Nuclear Physicist / Essayist
Born: 11 July, 1950
Profession: Visiting Professor at LUMS Department of Physics
Affiliation(s): None
Citizenship: Pakistan
Profile Pervez Amirali Hoodbhoy (Urdu: پرویز ہودبھائی; born 11 July 1950), is a Pakistani nuclear physicist, essayist and defense analyst. He has also taught as the visiting professor of Physics at Lahore University of Management Sciences(LUMS) where he also worked on topics in theoretical applications in the topological insulators, various Hall effects and Graphene. Before joining LUMS, he was the professor of nuclear and high-energy physics, and also the head of the Physics Department at the Quaid-e-Azam University (QAU). He graduated and also received a PhD from MIT and continues to do research in Particle physics. He received the Baker Award for Electronics in 1968, and the Abdus Salam Prize for Mathematics in 1984. He has authored various scientific research papers in peer-reviewed journals. Hoodbhoy is also a prominent environmentalist and social activist and regularly writes on a wide range of social, cultural and environmental issues. He is the chairman of Mashal, a non-profit organization which publishes Urdu books on feminism, education, environmental issues, philosophy, and modern thought. Dr. Pervez Hoodbhoy is a strong supporter of peaceful use of nuclear technology in Pakistan, nuclear non-proliferation, and nuclear disarmament; he has criticized the United States, Israel, Pakistan's and India's nuclear program in many national and international forums. Academic career Dr. Pervez Hoodbhoy is currently working as Visiting Professor in the Physics department from January 24, 2011. Pervez Hoodbhoy was a Professor of Physics at the Quaid-e-Azam University. He received the Abdus Salam Prize for mathematics in 1984 and is the author of 65 scientific research papers. He is chairman of Mashal, a non-profit organization which publishes books in Urdu on women’s rights, 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-part documentary series in Urdu for Pakistan Television on critical issues in education, and two series aimed at popularizing science. He is author of ’Islam and Science: Religious Orthodoxy and the Battle for Rationality’, now in 5 languages. In 2003, Dr. Hoodbhoy was awarded UNESCO’s Kalinga Prize for popularizing science in Pakistan with TV serials and his film ’The Bell Tolls for Planet Earth’ won honorable mention at the Paris Film Festival. Defense and Political Views Apart from his specialist field of research, Hoodbhoy extensively writes and speaks on topics ranging from science in Islam to education and nuclear disarmament issues around the world. He is author of Islam and Science: Religious Orthodoxy and the Battle for Rationality, that has been translated into five languages. In this book, Hoodbhoy outlines the history of Pakistan, implications of theocracy and military dictatorships in Pakistan, and the abstract textbook system in education system of Pakistan. His articles on various issues related to science and social issues are often published in international media. His publications are repeatedly published in both technical and non-technical papers. Hoodbhoy widely writes about the role and modernization of Pakistan Armed Forces, particularly the defense budget spending by the Government of Pakistan on Pakistan Armed Forces. He has been critical of the role of Pakistan Armed Forces in politics and the imposition of unlawful Martial Law. Hoodbhoy heavily criticizes militant and fundamentalist Islam, while avidly supporting Pakistan Armed Forces in their operations against the Islamic extremism in his country. Hoodbhoy was among the first activists who voiced their support for the Pakistan Armed Forces Operation Black Thunderstorm, as part of conflict in West-Pakistan. In an interview on secularism, he mentioned that obsession with scientific-religious Apophenia may have caused lack of scientific advancement among Muslims in recent years.In 2003 he was one the signers of the Humanist Manifesto. Science Research Hoodbhoy has made important contributions in physics, particularly in particle physics. Many of Hoodbhoy's recorded lectures on physics are available online. At National Center for Physics, Hoodbhoy conducted research on different aspects of particle physics, and pioneered studies in modern physics and its extension to mathematical and nuclear physics. In 2006, Hoodbhoy published a brief mathematical description of Generalized Parton Distributions. In 2007, Hoodbhoy re-published the work of Jens Lyng Peterson the Maldacena conjecture (a conjectured equivalence between a string theory and gravity defined on one space, and a quantum field theory without gravity defined by one or less dimension) where he contributed mathematically to the theory.[13] In the same year, he re-published the work of Edward Written on Anti de Sitter space and its extension to the field of Holography. While the paper was published experimentally in 1998 by Written, Hoodbhoy provided the brief mathematical proofs and description to understand, logically, the subject of Sitter space— a scalar curvature in general theory of relativity. On 14 April 2001, it was announced that Dr. Hoodbhoy would be receiving Sitara-i-Imtiaz from the former President, General (retired) Pervaiz Musharraf which he refused to accept. His refusal prompted the Friday Times to interview him. I am reasonably satisfied with my scientific work... I do not think it is earth-shaking or... that it deserves any kind of award. On the other hand, receiving an [award] – even if it is a high national award – would give me absolutely no sense of achievement or satisfaction... because it carries no credibility or prestige in professional circles. Such things do not indicate that you have done good work in your field. Therefore I decided to refuse the award —Pervez Hoodbhoy, issued the statement on The Friday Times, 2001, Documentary films He produced a 13-part documentary series in Urdu for Pakistan Television on critical issues in education, and two series aimed at popularizing science. In 2004, he made a documentary film 'Crossing the Lines: Kashmir, Pakistan, India' along with Dr. Zia Mian. These documentaries carry heavy emphasis on the issues of education, public health and scientific revolution in Pakistan. In his documentaries, Dr. Hoodbhoy has heavily criticized Pakistan and India's nuclear weapons program. He also pointed out the seriousness of the Talibanization in Pakistan and its immediate effects on South Asia. His documentaries also point out that American and NATO forces in Afghanistan didn't help the Afghan people's life and there was no reform in Afghanistan's social and public sector and, instead, the insurgency and corruption grew, which also destabilized Pakistan's western front.
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