Profile of Dr. Abdus Salam Introduction

Professor Abdus Salam is a man of three worlds, the world of Islam, 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 is a Foreign Member of the National Academy of Sciences of USA and also of USSR, a rare ‘double-first’ which demonstrates his important position in the world of Sciences. His association with UN goes back to 1955, when he became Scientific Secretary to the Geneva Conference on the Peaceful Uses of Atomic Energy. He is very active in promoting scientific research in developing countries.

We are indeed privilged to have ‘Bio-Data’ of such a distinguished man. I therefore present to you: 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.

Personal

Date of birth: 29th Jan, 1926
Place of birth: Jhang, Pakistan
Nationality: Pakistan

Educational Career

• Govt. College, Jhang and Lahore, Pakistan (1938-1946)
• M.A (Punab University) First place in every examination at the Punjab University
• Foundation Scholar, St. John’s College, Cambridge (1946-1949)
• B.A Honours Double first in Mathematics (Wrangler) and Physics.
• Cavendish Laboratory
• Ph. D in Theoretical Physics Cambridge (1952)
• Awarded Smith’s Prize by the University of Cambridge for the most outstanding pre-doctral contribution to physics (1950)

Appointments

1. Professor, Government College, Lahore (1951-1954)
2. Head of the Mathematics Department of Punjab University, Lahore (1951-54)
3. Lecturer, Cambridge University (Cambridge) (1954-1956)
4. Prof. of Theoretical Physics, London Univeristy.
5. Prof. of Theoretical Physics Imperial College (London) (1957)
6. Founder and Director, International Centre for Theoretical Physics (Trieste) (1964-1993)
7. Elected Fellow, St. John’s College (Cambridge) (1951-56)
8. Member, Institute of Advanced Study (Princeton) (1951)
9. Elected, Honorary Life Fellow, St. John’s College (Cambridge)
10. Honorary President , (1993-)

United Nations Assignments

1. Scientific Secretary, Geneva Conferences on Peaceful Uses of Atomic Energy (1955 and 1958)
2. Elected Member of the Board of Governors, TAEA, Vienna (1962-63)
3. Member, United Nations Advisory Committee on Science and Technology (1964-75)
4. Elected Chairman, United Nations Advisory Committee on Science and Technology (1971-1972)
5. Member, United Nations Panel and Foundation Committee for the United Nations University (1970-73)
6. Member, United Nations University Advisory Committee (1981-83)
7. Member Council, University of Peace (Costa Rica) (1981-86)
8. Elected Chairman, UNSECO Advisory Panel on Science, Technology and Society (1981)

Other Assignments

1. Member, Scientific Council, SIPRI (Stockholm International Peace Research Institute) (1970)
2. Elected Vice President, International Union of Pure and Applied Physics (IUPAP) (1972-78)
3. Elected First President of the Third World Academy of Sciences (1983)
4. Member of the CERN Scientific Policy Committee (1983-86)
5. Member of the Board of Directors of the Beijir Institute of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences (1986)
6. Member of the South Commision (1987- )
7. Elected 1st President of Third World Network of Scientific Organizations (1988)

Awards for contribution to physics

1. Hopkins Prize (Cambridge University) for the most outstanding contribution to physics during 1957-58 (1958)
2. Adams Prize (Cambridge Univeristy) (1958)
3. First receipient of Maxwell Medal and Award (Physical Society, London) (1961)
4. Hughes Medal (Royal Society, London) (1964)
5. J. Robert Oppenheimer Memorial Medal and Prize (University of Miami) (1971)
6. Guthrie Medal and Prize (Institute of Physics London) (1976)
7. Sir Devaprasad Sarvadhikary Gold Medal (Calcutta University) (1977)
8. Metteuci Medal (Accademia Nazionale di XL, Rome) (1978)
9. John Torrence Tate Medal (American Institute of Physics) (1978)
10. Roval Medal (Royal Society, London) (1978)
11. NOBEL PRIZE for Physics (Nobel Foundation) (1979)
12. Einstein Medal (UNESCO, Paris) (1979)
13. Shri R. D. Birla Award (Indian Physics Association) (1979)
14. Josef Stefan Medal (Josef Stefan Institute, Ljublijana) (1980)
15. Gold Medal for outstanding contribution to physics (Czechoslovak Academy of Sciences, Prague) (1981)
16. Lomonosov Gold Medal USSR (USSR Academy of Sciences) (1983)
17. Copley Medal, Royal Society London (1990)

Awards for contributions towards peace and promotion of international scientific collaboration

1. Atoms for Peace Medal and Award (Atoms for Peace Foundation) (1968)
2. Peace Medal (Charles University, Prague) (1981)
3. Premio Umberto Biancamano (Italy) (1986)
4. Dayemi International Peace Award (Bangladesh) (1986)
5. First Edinburgh Medal and Prize (Scotland) (1988)
6. “Genoa” International Development of Peoples Prize (Italy) (1988)
7. Catalunya International Prize (Spain) (1990)

Academies and Scocieties

1. Elected, Fellow, Pakistan Academy of Sciences (Islamabad) (1954)
2. Elected, Fellow of the Royal Society, London (1959)
3. Elected, Fellow, Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences (Stockholm) (1970)
4. Elected, Foreign Member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences (Boston) (1971)
5. Elected, Foreign Member, USSR Academy of Sciences (Moscow) (1971)
6. Elected, Foreign Associate, USA National Academy of Sciences (Washington) (1979)
7. Elected, Foreign Member, Accademia Nazionale dei Lincei (Rome) (1979)
8. Elected, Foreign Member, Accademia Tiberina (Rome) (1979)
9. Elected, Foreign Member, Iraqi Academy (Baghdad) (1979)
10. Elected, Honorary Fellow, Tata Institute of Fundamental Research (Bombay) (1979)
11. Elected, Honorary Member, Korean Physics Society (Seoul) (1979)
12. Elected, Foreign Member, Academy of the Kingdom of Morocco (Rabat) (1980)
13. Elected, Foreign Member, Accademia Nazionale delle Scienze (dei XL) (Rome) (1980)
14. Elected, Member, European Academy of Sciences, Arts and Humanities (Paris) (1980)
15. Elected, Associate Member, Josef Stefan Institute (Ljublijana) (1980)
16. Elected, Foreign Fellow, Indian National Sciences Academy (New Delhi) (1980)
17. Elected, Fellow, Bangladesh Academy of Sciences (Dhaka) (1980)
18. Elected, Member, Pontifical Academy of Sciences (Vatican City) (1981)
19. Elected, Corresponding Member, Portuguese Academy of Sciences (Lisbon) (1981)
20. Founding Member, Third World Academy of Sciences Trieste (1983)
21. Elected, Corresponding Member, Yugoslav Academy of Sciences and Arts (Zagreb) (1983)
22. Elected, Honorary Fellow, Ghana Academy of Arts and Sciences (1984)
23. Elected, Honorary Member, Polish Academy of Sciences (1985)
24. Elected, Corresponding Member, Academia de Ciencias Medicas, Fisicas y Naturales de Guatemala (1986)
25. Elected, Honorary Life Fellow, London Physical Society (1986)
26. Elected, Fellow, World Academy of Art and Science (Stockholm) (1986)
27. Elected, Corresponding Member, Academia de Ciencias Fisicas, Mathematicas y Naturales de Venezuela (1987)
28. Elected, Fellow, Pakistan Academy of Medical Sciences (1987)
29. Elected, Honorary Fellow, Indian Academy of Sciences, Bangalore (1988)
30. Elected, Distinguished International Fellow of Sigma Xi (1988)
31. Elected, Honorary Member, Brazilian Mathematical Society (1989)
32. Elected, Honorary Member, National Academy of Exact, Physical and Natural Sciences, Argentina (1989)
33. Elected, Honorary Member, Hungarian Academy of Sciences (1990)
34. Elected, Member, Academia Eureopaea (1990)

Orders

1. Order of NISHAN-E-IMTIAZ (Pakistan) (1979)
2. Order of Andres Bello (Venezuela) (1980)
3. Order of Istiqlal (Jordan) (1980)
4. Cavaliere de Gran Croce dell’Ordine al Merito della Repubblica Italiana (1980)
5. Honorary Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire (1989)

D.Sc. HONORIS CAUSE

1. Punjab University, Lahore, Pakistan (1957)
2. University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK (1971)
3. University of Trieste, Trieste, Italy (1979)
4. University of Islamabad, Islamabad, Pakistan (1979)
5. Universidad Nacional de Ingenieria, Lima, Peru (1980)
6. University of San Marcos, Lima, Peru (1980)
7. National University of San Antonio Abad, Cuzco, Peru (1980)
8. Universidad Simon Bolivar, Caracas, Venezuela (1980)
9. University of Wroclow, Wroclow, Poland (1980)
10. Yarmouk University, Yarmouk, Jordan (1980)
11. University of Istanbul, Istanbul, Turkey (1980)
12. Guru Nanak Dev University, Amritsar, India (1981)
13. Muslim University, Aligarh, India (1981)
14. Hindu University, Banaras, India (1981)
15. University of Chittagong, Bangladesh (1981)
16. University of Bristol, Bristol, UK (1981)
17. University of Maiduguri, Maiduguri, Nigeria (1981)
18. University of Philippines, Quezon City, Philippines (1982)
19. University of Khartoum, Khartoum, Sudan (1983)
20. Universidad Complutense de Madrid, Spain (1983)
21. The City College, The City University of New York, USA (1984)
22. University of Nairobi, Nairobi, Kenya (1984)
23. Universidad Nacional de Cuyo, Cuyo, Argentina (1985)
24. Universidad Nacional de la Plata, La Plata, Argentina (1985)
25. University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK (1985)
26. University of Goteborg, Goteborg, Sweden (1985)
27. Kliment Ohridski University of Sofia, Sofia, Bulgaria (1986)
28. University of Glasgow, Glasgow, Scotland (1986)
29. University of Science and Technology, Heifei, China (1986)
30. The City University, London, UK (1986)
31. Punjab University, Chandigarh, India (1987)
32. Medicina Alternativa, Colombo, Sri Lanka (1987)
33. National University of Benin, Contonou, Benin (1987)
34. University of Exetes, UK (1987)
35. University of Gent, Belgium (1988)
36. “Creation” International Association of scientists and Intelligentsia, USSR (1989)
37. Bendel State University, Ekpoma, Nigeria (1990)
38. University of Ghana (1990)
39. University of Tucuman, Argentina (1991)

Pakistan Assignments

1. Member, Atomic Energy Commission, Pakistan (1958-74)
2. Elected President, Pakistan Association for Advancement of Sciences (1961-1962)
3. Adviser, Education Commission Pakistan (1959)
4. Member Scientific Commission Pakistan (1959)
5. Chief Scientific Adviser to President of Pakistan (1961-74)
6. Founder Chairman, Pakistan Space and Upper Atmosphere Committee (1961-64)
7. Governor from Pakistan to the International Atomic Energy Egency (1962-63)
8. Member National Science Council, Pakistan (1963-75)
9. Member, Board of Pakistan Science Foundation (1973-77)

Pakistani Awards

1. Sitara-e-Pakistan (1959)
2. Pride of Performance Medal and Award (1959)
3. The Order of Nishan-e-Imtiaz (the highest civilian award) (1979)

As “Servant of Peace”

1. Member, Scientific Council, SIPRI (Stockholm International Peace Research Institute) (1970)
2. Awarded the Atoms for Peace Medal and Award (Atoms for peace foundation) (1968)
3. Peace Medal (Charles University, Prague) (1981)
4. Premio Umberto Biancamano, Italy (1968)
5. Dayemi International Peace Award (Bangladesh) (1986)
6. Member, Council, University for Peace, Costa Rica (1981-86)

Published Papers

Around 250 scientific papers on physics of elementary particles. Papers on scientific and educational policies for developing countries and Pakistan.

Scientific Contributions

Research on physics of elementary particles. Particular contributions:

1. two-component neutrino theory and the prediction of the inevitable parity violation in weak interaction;
2. 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;
3. symmetry properties of elementary particles; unitary symmetry;
4. renormalization of meson theories;
5. gravity theory and its role in particle physics; two tensor theory of gravity and strong interaction physics;
6. unification of electroweak with strong nuclear forces, grand (elec- tro-nuclear) unification; and
7. related prediction of proton-decay;
8. supersymmetry theory, in particular formulation of superspace and formalism of super fields. 
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