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Asghar Qadir

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Asghar Qadir
Asghar Qadir in 2023
Born(1946-07-23)23 July 1946(age 77)
Shimla,British Indian Empire(present-dayHimachal Pradesh,India)
NationalityPakistani
CitizenshipPakistan
Alma materUniversity of London
Imperial College London
Known forHis work on themathematical sciences,relativity,general relativity,introduction to general relativity,cosmology
AwardsHilal-i-Imtiaz(2008)
Sitara-i-Imtiaz(1999)[1]
Pakistan Academy of Sciences Gold Medal in 1996[1]
Fulbright Award(1979)
Scientific career
FieldsMathematics
InstitutionsNational University of Sciences and Technology(NUST)
Quaid-i-Azam University(Qau)
International Centre for Theoretical Physics(ICTP)
King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals(KFUPM)
Rutherford Appleton Laboratory(RAL)
University of Texas at Austin(UT)
Massachusetts Institute of Technology(MIT)
Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission(PAEC)
Doctoral advisorRoger Penrose
Other academic advisorsOliver Penrose

Asghar Qadir(Urdu:اصغر قادر‎ born 23 July 1946)HI,SI,FPAS,is a Pakistani mathematician and a prominentcosmologist,specialised inmathematical physicsandphysical cosmology.Nowadays, he is widely considered one of the top mathematicians in Pakistan. Asghar has played a prominent role in promoting Relativity in Pakistan. To this day, Qadir has made important and significant contributions to the fields ofdifferential equations,theoretical cosmologyand mathematical physics. He is noted for his work in mathematics andmathematical physics,in particular his contributions togeneral relativityandcosmology.[2]

He has mentored several graduate students throughout his career and also held important administrative positions, including being the Chairman of the Mathematics Department atQuaid-i-Azam University,Islamabad, and later the Dean of Faculty of Natural Sciences at the same university. Professor Qadir founded the Center for Advanced Mathematics & Physics at theNational University of Science and Technology,in 2004, served as its founding Director General until 2011 and as Professor Emeritus until 2019.[3] As of 2023, he is working as a visiting professor atAbdus Salam School of Mathematical Sciences,Government College University, Lahore.[4] He is considered one of the top mathematicians in Pakistan.[5][6]

He has published numerous papers in the fields of Mathematical physics, Cosmology and Mathematics. He has written and edited a number of books, mainly focusing on mathematical sciences and mathematical physics. Qadir is author of the book "Relativity: An Introduction to the Special Theory"which has been translated in several different languages and is widely read by science students in colleges throughout Asia.[citation needed] He has published more than 250 research papers. He is the author of 12 books, 22 research level articles, 7 teaching journal papers, 32 popular articles, and 48 research preprints.

During his PhD, he was supervised by Englishmathematical physicistand Nobel Laureate (2020)Roger Penrose. He has attended more than 100 International and National Conferences and Seminars in the fields of Mathematics,Physics,Economics and the History andPhilosophy of Science.

Asghar Qadir comes from a family whose members played important role in the formative years of Pakistan. His father, Manzur Qadir was a Pakistani jurist in 1960s and served as foreign minister in President Ayub Khan's cabinet from 1958 to 1962. Asghar is also the grandson of Sir Abdul Qadir. His maternal grandfather, SirMian Fazl-i-Hussainwas a notable politician from Punjab and founder of theUnionist Party (Punjab).His mother, Asghari, was the daughter of SirMian Fazl-i-Hussain.

Early life and education[edit]

Asghar Qadir was born inSimla(nowShimla) ofBritish Indian Empirein 1946 to a middle-class family.[7]After theindependenceofPakistanin 1947, Qadir's family migrated toLahore,West Pakistan, where they were settled in a house provided by the Government of Pakistan. He obtained his early education at Saint Mary's School (Rawalpindi). He also attended Gordon College Rawalpindi, and Government College Lahore. In 1963, Qadir travelled to United Kingdom on aCommonwealth scholarshipwhich he applied and qualified for. In 1963, Qadir attended theUniversity of Londonand received hisBSc(Hons)in Mathematics.[7]

The same year, he became anA.R.S.Cand also obtained his BS in Physics andDICin Mathematics.[7]In 1969, Qadir pursued his MSc in Mathematics, followed by PhD in Mathematical Physics andTheory of relativitywith the specialisation inTwistor theory,under the supervision ofRoger Penrosein 1971.[8]He pioneered the mathematical contributions to the development ofSpecial relativityand thetwistor theory,which is the approach to the problems of fundamental physics pioneered byRoger Penrose.[8]

Research and career[edit]

Asghar was at University of Texas at Austin as a Fulbright Visiting Scholar during 1978/79 and 1986/87. In these periods he worked withJohn Archibald Wheeleron Black Holes.[9] Asghar also worked withRemo Ruffiniwho discoveredCygnus X-1,the firstBlack Holeto be observed.Abdus Salaminvolved Asghar in attempts to develop Science in Pakistan. In particular, Asghar managed the Salam Prize for Young Pakistani Scientists from 1980 to 2005.

Rutherford High Energy Laboratory[edit]

Qadir became a research associate and fellow at theRutherford High Energy Laboratory(it is now known as Rutherford Appleton Laboratory (RAL)) where he continued his research in the field of advanced computational mathematics.[1]There, he worked in a complex mathematical applications arise in the theory of nuclear fission at theISIS neutron source– a neutron scattering facility that mathematically studies the structure and behaviour of nuclear materials in a fission process.[1]However, in early 1971, he came back toPakistanand joinedQuaid-e-Azam Universityas a research associate.[7]In 1982, he becameassociate professorand then subsequently became a chairman of the department of mathematics in 1986.[7]

Academic career[edit]

Asghar's life can be assimilated to the title of a poem byRobert Frost,namely 'The Road not Taken'. Asghar did not do any post doctoral work. Instead, he went for courses in Mathematics and Physics toICTPin 1972 and 1975. He found those to be gainful in becoming aScientist.He also attended the FirstMarcel GrossmannMeeting at ICTP. Ever since then he has been a contributor to these meetings. The lastMarcel GrossmannMeeting was held Online in 2021.[10] [11][12][13]

Riazuddin introduced Qadir to Salam where Salam encourages Qadir to research in mathematical physics in more depth. Under Riazuddin and Salam, Qadir specialized in the theory ofSpecial relativity,mathematics of particle physics, and mathematical economics includingquantum economics. [14][15]

In 1976, Qadir joinedQuaid-e-Azam University's Department of Mathematics as an associate professor.[7]In 1983, Qadir became chairman of theDepartmentof Mathematics at the Quaid-i-Azam University.[7]In 1986, Riazuddin invited Qadir to Trieste, Italy to joinInternational Centre for Theoretical Physics(ICTP) where he carried out his research in special and general theory of relativity. At ICTP, he taught the advanced course of differential equations,Special functions,Upper and lower boundsonEntropyand theNumber Theory.[7]In 1988, after researching at ICTP underAbdus Salam,Qadir re-joined Qau and becamefull professorof Mathematics.[7]

In 1989, Qadir published a book on Special relativity throughWorld Scientific.Qadir provided simple representation of details of calculations and its extension into theory of motion. Through his text book, Qadir briefly discussed and introduced the Special Relativity for extension into General Relativity.[16]

In 1993, he was asked by thePresident,Ghulam Ishaq Khan(late), to teach in the then newly founded research institute atTopi,Ghulam Ishaq Khan Institute of Engineering Sciences and Technology.In 1994, he went toSaudi Arabiawhere he visited his lifelong friendRiazuddinwhere, on his friend's recommendation, joinedKing Fahd University of Petroleum and Mineralswhere he served as a chairman of Department of Mathematics and Statistics.[17]

In 1998, Qadir came back to Pakistan and re-joined Quaid-e-Azam University as an associate professor of mathematics.[12]The same year, Qadir joined the PAEC and became director-general of the Mathematical Physics Group where he was instrumental for leading the mathematical studies in the foundation of mathematical physics.[12]Qadir became involved in a team preparing the nuclear device in Chagai and eye-witnessed the country's first nuclear tests (SeeChagai-IandChagai-II) where he was the director of the team leading the mathematical calculations to determine theyield.[12]As part of his contribution, the Government of Pakistan conferred Qadir with civilian award,Sitara-e-Imtiaz,and earned the national fame.[12]In 1999, Qadir became theDeanof Faculty of Natural Sciences which he continued till 2000.[7]He served as the Founder Director General of the Centre for Advanced Mathematics and Physics (CAMP) (now School of Natural Sciences),National University of Sciences and Technology(NUST) from 2004 to 2011. He retired from NUST in 2019, and is currently affiliated with Abdus Salam School of Mathematics Sciences, GCU Lahore.

Awards and honours[edit]

Fellowships and memberships[edit]

  • Senior research fellow atPakistan Institute of Development Economics(PIDE), from 1980 to 1994
  • Joint secretary at Al-Kindi Society for the Advancement of the Philosophy of Science, Islamabad, Pakistan, (1980)
  • Associate member and senior associate of theInternational Centre for Theoretical Physics,Trieste, Italy, 1980–1999
  • Life member and vice-president,Albert Einstein Society(Pakistan Chapter) (1985 to date)
  • Life member, joint secretary and secretary, Pakistan Physical Society. (1992 and 1993)
  • Life member and president, Fulbright Alumni Association, (1992–1993)

Publications[edit]

His recent newspaper articles include:

  • Two Beacons of light(2017)[18]
  • Why the compulsory study of Islamiyat and Pakistan Studies is dividing us(2016)[19]
  • Don't take too much notice of university rankings, they're flawed(2016)[20]
  • Did Malala deserve the Nobel Peace Prize?(2014)[21]
  • Remembering Uncle Khushwant(2014)[22]

His academic books include:

  • Topology for Beginners (with Noor Muhammad and Imran Parvez Khan)(2022)[23]
  • Einstein's General Theory of Relativity(2020)[24]
  • Relativity: An Introduction to the Special Theory(1989)[25]

His other publications include

  • Popular Science: Fictional and Non-Fictional Dimensions[26]
  • Riazuddin: In Memoriam(2014)[27]
  • International Symposium on Experimental Gravitation (1994) by Munawar Karim and Asghar Qadir
  • 5th International Summer College on Physics and Contemporary Needs (1990)
  • 12th Regional Conference On Mathematical Physics (2008) by Aslam, M Jamil, Hussain, Faheem, Qadir, Asghar
  • Gravitational Wave Sources May Be "Further" Than We Think by Asghar Qadir
  • On Quantum Effects Near a Black Hole Singularity (2008) by Asghar Qadir, Asghar, Azad A. Siddiqui
  • Mathematical physics: proceedings of the 12th Regional Conference byRiazuddin,Asghar Qadir,Faheem Hussain,Hamid Saleem, M. Jamil Aslam.

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^abcd"Profile and Awards of Asghar Qadir on Computational Complexities Innovations & Solutions website".CCIS.Computational Complexities, Innovations and Solutions (CCIC). Archived fromthe originalon 7 October 2011.Retrieved14 November2017.
  2. ^"Remembering Uncle Khushwant".23 April 2014.
  3. ^"Special Seminar: A Talk on Sir Roger Penrose-Nobel Laureate | Welcome to LUMS".
  4. ^"Faculty – Abdus Salam School of Mathematical Sciences".
  5. ^VIEW: Plagiarism causes and more consequences Asghar QadirDaily Times (newspaper), Published 25 April 2007, Retrieved 14 November 2017
  6. ^CAMP, Center for Advanced Mathematics and Physics(16 June 2010)."Asghar Qadir".National University of Sciences and Technology University Press.National University of Sciences and Technology. Archived fromthe originalon 16 October 2012.Retrieved14 November2017.
  7. ^abcdefghij(PAS), Pakistan Academy of Sciences."Asghar Qadir".Pakistan Academy of Sciences.Pakistan Academy of Sciences press. Archived fromthe originalon 30 May 2009.Retrieved14 November2017.
  8. ^ab"Asghar Qadir – MIT".Massachusetts Institute of Technology.Department of Mathematics,COMSATS Institute of Information Technology.Retrieved14 November2017.
  9. ^"Asghar Qadir | Fulbright Scholar Program".
  10. ^https://comsats.org/Publications/Other_Docs/AS-ICTP_50_Years_of_Science_for_the_Future-Views_from_Islamabad.pdf
  11. ^Long Road to Chagai, Story of Mathematician, p. 60, Shahidur Rahman
  12. ^abcdeLong Road to Chagai, A Story of Mathematician, p. 61, Shahidur Rehman
  13. ^Integration of Function Satisfying a Second Order Differential Equation, Asghar Qadir, Mathematics Mechanics (The Nucleus (journal), Vol:55 p. 802, (1973)
  14. ^"Diffraction of planetary waves by two parallel semi-infinite plates, Asghar Qadir,Munir Ahmad Rashid,Mathematics Mechanics (The Nucleus (journal), Vol:23 pp. 339–348, (1977)
  15. ^Equivalence of the theories of reciprocity and general relativity, Asghar Qadir, Journal of Theoretical Physics, Vol: 15(1976) pp. 25–30
  16. ^Qadir, Asghar (1989)."Relativity: An introduction to the Special Theory".World scientific. Archived fromthe originalon 29 June 2011.Retrieved14 November2017.
  17. ^"Fellows of the Academy".Pakistan Academy of Sciences.Archived fromthe originalon 30 May 2009.Retrieved14 November2017.
  18. ^"Two beacons of light".3 January 2017.
  19. ^"Why the compulsory study of Islamiyat and Pakistan Studies is dividing us".11 August 2016.
  20. ^"Don't take too much notice of university rankings, they're flawed".22 July 2016.
  21. ^"Did Malala deserve the Nobel Peace Prize?".28 November 2014.
  22. ^"Remembering Uncle Khushwant".23 April 2014.
  23. ^"Topology for Beginners".
  24. ^"Einstein's General Theory of Relativity - Cambridge Scholars Publishing".
  25. ^Qadir, Asghar (1989).Relativity: An Introduction to the Special Theory.Bibcode:1989rist.book.....Q.doi:10.1142/0615.ISBN978-9971-5-0612-4.
  26. ^"Contributors thus far in order of chapter sequence".
  27. ^Qadir, Asghar (2014)."Riazuddin:In Memoriam".Physica Scripta.89(8).Bibcode:2014PhyS...89h0401Q.doi:10.1088/0031-8949/89/8/080401.S2CID121181424.

External links[edit]

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