Professor Abdus Salaam was awarded the Nobel prize for physics in 1979 the royal medal from the royal society of London. He was a member of the national academy of sciences of the USA and the USSR. He was the scientific secretary to the Geneva conference for the peaceful use of atomic energy. He promoted scientific research in developing countries by establishing the biggest theoretical physics center yet professor Abdus Salam is hardly mentioned in any school books not known by many in his homeland.
Early Life of Abdus Salam
Professor Salam was born on January 29 1926 in Jhang Pakistan, back then the land was known as the Indian subcontinent and it was ruled by Britain. His father chaudhary muhammad hussein was an educational officer in the department of education and his mother hajira hussein used to help around the house from an early age young salaam loved reading he was known for blocking distractions around him and concentrating on a book once his mother use to call him but didn’t hear a response she started to look around for him she found him hiding behind a quilt reading a book unaware of the fact that his mother had been calling him young salaam was also known for his photographic memory his teacher was once walking with him and his schoolmates through a street and they passed various shops when the group reached the other side of the intersection the teacher asked salaam to name shop boards that they passed salaam after thinking for a while started naming boards each of them was correct and in order. The school he was attending had limited resources during a lecture at the school the teacher asked students if they knew what gravity was almost all the hands went up the teacher continued by asking if students knew what electricity was no hands went up and the students were told it helps light up a bulb no one knew what a bulb was and they were told that a bulb is used at nights and that there is one 100 miles away then the students were asked if they knew what the nuclear force was no one knew and they were told that’s in Europe one hundred thousand miles away young salaam attended Jhang college where he spent four years later he wrote,” it was my good fortune that I had some of the exceptionally learned and most affectionate teachers assigned to me.”
This was where his career started he took classes in English Arabic Persian as well as math and science famously he had memorized some fancy English words and developed a habit of using them often his teacher did not approve of his way of using the English language and he was penalized for using fancy words improperly back then exam results were published in newspapers and the day came where students and parents were either nervous or excited young salaam was sitting with his father and his father had asked one of his friends to bring him the newspaper from the railway station as the friend left to buy a newspaper salaam went out of the house not knowing what the mood would be once he returned as salaam biked back to the house shop owners that would normally close their shops were waiting at the shop doors for salaam it turned out that salaam had broken records by scoring the highest grade the town turned out on streets to welcome him the sign of respect left an impression on young salaam’s mind his scores helped him receive a scholarship receiving a scholarship was also somewhat of a miracle as this was the middle of the second world war a politician was collecting funds to help Britain with the war efforts he was able to raise 15 000 pounds but for one reason or the other he decided to set up a scholarships fund and salaam was one of the students who received it with a scholarship he attended the government college and in 1946 received M.A in mathematics whilst salaam arrived at the Government university Lahore, for the first time he noticed something that became discussed at his faculty an electric powered mild later in 1946 he became provided a scholarship on the
saint john`s university wherein he took B.A in arithmetic and physics.
International travel
What he had discovered from Cambridge became now no longer just training he became added to a brand new lifestyle and a life-style and all of it commenced on his arrival on the campus as he arrived in Cambridge. He requested one of the university helpers to assist him together along with his bags the person pointed at a wheelbarrow and informed younger salaam to assist himself he observed that scholars handled every other and their professors in a different way from what he became used to. He noticed college students, the usage of 3 to 4 colored pens to maintain their books in order. Despite the fact that his classmates had been more youthful than him he felt in the back of it took him years to get used to the new lifestyle on the university in Cambridge college students had been required to be again at their house via way of means of 10 pm. If for some cause a scholar became overdue a fine became imposed. After the War in 1947 salaam visited Germany and noticed the destruction War had triggered with inside the country. All homes had been collapsed and the town of Munich became almost inhabitable. The visitors could live in a tent and that is wherein salaam met a German student who desired to learn Punjabi. The German student began compiling a German-Punjabi dictionary and met the professor to get his input, professor became surprised that in spite of the destruction, the town humans had been looking for information. Germans accepted their situation and with such dedication and that way of means of studying and coaching they could rebuild their town. As soon as salaam realized their work ethic and approach he analyzed that get right of entry to correct information and imposing it with hard work and staying steadfast can assist rebuild society and that is what he got down to do for his birthplace Pakistan.
Back to Pakistan
After1947 the subcontinent became divided amongst international locations together along with his experiences from Cambridge and Germany the professor set out on a assignment for himself, constructing a research lab for physicists in Pakistan. In early 60s together along with his plan he determined to fly to Pakistan and commenced coaching mathematics at government university in Lahore. Coaching became a method to cease his desired to peer if constructing a research Lab became viable or now no longer however the professor quickly found out that it was not possible to construct a research center because of confined libraries and no visionaries.
He noticed he wrote that there may be a crucial hyperlink between the monetary downfall and weak education system is causing a national crisis and not just in academics but also in human character. In a letter he encouraged youth to think about their past and the future he told the youth that they should ask themselves why did the British rule over the subcontinent what advancements they had at their possession that allowed them to come to the subcontinent and rule over them. If the British knew the art of sea travel who taught them this art in the first place. He wanted to remind everyone in Pakistan and India that they have missed out on something big and the only way to get it back was by changing their educational system.
Nobel Prize
Not having enough resources professor left Pakistan in 1954 for a lecture ship at Cambridge. However he kept making visits to Pakistan as an advisor for science policies. He was a member of the Pakistan atomic energy commission, the scientific commission of Pakistan and was chief scientific adviser to the president from 1961 to 1974. As the chief scientific advisor he helped launched a high-quality research institution pinstech and In 1961 he established Pakistan space program suparco. In 1964 professor salaam succeeded in setting up the ICTP in Trieste Italy. Italy at the time wanted a center and was willing to invest in it today ictp labeled themselves as the Abdus-salaam international center for theoretical physics the center has been a driving force behind global efforts to advance scientific expertise in the developing world ictp seeks to accomplish its mandate by providing scientists from developing countries with the continuing education and skills that they need to enjoy long and productive careers. The vision professor saw came to reality in 1970 salaam helped set up Pakistan’s first nuclear power plant in Karachi with the help of Canadian and Pakistani engineers. For professor things were not as good as he expected but he was happy working in two continents people knew him through his projects from Europe and Asia but then in 1974 things got worse for the professor as the national assembly of Pakistan declared a law that excluded Ahmadis from practicing their religion professor in protest left the country. Five years after leaving Pakistan professor Abdus salaam became the first Pakistani to win a Nobel prize to this day he remains the only Pakistani to win a Nobel prize in physics during his speech at the Nobel banquet on December 10 1979 Abdus salaam said, “On behalf of my colleagues and professor Glashow in Weinberg I thank the Nobel foundation and the royal academy of sciences for the great honor and courtesies extended to us including the courtesy to me of being addressed in my language or do Pakistan is deeply indebted to you for this I am saying this not only to remind those here tonight of this but also for those in the third world who feel they have lost out in the pursuit of scientific knowledge for lack of opportunity and resource after receiving an international award for scientific advances.”
Final years and death
He became invited via way of means of Indira Gandhi to go to India but the professor stated that the primarily he wanted to go to his homeland Pakistan and he did as a nation visitor in 1979 he become awarded the best civilian award the Nishan e Imtiaz.
On November 21 1996 professor surpassed away in oxford U.K. He desired his very last resting area subsequent to his mother and father so his body become taken to Pakistan after arriving in Lahore on the jamaat e Ahmadi middle very last funeral offerings befell and he become laid to rest. Thirty thousand humans attended the funeral provider which become prepared via way of means of fifteen hundred volunteers Dr salaam was buried subsequent to his mother and father his tombstone.
Professor has won various awards for contributions to physics awards for peace and promoting scientific collaboration to the world of physics. He has left a legacy known as the unification theory to developing countries he had left the ictp through his scholarship funds 600 Pakistani physicists and mathematicians had a chance to visit international universities. Professor Salam was a visionary who wanted to be at service for developing countries to people around the world. He will always be the first Pakistani to win a Nobel prize.