Dr.
Salimuzzaman Siddiqui
| Dr.
Salimuzzaman Siddiqui, the world renowned scientist
of the sub-continent and a brilliant name in the
Hall of Fame is no more in this mortal world.
He proceeded for eternal heavens in the early
hours of the 15th April 1994 |
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Dr. Siddiqui was an enlightened example of dedication,
enthusiasm and a set of diversified capabilities.
Dr. Salimuzzaman Siddiqui was the founder of Pakistan
Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (PCSIR).
But he possessed immaculate research record in chemistry
to his credit well before joining PCSIR.
He
was a learned man by all means; an enthusiastic and
untiring researcher in the field of science and an artist
with several exhibitions of his paintings to his credit.
The unique combination of arts and sciences in his person
made him even more popular in the world. He was the
first Pakistani scientist to be awarded the Fellowship
of Royal Society of London, UK.
Dr.
Salimuzzaman Siddiqui was born in the small town of
Subeha, of Barabanki District, U.P. in the former
British India on October 19, 1897. His father's name
was Chaudhri Muhammad Zaman. Late Chaudhri Khaliquzzaman,
the renowned Muslim Leaguer was his elder brother.
After completion of his schooling at Lucknow he moved
to M.A.O. College, Aligarh (now, the Muslim University,
Aligarh), where he graduated in Philosophy and Persian
language in 1919. Thereafter he proceeded to England
to study medicine at University College, London at
the wishes of his family. There, he pursued a one
year premedical course. Later on the advice of his
elder brother, Ch. Khaliquzzaman, he left for Germany
in 1921 to study chemistry. The Germans were then
the best in chemistry. There, he studied at the University
of Frankfurt on-the-river-Main under the pupilage
of Prof. Julius Von Bram. ln 1924 he married his classmate
Ethel Wilhelmina Schneeman . He obtained the degree
of Ph.D. in organic chemistry in 1927. Although, he
did his doctorate in chemistry, he was keenly interested
in fine arts, painting, music and literature as well.
He also translated the work of German poet Rainer
Maria Rilke into Urdu; these versions were regularly
published - by Muhammad Mujib in the journal "Jamia"
of Jamia Millia, Delhi.
Dr.
Salimuzzaman conducted his work at the Indian Institute
of Technology (IIT) at Bangalore. On establishment
of the Ayurvadic and Unani Tibi Research Institute
at Delhi he relinquished the IIT and joined it in
September 1929.
During
Second World War in 1940 the services of Dr. Salimuzzaman
were requisitioned by the Indian Government for the
new established Council of Scientific and Industr
Research (GSIR) in Calcutta and he was made its Director.
In CSIR, he continued his efforts and one of his outstanding
achievements was the development of indeilble ink
which was first used in the elections of 1946. The
same product is still being used in India and Pakistan.
In
1947, when Pakistan came into being, Dr. Salimuzzaman
Siddiqui was still the Director of Indian Council
of Scientific and Industrial Research; Dr. Salimuzzaman
was appointed Director of the Department of Research
in 1951.
At
PCSIR, Dr. Salimuzzaman Siddiqui, continued his work
on the isolation of various alkaloids from Rauwolfia
and isolated another active principal 'Serpajmaline'from
it. Now, Ajmaline and Serpajmaline are recognized
drugs used in cardiac ailments the world over. Ajmaline
is being manufactured in Germany and Serpajmaline
in Bangladesh.
Dr.
Salimuzzaman had the rare honour, in 1961, when he
was elected the Fellow of the Royal Society, London.
A number of universities conferred upon him honorary
doctorate degrees and an award of the large Gold Medal
of the Soviet Academy of Sciences. In 1964 he was
made the Member of the Vatican Academy of Sciences.On
his retirment from the Pakistan Council of Scientific
and Industrial Research(PCSIR),
In
1966, he was appointed Professor of Chemistry and
the Director of Post Graduate Institute of Chemistry
at the University of Karachi and, later on as Professor
Emeritus.
Dr.
Salimuzzaman Siddiqui also took keen interest in poetry.
Having a flair for Arabic and :Persian, more specially
for Ghalib and Meer, he also compiled his own 'Intekhab-i-Meer'.
Professor Abdus Salam, Nobel Laureate in Physics (1979),
Director of the International Centre for Theoretical
Physics (ICTP), Trieste, Italy, from 1964 to December
1993, died in Oxford on 21 November 1996, after a
long illness. He was buried in Pakistan where he was
born in 1926.
Professor
ABDUS SALAM
1926 - 1996
Nobel Laureate in Physics
The
name of Abdus Salam will be linked forever to
the International Centre for Theoretical Physics.
Not only did he envisage the Centre as a place
where scientists could carry out research of
the highest level but through the ICTP he also
managed to set an example for other nations
to follow. Professor Salam became a widely known
and charismatic figure in international scientific
and political milieus. |
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He travelled extensively throughout the world and,
in his discussions with heads of state and governments,
he was able, in a convincing manner, to put forward
his views regarding the paramount importance of supporting
science in their own countries for the betterment
of humanity. His pursuit of a science for peace capable
of filling the gap between the North and South of
the planet shall remain as an example for those who
endeavour to achieve the cultural and social development
of the Third World. Thanks to Professor Salam, the
ICTP has been a major forum for the international
scientific community and a model for similar establishments
both in Trieste and abroad. Over a period of more
than thirty years, 60,000 scientists from 150 countries
have taken part in its activities.
Professor
Salam has been one of the greatest exponents in physics
this century. Born in Jhang, Pakistan in 1926, he
was educated at Panjab University, St. John's College,
Cambridge and Cavendish Laboratory, Cambridge where
he obtained his Ph.D. in 1952. He then returned to
Pakistan where he served as Professor at Government
College, Lahore and Panjab University. There he suffered
the isolation which scientists experience when they
are not supported by their home countries. There was
no tradition of doing any postgraduate work; there
were no journals; there was no possibility of attending
any conferences. He suffered the tragic dilemma of
having to make the choice between physics or Pakistan.
So he returned to Cambridge to take up the position
of Lecturer. In 1957 he was appointed as Full Professor
of Theoretical Physics at Imperial College. Fired
by his own unhappiness at having had to leave his
own country, he determined to find a way of making
it possible for those like him to continue working
for their own communities while still having opportunities
to remain first-rate scientists. It was thus in 1960
that he conceived the idea of setting up an International
Centre for Theoretical Physics with funds from the
international community.
Professor
Salam is famous for that electroweak theory which
is the mathematical and conceptual synthesis of the
electromagnetic and weak interactions - the latest
stage reached until now on the path towards the unification
of the fundamental forces of nature. With this motivation,
Professor Salam received the Nobel Prize for physics
together with the Americans Steven Weinberg and Sheldon
Glashow in 1979. The validity of the theory was ascertained
in the following years through experiments carried
out at the superprotosynchrotron facility at CERN
in Geneva which led to the discovery of the W and
Z particles. Salam's electroweak theory is still the
core of the 'standard model' of high energy physics.
Dr.
Abdul Qadir Ansari
Dr. Abdul Qadir Ansari, Born in 1940, Dr. A.Q. Ansari
did his M.Sc. in Zoology from the University of Sindh
in 1963 and secured First Class First Position and
a Gold Medal. He did his Ph.D. in Physiology and Biochemistry
from the University of Southampton, UK in 1969.
Sitara-i-Imtiaz, took over the charge of the Chairman,
PCSIR on the 30th April,1992. Prior to assuming this
chair, he held the post of the Chairman, Pakistan
Council for Science and Technology, Islamabad. He
also served as the Chairman, University Grants Commission,
Islamabad from 1989 to 1991.
Dr. Ansari started his career as Lecturer of Zoology
in his Alma Mater in 1963 and became Professor in
1972, in the latter capacity, he also taught Physiology
and Biochemistry at Chandka Medical College, Larkana.
Subsequently, Dr. Ansari was made Pro-Vice Chancellor
and then the First Vice Chancellor of the Sindh Agricultural
University, Tandojam in 1977; and served till 1988.
He, later, served as Vice Chancellor, Sindh University,
Jamshoro for one year.
Dr. A.Q. Ansari has 28 years experience of scientific
research and teaching to his credit. He holds membership
of various professional societies and has administrative
affiliations with a number of universities, academies,
etc. Dr. Ansari has, to his credit 24 papers, published
in various national and international scientific journals
and 4 books, the most prominent among them being the
'First English to Sindhi Dictionary of Science'.
In recognition of his contribution in the field of
science, Dr. Ansari was awarded Sitara-i-Imtiaz in
1990 by the President of Pakistan.
Prof.
Abdul Qadeer Khan
After
receiving his early education in Bhopal, Dr
Abdul Quadeer Khan obtained the degree of Bachelor
of Science in 1960 from the University of Karachi.
He went on to study in Berlin , West Germany
and achieved high competence through attending
several courses in metallurgical engineering.
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He obtained the degree of Master of Science
(Technology ) in 1967 from Delft Technological University
of Leuven, Belgium. In 1976, he joined the Engineering
Research Laboratories (ERL) in Pakistan and set up an
uranium enrichment industrial plant. As a tribute to
his services to Pakistan , during May 1981 , the then
president of Pakistan, General Zia-ul-Haq renamed the
Engineering Research Laboratories, Kahuta, as, Dr Abdul
Quadeer Khan Research Laboratories (KRL).
The
scientific contributions of Dr Khan have been recognized
in several ways. As an active scientist and technologist,
he has published more than 188 scientific research
papers in international journals of high repute. He
has been editor of a large number of books on metallurgy,
advanced materials and phase transformation. His academic
and scholastic activities have attracted the attention
of number of western countries where he has delivered
more than 100 lectures. His work on Industrial Uranium
Enrichment Plant for peaceful application of nuclear
technology has resulted in a breakthrough in the field
of metallurgy and materials science. It is entirely
due to his efforts that the process of enrichment
of Uranium was successfully completed in Pakistan
. This breakthrough ultimately resulted in the historic
explosion of six nuclear bombs in May 1998 . Not only
this but a significant development was also made with
the successful test firing of Intermediate Range Ballistic
Missiles, Ghauri 1 , in April 1998 and Ghauri II in
April 1999. Dr Khan has received honorary degrees
of Doctor of Science from the University of Karachi
in 1993, Doctor of Science from Baqai Medical University
on (1998), Doctor of Science from Hamdard University,
Karachi (1999) and Doctor of Science from the University
of Engineering and Technology, Lahore in December
2000. For his contributions in the field of science
and technology, the President of Pakistan conferred
upon Dr Khan the award of Nishan-I-Imtiaz 1996 and
1998. Dr Khan is the only Pakistani to have received
the highest civil award of “Nishan-I-Imtiaz’’
twice. He is also a recipient of Hilal-I-Imtiaz.
Dr
Khan is a Fellow of Kazakh National Academy of Sciences,
the first Asian scientist with this honour, elected
Fellow of the Islamic Academy of Sciences and Honorary
Member of the Korean Academy of Science and Technology.
He was elected unopposed to the post of President
of the Pakistan Academy of Sciences in 1997-a position
that he still occupies. He is a member of many national
and international professional organizations including
the Pakistan Institute of Metallurgical Engineers;
Pakistan Institute of Engineers; and Institute of
Central and West Asian Studies.He is a Member of the
Institute of Materials, London; American Society of
Metals (ASM); Canadian Institute of Metals (CIM) and
Japan Institute of Metals (JIM). Prof. A Q Khan sits
on the Boards of Governors of numerous universities
and institutes. He is a Member of the Executive Committee,
GIK Institute of Engineering and Technology; Member,
Board of Governors, Hamdard University; Member, Board
of Governors, Sir Syed University of Engineering and
Technology; Member Syndicate, Quaidi-I-Azam university,
Islamabad ; and Member, Board of Governors, International
Islamic University, Islamabad.
Dr. Pervez Hoodbhoy
Dr.
Pervez Hoodbhoy received his bachelor's degrees
in electrical engineering andmathematics, master's
in solid state physics, and Ph.D in nuclear
physics, all from theMassachusetts Institute
of Technology. |
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He has been a faculty member at the Departmentof Physics,
Quaid-e-Azam University, Islamabad since 1973. In 1984
he received the Abdus Salam Prize for mathematics and,
earlier, the Baker Award for Electronics. He is chairman
of Mashal, a non-profit organization that publishes
books in Urdu on women'srights, education, environmental
issues, philosophy, and modern thought.
Dr. Hoodbhoy has written and spoken extensively on topics
ranging from science in Islam to education issues in
Pakistan and nuclear disarmament.
He produced a 13-partdocumentary series in Urdu for
Pakistan Television on critical issues in education,
and two other major television series aimed at popularizing
science. He is author of ?Islamand Science: Religious
Orthodoxy and the Battle for Rationality?, now in 5
languages.
His writings have appeared in Dawn, The News, Frontier
Post, Muslim, Newsline,Herald, Jang, and overseas in
Le Monde, Japan Times, Washington Post, Asahi, SeattleTimes,
Post-Intelligencer, Frontline, The Hindu, and Chowk
Magazine.
He has been anengaged speaker at more than twenty US
campuses including MIT, Princeton, Univ. ofMaryland,
and Johns Hopkins University. He has appeared on several
TV and radionetworks (BBC, CNN, ABC, NBC, PBS, NPR,
Fox) to analyze political developments in South Asia.
Yasmin Rashid
| Renowned
Gynecologist. President Pakistan Medical Association.
She is also General Secretary Thalassaemia Society
of Pakistan and a noted Social Worker. |
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Professor
Yasmin Rashid is a fellow of the Royal College of
Obstetrics and Gynaecology and a great teacher who
has done enormous work in the field of reproductive
medicine, genetics and intra-uterine treatment of
foetus. She is a prominent scientist who has detected
special thalessemic genes among the Pakistani population.
Instead
of recognising her services and listening to her concern
about health issues in Pakistan, the government of
Punjab has decided to victimise her because of her
outspoken criticism of government's health policies.
Nafis
Sadik
Although
a national of Pakistan, Nafis Sadik is truly
a citizen of the world. She has spent a lifetime
working on the politically charged and non-glamorous
issues of global population control and women’s
health, issues which at first glance some may
consider irrelevant to their daily lives.
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However, a closer look at the statistics reveals the
gravity of the situation and how it affects our world.
The high rate of population growth, the suffering of
millions of women in developing countries due to the
lack of proper healthcare facilities, and lack of awareness
of individual rights are all issues which demand immediate
remediation.
For
her efforts to raise awareness of these issues and
developing or effecting policies, Nafis Sadik has
received awards from governments and organizations
in many countries including Pakistan, China, Indonesia,
Egypt and the United States. When she accepted the
post of Executive Director of the United Nations Population
Fund (UNFPA) in 1987, she became one of the highest
ranking women in the UN and the first women ever to
serve as an executive head of one of the UN’s
major voluntarily funded programs. Echoing the sentiments
of many others, at the Hague International Forum in
1999, Hillary Rodham Clinton said of Nafis Sadik,
“I believe that the world owes her a debt of
gratitude for all she has done over the years to place
women at the very center of development.”
Nafis
Sadik received her Doctorate of Medicine from Dow
Medical College in Karachi, Pakistan. She did her
internship in gynecology and obstetrics at City Hospital
in Baltimore, and completed further studies at John
Hopkins University. After serving as a research fellow
at Queens University in Ontario, Canada, Nafis returned
to work in Pakistan. From 1954 to 1963, she worked
as a civilian doctor in Pakistani military hospitals.
