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Abdus Salam (1926-96)
Scientist. Abdus Salam is Pakistan's only Nobel Laureate (Physics, 1979). The citation with the award mentioned his 'achieving an enormous step in the search for the underlying principle of the Universe through his contribution to the theory of unified and weak electromagnetic interaction between elementary particles'. In other words, identifying the unity in the basic forces of nature. The 'unification theory' has become a very important part of modem physics.

Dr Abdus Salam computed the precise relations between the electromagnetic and the weak nuclear force which, among other functions, enables the sun to convert its hydrogen into nuclear energy. The search for the Higgs Particle, predicted by him, remains a top priority of physics research.

Salam was educated in Government College, Jhang, and Government College, Lahore (1946). He obtained his MSc and PhD degrees from the University of Cambridge (1949). From 1954-56 he was Professor of Mathematics at Imperial College, London. He became Advisor for Science to the President of Pakistan in 1974. He founded SUPARCO in 1961. He was also a Member (Technical) of the *Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission. He founded and funded the Third World Academy of Sciences in Trieste, Italy.

Source Encyclopedia Of Pakistan