Dr Abdus Salam The Nobel Prize winner in Physics 1979
Abdus Salam was born in 1926 in jhang, Pakistan. His father was an official in the Department of Education.
Wen he cycledh 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 turned out to welcome him. He won a scholarship to Government College, University of the Punjab, and took his MA in 1946. In the same year he was awarded a scholarship to St. John's College, Cambridge, where he took a BA (honours) with a double First 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 also obtained a PhD in theoretical physics at Cambridge; his thesis, published in 1951, contained fundamental work in quantum electrodynamics which had already gained him an international reputation.
Salam returned to Pakistan in 1951 to teach mathematics at Government College, Lahore, and in 1952 became head of the Mathematics Department of the Punjab University.
In 1954, Salam left Pakistan for a lectureship at Cambridge. His work for Pakistan has, however, been far-reaching and influential. He was a member of the Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission, a member of the Scientific Commission of Pakistan and was Chief Scientific Adviser to the President from 1961 to 1974.
In 1957, he became Professor of Theoretical Physics at Imperial College, London, and from 1964 he combined that position with that of Director of the ICTP, Trieste.
For more than forty years he had been a prolific researcher in theoretical elementary particle physics. He had either pioneered or been associated with all the important developments in this field, maintaining a constant and fertile flow of brilliant ideas. He used his academic reputation to add weight to his active and influential participation in international scientific affairs. He served on a number of United Nations committees concerned with the advancement of science and technology in developing countries.
The money he received from the Atoms for Peace Medal and Award was spent on setting up a fund for young Pakistani physicists to visit the ICTP. He used his share of the Nobel Prize entirely for the benefit of physicists from developing countries and did not spend a penny of it on himself or his family.
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. He was 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 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.
Particular contributions: 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; renormalisation 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 super fields. The 1979 Nobel Prize in Physics was shared equally between Sheldon Glashow, Steven Weinberg and Salam “for their contributions to the theory of the unified weak and electromagnetic interaction between elementary particles, including, inter alia, the prediction of the weak neutral current.”
Salam returned to Pakistan in 1951 to teach mathematics at Government College, Lahore, and in 1952 became head of the Mathematics Department of the Punjab University.
In 1954, Salam left Pakistan for a lectureship at Cambridge. His work for Pakistan has, however, been far-reaching and influential. He was a member of the Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission, a member of the Scientific Commission of Pakistan and was Chief Scientific Adviser to the President from 1961 to 1974.
In 1957, he became Professor of Theoretical Physics at Imperial College, London, and from 1964 he combined that position with that of Director of the ICTP, Trieste.
Abdus Salam: The Dream of Symetry - In tribute to the achievements of Prof. Dr. Abdus Salam
For more than forty years he had been a prolific researcher in theoretical elementary particle physics. He had either pioneered or been associated with all the important developments in this field, maintaining a constant and fertile flow of brilliant ideas. He used his academic reputation to add weight to his active and influential participation in international scientific affairs. He served on a number of United Nations committees concerned with the advancement of science and technology in developing countries.
The money he received from the Atoms for Peace Medal and Award was spent on setting up a fund for young Pakistani physicists to visit the ICTP. He used his share of the Nobel Prize entirely for the benefit of physicists from developing countries and did not spend a penny of it on himself or his family.
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. He was 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 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.
Scientific Contributions
Research on physics of elementary particles.Particular contributions: 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; renormalisation 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 super fields. The 1979 Nobel Prize in Physics was shared equally between Sheldon Glashow, Steven Weinberg and Salam “for their contributions to the theory of the unified weak and electromagnetic interaction between elementary particles, including, inter alia, the prediction of the weak neutral current.”
by :NABEELA MALIK
Source:
- Jworldtimes
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