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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
Pakistan's nuclear program
Pakistan's space program
AwardsNobel Prize in Physics (1979)
Smith's Prize
Adams Prize
Nishan-e-Imtiaz (1979)
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
Masud Ahmad
Ghulam Murtaza

Abdus Salam[2] (Urdu: محمد عبد السلام) (January 29, 1926; Jhang Punjab – November 21, 1996; Oxford, England)[3] 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. Today, Abdus Salam is considered to have been one of Pakistan's most influential scientists. While he was a devout Muslim his whole life, a law passed in 1984, by the Government of Pakistan,under General Zia-ul-Haq, called Ordinance XX[4]led to his grave stone being defaced, with the original "First Muslim Nobel Laureate" changed to read the non-sensical epitaph "First Nobel Laureate".[5]

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.

Only fourteen, Salam scored the highest marks ever recorded for the Matriculation Examination at the Panjab University. He won a scholarship to the Government College, Panjab University, in Lahore. As a fourth-year student there, he published his work on Srinivasa Ramanujan.[6] He received his master's degree from the Government College in 1946. That same year, he was awarded a scholarship to St. John's College, Cambridge University, where he completed 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.[7]

Religion

Abdus Salam was a devout Muslim, and a member of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community[8], 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."[7]

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.[9]

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."[10]

Death and Legacy

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.[11] 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.[11] 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".[12] Dr. Abdus Salam is considered to be one of the most prominent theoretical physicist and astrophysicist to come from Pakistan and also known as the "Unsung Hero" of Nuclear Pakistan. Dr. Abdus Salam's work and theories were and still are far reaching influential and in spite of treatment of Ahmaiyyah Muslims in Pakistan, he regardly seen as one of the most respected scientist in Pakistan. His scientific theories and efforts made him a celebrity in Pakistan. Today, dr. Abdus Salam is considered one of the most influential scientist in Pakistan. A vast majority of Pakistani scientist considered him as their scientific father. His influential work is still alive in the hearts of People of Pakistan. In 1998, Government of Pakistan part of its 'Scientists of Pakistan' series, issued a commemorative stamp to honour the contributions and services of Abdus salam. A famous Pakistani Journalist and famous column writer Hassan Nisar says "Pakistan has produced just one great man after Jinnah- dr.Abdus Salam". Mr. Jamiluddin Aali, a renowned Pakistani journalist, in 1979, wrote an article for Daily Jang titled "Two failed heroes of the east are celebrated universally", referring to Mother Teresa and Dr. Salam. Mother Teresa has been awarded Sainthood, after her death. While memories of Dr. Abdus Salam, honoured by aficionados around the world, even today, remain buried under prejudice and disregard in his home country, erased from textbooks and mainstream publications, and without a doubt, the loss is surely ours".

Dr. Ghulam Murtaza, professor of the plasma physics at the Government College, Lahore, recalled his memories and said:

"He, dr. Salam, takes immense pride in the fact that when I was a student of Dr. Salam at Imperial College and that I obtained a Ph.D under his patronage. When dr. Salam was to deliver a lecture, the hall would be packed and although the subject was Particle Physics, his manner and eloquence was such as if he was talking about literature. When he finished his lectures, listeners would often burst into spontaneous applause and give him a standing ovation. People from all parts of the world would come to Imperial College and seeks Dr. Salam’s help. He would give a patient hearing to everyone including those who were talking nonsense. He treated everyone with respect and compassion and never belittled or offended anyone. Dr. Salam’s strength was that he could “sift jewels from the sand".

Dr. Riazuddin, one of his close and distinguish student, and professor of the theoretical physics at the Qau, paid tributes to him and said:

"Although dr. Salam may not have succeeded in establishing an internationally recognised physics community in Pakistan, he helped convince the Pakistani government to make a series of modest investments in scientific research. As a result, there was a flurry of activity in physics during the 1960s and 1970s that prompted the training of a small group of physicists who were born in Pakistan."

Dr. Abdus Salam was responsible for laying the groundwork for the Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission, initiating research on problems of waterlogging and salinity, and agricultural research. He played a crucial role in PAEC and SUPARCO. He helped Pakistan's scientists and engineers to be trained in nuclear applications and nuclear science. On August of 1996, a team of Pakistani scientists under the leadership of Mr.Munir Ahmad Khan and dr. Ishfaq Ahmad met with dr. Abdus Salam in Oxford, United Kingdom.

A well-known Pakistani nuclear physicist dr. Ishfaq Ahmad, who is the professor of nuclear physics at theQuaid-i-Azam University, recalls, “Dr. Abdus Salam was responsible for sending about 500 physicists, mathematicians and scientists from Pakistan, for PhD’s to the best institutions in UK and USA" [13]

Mr. Munir Ahmad Khan (late), a famous Pakistani nuclear engineer and former PAEC chairman said:

"My last meeting with Abdus Salam was only three months ago. His disease had taken its toll and he was unable to talk. Yet he understood what was said. I told him about the celebration held in Pakistan on his seventieth birthday. He kept staring at me. He had risen above praise. As I rose to leave he pressed my hand to express his feelings as if he wanted to thank everyone who had said kind words about him. Dr. Abdus Salam had deep love for Pakistan in spite of the fact that he was treated unfairly and indifferently by his own country. It became more and more difficult for him to come to Pakistan and this hurt him deeply. Now he has returned home finally, to rest in peace for ever in the soil that he loved so much. May be in the years to come we will rise above our prejudice and own him and give him, after his death, what we could not when he was alive. we Pakistanis may chose to ignore dr. Salam but the world at large, will always remember him. "

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.


Salam-Einstein Religious Debates

In 1957, dr. Abdus Salam was offered a Chair atImperial College London as professor of Theoretical Physics. Dr. Abdus Salam, at age of 30, became the youngest professor in the History of Imperial College London. While at Imperial College London, he had the privilege of interacting with great minds, such as Bertrand Russell, Albert Einstein, Julius Robert Oppenheimer, and Wolfgang Pauli to name a few. During a discussion, once, Bertrand Russell was discussing how he was vehemently opposed to Gods existence, to which Salam responded by saying:

"without belief in God man is prone to many basic defects and history shows that those who do believe in God are able to sacrifice more and do better for the mankind in comparison to non-believers".[14]

In his first meeting with Albert Einstein, their whole discussion was about religion and dr. Abdus Salam explained to him the Islamic concept of Tauheed. Albert Einstein did not dismiss dr. Salam as a religious bigot and they developed a close friendship. Salam was able to hold his own not only in the world of science, but he also commanded respect from colleagues and students due to his enormous bank of knowledge on all other fields of study.

Relationship with President Ayub Khan

Dr. Abdus Salam had an extremely close relationship with President of Pakistan, Ayub Khan. Dr. Salam had a greatest influence on the scientific policies of Pakistan. On August, 04,1959, while inaugurating the Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission (PAEC), President Ayub Khan said "In the end, I must say how happy I am to see Prof. Abdus Salam in our midst. His attainments in the field of science at such a young age are a source of pride and inspiration for us and I am sure that his association with the commission will help to impart weight and prestige to the recommendations." [15] As scientific Adviser to President of Pakistan, dr. Abdus Salam was an instrumental in the formation of Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission (PAEC). He also established a nuclear research institute, PINSTECH. On september, 16, 1961, by the order of President Ayub Khan on the advice of its founding director, Abdus Salam, established SUPARCO, a leading Pakistani space agency. President Ayub Khan also invited him over for a state dinner in honour of the Shah of Iran. [16]

Relationships with President Gen. Zia ul-Haq

Abdus Salam enjoyed better relations with President General Zia ul-Haq, who received him as a state guest and awarded him the Nishan-i-Imtiaz in 1979. However, Abdus Salam was carefully excluded from exercising any real influence over scientific matters.[17] In 1979, when Abdus Salam visited Islamabad at President General Zia ul-Haq's invitation, the physics department at Quaid-e-Azam University wanted Abdus Salam to give a lecture on his Nobel Prize winning theory.[18]

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 chief 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.[7]. Many prominent scientists, which includes, Ghulam Murtaza, 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.

A Key Role in Pakistan's Space Programme

It was dr. Abdus Salam's advised to the President of Pakistan, Ayub Khan, to established a National Space Agency of Pakistan, SUPARCO. In September, 16, 1961, on the advice of dr. Abdus Salam, it was decided to set up a Committee dealing with space sciences. Consequently, a Space SciencesResearch Wing of the Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission (PAEC) was established through an Executive Order of the President of Pakistan, Ayub Khan which was addressed to dr. I. H. Usmani, the Chairman of PAEC. The programme of rocket firings was entrusted to Chairman PAEC.[19] Dr. Abdus Salam was appointed its first Chairman. On June 7, 1961, under the leadership of dr. Abdus Salam and dr. I. H. Usmani, a two-stage rocket, Rehbar-I was launched Sonmiani Rocket Range. Pakistan had the honour of becoming the third country in Asia and the tenth in the world to conduct such a launching.

On July, 25,1964, dr. Abdus Salam arranged a high-powered meeting to President Ayub Khan where SUPARCO placed under the direct control of the President of Pakistan. On 8 March 1966, President Ayub Khan constituted SUPARCO as a separate organisation under the administrative control of dr. Abdus Salam. [20] Dr. Abdus Salam, along with dr. I. H. Usmani, led a team of rocket engineers to designed a Rehbar sounding Rocket series. Dr. Abdus Salam also established space centers in different cities of Pakistan.

Involvement in Pakistan's Nuclear Weapons Programme

Abdus Salam knew the importance of Nuclear Technology in Pakistan. He also knew that after India's Nuclear test in 1974, will required Pakistan to developed Nuclear weapons of its own, in order to defend its self from India. He knew that the energy crises was deepenning in Pakistan. That is why dr. Abdus Salam had closely worked with his noted colleague and friend, the PAEC Chairman Mr. Munir Ahmad Khan for development of the nuclear program in Pakistan. As a Scientific Adviser to the President of Pakistan, Dr. Abdus Salam attended a high-level secret meeting of Nuclear scientists and Nuclear engineers to meet Prime Minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto. Dr. Abdus Salam also attended that meeting where he and Prime Minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto was briefed by dr. S.A Butt and Mr. Munir Ahmad Khan.

On the other hand, dr. Abdus Salam was a strong supporter of peaceful use of Nuclear technology. Like many other Pakistaniphysicists, dr. Abdus Salam was a strong supporter for peaceful use of Nuclear technology, non-nuclear proliferation, and nuclear disarmament. However, he an was instrumental in launching a massive training programme for Pakistani Nuclear scientists, in setting up PINSTECH as a high quality Nuclear research institution at PAEC. Dr. Abdus Salam also introduced Pakistan at CERN, where many Pakistani scientists and engineers were trained in the field of Nuclear applications as well as in Nuclear engineering.

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 and Nuclear engineer 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.

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[21]. Dr. Raziuddin Siddiqui, dr. Riazuddin, and dr. Masud Ahmad were a distinguished student of dr. Abdus Salam.

Contributions

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

Awards[26]

  • 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. ^ 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.
  3. ^ 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)
  4. ^ Ordinance XX
  5. ^ Isambard Wilkinson (2007-12-25). "Pakistan clerics persecute 'non Muslims'". Daily Telegraph.
  6. ^ Abdus Salam, A Problem of Ramanujam, Publ. in: Math. Student XI, Nos.1-2, 50-51 (1943)
  7. ^ a b c Abdus Salam Nobel Prize in Physics Biography
  8. ^ http://www.alislam.org/library/salam-5.htm
  9. ^ The Nobel Prize in Physics 1979 - Banquet Speech
  10. ^ Philately (1998-11-21). "Scientists of Pakistan". Pakistan Post Office Department. Retrieved 2008-02-18.
  11. ^ a b http://www.alislam.org/library/salam-15.htm
  12. ^ Isambard Wilkinson (2007-12-25). "Pakistan clerics persecute 'non Muslims'". Daily Telegraph.
  13. ^ http://www.chowk.com/articles/8387
  14. ^ http://www.chowk.com/articles/8387
  15. ^ http://cerncourier.com/cws/article/cern/35462
  16. ^ http://www.chowk.com/articles/8387
  17. ^ http://www.alislam.org/library/salam-4.htm
  18. ^ http://www.alislam.org/library/salam-4.htm
  19. ^ http://www.suparco.gov.pk/pages/history.asp
  20. ^ Salam.http://tripatlas.com/SUPARCO
  21. ^ "Timeline of Pakistan's Nuclear Programme". Pakdef.ino. Retrieved 2008-12-09.
  22. ^ "The Nobel Prize in Physics 1979". Nobel Foundation. Retrieved 2008-09-10.
  23. ^ Hélein, Frédéric (2008), "A representation formula for maps on supermanifolds", Journal of Mathematical Physics, 49 (023506): 1 & 19, doi:10.1063/1.2840464
  24. ^ Lauren Caston and Rita Fioresi (October 30, 2007). [2008-09-10 "Mathematical Foundations of Supersymmetry"] (PDF). arXiv. {{cite web}}: Check |url= value (help)
  25. ^ 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.
  26. ^ Abdus Salam - Curriculum Vitae
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