The Abdus Salam Centre for Physics , () Previously known as Riazuddin Centre for Physics. is a federally-funded research institute and national laboratory site managed by the

Quaid-i-Azam University Quaid-i-Azam University Islamabad ( ur, ; commonly referred to as QAU), founded as University of Islamabad, is a ranked 1 public research university in Islamabad, Pakistan. Founded as the University of Islamabad in 1967, it was initially d ...

for the

Ministry of Energy A Ministry of Energy or Department of Energy is a government department in some countries that typically oversees the production of fuel and electricity; in the United States, however, it manages nuclear weapons development and conducts energy-relat ...

(MoE) of the

Government of Pakistan The Government of Pakistan ( ur, , translit=hakúmat-e pákistán) abbreviated as GoP, is a federal government established by the Constitution of Pakistan as a constituted governing authority of the four provinces, two autonomous territorie ...

. Originally founded as National Centre for Physics in 1999, the site is dedicated for understanding and advancement of the

physical science Physical science is a branch of natural science that studies non-living systems, in contrast to life science. It in turn has many branches, each referred to as a "physical science", together called the "physical sciences". Definition Phys ...

s and

mathematical logic Mathematical logic is the study of formal logic within mathematics. Major subareas include model theory, proof theory, set theory, and recursion theory. Research in mathematical logic commonly addresses the mathematical properties of forma ...

— the site is located in

Islamabad Islamabad (; ur, , ) is the capital city of Pakistan. It is the country's ninth-most populous city, with a population of over 1.2 million people, and is federally administered by the Pakistani government as part of the Islamabad Capital ...

Pakistan Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 24 ...

. The site closely collaborates and operates under the quadripartite supervision of

International Center for Theoretical Physics The Abdus Salam International Centre for Theoretical Physics (ICTP) is an international research institute for physical and mathematical sciences that operates under a tripartite agreement between the Italian Government, United Nations Education ...

(ICTP) in Italy,

CERN The European Organization for Nuclear Research, known as CERN (; ; ), is an intergovernmental organization that operates the largest particle physics laboratory in the world. Established in 1954, it is based in a northwestern suburb of Gen ...

Switzerland ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...

, and the

Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission (PAEC) (Urdu: ) is a federally funded independent governmental agency, concerned with research and development of nuclear power, promotion of nuclear science, energy conservation and the peaceful usage of nuclea ...

(PAEC) on behalf of Ministry of Energy, Pakistan. It is focused towards dissemination of knowledge in frontiers of physics for the universities and teaching organizations. The site endeavors to break the isolation of Pakistan's top scientists by offering them the opportunity to work with foreign scientists who are invited to lecture and also to participate in the sites research activities on a regular basis.

History

Origins

Establishing world-class physics research institutes was proposed by a number of scientists. The roots of NCP institutes go back to when Nobel laureate professor

Abdus Salam Mohammad Abdus Salam Salam adopted the forename "Mohammad" in 1974 in response to the anti-Ahmadiyya decrees in Pakistan, similarly he grew his beard. (; ; 29 January 192621 November 1996) was a Punjabis, Punjabi Pakistani theoretical physici ...

, after receiving his doctorate in physics, came back to Pakistan in 1951. Joining his alma mater, Government College University as Professor of Mathematics in 1951, Salam made an effort to establish the physics institute but was unable to do so. The same year, he became chairman of the Mathematics Department of the Punjab University where he tried to revolutionise the department by introducing the course of

Quantum Mechanics Quantum mechanics is a fundamental theory in physics that provides a description of the physical properties of nature at the scale of atoms and subatomic particles. It is the foundation of all quantum physics including quantum chemistry, ...

necessary for undergraduate students, but it was soon reverted by the vice-chancellor. He soon faced the choice between intellectual death or migration to the stimulating environment of a western institutions. This choice, however, left a deep impression on him and was behind his determination to create an institution to which physicists from developing countries would come as a right to interact with their peers from industrially advanced countries without permanently leaving their own countries. This resulted in founding to the

International Centre for Theoretical Physics The Abdus Salam International Centre for Theoretical Physics (ICTP) is an international research institute for physical and mathematical sciences that operates under a tripartite agreement between the Italian Government, United Nations Educatio ...

(ICTP) by Professor Abdus Salam in Italy.

INSC and INP

In 1974, Prof. Abdus Salam visualised the need of an institution where experts from the industrialised nations and learners from the developing countries could get together for a couple of weeks once a year to exchange views on various subjects of current interest in Physics and allied sciences. His suggestion was accepted by Chairman of Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission (PAEC)

Munir Ahmad Khan Munir Ahmad Khan ( ur, ; 20 May 1926 – 22 April 1999), , was a Pakistani nuclear reactor physicist who is credited, among others, with being the "father of the atomic bomb program" of Pakistan for their leading role in developing their nati ...

and it was the year 1976 when the first International Nathiagali Summer College on Physics and Contemporary Needs (INSC) was inaugurated at Nathiagali, with co-sponsorship of

ICTP The Abdus Salam International Centre for Theoretical Physics (ICTP) is an international research institute for physical and mathematical sciences that operates under a tripartite agreement between the Italian Government, United Nations Educatio ...

and PAEC, under the directorship of Prof. Riazuddin, a student of Abdus Salam. The same year, Ishfaq Ahmad established the Institute of Nuclear Physics at the University of Engineering and Technology of Lahore where Abdus Salam was invited to give first lectures on particle physics and quantum mechanics. Since then, it has been regularly held without break and it is a great credit to Prof. Riazuddin for his dedication and commitment as such type of international scientific gathering in a developing country like Pakistan presents a major step for the promotion of science. A major aim and goal, Prof. Abdus Salam had in his mind when he made his original proposal to PAEC in 1974 that Nathiagali Summer College would evolve into a full-fledged Centre for Physics on the pattern of ICTP. To transform his vision to reality, his student Prof. Riazuddin played a major role.

Foundation

The National Centre for Physics came into reality when Prof. Riazuddin arranged a one-day symposium on ''Frontiers of Fundamental Physics'' on 27 January 1999 at the Institute of Physics of Quaid-e-Azam University, only seven months before the recent tests, (''

Chagai-I Chagai-I is the code name of five simultaneous underground nuclear tests conducted by Pakistan at 15:15 hrs PKT on 28 May 1998. The tests were performed at Ras Koh Hills in the Chagai District of Balochistan Province. Chagai-I was Pakistan' ...

''). All the leading scientists of the country and some visitors from

attended this symposium and they provided their support. Prof. Riazuddin being the founding father of NCP, was its first Director-General and it was inaugurated by Dr. Ishfaq Ahmad, Chairman of

during this period, on 16 May 2000. The Director General of

European Organization for Nuclear Research The European Organization for Nuclear Research, known as CERN (; ; ), is an intergovernmental organization that operates the largest particle physics laboratory in the world. Established in 1954, it is based in a northwestern suburb of Gene ...

(CERN), Dr.

Luciano Maiani Luciano Maiani (born 16 July 1941, in Rome) is a Sammarinese physicist best known for his prediction of the charm quark with Sheldon Glashow and John Iliopoulos (the "GIM mechanism"). Academic history In 1964 Luciano Maiani received his degree in ...

and distinguished members of his delegation, the Vice-Chancellor of Quaid-i-Azam University, Dr. Tariq Saddiqui and other dignitaries, witnessed the inauguration. The first academic faculty of this institute were included

Pervez Hoodbhoy Pervez Amirali Hoodbhoy ( Urdu: ;;born 11 July 1950) is a Pakistani nuclear physicist and activist who serves as a professor at the Forman Christian College and previously taught physics at the Quaid-e-Azam University. Hoodbhoy is also a prom ...

, Fiazuddin, Masud Ahmad, and Ishfaq Ahmad, who first presented their physics papers to the institutes and CERN. In 2008, Dr. Hamid Saleem became its Director-General after, his predecessor and founding father of NCP, Prof. Riazuddin, who was made lifetime Director General Emeritus. The vision of Prof. Riazuddin to make NCP one of the leading Physics institute of Pakistan is now being carried by Dr. Hamid Saleem. NCP offers research in different branches of Physics such as

particle Physics Particle physics or high energy physics is the study of fundamental particles and forces that constitute matter and radiation. The fundamental particles in the universe are classified in the Standard Model as fermions (matter particles) an ...

computational physics Computational physics is the study and implementation of numerical analysis to solve problems in physics for which a quantitative theory already exists. Historically, computational physics was the first application of modern computers in science, ...

Astrophysics Astrophysics is a science that employs the methods and principles of physics and chemistry in the study of astronomical objects and phenomena. As one of the founders of the discipline said, Astrophysics "seeks to ascertain the nature of the h ...

Cosmology Cosmology () is a branch of physics and metaphysics dealing with the nature of the universe. The term ''cosmology'' was first used in English in 1656 in Thomas Blount's ''Glossographia'', and in 1731 taken up in Latin by German philosopher ...

Atmospheric physics Within the atmospheric sciences, atmospheric physics is the application of physics to the study of the atmosphere. Atmospheric physicists attempt to model Earth's atmosphere and the atmospheres of the other planets using fluid flow equations, chem ...

Atomic, molecular, and optical physics Atomic, molecular, and optical physics (AMO) is the study of matter-matter and light-matter interactions; at the scale of one or a few atoms and energy scales around several electron volts. The three areas are closely interrelated. AMO theory in ...

Chemical physics Chemical physics is a subdiscipline of chemistry and physics that investigates physicochemical phenomena using techniques from atomic and molecular physics and condensed matter physics; it is the branch of physics that studies chemical process ...

Condensed matter physics Condensed matter physics is the field of physics that deals with the macroscopic and microscopic physical properties of matter, especially the solid and liquid phases which arise from electromagnetic forces between atoms. More generally, the su ...

, (

Fluid dynamics In physics and engineering, fluid dynamics is a subdiscipline of fluid mechanics that describes the flow of fluids— liquids and gases. It has several subdisciplines, including ''aerodynamics'' (the study of air and other gases in motion) a ...

Laser Physics Laser science or laser physics is a branch of optics that describes the theory and practice of lasers. Laser science is principally concerned with quantum electronics, laser construction, optical cavity design, the physics of producing a popula ...

Mathematical physics Mathematical physics refers to the development of mathematical methods for application to problems in physics. The '' Journal of Mathematical Physics'' defines the field as "the application of mathematics to problems in physics and the developm ...

Plasma Physics Plasma ()πλάσμα
, Henry George Liddell, R ...

·,

Quantum field theory In theoretical physics, quantum field theory (QFT) is a theoretical framework that combines classical field theory, special relativity, and quantum mechanics. QFT is used in particle physics to construct physical models of subatomic particles and ...

, Nano Physics,

Quantum information Quantum information is the information of the state of a quantum system. It is the basic entity of study in quantum information theory, and can be manipulated using quantum information processing techniques. Quantum information refers to both ...

theory.

Collaboration with CERN

NCP is collaborating with CERN in the field of experimental high-energy physics. NCP and CERN are involved in the development, testing and fabrication of 432 Resistive Plate Chambers (RPC) required for the CMS muon detector at CERN. The RPC has an excellent time resolution i.e. of the order of 1–2 nanoseconds and it will be used for the bunch tagging at LHC. At the national level, this project is a joint collaboration of NCP and PAEC, whereas at international level, NCP also collaborating with Italy, China,

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and sharing a Korean Demilitarized Zone, land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed ...

and US. The RPC is a gaseous detector made using two parallel-plates of bakelite with high resistivity. Each RPC for CMS will be equipped with 96 electronic channels, which will be readout are based on 0.14 micrometre BiCMOS technology. For the complete system, number of readout channels are around 50,000. RNCP has an experimental high energy physics laboratory which is equipped with the high speed and advanced data acquisition system based on VME standards. This laboratory is used for prototyping and testing of RPCs at present. National Centre for Physics organized a three-day Grid Technology Workshop in

, Pakistan in collaboration with

(CERN), Geneva from 20 to 22 October 2003. The main objective of the workshop was to provide hands-on experience to Pakistani scientists, engineers and professionals on Grid technology.

Advanced Scientific Computing

High performance and data intense computing is the back bone of modern-day science. There are stringent requirements for computing at LHC. To exploit the full physics potential of LHC data in comprehensive manner. NCP will require high performance computing for accelerator physics, computational condensed matter physics and theoretical particle physics. For accessing and managing the LHC data novel techniques like the concept of data and computing grids are used. CERN has evolved a new project called the LHC Computing Grid (LCG). NCP is a partner of CERN in this project and it is the only LCG node in

International Centre for Theoretical Physics (ICTP)

NCP signed a memorandum of understanding during dr.

K. R. Sreenivasan Katepalli Raju Sreenivasan is an aerospace scientist, fluid dynamics, and applied physicist whose research includes physics and applied mathematics. He studies turbulence, nonlinear and statistical physics, astrophysical fluid mechanics, and cr ...

, Director ICTP's visit to Pakistan from 26 to 30 June 2005. In addition, the Centre carries out research in areas that are not covered by any institute of Physics. One such area being pursued by the Centre involves a number of activities in Experimental High-Energy Physics through a co-operative agreement with CERN in Geneva, Switzerland. Besides this, NCP has collaborations with several international institutes and universities in the field of theoretical physics including AS-ICTP, Trieste, Italy; Centre for Plasma Astrophysics (CPA), K-Leuven University, Belgium; Tokyo University, Tokyo, Japan; Ruhr University, Bochum (RUB), Germany and many others. Several research papers are published in reputed international journals each year from NCP through national and international collaborations.

Project and activities

* The Synchrotron Radiation Source (SRS), now deactivated. * Grid Computing for LHC Data Analysis *

Pelletron A Pelletron is a type of electrostatic generator, structurally similar to a Van de Graaff generator. Pelletrons have been built in many sizes, from small units producing voltages up to 500 kilovolts (kV) and beam energies up to 1 megaelectronvolt ...

(accelerator), an electron accelerator previously known as ERLP (Energy Recovery Linac Prototype). * Tandem electrostatic accelerators, a negatively charged ion gains energy by attraction to the very high positive voltage at the geometric centre of the pressure vessel. * The New Light Source, a project which has evolved from the previous 4GLS project. * Monte Carlo Generators, an electron accelerator. *

Compact Muon Solenoid The Compact Muon Solenoid (CMS) experiment is one of two large general-purpose particle physics detectors built on the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) at CERN in Switzerland and France. The goal of the CMS experiment is to investigate a wide range ...

Global co-operation

RNCP and the Other independent countries have signed formal Memorandum of Understanding agreements are below: * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

European Commission The European Commission (EC) is the executive of the European Union (EU). It operates as a cabinet government, with 27 members of the Commission (informally known as "Commissioners") headed by a President. It includes an administrative body ...

Notes

;Notes

References

External links

National Centre for Physics

CERN page on NCP
* https://web.archive.org/web/20110725200841/http://www.cpe-khi.org/activities.html * https://web.archive.org/web/20100611073022/http://www.gafp.org.pk/members.htm {{DEFAULTSORT:Abdus Salam Centre for Physics Energy in Pakistan Nuclear technology in Pakistan Pakistan federal departments and agencies Physics laboratories Synchrotron radiation facilities Research institutes in Pakistan Science and technology in Pakistan International nuclear energy organizations Laboratories in Pakistan Nuclear research institutes Particle physics facilities International research institutes Physics institutes Plasma physics facilities Neutron facilities Constituent institutions of Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission Nawaz Sharif administration Mathematical institutes 1999 establishments in Pakistan Abdus Salam Institutes associated with CERN Quaid-i-Azam University