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Abdus Salam

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Revision as of 22:22, 25 March 2009 by Saad khanewal (talk | contribs) (→Documentary Film (Docufilm))(diff) ← Previous revision | Latest revision (diff) | Newer revision → (diff) This article is about the Pakistani scientist. For other uses, see Abdus Salam (disambiguation).
Abdus Salam
File:Abdus salam.gifAbdus 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
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
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
Doctoral advisorNicholas Kemmer
Paul Matthews
Doctoral studentsMichael Duff
Walter Gilbert
John Moffat
Yuval Ne'eman
John Polkinghorne
Raziuddin Siddiqui
Riazuddin

Abdus Salam (Urdu: محمد عبد السلام) (January 29, 1926; Jhang Punjab – November 21, 1996; Oxford, England) 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

Religion

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, a member of the Scientific Commission of Pakistan, Founder Chairman of Space and Upper Atmosphere Research Commission and Chief Scientific Adviser to the President 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.. Many prominent scientists, which includes, riazuddin, Raziuddin Siddiqui, Munir Ahmad Khan, Ishfaq Ahmad, and I. H. Usmani, considered him as their cheif 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” in PAEC that would develop the 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 Dr. Raziuddin Siddiqui and Dr. Riazuddin, completed work on the theoretical design of the bomb by 1977. 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

  • 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.

See also

References

  1. http://www.chowk.com/articles/8387 -Dr Abdus Salam - The ’Mystic’ scientist
  2. ^ Cite error: The named reference NobelBio was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  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. "Timeline of Pakistan's Nuclear Programme". Pakdef.ino. Retrieved 2008-12-09.
  6. "The Nobel Prize in Physics 1979". Nobel Foundation. Retrieved 2008-09-10.
  7. Hélein, Frédéric (2008), "A representation formula for maps on supermanifolds", Journal of Mathematical Physics, 49 (023506): 1 & 19, doi:10.1063/1.2840464
  8. Lauren Caston and Rita Fioresi (October 30, 2007). (PDF). arXiv. {{cite web}}: Check |url= value (help)
  9. 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.
  10. Abdus Salam - Curriculum Vitae

External links

Laureates of the Nobel Prize in Physics
1901–1925
1926–1950
1951–1975
1976–2000
2001–
present
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