Ishfaq Ahmad (3 November 1930 – 18 January 2018) , was a

Pakistani Pakistanis (, ) are the citizens and nationals of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan. Pakistan is the fifth-most populous country, with a population of over 241.5 million, having the second-largest Muslim population as of 2023. As much as ...

nuclear physicist Nuclear physics is the field of physics that studies atomic nuclei and their constituents and interactions, in addition to the study of other forms of nuclear matter. Nuclear physics should not be confused with atomic physics, which studies the ...

emeritus professor ''Emeritus/Emerita'' () is an honorary title granted to someone who retires from a position of distinction, most commonly an academic faculty position, but is allowed to continue using the previous title, as in "professor emeritus". In some c ...

high-energy physics Particle physics or high-energy physics is the study of fundamental particles and forces that constitute matter and radiation. The field also studies combinations of elementary particles up to the scale of protons and neutrons, while the stu ...

at the

National Centre for Physics The National Centre for PhysicsPreviously known as Riazuddin Centre for Physics. (NCP) is a federally funded research institute and national laboratory co-located near Quaid-i-Azam University in Islamabad, Pakistan. Founded in 1999, the site ...

, and former science advisor to the

Government of Pakistan The Government of Pakistan () (abbreviated as GoP), constitutionally known as the Federal Government, commonly known as the Centre, is the national authority of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, a federal republic located in South Asia, con ...

. A versatile

theoretical physicist Theoretical physics is a branch of physics that employs mathematical models and abstractions of physical objects and systems to rationalize, explain, and predict natural phenomena. This is in contrast to experimental physics, which uses experi ...

, Ahmad made significant contributions in the theoretical development of the applications and concepts involving the

particle physics Particle physics or high-energy physics is the study of Elementary particle, fundamental particles and fundamental interaction, forces that constitute matter and radiation. The field also studies combinations of elementary particles up to the s ...

, and its relative extension to the

quantum electrodynamics In particle physics, quantum electrodynamics (QED) is the Theory of relativity, relativistic quantum field theory of electrodynamics. In essence, it describes how light and matter interact and is the first theory where full agreement between quant ...

, while working as senior research scientist at the

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 Meyrin, western suburb of Gene ...

in the 1960s and 1970s. Joining the PAEC in the late 1950s, Ahmad served as the director of the Nuclear Physics Division at the secret Pinstech Institute which developed the first designs of

atomic bomb A nuclear weapon is an explosive device that derives its destructive force from nuclear reactions, either fission (fission or atomic bomb) or a combination of fission and fusion reactions (thermonuclear weapon), producing a nuclear expl ...

s, a clandestine project during the post-1971 war. There, he played an influential role in leading the physics and mathematical calculations in the

critical mass In nuclear engineering, critical mass is the minimum mass of the fissile material needed for a sustained nuclear chain reaction in a particular setup. The critical mass of a fissionable material depends upon its nuclear properties (specific ...

of the weapons, and did theoretical work on the implosion method used in the weapons. Since the 1960s and onwards, he was a high-ranking official at the

IAEA The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) is an intergovernmental organization that seeks to promote the peaceful use of nuclear energy and to inhibit its use for any military purpose, including nuclear weapons. It was established in 1957 ...

as part of the Pakistan Government's official mission, working to make the peaceful use of

nuclear power Nuclear power is the use of nuclear reactions to produce electricity. Nuclear power can be obtained from nuclear fission, nuclear decay and nuclear fusion reactions. Presently, the vast majority of electricity from nuclear power is produced by ...

for the industrial development. Having chaired the PAEC from 1991 until 2001, he was affiliated with the

Pakistan Government The Government of Pakistan () (abbreviated as GoP), constitutionally known as the Federal Government, commonly known as the Centre, is the national authority of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, a federal republic located in South Asia, cons ...

as a science adviser to the

prime minister A prime minister or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. A prime minister is not the head of state, but r ...

on strategic and scientific programs, with the status of

Minister of State Minister of state is a designation for a government minister, with varying meanings in different jurisdictions. In a number of European countries, the title is given as an honorific conferring a higher rank, often bestowed upon senior minister ...

. A vehement supporter for the peaceful use of nuclear energy, he earned public and international fame in May 1998 when he oversaw and directed PAEC to perform country's first public atomic tests (see

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

and Chagai-II) in a secret weapon-testing laboratories in

Balochistan Province Balochistan (; ; , ) is a province of Pakistan. Located in the southwestern region of the country, Balochistan is the largest province of Pakistan by land area but is the least populated one. It is bordered by the Pakistani provinces of Khybe ...

of Pakistan. He died on 18 January 2018, aged 87 in Lahore.

Biography

Early life and education

Ahmad was born in

Gurdaspur Gurdaspur is a city in the Majha region of the Indian state of Punjab, between the rivers Beas and Ravi. It houses the administrative headquarters of Gurdaspur District and is in the geographical centre of the district, which shares a bord ...

Punjab Punjab (; ; also romanised as Panjāb or Panj-Āb) is a geopolitical, cultural, and historical region in South Asia. It is located in the northwestern part of the Indian subcontinent, comprising areas of modern-day eastern Pakistan and no ...

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

on 3 November 1930 into a Kakazai family that had long been settled in Punjab. Ahmad obtained his early education in

Jalandhar Jalandhar () is a city in the state of Punjab, India, Punjab in India. With a considerable population, it ranks as the List of cities in Punjab and Chandigarh by population, third most-populous city in the state and is the largest city in the ...

, later schooling in

Lyallpur Faisalabad, formerly known as Lyallpur, is the List of cities in Punjab, Pakistan by population, second-largest city and primary List of cities in Punjab, Pakistan by population, industrial center of the Pakistani province of Punjab, Pakistan ...

, and

Lahore Lahore ( ; ; ) is the capital and largest city of the Administrative units of Pakistan, Pakistani province of Punjab, Pakistan, Punjab. It is the List of cities in Pakistan by population, second-largest city in Pakistan, after Karachi, and ...

before enrolling in the

Punjab University Punjab University may refer to: India * Punjab Agricultural University, a state agricultural university in Ludhiana, Punjab * I. K. Gujral Punjab Technical University, a state university in Kapurthala, Punjab * Maharaja Ranjit Singh Punjab Techn ...

to study

Physics Physics is the scientific study of matter, its Elementary particle, fundamental constituents, its motion and behavior through space and time, and the related entities of energy and force. "Physical science is that department of knowledge whi ...

, and earned his undergraduate, BSc degree, in

in 1949.. After entering in the post graduate school at the Punjab University, Ahmad obtained his MSc degree, in 1951, after submitting his master's thesis on nuclear physics, which was supervised by R. M. Chaudhry. With his master's degree, he obtained Honours diploma and secured a

gold medal A gold medal is a medal awarded for highest achievement in a non-military field. Its name derives from the use of at least a fraction of gold in form of plating or alloying in its manufacture. Since the eighteenth century, gold medals have b ...

lion for the recognition of his work in physics. He taught various undergraduate physics laboratory courses at the Government College University while working on fundamental concepts in nuclear physics with his university mentor. In 1954, he won the scholarship under the

Colombo Plan The Colombo Plan is a regional intergovernmental organization that began operations on 1 July 1951. The organization was conceived at an international conference, The Commonwealth Conference on Foreign Affairs held in Colombo, Ceylon (now Sri ...

fellowship program and went to

Quebec Quebec is Canada's List of Canadian provinces and territories by area, largest province by area. Located in Central Canada, the province shares borders with the provinces of Ontario to the west, Newfoundland and Labrador to the northeast, ...

, Canada for his doctorate studies. Ahmad attended the doctorate school at the

Université de Montréal The Université de Montréal (; UdeM; ) is a French-language public research university in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The university's main campus is located in the Côte-des-Neiges neighborhood of Côte-des-Neiges–Notre-Dame-de-Grâce on M ...

and did a two-year-long course in

Particle physics Particle physics or high-energy physics is the study of Elementary particle, fundamental particles and fundamental interaction, forces that constitute matter and radiation. The field also studies combinations of elementary particles up to the s ...

and engaged his research on theoretical physics. In 1959, Ahmad obtained

D.Sc. A Doctor of Science (; most commonly abbreviated DSc or ScD) is a science doctorate awarded in a number of countries throughout the world. Africa Algeria and Morocco In Algeria, Morocco, Libya and Tunisia, all universities accredited by the s ...

physics Physics is the scientific study of matter, its Elementary particle, fundamental constituents, its motion and behavior through space and time, and the related entities of energy and force. "Physical science is that department of knowledge whi ...

after submitting his doctoral works on concepts on advancing on particle physics. His theses were written in fluent French and English language, and he reluctantly returned to Pakistan under the terms of Colombo Plan contract. His

DSc DSC or Dsc may refer to: Education * Doctor of Science (D.Sc.) * District Selection Committee, an entrance exam in India * Doctor of Surgical Chiropody, superseded in the 1960s by Doctor of Podiatric Medicine Educational institutions * Dyal Sin ...

theses were supervised by Pierre Demers and covered a wide range of research in the study of

elementary particle In particle physics, an elementary particle or fundamental particle is a subatomic particle that is not composed of other particles. The Standard Model presently recognizes seventeen distinct particles—twelve fermions and five bosons. As a c ...

s by using the deployment of special fine grain nuclear emulsion ( AgBr). During his long doctoral studies, Ahmad studied nuclear reaction at the Montreal Laboratory with supervisors and scientists role in the

Manhattan Project The Manhattan Project was a research and development program undertaken during World War II to produce the first nuclear weapons. It was led by the United States in collaboration with the United Kingdom and Canada. From 1942 to 1946, the ...

. Upon his return to Pakistan, he joined the

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

(PAEC) as a senior scientist.

Academia and CERN

In 1952, Ahmad served as a

visiting professor In academia, a visiting scholar, visiting scientist, visiting researcher, visiting fellow, visiting lecturer, or visiting professor is a scholar from an institution who visits a host university to teach, lecture, or perform research on a topic fo ...

of mathematics at the Government College University, before accepting the professorship of mathematics at the

University of Paris The University of Paris (), known Metonymy, metonymically as the Sorbonne (), was the leading university in Paris, France, from 1150 to 1970, except for 1793–1806 during the French Revolution. Emerging around 1150 as a corporation associated wit ...

in 1959. He engaged his research in theoretical physics and obtained a one-year-long research fellowship at the Niels Bohr Institute for Theoretical Physics. In 1962–64, he accepted the professorship in physics at the

University of Montreal A university () is an institution of tertiary education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. ''University'' is derived from the Latin phrase , which roughly means "community of teachers and scholars". Univ ...

and the

University of Ottawa The University of Ottawa (), often referred to as uOttawa or U of O, is a Official bilingualism in Canada, bilingual public research university in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. The main campus is located on directly to the northeast of Downtown Ot ...

. In Ottawa, he carried out pioneering research in particle resonance and published important publications in theoretical physics. Ahmad also performed experiments on nuclear physics at the Meuse Underground Laboratories of

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

. In 1965, Ahmad published a research report on absorption of Pion's cross sections and the range of complex atom's energy of the pion particle. He recalled his Cern experience in 1994: In the 1990s, Ahmad played a pivotal role in building closer relations with the

, and lobbied tirelessly for PAEC to reach an agreement with CERN. In 1997, Ahmad, as chair of PAEC, signed an agreement with CERN in the up gradation of the CMS detector and the financial contribution worth one million SFr for the construction of eight magnetic rings for the detector. This was followed by in 1998, Ishfaq Ahmad, as PAEC chairman, reached another contract with CERN. The signing of the agreement was followed by the state visit of CERN's director Christopher Llewellyn Smith with whom Ahmad signed a collaborative agreement that provided an entry point for Pakistani's scientist (respectively PAEC) into the CMS collaboration. In 2000, another treaty between PAEC and CERN was signed that covered the construction of the resistive plate chambers required for the CMS muon system. In Press Conference with

Luciano Maiani Luciano Maiani (born 16 July 1941) is a Sammarinese physicist. He is 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 ...

, Ahmad quoted: "I very much hope and wish that these developments may eventually lead to Pakistan becoming an associate member of CERN."

Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission

In 1960, Ahmad joined the

(PAEC) as senior scientist and was allowed to proceed abroad for post-doctoral work at several of the world's most renowned research institutions. Ahmad published papers in physics at the

Niels Bohr Institute The Niels Bohr Institute () is a research institute of the University of Copenhagen. The research of the institute spans astronomy, geophysics, nanotechnology, particle physics, quantum mechanics, and biophysics. Overview The institute was foun ...

Copenhagen Copenhagen ( ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a population of 1.4 million in the Urban area of Copenhagen, urban area. The city is situated on the islands of Zealand and Amager, separated from Malmö, Sweden, by the ...

; also at the

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

as well as the University of Paris – Sorbonne in

. Finally, he settled down for work at the Lahore Centre of the PAEC (PAEC) in 1965. Ahmad held the post of Senior Scientific Officer until 1966. From 1969 until 1971, Ahmad was the director of the Atomic Energy Centre in

; and then served as secretary of PAEC from 1967 till 1969. In 1971, Ahmad became director of the Institute of Nuclear Science and Technology in Nilore until 1976. In 1976, he became a Science Member of PAEC, raised to the position of Senior Member in 1988. He became Chairman of the Commission in 1991 and remained its Chairman from 13 March 1991 to 19 December 2001. While he was Chairman PAEC, Ahmad has been heading the country's delegation at the

International Atomic Energy Agency The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) is an intergovernmental organization that seeks to promote the peaceful use of nuclear technology, nuclear energy and to inhibit its use for any military purpose, including nuclear weapons. It was ...

(IAEA) in

Vienna Vienna ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital, List of largest cities in Austria, most populous city, and one of Federal states of Austria, nine federal states of Austria. It is Austria's primate city, with just over two million inhabitants. ...

Austria Austria, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine Federal states of Austria, states, of which the capital Vienna is the List of largest cities in Aust ...

. At IAEA, he was always very keen for getting technical support and the breaking of the isololation of scientists from third world. On his persuasion IAEA's technical assistance program was adapted to cater for special needs of the developing countries. In this regard a Standing Advisory Group on Technical Assistance and Cooperation (SAGTAC) was established; Ahmad served as the first Chairman of the Group.

1971 war and atomic bomb project

After the 1971 war with India, the government sent Ishfaq Ahmad to the Pakistan Institute of Nuclear Science and Technology (PINSTECH). When

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

became the chairman of PAEC and was put in charge of secret atomic bomb project, Munir Khan appointed Ahmad as the director of PINSTECH, where he remained up to 1976. Ahmad served as the director of the Nuclear Physics Division at the secret Pinstech Institute which developed the first designs of

s, a clandestine project during the post-1971 war. There, he played an influential role in leading the physics and mathematical calculations in the

of the weapons, and did preliminary theoretical work on the implosion method used in the weapons. As early as in 1976, Ahmad, in a seismic team led by geophysicist Ahsan Mubarak conducted a

three-dimensional In geometry, a three-dimensional space (3D space, 3-space or, rarely, tri-dimensional space) is a mathematical space in which three values (''coordinates'') are required to determine the position (geometry), position of a point (geometry), poi ...

geometrical survey and made several

reconnaissance In military operations, military reconnaissance () or scouting is the exploration of an area by military forces to obtain information about enemy forces, the terrain, and civil activities in the area of operations. In military jargon, reconnai ...

tours of the suitable areas in

Balochistan Balochistan ( ; , ), also spelled as Baluchistan or Baluchestan, is a historical region in West and South Asia, located in the Iranian plateau's far southeast and bordering the Indian Plate and the Arabian Sea coastline. This arid region o ...

. After a one-year-long survey, the team found a mountain which matched their specifications. The 185-meter high-rise

granite Granite ( ) is a coarse-grained (phanerite, phaneritic) intrusive rock, intrusive igneous rock composed mostly of quartz, alkali feldspar, and plagioclase. It forms from magma with a high content of silica and alkali metal oxides that slowly coo ...

mountain was founded in the Ras Koh region of the Chagai Division of Balochistan, which at their highest point rise to a height of 3,009 metres. Ahmad had long noted that the underground weapon-testing laboratories in the mountain should be "bone dry" and capable of withstanding a ~20 kilotonne

nuclear force The nuclear force (or nucleon–nucleon interaction, residual strong force, or, historically, strong nuclear force) is a force that acts between hadrons, most commonly observed between protons and neutrons of atoms. Neutrons and protons, both ...

from the inside. Within a week, further test experiments were conducted to measure the water content of the mountains and the surrounding area and to measure the capability of the mountain's rock to withstand a

nuclear test Nuclear weapons tests are experiments carried out to determine the performance of nuclear weapons and the effects of their explosion. Nuclear testing is a sensitive political issue. Governments have often performed tests to signal strength. Bec ...

. Once this was confirmed, Ishfaq Ahmed finalised the work on a three-dimensional survey of the area. In 1976, PAEC succeeded in producing the first local 10 kg of

Yellowcake Yellowcake (also called urania) is a type of powdered uranium concentrate obtained from leach solutions, in an intermediate step in the processing of uranium ores. It is a step in the processing of uranium after it has been mined but before ...

and later on produced the ²³⁹ Pu, the weapon grade plutonium in 1983, which was later tested with the nuclear device. At PINSTECH, Ahmad produced the first

Photographic plate Photographic plates preceded film as the primary medium for capturing images in photography. These plates, made of metal or glass and coated with a light-sensitive emulsion, were integral to early photographic processes such as heliography, d ...

to identify the fissile matter in natural uranium when it is explored. However, due to its classified research, the knowledge of such detector is completely classified. The NPD developed the

Thermoluminescent Dosimeter A thermoluminescent dosimeter, or TLD, is a type of radiation dosimeter, consisting of a piece of a thermoluminescent crystalline material inside a radiolucent package. When a thermoluminescent crystal is exposed to ionizing radiation, it abso ...

to measure the detection of alpha particles emitted in the decay of radon and thoron gases. Ahmad collaborating with Hameed Ahmad Khan —director of Radiation Physics Division – in the development of CR-39, a type of particle detector. Ahmad gained expertise in nuclear emulsion and developed a first classified nuclear emulsion that provided information about the mass, charge and velocity of the particles producing the track. A first device was physically manufactured by 1983, and transported to Sargodha air force base for a first test. On 11 March 1983, a first cold test, codename Kirana-I, of a device was secretly carried out at the weapon-testing laboratories built inside the Central Ammunition Depot (CAD) of Sargodha AFB. The test was overseen and conducted by a small team of scientists led by Ahmad, while calculations on quantum

oscillator Oscillation is the repetitive or periodic variation, typically in time, of some measure about a central value (often a point of equilibrium) or between two or more different states. Familiar examples of oscillation include a swinging pendulum ...

was conducted by Theoretical physics group. Other invitees and attendees included the

, Samar Mubarakmand, and Masud Ahmad of PAEC whilst others were high-ranking civilians officials of elite civil bureaucracy and the active-duty officer of the Pakistan military.

Chagai tests

In 1991, Ahmad was officially approved as the chairman of PAEC by the

prime minister of Pakistan The prime minister of Pakistan (, Roman Urdu, romanized: Wazīr ē Aʿẓam , ) is the head of government of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan. Executive authority is vested in the prime minister and his chosen Cabinet of Pakistan, cabinet, desp ...

after Munir Khan retired. During this time, he had been a senior scientist and acted as official science advisor to the government of Pakistan on many occasions. In 1998, Ahmad visited

to deliver lecture on quantum physics at the Montreal Laboratory when the news of surprise nuclear tests, codename

Pokhran-II Pokhran-II (''Operation Shakti'') was a series of five nuclear weapon tests conducted by India in May 1998. The bombs were detonated at the Indian Army's Pokhran Test Range in Rajasthan. It was the second instance of nuclear testing conducted ...

, of India reached to him. On 16 May 1998, Ahmad cut short his trip and returned to Pakistan to attend meeting with Prime minister

Nawaz Sharif Mian Muhammad Nawaz Sharif (born 25 December 1949) is a Pakistani politician and businessman who served as the 12th Prime Minister of Pakistan, prime minister of Pakistan for three non-consecutive terms, first serving from 1990 to 1993, then ...

, and arranged his meeting with Prime minister on 17 May 1998. The message was bestowed to him by the Joint Headquarters at Rawalpindi, informing him to remain on stand-by a meeting with the Prime Minister. After commencing the meeting with the Prime minister, Ahmad received green signal from the government of Pakistan to conduct country's first test as a suitable reply to Indian nuclear aggression. Ahmad personally supervised the test preparations as he also suggests the codenames of the tests. On 28 May 1998, the PAEC, sided by KRL and corps of engineers, performed the first nuclear tests, codename ''

'' which was followed by '' Chagai-II'' two days later, in May 1998. Evidently, the fission devices were had contained the boosted-fission HEU nuclear process, that came from the KRL. But, on 30 May, the second test, codename Chagai-II, was performed completely under the command and control management of the PAEC. The fission devices, on a second test, were reportedly had contained the weapon grade plutonium, producing around at ~20kt of nuclear force. All together, the

superposition In mathematics, a linear combination or superposition is an expression constructed from a set of terms by multiplying each term by a constant and adding the results (e.g. a linear combination of ''x'' and ''y'' would be any expression of the form ...

of sum of the forces and the total blast yield was ranged at the nearly ~40 kt of

, according to the PAEC scientific data.

Later work and activism

Earthquake studies and climate change

After retiring from the PAEC in 2001, Ahmad developed interests in

seismology Seismology (; from Ancient Greek σεισμός (''seismós'') meaning "earthquake" and -λογία (''-logía'') meaning "study of") is the scientific study of earthquakes (or generally, quakes) and the generation and propagation of elastic ...

and the

climate change Present-day climate change includes both global warming—the ongoing increase in Global surface temperature, global average temperature—and its wider effects on Earth's climate system. Climate variability and change, Climate change in ...

, and helped founded the Global Change Impact Studies Centre and the Centre for Earthquake Studies (CES), both initially attached to the

(NCP) in

Islamabad Islamabad (; , ; ) is the capital city of Pakistan. It is the country's tenth-most populous city with a population of over 1.1 million and is federally administered by the Pakistani government as part of the Islamabad Capital Territory. Bu ...

. Ahmad served as elected President of the

Pakistan Academy of Sciences The Pakistan Academy of Sciences () (Abbreviations and Acronyms, abbreviated as: PAS), is a learned society of sciences, which described itself as "a repository of the highest scientific talent available in the country." Established in 1953 in ...

and is the lifetime Chairman of the Board of Governors of the National Centre for Physics (NCP)— a research institute established on the pattern of

International Centre for Theoretical Physics The Abdus Salam International Centre for Theoretical Physics (ICTP) is a research center for physical and mathematical sciences, located in Trieste, Friuli-Venezia Giulia, Italy. The center operates under a tripartite agreement between the Gov ...

(ICTP) at

Trieste Trieste ( , ; ) is a city and seaport in northeastern Italy. It is the capital and largest city of the Regions of Italy#Autonomous regions with special statute, autonomous region of Friuli-Venezia Giulia, as well as of the Province of Trieste, ...

, Italy. He also put Pakistan on the governing Council of the International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis (IIASA), Austria, which conducts policy related research using mathematical modeling and simulation tools.

Global Change Impact Studies Centre (GCISC)

Ishfaq Ahmad's efforts led to the creation of the Global Change Impact Studies Centre (GCISC) in Islamabad where, for the first time, research on policy issues related to

is being undertaken in Pakistan. The centre, an autonomous organisation under the federal govt, works in collaboration with national institutions such as Pakistan Meteorological Department (PMD), National Agricultural Research Centre (NARC), WAPDA and PCRWR etc. The centre has also established collaborative relationship with international institutions, most importantly The Abdus Salam International Centre for Theoretical Physics (ICTP), Trieste, Italy. GCISC, with Arshad M Khan as its executive director, also serves as the secretariat of the

's Committee on Climate Change.

Centre for Earthquake Studies (CES)

After 8 October 2005, Kashmir earthquake, the Government has decided to establish a Centre for Earthquake studies in Islamabad, under the technical direction of Ishfaq Ahmad. The centre under the directorship of Mr. Shahid Ashraf and Ahsan Mubarak started work in collaboration with world leading scientists such as Elchin Khalilov of Azerbaijan. The centre conducts research using a Gravitational Wave Recorder housed at the National Centre for Physics, Islamabad.

Advocacy for Nuclear power

Ishfaq Ahmad is internationally known for his long-standing public advocacy for the

nuclear power plant A nuclear power plant (NPP), also known as a nuclear power station (NPS), nuclear generating station (NGS) or atomic power station (APS) is a thermal power station in which the heat source is a nuclear reactor. As is typical of thermal power st ...

s for the industrial and socio-economic growth. On international forums, Ahmad deterred the international pressure mounted on Pakistan after conducting its tests, instead highlighted the achievements gained by Pakistan on its

infrastructure in the country as well as the need of Pakistan's usage of nuclear power for its economical growth. In 2012, Ahmad lobbied for the HMC-3 consortium to be listed as first commercial nuclear power corporation and helped the consortium to acquire its first license to manufacture nuclear materials for industrial power plants.

State honours, awards and recognition

In 1989, Ishfaq Ahmad was bestowed with first state honour, ''

Sitara-e-Imtiaz The Sitara-e-Imtiaz () also spelled as Sitara-i-Imtiaz, is the third-highest (in the order of "Imtiaz") honour and civilian award in the State of Pakistan. It recognizes individuals who have made an "especially meritorious contribution to the ...

'' by

Benazir Bhutto Benazir Bhutto (21 June 1953 – 27 December 2007) was a Pakistani politician who served as the 11th prime minister of Pakistan from 1988 to 1990, and again from 1993 to 1996. She was also the first woman elected to head a democratic governmen ...

; and

Hilal-e-Imtiaz The ''Hilal-e-Imtiaz'' (; ), also spelled as ''Hilal-i-Imtiaz,'' is the second-highest (in the order of "Imtiaz") Awards and decorations of the Pakistan military, civilian award and honour given to both civilians and military Officer (armed fo ...

in 1995. In 1998, Ahmad received the highest state honour,

Nishan-e-Imtiaz The Nishan-e-Imtiaz (; ) is one of the state organized Civil decorations of Pakistan, civil decorations of Pakistan. It is awarded for achievements towards world recognition for Pakistan or outstanding service for the country. However, the awa ...

, given to any national of Pakistan, for his services to the country in a graceful state ceremony. The same year, he was awarded gold medallion by the

Institute of Leadership and Management The Institute of Leadership is a professional membership body for leaders and managers. Its stated mission is to "inspire great leadership - everywhere". The institute is a charity registered in England, Wales and Scotland, with its head office ...

in Lahore. * Nishan-i-Imitiaz (1998) *

Hilal-i-Imtiaz The ''Hilal-e-Imtiaz'' (; ), also spelled as ''Hilal-i-Imtiaz,'' is the second-highest (in the order of "Imtiaz") civilian award and honour given to both civilians and military officers of the Pakistan Armed Forces by the Government of Pakist ...

(1995) *

Sitara-i-Imtiaz The Sitara-e-Imtiaz () also spelled as Sitara-i-Imtiaz, is the third-highest (in the order of "Imtiaz") honour and Civil decorations of Pakistan, civilian award in the State of Pakistan. It recognizes individuals who have made an "especially me ...

(1989) *

Gold Medal A gold medal is a medal awarded for highest achievement in a non-military field. Its name derives from the use of at least a fraction of gold in form of plating or alloying in its manufacture. Since the eighteenth century, gold medals have b ...

(1998) *

, Institute of Leadership & Management (ILM) (1998) *

, Society of Engineering, Materials and Metallurgical Engineering (SEMME), Karachi, (1998) *

, Geological Society of Punjab, (1998) * Doctorate of Science

Honoris Causa An honorary degree is an academic degree for which a university (or other degree-awarding institution) has waived all of the usual requirements. It is also known by the Latin phrases ''honoris causa'' ("for the sake of the honour") or ''ad hono ...

, UET Lahore, 2000. * Who's who in atom, American Institute of Physics (1969)

Fellowships

* Elected

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television *'' Præsident ...

of the

(2007) * Board of Directors of the Abdus Salam Centre for Solid State Physics, Government College University,

, 2006–present. * Board of Governors of the

Ghulam Ishaq Khan Institute of Engineering Sciences and Technology The Ghulam Ishaq Khan Institute of Engineering Sciences and Technology (; ; commonly referred as GIKI) is a private research university located in Topi, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa in Pakistan. The institute has a campus that is located in the vicinity ...

( GIKI) (2002) * Chairman and Board of Governors, Riazuddin National Centre for Physics,

Quaid-i-Azam University Quaid-i-Azam University (QAU), founded as the University of Islamabad, is a public research university in Islamabad, Pakistan. Founded as the University of Islamabad in 1967, it was initially dedicated to postgraduate study, but later expande ...

, Islamabad (2001) * Fellow of the

Islamic World Academy of Sciences The Islamic World Academy of Sciences (IAS) is a non-profit organisation of scientists and technologists that works for the promotion of science and technology in the Islamic world. It was founded in 1986. Foundation The establishment of the ...

(2000) * Fellow of the Nuclear Society of Pakistan (1997) * Elected fellow of the Pakistan Nuclear Society (1993) * Honorary Fellow of the International Nuclear Energy Academy (INEA) * Honorary Member of World Innovation Foundation (WIF), UK (2006) * Board of Governors of the Government College University,

(1989–1996) * Fellow of the

(1983) * Fellow at Niels Bohr Institute of Theoretical Physics,

Denmark Denmark is a Nordic countries, Nordic country in Northern Europe. It is the metropole and most populous constituent of the Kingdom of Denmark,, . also known as the Danish Realm, a constitutionally unitary state that includes the Autonomous a ...

(1961–1962) * Member of the Board of Sponsors of The Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists. * Member of the Board of Physics Olympiad of Pakistan. * An honorary Council Member of International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis (IIASA).

Publications

Thesis

D.Sc. Thesis (UQAM): Structure and Identification of trajectories in fine grain ionographic emulsions, under the direction of Pierre Demers, Faculty of Science, University of Montreal, Canada, 1958.

Research papers

* Trajectories structure in fine-grained emulsions, Ann. ACFAS, 23, 111–112, 1957. (http://er.uqam.ca/nobel/c3410/PierreDemersBibl1950-9.html ) * Structure des trajectoires dans les émulsions à grain fin, avec Ishfaq Ahmad, 1er Colloque International de Photographie Corpusculaire. Strasbourg, 1957 * Identification of particles in the fine grain emulsions with Ishfaq Ahmad and Jean-Louis Meunier, 1er Colloque International de Photographie Corpusculaire. Strasbourg, 1957 * Photometric analysis of the trajectories in ionographic detectors, 25th ACFAS, Univ. Laval, Quebec, Nov.3,1957.Ann.ACFAS,24, 119, 1958. * An optical model of the granular structure of trajectories, 2nd Symposium photography corpuscular Montreal 1958. ACFAS, 26th Congress, University of Ottawa, 31 Oct.- 2 Nov. 1958. 6. L'INFLUENCE DU DÉVELOPPEMENT SUR LA STRUCTURE DES TRAJECTOIRES ET SUR LE VOILE DANS LES ÉMULSIONS À GRAINS FINS, Canadian Journal of Physics, 1959, 37(12). pp. 1548–1552. (http://www.nrcresearchpress.com/doi/pdf/10.1139/p59-171) * The ionographic detector considered a pulse source, PC II, PUM, 314- 316, 1959. * Influence du diamètre moyen des grains vierges dans une émulsion nucléaire sur la structure des lacunes. Ahmad Ishfaq and Max Morand. Comptes rendus hebdomadaires des séances de l'Académie des sciences, France, 1959, Vol. 1–3 (T248, part 1), pp. 1798–1800 (http://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/bpt6k32002/f1836.image). * Influence of the gelatin on the granular size distribution of silver bromide during the production of ionographic emulsions, PC III, PUM, 128–134, 1964. (http://er.uqam.ca/nobel/c3410/PierreDemersBibl1960-9.html) * Ionographic emulsion made with a mixture of polyvinyl alcohol and albumin, ACFAS, 32nd Congress, Univ. Ottawa, Ontario, 6–8 Nov. 1964. 1964, Ann. ACFAS, 31, 76–7, 1965. * Ionographic emulsions loaded with diamond powder, ACFAS, 32nd Congress, Univ. Ottawa, Ontario, 6 to 8 November, * (3,3) Resonance in the Nucleus – Progress of Theoretical Physics, Journal of the Physical Society of Japan. Vol 35 (3), 1966 (http://ptp.oxfordjournals.org/content/35/3/566.full.pdf). 13. The role of pre-irradiation annealing in changing the track development characteristics of glass track detectors. Nuclear Instruments and Methods, Vol.131(1), 1975, pp. 89–92. * 'Seasoning' of latent damage trails in lunar samples, Nature 254, 1975, pp 126–127. * Anisotropy in the track development properties of various crystallographic planes of natural quartz crystals, Radiation Effects, Vol. 30(3), 1976, pp 159–165. * The use of Alpha Sensitive Plastic Films (ASPF) for uranium/thorium exploration and prospecting. Radiation Physics and Chemistry, Vol. 11(6), 1978, pp 295–297. * The measurement of radon and thoron by solid state nuclear track detectors, Radiation Effects, Vol. 35 (1–2), 1978, pp 35–43. * Track structure and identification of particles in nuclear emulsions. Nuclear Instruments and Methods, Vol. 173(1), 1980, pp 15–20. * Some important considerations in the use of solid state nuclear track detectors for radon gas concentration measurements. Nuclear Instruments and Methods, Volume 173 (1), 1980, pp 183–189. * Field experience about the use of alpha sensitive plastic films for uranium exploration. Nuclear Instruments and Methods, Volume 173(1), 1980, Pages 191–196 * CERN and Pakistan: a personal perspective, 2003 (http://cerncourier.com/cws/article/cern/28934). * Managing nuclear knowledge in a developing country: Pakistan's perspective. Int. J. Nuclear Knowledge Management. Vol 1(1–2), 2004, pp 90–97. * MANAGING NUCLEAR KNOWLEDGE: ROLE OF IAEA AND ITS TECHNICAL COOPERATION PROGRAMME, International Conference on Nuclear Knowledge Management Strategies, Information Management and Human Resource Development, 7–10 September 2004, Sacley, France. (http://www.iaea.org/km/cnkm/presentations/ahmadpakistan.pdf) * DEVELOPING COUNTRIES AND THE CHALLENGE OF CLIMATE CHANGE, International Conference on Environment: Survival and Sustainability. 19–24 February 2007, Cyprus (https://www.springer.com/environment/sustainable+development/book/978-3-540-95990-8).

Books

References

External links

Dr. Ishfaq Ahmed
* * * , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Khan, Ishfaq Ahmad 1930 births 2018 deaths People associated with CERN Fellows of Pakistan Academy of Sciences Academic staff of the Government College University, Lahore International Atomic Energy Agency officials University of the Punjab alumni Université de Montréal alumni 20th-century Pakistani engineers Academic staff of Pakistan Institute of Engineering and Applied Sciences Pakistani nuclear physicists Pakistani physicists Pakistani textbook writers People associated with nuclear power People from Gurdaspur Scientists from Lahore Project-706 Academic staff of Quaid-i-Azam University Recipients of Hilal-i-Imtiaz Recipients of Nishan-e-Imtiaz Recipients of Sitara-i-Imtiaz Theoretical physicists Academic staff of the University of Paris Chairpersons of the Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission Nuclear weapons scientists and engineers Presidents of the Pakistan Academy of Sciences