Riazuddin National Center for Physics
Encyclopedia
The National Centre for Physics, known as NCP, is an academic physics and mathematical sciences national research institute
in Islamabad
, Pakistan
. The NCP was being run by Government of Pakistan
till March 2004. However, in April 2004, Government of Pakistan made NCP an autonomous scientific organization funded by the Government of Pakistan
. The NCP is a dream of Abdus Salam who visualized the establishment of this institute in 1951. As of today, the NCP emerged as world's one of the leading particle physics institute producing hundreds of papers by world's scientists who joined this institute.
, after receiving his doctorate in physics, came back to Pakistan in 1951. Joined his Alma mater
, Government College University
as Professor of Mathematics in 1951, Salam made a tremendous effort to established 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 revolutionized the Mathematics department by introducing the course of Quantum Mechanics
necessary for undergraduate students, but it was soon reverted back by 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
(ICTP) by Professor Abdus Salam in Italy.
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 and PAEC
, under the directorship of Prof. Riazuddin, a pupil 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.
). All the leading scientists of the country and some visitors from CERN
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 Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission
during this period, on May 16, 2000. The Director General of European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN), Dr. Luciano Maiani
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 Munir Ahmad Khan
, Pervez Hoodbhoy
, 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
, computational physics
, Astrophysics
, Cosmology
, Atmospheric physics
, Atomic, molecular, and optical physics
, Chemical physics
, Condensed matter physics
, (Fluid dynamics
, Laser Physics
, Mathematical physics
, Plasma Physics· , Quantum field theory
, Nano Physics, Quantum information
theory
. 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
and USA.
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.
.
agreements are below:
European Commission
Ministry of Science and Technology (Pakistan)
The Ministry of Science and Technology , is a Cabinet-level ministry of government of Pakistan concerned with science and technology in Pakistan and in general, Pakistan's science policies, planning, coordination and directing of efforts to initiate and launch scientific and technological programs...
in Islamabad
Islamabad
Islamabad is the capital of Pakistan and the tenth largest city in the country. Located within the Islamabad Capital Territory , the population of the city has grown from 100,000 in 1951 to 1.7 million in 2011...
, Pakistan
Pakistan
Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...
. The NCP was being run by Government of Pakistan
Government of Pakistan
The Government of Pakistan is a federal parliamentary system, with an indirectly-elected President as the Head of State and Commander in Chief of the Pakistani Armed Forces, and an indirectly-elected Prime Minister as the Head of Government. The President’s appointment and term are...
till March 2004. However, in April 2004, Government of Pakistan made NCP an autonomous scientific organization funded by the Government of Pakistan
Government of Pakistan
The Government of Pakistan is a federal parliamentary system, with an indirectly-elected President as the Head of State and Commander in Chief of the Pakistani Armed Forces, and an indirectly-elected Prime Minister as the Head of Government. The President’s appointment and term are...
. The NCP is a dream of Abdus Salam who visualized the establishment of this institute in 1951. As of today, the NCP emerged as world's one of the leading particle physics institute producing hundreds of papers by world's scientists who joined this institute.
Origins
Establishing world-class physics research institutes was dream of professor Abdus Salam, a world known theoretical physicist. The roots of NCP institutes goes back when professor Abdus SalamAbdus Salam
Mohammad Abdus Salam, NI, SPk Mohammad Abdus Salam, NI, SPk Mohammad Abdus Salam, NI, SPk (Urdu: محمد عبد السلام, pronounced , (January 29, 1926– November 21, 1996) was a Pakistani theoretical physicist and Nobel laureate in Physics for his work on the electroweak unification of the...
, after receiving his doctorate in physics, came back to Pakistan in 1951. Joined his Alma mater
Alma mater
Alma mater , pronounced ), was used in ancient Rome as a title for various mother goddesses, especially Ceres or Cybele, and in Christianity for the Virgin Mary.-General term:...
, Government College University
Government College University
Government College University, Lahore is a co-educational public university located on The Mall in Lahore, Pakistan...
as Professor of Mathematics in 1951, Salam made a tremendous effort to established the physics institute but was unable to do so. The same year, he became Chairman of the Mathematics Department
Academic department
An academic department is a division of a university or school faculty devoted to a particular academic discipline. This article covers United States usage at the university level....
of the Punjab University
University of the Punjab
University of the Punjab , colloquially known as Punjab University, is located in Lahore, Punjab, Pakistan. The University of the Punjab is the oldest and biggest University of Pakistan. The University of the Punjab was formally established with the convening of the first meeting of its...
where he tried to revolutionized the Mathematics department by introducing the course of Quantum Mechanics
Quantum mechanics
Quantum mechanics, also known as quantum physics or quantum theory, is a branch of physics providing a mathematical description of much of the dual particle-like and wave-like behavior and interactions of energy and matter. It departs from classical mechanics primarily at the atomic and subatomic...
necessary for undergraduate students, but it was soon reverted back by 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
International Centre for Theoretical Physics
The Abdus Salam International Centre for Theoretical Physics was founded in 1964 by Pakistani scientist and Nobel Laureate Abdus Salam after consulting with Munir Ahmad Khan. It operates under a tripartite agreement among the Italian Government, UNESCO, and International Atomic Energy Agency...
(ICTP) by Professor Abdus Salam in Italy.
INSC and INP
In 1974, Prof. Abdus Salam visualized the need of an institution where experts from the industrialized 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 KhanMunir Ahmad Khan
Munir Ahmad Khan , HI, was a Pakistani nuclear engineer and a scientist who served as the Chairman of the Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission from 1972 to 1991...
and it was the year 1976 when the first International Nathiagali Summer College on Physics and Contemporary Needs
International Nathiagali Summer College on Physics and Contemporary Needs
The International Nathiagali Summer College on Physics and Contemporary Needs , was founded by Nobel laureate in Physics Dr. Abdus Salam to promote physics and scientific research activities in Pakistan...
(INSC) was inaugurated at Nathiagali, with co-sponsorship of ICTP and PAEC
Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission
The Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission, , is an administrative governmental and autonomous science and technology governmental department of Pakistan, responsible for development of nuclear energy and development of nuclear power sector in Pakistan...
, under the directorship of Prof. Riazuddin, a pupil 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 Center for Physics came into reality when Prof. Riazuddin arranged a one day symposium on Frontiers of Fundamental Physics on January 27, 1999 at the Institute of Physics of Quaid-e-Azam University, only seven months before the recent tests, (Chagai-IChagai-I
The Chagai-I was a codename referring to the five underground nuclear tests conducted by Pakistan at 15:15hrs in 28th May of 1998. It was named Chagai-I, as the tests were conducted in the Chagai District...
). All the leading scientists of the country and some visitors from CERN
CERN
The European Organization for Nuclear Research , known as CERN , is an international organization whose purpose is to operate the world's largest particle physics laboratory, which is situated in the northwest suburbs of Geneva on the Franco–Swiss border...
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
Ishfaq Ahmad
Ishfaq Ahmad , D.Sc., Minister of State, SI, HI, NI, FPAS, is a Pakistani nuclear physicist, and well-known educationist and academic from Pakistan...
, Chairman of Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission
Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission
The Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission, , is an administrative governmental and autonomous science and technology governmental department of Pakistan, responsible for development of nuclear energy and development of nuclear power sector in Pakistan...
during this period, on May 16, 2000. The Director General of European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN), Dr. Luciano Maiani
Luciano Maiani
Luciano Maiani is a San Marino citizen physicist best known for his prediction of the charm quark with Sheldon Lee Glashow and John Iliopoulos .-Academic history:...
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 Munir Ahmad Khan
Munir Ahmad Khan
Munir Ahmad Khan , HI, was a Pakistani nuclear engineer and a scientist who served as the Chairman of the Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission from 1972 to 1991...
, Pervez Hoodbhoy
Pervez Hoodbhoy
Dr. Prof. Pervez Amirali Hoodbhoy , is a Pakistani nuclear physicist, essayist and political-defence analyst. He is the professor of nuclear and high-energy physics, and the head of the Physics Department at the Quaid-e-Azam University . He graduated and also received PhD from MIT and continues to...
, Fiazuddin
Fayyazuddin
Dr. Prof. Fayyazuddin or , , , is a Pakistani theoretical physicist and an emeritus professor of Theoretical and Mathematical Physics at National Centre for Physics and Quaid-e-Azam University, Islamabad....
, Masud Ahmad
Masud Ahmad
Muhammad Masud Ahmad, Born: 1942, known as Masood Ahmad, D.Phil, Sc.D, SI, HI , is a Pakistani theoretical physicist and ICTP laureate who is renowned for his work in Neutron t scattering...
, 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
Particle physics is a branch of physics that studies the existence and interactions of particles that are the constituents of what is usually referred to as matter or radiation. In current understanding, particles are excitations of quantum fields and interact following their dynamics...
, computational physics
Computational physics
Computational physics is the study and implementation of numerical algorithms to solve problems in physics for which a quantitative theory already exists...
, Astrophysics
Astrophysics
Astrophysics is the branch of astronomy that deals with the physics of the universe, including the physical properties of celestial objects, as well as their interactions and behavior...
, Cosmology
Cosmology
Cosmology is the discipline that deals with the nature of the Universe as a whole. Cosmologists seek to understand the origin, evolution, structure, and ultimate fate of the Universe at large, as well as the natural laws that keep it in order...
, Atmospheric physics
Atmospheric physics
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, chemical models, radiation balancing, and energy transfer processes in the atmosphere...
, Atomic, molecular, and optical physics
Atomic, molecular, and optical physics
Atomic, molecular, and optical physics is the study of matter-matter and light-matter interactions on the scale of single atoms or structures containing a few atoms. The three areas are grouped together because of their interrelationships, the similarity of methods used, and the commonality of the...
, Chemical physics
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 processes from the point of view of physics...
, Condensed matter physics
Condensed matter physics
Condensed matter physics deals with the physical properties of condensed phases of matter. These properties appear when a number of atoms at the supramolecular and macromolecular scale interact strongly and adhere to each other or are otherwise highly concentrated in a system. The most familiar...
, (Fluid dynamics
Fluid dynamics
In physics, fluid dynamics is a sub-discipline of fluid mechanics that deals with fluid flow—the natural science of fluids in motion. It has several subdisciplines itself, including aerodynamics and hydrodynamics...
, Laser Physics
Laser Physics
Laser Physics is an international scientific journal published by Nauka/Interperiodica. It is distributed through the Springer.-Topics covered:The journal specializes in laser physics, but also publishes papers about:...
, Mathematical physics
Mathematical physics
Mathematical physics refers to development of mathematical methods for application to problems in physics. The Journal of Mathematical Physics defines this area as: "the application of mathematics to problems in physics and the development of mathematical methods suitable for such applications and...
, Plasma Physics· , Quantum field theory
Quantum field theory
Quantum field theory provides a theoretical framework for constructing quantum mechanical models of systems classically parametrized by an infinite number of dynamical degrees of freedom, that is, fields and many-body systems. It is the natural and quantitative language of particle physics and...
, Nano Physics, Quantum information
Quantum information
In quantum mechanics, quantum information is physical information that is held in the "state" of a quantum system. The most popular unit of quantum information is the qubit, a two-level quantum system...
theory
Collaboration with CERN
NCP is incollaborating with Cern in the field of experimental HEP. 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 LHCLHC
LHC may refer to:* Large Hadron Collider, a particle accelerator and collider located on the Franco-Swiss border near Geneva, SwitzerlandLHC also may refer to:* La hora Chanante, a Spanish comedy television show...
. At the national level, this project is a joint collaboration of NCP and PAEC, whereas at international level, NCP also collaborating with Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
, China
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
, South Korea
South Korea
The Republic of Korea , , is a sovereign state in East Asia, located on the southern portion of the Korean Peninsula. It is neighbored by the People's Republic of China to the west, Japan to the east, North Korea to the north, and the East China Sea and Republic of China to the south...
and USA.
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.
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 PakistanPakistan
Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...
.
International Centre for Theoretical Physics (ICTP)
NCP signed a memorandum of understanding during dr. K. R. Sreenivasan, Director ICTP's visit to Pakistan from June 26 to June 30, 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
- PelletronPelletronA pelletron is a type of electrostatic particle accelerator similar to a Van de Graaff generator. Pelletrons have been built in many sizes, from small units producing voltages up to 500 kilovolts and beam energies up to 1 megaelectronvolt of kinetic energy, to the largest system, which has...
(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 SolenoidCompact Muon SolenoidThe Compact Muon Solenoid experiment is one of two large general-purpose particle physics detectors built on the proton-proton Large Hadron Collider at CERN in Switzerland and France. Approximately 3,600 people from 183 scientific institutes, representing 38 countries form the CMS collaboration...
Global cooperation
RNCP and the Other independent countries have signed formal Memorandum of UnderstandingMemorandum of understanding
A memorandum of understanding is a document describing a bilateral or multilateral agreement between parties. It expresses a convergence of will between the parties, indicating an intended common line of action. It is often used in cases where parties either do not imply a legal commitment or in...
agreements are below:
European Commission
European Commission
The European Commission is the executive body of the European Union. The body is responsible for proposing legislation, implementing decisions, upholding the Union's treaties and the general day-to-day running of the Union....
See also
- Riazuddin (physicist)
- Munir Ahmad KhanMunir Ahmad KhanMunir Ahmad Khan , HI, was a Pakistani nuclear engineer and a scientist who served as the Chairman of the Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission from 1972 to 1991...
- Ishfaq AhmadIshfaq AhmadIshfaq Ahmad , D.Sc., Minister of State, SI, HI, NI, FPAS, is a Pakistani nuclear physicist, and well-known educationist and academic from Pakistan...
- Pervez HoodbhoyPervez HoodbhoyDr. Prof. Pervez Amirali Hoodbhoy , is a Pakistani nuclear physicist, essayist and political-defence analyst. He is the professor of nuclear and high-energy physics, and the head of the Physics Department at the Quaid-e-Azam University . He graduated and also received PhD from MIT and continues to...
- Pakistan Atomic Energy CommissionPakistan Atomic Energy CommissionThe Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission, , is an administrative governmental and autonomous science and technology governmental department of Pakistan, responsible for development of nuclear energy and development of nuclear power sector in Pakistan...
(PAEC) - European Organization for Nuclear Research
- International Centre for Theoretical PhysicsInternational Centre for Theoretical PhysicsThe Abdus Salam International Centre for Theoretical Physics was founded in 1964 by Pakistani scientist and Nobel Laureate Abdus Salam after consulting with Munir Ahmad Khan. It operates under a tripartite agreement among the Italian Government, UNESCO, and International Atomic Energy Agency...
External links
- National Centre for Physics
- CERN page on NCP
- http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2009\04\07\story_7-4-2009_pg11_9
- http://www.ensf-ngo.org/ourteam.php
- http://www.cpe-khi.org/activities.html
- http://www.gafp.org.pk/members.htm