Abdus Salam
Abdus Salam (1926–1996)
Born	January 29, 1926 Jhang, Punjab, British India
Died	November 21, 1996 (aged 70) Oxford, England, United Kingdom
Citizenship	Pakistani[1]
Nationality	Pakistani
Fields	Theoretical Physics
Institutions	Pakistan 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) COMSATS TWAS Edward Bouchet Abdus Salam Institute
Alma mater	University of the Punjab Government College St John's College, Cambridge
Doctoral advisor	Nicholas Kemmer Paul Matthews
Doctoral students	Michael Duff Walter Gilbert John Moffat Yuval Ne'eman John Polkinghorne Raziuddin Siddiqui Riazuddin Masud Ahmad Ghulam Murtaza Faheem Hussain
Other notable students	Masud Ahmad Abdul Hameed Nayyar Władysław Turowicz Munir Ahmad Khan
Known for	Electroweak theory Pati-Salam model Pakistan's nuclear program Pakistan's space program
Notable awards	Nobel Prize in Physics (1979) Smith's Prize Adams Prize Nishan-e-Imtiaz (1979) Sitara-e-Pakistan (1959)

Mohammad Abdus Salam^[2] (Urdu: محمد عبد السلام) (January 29, 1926; Jhang, Punjab, British India – 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 first Pakistani and Muslim Nobel Laureate. As of today, Salam is considered to be one of the most influential scientist and physicist in his country.

[edit] Biography

[edit] 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 age fourteen, Salam scored the highest marks ever recorded for the Matriculation Examination at the Punjab University. He won a scholarship to the Government College, Punjab University, in Lahore. As a fourth-year student there, he published his work on Srinivasa Ramanujan.^[4] 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.^[5]

[edit] Later career

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

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.

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. 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 1964, Salam founded International Centre for Theoretical Physics (ICTP), Trieste, in the North-East of Italy. He was the Director of ICTP from 1964 to December 1993. The Centre has since been renamed to (The Abdus Salam International Centre for Theoretical Physics). In 1959, he became one of 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 entitled "Scientists of Pakistan."^[6]. He was a foreign fellow of Bangladesh Academy of Sciences ^[7]

[edit] 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."^[5]

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

He then said:

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

[edit] Death

The defaced grave of Abdus Salam in Rabwah

Salam died on 21st November 1996 at the age of 70 in Oxford, England after a long illness. His body was brought to Pakistan and kept in Darul Ziafat, where some 13,000 men and women visited to pay their last respects. Some 30,000 people attended his funeral prayers.

Salam was buried in the graveyard Bahishti Maqbara in Rabwah next to his parents' graves. 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]

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, the National Space Agency of Paksitan. He helped Pakistan's scientists and engineers to be trained in nuclear applications and nuclear science.

[edit] Legacy

Abdus Salam's work in Pakistan has been far reaching and influential. He has made extraordinary contributions to Pakistan's nuclear, space and missile programs. Therefore, in 1998, the Government of Pakistan issued a commemorative stamp to honour the services of Abdus Salam as part of its "Scientists of Pakistan" series.

Abdus Salam has been commemorated by Pakistan's noted and prominent scientists, who were also his students. Many scientists have recalled their college experiences. Ghulam Murtaza, a professor of plasma physics at the Government College University, Lahore has said:

" 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" ^[11].

In August 1996, former chairman of PAEC and lifelong friend, Munir Ahmad Khan met with Salam in Oxford, United Kingdom. Ishfaq Ahmad, who is a professor of nuclear physics at the Quaid-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" ^[1].

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^[11]."

[edit] 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[1] subject to collection of donations valued to $500,000.

[edit] 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 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.^[5]. 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.

[edit] Pakistan's Space Program

It was Salam's advised to the President of Pakistan, Ayub Khan to established the national space agency of Pakistan. In 16 September 1961, Space and Upper Atmosphere Research Commission was established by an executive order. Salam was appointed its first chairman^[12][13]. Salam also appointed Air Comm. Wladyslaw Turowicz, a noted Pakistani-Polish military scientist and an engineer, as Pakistan's rocket firing head.

[edit] Involvement in Pakistan's Nuclear Weapons Programme

Abdus Salam knew the importance of nuclear technology in Pakistan. Salam was one of the central figure in Pakistan's nuclear program. Abdus Salam was responsible for establishing the nuclear research institutes in Pakistan. In 1972, Government of Pakistan learned about the India's nuclear weapon program. Then-Prime Minister of Pakistan, Zulfikar Ali Bhutto formed a group of nuclear scientists and engineers, initially headed by the Salam. Salam closely elaborated with this noted colleague and long-associated friend Mr. Munir Ahmad Khan in the field of nuclear technology in Pakistan.

In December 1972, two theoretical physicists working at the ICTP were asked by Salam to report to noted Pakistani nuclear scientist, Munir Ahmad Khan (late), then-PAEC chairman^[14]. This marked the beginning of the “Theoretical Physics Group" or TPG. The TPG, in PAEC, was assigned to develop the theoretical designs Pakistan's nuclear weapon devices. The TPG team under the leadership of Riazuddin, who is also Salam's distinguish student, completed the work on the theoretical design of the Nuclear weapon device by 1977^[15].

[edit] Contributions

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

• 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, and which forms the basis of the Standard Model in particle physics;
• predicted existence of weak neutral currents and W particles and Z particles before their experimental discovery;^[16]
• 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 unification theory;
• related prediction of proton-decay;
• Pati-Salam model, a grand unification theory;
• Supersymmetry theory, in particular formulation of Superspace and formalism of superfields in 1974;
• the theory of supermanifolds, as a geometrical framework for understanding supersymmetry, in 1974;^[17]
• Supergeometry, the geometric basis for supersymmetry, in 1974;^[18]
• application of the Higgs mechanism to the electroweak symmetry breaking;
• prediction of the magnetic photon in 1966;^[19]

[edit] Awards^[20]

• 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 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)
• Nobel Prize in Physics (Stockholm, Sweden)(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 (1979).
• Sitara-e-Pakistan for contribution to science in Pakistan (1959).

[edit] Institutes Named After Abdus Salam

• Abdus Salam National Center for Mathematics (ASNCM), Government College University, Lahore, Pakistan. [2]
• Abdus Salam Chair in Physics(ASCP), Government College University, Lahore, Pakistan. [3]
• Abdus Salam International Centre for Theoretical Physics , Trieste, Italy.
• Abdus Salam School for Mathematical Sciences, Lahore, Pakistan [4]
• The Edward Bouchet Abdus Salam Institute (EBASI)

[edit] See also

[edit] References

[edit] External links

Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: Abdus Salam

• 1979 Nobel Prize Distribution Ceremony - Video
• Documentary Film on the Science and Life of Dr. Abdus Salam
• Pakistan’s contribution to the LHC (Large Hadron Collider)
• An Interview - Part 1 of 4
• An Interview - Part 2 of 4
• An interview - Part 3 of 4
• An Interview - Part 4 of 4
• A short clip of Professor Dr. Abdus Salam delivering a scientific lecture
• The Abdus Salam International Centre for Theoretical Physics
• Abdus Salam: Nobel Laureate Par Excellence [contains photos and hand-written notes from family archives]
• Abdus Salam bio on Nobel site
• The Nobel Prize in Physics 1979 [5]
• The Abdus Salam International Centre for Theoretical Physics [6]
• Personalia at the ICTP Library [7]
• TWAS, formerly Third World Academy of Sciences [8]
• Abdus Salam CV [9] / [10]
• COMSATS Secretariat
• COMSATS
• National Centre For Physics (NCP)
• Biography of Abdus Salam by Imperial College colleague[11]
• An Interesting And Detailed Article On the Life of Dr. Abdus Salam In Urdu
• PBS documentary on strings, contains clip of award ceremony with Abdus Salam
• Salam +50 Conference at Imperial College
• A full biography: 'Cosmic Anger, Abdus Salam- the First Muslim Nobel Scientist' [ISBN 978-0-19-920846-3]