Dr. Abdus Salam, Steven Weinberg, and Sheldon L. Glashow were the three recipients of Nobel Prize in physics in 1979. Three of them worked separately but determinedly to achieve the goal of Einstein; which was to unify all the four forces of nature into a single one. Fortunately, these three great scientists unified two out of the four forces and achieved this great honor and distinction.
I chose to write about Dr. Abdus Salam because he was the first Pakistani to receive such an honor. As we all know, Pakistan is a prominent country in Asia. In addition to being the first Pakistani, he was also the first Muslim to receive Nobel Prize in Science and Asia has 70% Muslims. Dr. Abdus Salam despite being a first Pakistani and Muslim to receive such an honor is considered a forgotten hero. It is because Pakistanis and Muslims try to not give that much fame to him as he belongs to a sect in Islam which extremists consider Non-Muslims. In Pakistan, Dr Salam received some recognition at government level, but he was not allowed to visit universities and colleges to lecture and meet with students as he had wanted to because certain extremist students had threatened to burn down the halls where he was scheduled to speak since he belong to a different group of Muslims. These were the obstacles which he faced later in his life; now, let me start with his early life.
Dr. Abdus Salam was born at a rural town on January 29, 1926 in Pakistan. His father was a school teacher and he encouraged his education. Throughout his school years, he was considered a genius. He entered Government College in Pakistan after achieving the highest grades ever recorded for a college entrance exam in Pakistan. He never let go of any of the educational opportunities that he got. After Bachelor’s, he received Master’s degree in mathematics. After Master’s, he was eager to study more but because of no scholarship opportunities he was saddened. However, soon government announced that 5 students will receive a scholarship to study abroad. Upon hearing this, he applied to the scholarship and luckily, he got it. His admission into Cambridge was also no less than a miracle. As we all know, admissions for colleges are made in advance; so, at the time he applied, all the spots at the college were filled. At the last minute, a student withdrew from St. John’s College for some reason and that spot was filled with Dr. Abdus Salam. From this school, he earned his Bachelor’s degree in math and physics with highest honors.
After he finished his bachelors, he decided to go back to his home country. However, he soon realized that his native country had noting in store for him. There were no opportunities for research there. Along with no opportunities, he was discriminated because of his membership within the Ahmadiyya sect of Islam (this sect of Islam is not accepted by most Muslims). For that reason, he decided to go back to Cambridge to receive a Ph.D. in theoretical physics. Soon, he started teaching mathematics at Cambridge and later theoretical physics at the Imperial College of Science and Technology in London. Besides teaching, he held international positions also. He was appointed Scientific Secretary of the Geneva Conference. He was also a prominent advisor in the formation of Pakistan’s Atomic Energy Commission.
Throughout his studies, he was concerned over the lack of science opportunities in Pakistan and other developing nations; therefore, he established the International Center for Theoretical Physics (ICTP) in Trieste, Italy, in 1964. ICTP was a way to invite outstanding theoretical physicists to teach and lecture aspiring students on their own areas of expertise. The President of Albania declared Dr Salam a ‘hero’ for the third world, and a Vietnamese professor Nyugen Van Hieu seeing advancement of science in Vietnam because of Dr. Abdus Salam declared that a “Salam center for theoretical physics” would be established in Vietnam. He was considered an exceptional scientist of the 20th century.
Now that we know a little about the accomplishments of Dr. Abdus Salam, it is important to learn something from his life. First of all, it is very important for us, college students, to not let the doors of opportunities close on us. Each opportunity that we get as a student, whether it’s an opportunity for research, leadership, or community service, we shouldn’t let it go to waste! If we are not accepted for a position or for a research, we should keep the doors of opportunities open for us and try/apply for others.
Another pertinent message that we need to keep in mind is to support our community; this can open doors of opportunities for many of the underprivileged students, similar to how Dr. Abdus Salam created opportunities for scientists from under-developed countries. Most important of all is to work hard. In order to achieve any goal, we need to work diligently and patiently. All of us have received a scholarship, just like Dr. Abdus Salam received a scholarship to attend Cambridge University. This is a great opportunity for us to study and fulfill our duties not only towards ourselves but also towards our communities.
Though there is no way to fully delve into and understand all the hardships that Dr. Abdus Salam faced in order to gain his status, I hope that by learning more about him, we, too, can achieve even more.
- Faiza
No comments:
Post a Comment