Professor Abdus Salam, Scholars And Scientists
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Professor Abdus Salam
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Professor Abdus Salam, Nobel Laureate (January 29, 1926 - November 21, 1996) was a Pakistani theoretical physicist who received the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1979 for his work in electroweak theory which is the mathematical and conceptual synthesis of the electromagnetic and weak interactions, the latest stage reached until now on the path towards a unification theory describing the fundamental forces of nature. Abdus Salam, Sheldon Glashow and Steven Weinberg arrived at the theory independently and shared the Nobel Prize. 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.
Abdus Salam was phenomenally brilliant as a student. According to his Nobel Prize biography, When he cycled home from Lahore, at the age of 14, after gaining the highest marks ever recorded for the Matriculation Examination at the University of the Punjab, the whole town Jhang 1 turned out to welcome him. His first paper was written as a student there in 1943 and concerned Srinivasa Aiyangar Ramanujan.1
During the early 1970's, Abdus Salam played a very significant role in establishing the Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission (PAEC) and SUPARCO - Pakistan's Space Research Agency. Founder and Director of the International Centre for Theoretical Physics (ICTP), Trieste, Italy from 1964 to December 1993, Salam was a firm believer that "scientific thought is the common heritage of mankind", and that the developing nations needed to help themselves and invest into their own scientists to boost development and fill the gap between the rich North and the poor South of the planet, thus contributing to a more peaceful world. Salam also founded the Third World Academy of Sciences (TWAS) and was instrumental in the creation of a number of international centres dedicated to the advancement of science and technology. From 1956, he was Professor of Theoretical Physics at the Imperial College London.
Abdus Salam died at 70 in Oxford in 1996, after a long illness. He was buried in Rabwah (Chenab Nagar), Punjab, Pakistan.
Professor Abdus Salam was a devoted Ahmadi (Qadianism). Due to the political pressure of the Muslims in Pakistan, Abdus Salam has often not been officially honoured by the Government of Pakistan despite the fact that he is the first Nobel laureate of Pakistan.
Introduction
Professor Abdus Salam was a man of two worlds, the world of Theoretical Physics, and the world of International Co-operation. He was awarded the Nobel Prize for Physics in 1979, for his theoretical unification of the two fundamental forces of nature. A year before his Nobel Prize, he was awarded the Royal Medal of the Royal Society of London. He was a Foreign Member of the National Academy of Sciences, USA and also USSR, a rare 'double-first' which demonstrates his important position in the world of Sciences. His association with the UN goes back to 1955, when he became Scientific Secretary to the Geneva Conference on the Peaceful Uses of Atomic Energy. He was very active in promoting scientific research in the developing countries. The 'Bio-Data' of Professor Abdus Salam, Nobel Laureate, F.R.S; Professor of Theoretical Physics at the Imperial College of Sciences and Technology, London, and President of the International Centre for Theoretical Physics Trieste Italy is as follows:
Personal
- Date of birth: 29th January, 1926
- Place of birth: Jhang, Punjab, Pakistan
- Nationality: Pakistani
- Educational Career: Government College, Jhang and Government College, Lahore, Pakistan (1938-1946)
- M.A. (Punjab University, Lahore, Pakistan) First in every examination taken at the Punjab University, Lahore, Pakistan.
- Foundation Scholar, St. John's College, Cambridge University (1946-1949)
- B.A. Honours Double First in Mathematics (Wrangler) and Physics.
- Cavendish Laboratory, Cambridge University
- Ph.D. in Theoretical Physics Cambridge University (1952)
- Awarded Smith's Prize by the University of Cambridge for the most outstanding pre-doctral contribution to physics (1950)
Professor Abdus Salam had two wives. His first wife, Hafeeza, wed him in an arranged marriage and bore him a son and three daughters. His second wife, the eminent Professor Dame Louise Johnson FRS (University of Oxford), also bore him a son and daughter.
Appointments
- Professor, Government College, Lahore, Pakistan (1951-1954)
- Head of the Department of Mathematics, Punjab University, Lahore, Pakistan (1951-54)
- Lecturer, Cambridge University (1954-1956)
- Professor of Theoretical Physics, London University.
- Professor of Theoretical Physics, Imperial College, London University (1957)
- Founder and Director, International Centre for Theoretical Physics (Trieste) (1964-1993)
- Elected Fellow, St. John's College (Cambridge University) (1951-56)
- Member, Institute of Advanced Study (Princeton University) (1951)
- Elected, Honorary Life Fellow, St. John's College (Cambridge University)
- Honorary President , (1993-)
United Nations assignments
- Scientific Secretary, Geneva Conferences on Peaceful Uses of Atomic Energy (1955 and 1958)
- Elected Member of the Board of Governors, IAEA, Vienna (1962-63)
- Member, United Nations Advisory Committee on Science and Technology (1964-75)
- Elected Chairman, United Nations Advisory Committee on Science and Technology (1971-1972)
- Member, United Nations Panel and Foundation Committee for the United Nations University (1970-73)
- Member, United Nations University Advisory Committee (1981-83)
- Member Council, University of Peace (Costa Rica) (1981-86)
- Elected Chairman, UNSECO Advisory Panel on Science, Technology and Society (1981)
Other assignments
- Member, Scientific Council, SIPRI (Stockholm International Peace Research Institute) (1970)
- Elected Vice President, International Union of Pure and Applied Physics (IUPAP) (1972-78)
- Elected First President of the Third World Academy of Sciences (1983)
- Member of the CERN Scientific Policy Committee (1983-86)
- Member of the Board of Directors of the Beijir Institute of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences (1986)
- Member of the South Commission (1987- )
- Elected First President of the Third-World Network of Scientific Organizations (1988)
Awards for contribution to physics
- Hopkins Prize (Cambridge University) for the most outstanding contribution to Physics during 1957-58 (1958)
- Adams Prize (Cambridge University) (1958)
- First receipient of Maxwell Medal and Award (Physical Society, London) (1961)
- Hughes Medal (Royal Society, London) (1964)
- J. Robert Oppenheimer Memorial Medal and Prize (University of Miami) (1971)
- Guthrie Medal and Prize (Institute of Physics London) (1976)
- Sir Devaprasad Sarvadhikary Gold Medal (Calcutta University) (1977)
- Metteuci Medal (Accademia Nazionale di XL, Rome) (1978)
- John Torrence Tate Medal (American Institute of Physics) (1978)
- Roval Medal (Royal Society, London) (1978)
- NOBEL PRIZE for Physics (Nobel Foundation) (1979)
- Einstein Medal (UNESCO, Paris) (1979)
- Shri R. D. Birla Award (Indian Physics Association) (1979)
- Josef Stefan Medal (Josef Stefan Institute, Ljublijana, Slovenia) (1980)
- Gold Medal for outstanding contribution to physics (Czechoslovak Academy of Sciences, Prague, Czech Republic) (1981)
- Lomonosov Gold Medal (USSR Academy of Sciences, USSR) (1983)
- Copley Medal, Royal Society London (1990)
Awards for contributions towards peace and promotion of international scientific collaboration
- Atoms for Peace Medal and Award (Atoms for Peace Foundation) (1968)
- Peace Medal (Charles University, Prague) (1981)
- Premio Umberto Biancamano (Italy) (1986)
- Dayemi International Peace Award (Bangladesh) (1986)
- First Edinburgh Medal and Prize (Scotland) (1988)
- "Genoa" International Development of Peoples Prize (Italy) (1988)
- Catalunya International Prize (Spain) (1990)
Academies and societies
- Elected, Fellow, Pakistan Academy of Sciences (Islamabad) (1954)
- Elected, Fellow of the Royal Society, London (1959)
- Elected, Fellow, Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences (Stockholm) (1970)
- Elected, Foreign Member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences (Boston) (1971)
- Elected, Foreign Member, USSR Academy of Sciences (Moscow) (1971)
- Elected, Foreign Associate, USA National Academy of Sciences (Washington) (1979)
- Elected, Foreign Member, Accademia Nazionale dei Lincei (Rome) (1979)
- Elected, Foreign Member, Accademia Tiberina (Rome) (1979)
- Elected, Foreign Member, Iraqi Academy (Baghdad) (1979)
- Elected, Honorary Fellow, Tata Institute of Fundamental Research (Bombay) (1979)
- Elected, Honorary Member, Korean Physics Society (Seoul) (1979)
- Elected, Foreign Member, Academy of the Kingdom of Morocco (Rabat) (1980)
- Elected, Foreign Member, Accademia Nazionale delle Scienze (dei XL) (Rome) (1980)
- Elected, Member, European Academy of Sciences, Arts and Humanities (Paris) (1980)
- Elected, Associate Member, Josef Stefan Institute (Ljublijana) (1980)
- Elected, Foreign Fellow, Indian National Sciences Academy (New Delhi) (1980)
- Elected, Fellow, Bangladesh Academy of Sciences (Dhaka) (1980)
- Elected, Member, Pontifical Academy of Sciences (Vatican City) (1981)
- Elected, Corresponding Member, Portuguese Academy of Sciences (Lisbon) (1981)
- Founding Member, Third World Academy of Sciences Trieste (1983)
- Elected, Corresponding Member, Yugoslav Academy of Sciences and Arts (Zagreb) (1983)
- Elected, Honorary Fellow, Ghana Academy of Arts and Sciences (1984)
- Elected, Honorary Member, Polish Academy of Sciences (1985)
- Elected, Corresponding Member, Academia de Ciencias Medicas, Fisicas y Naturales de Guatemala (1986)
- Elected, Honorary Life Fellow, London Physical Society (1986)
- Elected, Fellow, World Academy of Art and Science (Stockholm) (1986)
- Elected, Corresponding Member, Academia de Ciencias Fisicas, Mathematicas y Naturales de Venezuela (1987)
- Elected, Fellow, Pakistan Academy of Medical Sciences (1987)
- Elected, Honorary Fellow, Indian Academy of Sciences, Bangalore (1988)
- Elected, Distinguished International Fellow of Sigma Xi (1988)
- Elected, Honorary Member, Brazilian Mathematical Society (1989)
- Elected, Honorary Member, National Academy of Exact, Physical and Natural Sciences, Argentina (1989)
- Elected, Honorary Member, Hungarian Academy of Sciences (1990)
- Elected, Member, Academia Eureopaea (1990)
Orders
- Order of NISHAN-E-IMTIAZ (Pakistan) (1979)
- Order of Andres Bello (Venezuela) (1980)
- Order of Istiqlal (Jordan) (1980)
- Cavaliere de Gran Croce dell'Ordine al Merito della Repubblica Italiana (1980)
- Honorary Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire (1989)
D.Sc. HONORIS CAUSE
- Punjab University, Lahore, Pakistan (1957)
- University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK (1971)
- University of Trieste, Trieste, Italy (1979)
- University of Islamabad, Islamabad, Pakistan (1979)
- Universidad Nacional de Ingenieria, Lima, Peru (1980)
- University of San Marcos, Lima, Peru (1980)
- National University of San Antonio Abad, Cuzco, Peru (1980)
- Universidad Simon Bolivar, Caracas, Venezuela (1980)
- University of Wroclow, Wroclow, Poland (1980)
- Yarmouk University, Yarmouk, Jordan (1980)
- University of Istanbul, Istanbul, Turkey (1980)
- Guru Nanak Dev University, Amritsar, India (1981)
- Muslim University, Aligarh, India (1981)
- Hindu University, Banaras, India (1981)
- University of Chittagong, Bangladesh (1981)
- University of Bristol, Bristol, UK (1981)
- University of Maiduguri, Maiduguri, Nigeria (1981)
- University of Philippines, Quezon City, Philippines (1982)
- University of Khartoum, Khartoum, Sudan (1983)
- Universidad Complutense de Madrid, Spain (1983)
- The City College, The City University of New York, USA (1984)
- University of Nairobi, Nairobi, Kenya (1984)
- Universidad Nacional de Cuyo, Cuyo, Argentina (1985)
- Universidad Nacional de la Plata, La Plata, Argentina (1985)
- University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK (1985)
- University of Goteborg, Goteborg, Sweden (1985)
- Kliment Ohridski University of Sofia, Sofia, Bulgaria (1986)
- University of Glasgow, Glasgow, Scotland (1986)
- University of Science and Technology, Heifei, China (1986)
- The City University, London, UK (1986)
- Punjab University, Chandigarh, India (1987)
- Medicina Alternativa, Colombo, Sri Lanka (1987)
- National University of Benin, Contonou, Benin (1987)
- University of Exetes, UK (1987)
- University of Gent, Belgium (1988)
"Creation" International Association of scientists and Intelligentsia, USSR (1989)
- Bendel State University, Ekpoma, Nigeria (1990)
- University of Ghana (1990)
- University of Tucuman, Argentina (1991)
- Pakistan assignments
- Member, Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission (PAEC) (1958-74)
- Elected President, Pakistan Association for Advancement of Sciences (1961-1962)
- Adviser, Education Commission, Pakistan (1959)
- Member Scientific Commission, Pakistan (1959)
- Chief Scientific Adviser to the President of Pakistan (1961-74)
- Founder Chairman, Pakistan Space and Upper Atmosphere Research Committee (SUPARCO) (1961-64)
- Governor from Pakistan to the International Atomic Energy Agency (1962-63)
- Member National Science Council, Pakistan (1963-75)
- Member, Board of Pakistan Science Foundation (1973-77)
Pakistani awards
- Sitara-e-Pakistan (1959)
- Pride of Performance Medal and Award (1959)
- The Order of Nishan-e-Imtiaz (Highest Civilian Award of Pakistan) (1979)
- As "Servant of Peace"
- Member, Scientific Council, SIPRI (Stockholm International Peace Research Institute) (1970)
- Awarded the Atoms for Peace Medal and Award (Atoms for peace foundation) (1968)
- Peace Medal (Charles University, Prague) (1981)
- Premio Umberto Biancamano, Italy (1968)
- Dayemi International Peace Award (Bangladesh) (1986)
- Member, Council, University for Peace, Costa Rica (1981-86)
Published papers
Around 250 scientific papers on the Physics of Elementary Particles as well as papers on scientific and educational policies for developing countries and, particularly, Pakistan.
Scientific contributions
Research on Physics of Elementary Particles. Particular contributions include:
Two-Component Neutrino Theory and the prediction of the inevitable Parity Violation in Weak Interaction; Gauge Unification of Weak and Electromagnetic Interactions - the unified force is called the "Electroweak" force - a name given to it by Salam; predicted existence of Weak Neutral Currents and W,Z particles before their experimental discovery; Symmetry Properties of Elementary Particles; Unitary Symmetry; Renormalization of Meson Theories; Gravity Theory and its role in Particle Physics; Two-Tensor Theory of Gravity and Strong Interaction Physics; Unification of Electroweak with Strong Nuclear forces, Grand (Electro-Nuclear) Unification; and related prediction of Proton-Decay; Supersymmetry Theory, in particular, formulation of Superspace and formalism of Superfields.
