistan and also known as the "Unsung Hero" of Nuclear Pakistan.

Documentary Film (Docufilm)

A documentary film on the life and science of Abdus Salam is in the works and will be directed by Sabiha Sumar; http://www.abdussalamdocufilm.com/filmmakers_advisors.php subject to collection of donations valued to $500,000.

Career in science

The road named after Abdus Salam in CERN, Geneva

Salam returned to Pakistan in 1951 to teach Mathematics at the Government College, Lahore. In 1952, he became the Head of the Mathematics Department of the Punjab University. In 1954, Salam went for a lectureship at Cambridge, although he visited Pakistan from time to time as an adviser on science policy to the Government of Pakistan. His work for Pakistan was far-reaching and influential. He was a member of the Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission and work their as a cheif scientist with his students, a member of the Scientific Commission of Pakistan, Founder Chairman of Space and Upper Atmosphere Research Commission and Chief Scientific Adviser to thePresident of Pakistan from 1961 to 1974.

From 1957 onwards, he was Professor of Theoretical Physics at Imperial College, London. From 1964 onwards, has combined this position with that of Director of the International Centre For Theoretical Physics, a research institution in Trieste, Italy.

Salam had a prolific research career in theoretical elementary particle physics. He either pioneered or was associated with all the important developments in this field. He also served on a number of United Nations committees concerning science and technology in developing countries.[2]. Many prominent scientists, which includes, Riazuddin, Raziuddin Siddiqui, Munir Ahmad Khan, Ishfaq Ahmad, and I. H. Usmani, considered him as their chief mentor and a teacher. Abdus salam played a important and a crucial role in preparing and teaching of future pakistani engineers and scientists in the field of mathematics and physics.

Involvement in Pakistan's Nuclear Weapons Programme

In December 1972 two theoretical physicists working at the International Centre for Theoretical Physics, Trieste, Italy, were asked by Dr Abdus Salam to report to Pakistani Nuclear Scientist Mr. Munir Ahmad Khan, the PAEC chairman. This marked the beginning of the “Theoretical Physics Group” (TPG) in PAEC that would develop the theoretical designs of Pakistan’s nuclear weapons. Dr. Abdus Salam has closely worked with PAEC Chairman Mr. Munir Ahmad Khan.

The Theoretical Physics Group (TPG) team under the leadership of Riazuddin and Raziuddin Siddiqui, completed work on the theoretical design of the bomb by 1977[11]. Dr. Raziuddin Siddiqui and Dr. Riazuddin were a distinguished student of Dr. Abdus Salaam.

Contributions

Salam's primary focus was research on the physics of elementary particles. His particular contributions included:

Awards[16]

  • Hopkins Prize (Cambridge University) for "the most outstanding contribution to Physics during 1957-1958"
  • Adams Prize (Cambridge University) (1958)
  • First recipient of Maxwell Medal and Award (Physical Society, London) (1961)
  • Hughes Medal (Royal Society, London) (1964)
  • Atoms for Peace Medal and Award (Atoms for Peace Foundation) (1968)
  • J. Robert Oppenheimer Memorial Medal and Prize (University of Miami) (1971)
  • Guthrie Medal and Prize (1976)
  • Matteuci Medal (Accademia Nazionale dei Lincei, Rome) (1978)
  • John Torrence Tate Medal (American Institute of Physics) (1978)
  • Royal Medal (Royal Society, London) (1978)
  • Einstein Medal (UNESCO, Paris) (1979)
  • Shri R.D. Birla Award (India Physics Association) (1979)
  • Josef Stefan Medal (Josef Stefan Institute, Ljublijana) (1980)
  • Gold Medal for Outstanding Contributions to Physics (Czechoslovak Academy of Sciences, Prague) (1981)
  • Lomonosov Gold Medal (USSR Academy of Sciences) (1983)
  • Copley Medal (Royal Society, London) (1990
  • Nishan-e-Imtiaz for outstanding performance in Scientific projects in Pakistan.
  • Sitara-e-Pakistan (1959)

See also

References

  1. ^ http://www.chowk.com/articles/8387 -Dr Abdus Salam - The ’Mystic’ scientist
  2. ^ a b c d Abdus Salam Nobel Prize in Physics Biography
  3. ^ This is the standard transliteration (e.g. see the ICTP Website and Nobel Bio). Other transliterations include Abdus Salam; see Abd as-Salam for more details.
  4. ^ Kibble, T.W.B. (1998). "Muhammad Abdus Salam, K. B. E.. 29 January 1926-21 November 1996". Biographical Memoirs of Fellows of the Royal Society. 44: 386–401. doi:10.1098/rsbm.1998.0025. Retrieved 2008-01-05. {{cite journal}}: Unknown parameter |month= ignored (help)
  5. ^ Abdus Salam, A Problem of Ramanujam, Publ. in: Math. Student XI, Nos.1-2, 50-51 (1943)
  6. ^ http://www.alislam.org/library/salam-5.htm
  7. ^ The Nobel Prize in Physics 1979 - Banquet Speech
  8. ^ Philately (1998-11-21). "Scientists of Pakistan". Pakistan Post Office Department. Retrieved 2008-02-18.
  9. ^ a b http://www.alislam.org/library/salam-15.htm
  10. ^ Isambard Wilkinson (2007-12-25). "Pakistan clerics persecute 'non Muslims'". Daily Telegraph.
  11. ^ "Timeline of Pakistan's Nuclear Programme". Pakdef.ino. Retrieved 2008-12-09.
  12. ^ "The Nobel Prize in Physics 1979". Nobel Foundation. Retrieved 2008-09-10.
  13. ^ Hélein, Frédéric (2008), "A representation formula for maps on supermanifolds", Journal of Mathematical Physics, 49 (023506): 1 & 19, doi:10.1063/1.2840464
  14. ^ Lauren Caston and Rita Fioresi (October 30, 2007). [2008-09-10 "Mathematical Foundations of Supersymmetry"] (PDF). arXiv. {{cite web}}: Check |url= value (help)
  15. ^ A. Salam (1966). "Magnetic monopole and two photon theories of C-violation". Physics Letters. 22: 683–684. doi:10.1016/0031-9163(66)90704-9.
  16. ^ Abdus Salam - Curriculum Vitae
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