Shaukat Hameed Khan (

Urdu Urdu (; , , ) is an Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan language spoken chiefly in South Asia. It is the Languages of Pakistan, national language and ''lingua franca'' of Pakistan. In India, it is an Eighth Schedule to the Constitution of Indi ...

: شوکت حمید خان; born 4 September 1941) , is a Pakistani

optical physicist Optics is the branch of physics that studies the behaviour and properties of light, including its interactions with matter and the construction of optical instruments, instruments that use or Photodetector, detect it. Optics usually describes t ...

and 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 physics at the Comsats University 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 ...

. Khan is known for his understanding in

spark gap A spark gap consists of an arrangement of two Conductor (material), conducting electrodes separated by a gap usually filled with a gas such as air, designed to allow an electric spark to pass between the conductors. When the potential differenc ...

and plasma-induced

Laser A laser is a device that emits light through a process of optical amplification based on the stimulated emission of electromagnetic radiation. The word ''laser'' originated as an acronym for light amplification by stimulated emission of radi ...

s in ionized environment. His career is mostly spent at 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 ...

before taking professorship at the GIK Institute of Technology and Engineering and eventually becoming its rector. Besides teaching educating on physics, Khan is known for his strong public advocacy for

scientific education Science education is the teaching and learning of science to school children, college students, or adults within the general public. The field of science education includes work in science content, science process (the scientific method), some ...

in Pakistan and

sustainable development Sustainable development is an approach to growth and Human development (economics), human development that aims to meet the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.United Nations General ...

through technology.

Biography

Khan was born in

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 ...

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 ...

British Indian Empire The British Raj ( ; from Hindustani language, Hindustani , 'reign', 'rule' or 'government') was the colonial rule of the British The Crown, Crown on the Indian subcontinent, * * lasting from 1858 to 1947. * * It is also called Crown rule ...

on 4 September 1941 and completed his

matriculation Matriculation is the formal process of entering a university, or of becoming eligible to enter by fulfilling certain academic requirements such as a matriculation examination. Australia In Australia, the term ''matriculation'' is seldom used no ...

in Lahore. In 1957, Khan enrolled at the Gordon College in Lahore where he graduated with BSc with honors in

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 ...

in 1961, and earned the

Rhodes scholarship The Rhodes Scholarship is an international postgraduate award for students to study at the University of Oxford in Oxford, United Kingdom. The scholarship is open to people from all backgrounds around the world. Established in 1902, it is ...

that allowed him to study in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

. He attended the

University of Oxford The University of Oxford is a collegiate university, collegiate research university in Oxford, England. There is evidence of teaching as early as 1096, making it the oldest university in the English-speaking world and the List of oldest un ...

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

, and graduating with BA in

mathematics Mathematics is a field of study that discovers and organizes methods, Mathematical theory, theories and theorems that are developed and Mathematical proof, proved for the needs of empirical sciences and mathematics itself. There are many ar ...

in 1964, and BSE in

electrical engineering Electrical engineering is an engineering discipline concerned with the study, design, and application of equipment, devices, and systems that use electricity, electronics, and electromagnetism. It emerged as an identifiable occupation in the l ...

in 1965 from the Oxford University. He started his doctoral studies in physics and became interested in

optics Optics is the branch of physics that studies the behaviour and properties of light, including its interactions with matter and the construction of optical instruments, instruments that use or Photodetector, detect it. Optics usually describes t ...

and theory of

Light Light, visible light, or visible radiation is electromagnetic radiation that can be visual perception, perceived by the human eye. Visible light spans the visible spectrum and is usually defined as having wavelengths in the range of 400– ...

– the electromagnetic radiation. At Oxford, he played

cricket Cricket is a Bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball game played between two Sports team, teams of eleven players on a cricket field, field, at the centre of which is a cricket pitch, pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two Bail (cr ...

for

Brasenose College Brasenose College (BNC) is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom. It began as Brasenose Hall in the 13th century, before being founded as a college in 1509. The library and chapel were added in the m ...

, and was noted as a

pace bowler Fast bowling (also referred to as pace bowling) is a type of bowling in cricket, in which the ball is delivered at high speed. The fastest bowlers bowl the ball at over . Practitioners of fast bowling are known as fast bowlers or quicks. Also i ...

. His classical work at the Oxford University was based on the

gas laser A gas laser is a laser in which an electric current is discharged through a gas to produce coherent light. The gas laser was the first continuous-light laser and the first laser to operate on the principle of converting electrical energy to a las ...

based on the

nitrogen Nitrogen is a chemical element; it has Symbol (chemistry), symbol N and atomic number 7. Nitrogen is a Nonmetal (chemistry), nonmetal and the lightest member of pnictogen, group 15 of the periodic table, often called the Pnictogen, pnictogens. ...

filled gas tube through the

. His research work was supported by the funding made possible to study the applications of Lasers by the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

, whose agency, the

DTIC The Defense Technical Information Center (DTIC, ) is the repository for research and engineering information for the United States Department of Defense (DoD). DTIC's services are available to DoD personnel, federal government personnel, federa ...

eventually released his thesis work as public domain. In 1968, Khan submitted his

doctoral thesis A thesis (: theses), or dissertation (abbreviated diss.), is a document submitted in support of candidature for an academic degree or professional qualification presenting the author's research and findings.International Standard ISO 7144: D ...

, titled: ''The Laser Triggered Spark Gap'', which was approved in 1969, and was conferred with

PhD A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, DPhil; or ) is a terminal degree that usually denotes the highest level of academic achievement in a given discipline and is awarded following a course of graduate study and original research. The name of the deg ...

in physics with laser applications in 1969 by the

Career in Pakistan government

Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission

In 1969, Khan returned to his native country, Pakistan, with

doctorate A doctorate (from Latin ''doctor'', meaning "teacher") or doctoral degree is a postgraduate academic degree awarded by universities and some other educational institutions, derived from the ancient formalism '' licentia docendi'' ("licence to teach ...

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 th ...

but found research interests in the applications of

nuclear physics 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 th ...

when he found employment with the

(PAEC). Khan was instrumental figure in establishing the Laser Group in 1969, serving its first founding director until 1981. In December 1971, he met with

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 ...

, a reactor physicist, and later attending the conference that was instrumental in decision-making process of developing

nuclear weapon 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 exp ...

s program in January 1972. His career mostly spent at the Institute of Nuclear Science and Technology, a national laboratory site, where his earlier work was focused towards designing and building the

Laser rangefinder A laser rangefinder, also known as a laser telemeter or laser distance meter, is a rangefinder that uses a laser beam to determine the distance to an object. The most common form of laser rangefinder operates on the time of flight principle by ...

for the

Pakistan Army The Pakistan Army (, ), commonly known as the Pak Army (), is the Land warfare, land service branch and the largest component of the Pakistan Armed Forces. The president of Pakistan is the Commander-in-chief, supreme commander of the army. The ...

in 1970s, building several prototypes for the military. After India's

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 ...

in 1974, Khan's interest built in weapon-grade enrichment of U²³⁸ and was of the view of employing a complex laser-based

isotope separation Isotope separation is the process of concentrating specific isotopes of a chemical element by removing other isotopes. The use of the nuclides produced is varied. The largest variety is used in research (e.g. in chemistry where atoms of "marker" n ...

as opposed to relatively easier gaseous centrifuges which was being favored by Bashiruddin Mehmood at that time. Despite his expertise and advocacy, the program went in favor of employing the gaseous centrifuges method initially under Bashiruddin Mehmood in 1974 but later went to qualified scientist, Dr.

Abdul Qadeer Khan Abdul Qadeer Khan (1 April 1936 – 10 October 2021) was a Pakistani Nuclear physics, nuclear physicist and metallurgist, metallurgical engineer. He is colloquially known as the "father of Pakistan and weapons of mass destruction, Pakistan's ...

in 1976. Nonetheless, Khan continued working on laser-based

with support provided by Munir Ahmad Khan and later used his expertise in laser-based atomic isotope separation of Pu²³⁹ in successive years– an interest in his research that he remained passioned throughout his career. In 1981, Khan went to established Optics Laboratory within the Institute of Nuclear Science and Technology in Nilore, of which, he served its first director. In 1990, Khan was at a center of controversy when his

laser rangefinder A laser rangefinder, also known as a laser telemeter or laser distance meter, is a rangefinder that uses a laser beam to determine the distance to an object. The most common form of laser rangefinder operates on the time of flight principle by ...

program caught between the rivalry with the

Khan Research Laboratories The Dr. A. Q. Khan Research Laboratories (shortened as KRL), is a federally funded research and development laboratory located in Kahuta at a short distance from Rawalpindi in Punjab, Pakistan. Established in 1976, the laboratory is best know ...

(KRL) in

Kahuta Kahuta ( Punjabi, Urdu: ) is a census-designated place, city and tehsil in the Rawalpindi District of Punjab, Pakistan. The population of the Kahuta Tehsil is approximately 220,576 at the 2017 census. Kahuta is the home to the Kahuta Research ...

. The

MoD Mod, MOD or mods may refer to: Places * Modesto City–County Airport, Stanislaus County, California, US Arts, entertainment, and media Music * Mods (band), a Norwegian rock band * M.O.D. (Method of Destruction), a band from New York City, US * ...

awarded a contract to conduct preliminary studies in laser rangefinders for the

Pakistani military The Pakistan Armed Forces (; ) are the Military, military forces of Pakistan. It is the List of countries by number of military and paramilitary personnel, world's sixth-largest military measured by Active duty, active military personnel and c ...

and a prototype was successfully performed alongside British, American, Russian and Chinese LRF programs. The federal contract and the funding was later directed to KRL in

as a preference, and there was a story published in the ''

Pakistan Observer ''Pakistan Observer'' is an English-language daily newspaper of Pakistan. It is published from six cities – Islamabad, Karachi, Lahore, Peshawar, Quetta and Muzaffarabad. The newspaper was founded in 1988 by Zahid Malik. The newspaper wa ...

'' in 1990–91. In 1998, Khan became the chief scientist at the PAEC, and participated with his optics team in eye-witnessing the nuclear testings 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 ...

in Pakistan.

Public service and government work

In 2005, Khan retired from the Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission as chief scientist and joined the Planning Commission as a consultant, attaching to the

Ministry of Industry A ministry of trade and industry, ministry of commerce, ministry of commerce and industry or variations is a ministry that is concerned with a nation's trade, industry and commerce. Notable examples are: List *Algeria: Ministry of Industry and ...

(MoInd). Khan provided the strong advocacy for the Vision 2030 program of which he was its director— the Vision 2030 was a policy measure program that aimed towards defining a preferred future for Pakistan from several possible futures. In 2009, Khan left the planning commission and affiliated with the

Pakistan Institute of Development Economics Pakistan, officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is a country in South Asia. It is the fifth-most populous country, with a population of over 241.5 million, having the second-largest Muslim population as of 2023. Islamabad is the na ...

(PIDC) till 2010 when he accepted an advisory position at the

in 2010. During this time, Khan served on the board of directors of the Heavy Mechanical Complex and later served as the chairman of the Rhodes Selection Committee. In 2014, he joined the

COMSTECH Standing Committee for Scientific and Technological Cooperation (COMSTECH) is one of four standing committees of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation dedicated to the promotion and cooperation of science and technology activities among the OIC ...

as its chief coordinator till 2020.

Academia and public advocacy

In 2007, Khan joined the Ghulam Ishaq Khan Institute of Engineering and Technology and briefly taught courses on physics before becoming its rector in 2008 till 2009. He later instructed courses on physics at the University of Sialkot and later became the university's technical adviser on building up the research engineering programs at the university. In 2014, he joined the faculty of science at the Comsats University in

and was later elevated its chief coordinator. In 1969, Khan authored a textbook on

Lasers A laser is a device that emits light through a process of optical amplification based on the stimulated emission of electromagnetic radiation. The word ''laser'' originated as an acronym for light amplification by stimulated emission of radi ...

, titled: ''The Laser Triggered Spark gap'', which is roughly based on his doctoral thesis, as well authoring a college textbook, "''Optics''" for graduates in physics and engineering in 1998. At the public circles, Khan is known for his strong public advocacy for science education, and is a member on a platform of

Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) is a political party in Pakistan established in 1996 by cricketer and politician Imran Khan, who served as the country's prime minister from 2018 to 2022. The party is led by Gohar Ali Khan since late 2023. ...

since 2012.

Work in CERN

In 1999, the Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission approved Khan's candidacy to join 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 ...

Switzerland Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...

as a senior scientist and a program director for the optics system and Lasers that were installed at the

Large Hadron Collider The Large Hadron Collider (LHC) is the world's largest and highest-energy particle accelerator. It was built by the CERN, European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN) between 1998 and 2008, in collaboration with over 10,000 scientists, ...

. At CERN, Khan was the chief designer and had helped design the

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 ...

employed in the

project at CERN in

Geneva Geneva ( , ; ) ; ; . is the List of cities in Switzerland, second-most populous city in Switzerland and the most populous in French-speaking Romandy. Situated in the southwest of the country, where the Rhône exits Lake Geneva, it is the ca ...

. Khan serves as the co-chairman of Information Communication Technologies taskforce. Refer to th
CMS Bulletin
from March 1999 (page 13/39) In 2001, Khan left CERN and re-joined PAEC; he was appointed director of PAEC in 2002. In 2002, Khan headed the

Plasma physics Plasma () is a state of matter characterized by the presence of a significant portion of charged particles in any combination of ions or electrons. It is the most abundant form of ordinary matter in the universe, mostly in stars (including th ...

lab at PAEC and printed numerous scientific articles about the discoveries in

laser A laser is a device that emits light through a process of optical amplification based on the stimulated emission of electromagnetic radiation. The word ''laser'' originated as an acronym for light amplification by stimulated emission of radi ...

and

plasma physics Plasma () is a state of matter characterized by the presence of a significant portion of charged particles in any combination of ions or electrons. It is the most abundant form of ordinary matter in the universe, mostly in stars (including th ...

. He founded the laser programme in Pakistan which has now grown into the Optics Laboratories and a National Institute of Lasers and Optronics with several hundred researchers. He also established the

research institutes in Pakistan.

Awards

Awards and honors

* National Talent Scholar, (1959–61) * Gold Medal from 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 ...

(1961) * Best All-Round Student, Gordon College (1961) * An elected

Rhodes Scholar The Rhodes Scholarship is an international Postgraduate education, postgraduate award for students to study at the University of Oxford in Oxford, United Kingdom. The scholarship is open to people from all backgrounds around the world. Esta ...

Oxford University The University of Oxford is a collegiate research university in Oxford, England. There is evidence of teaching as early as 1096, making it the oldest university in the English-speaking world and the second-oldest continuously operating u ...

(1962) *

Pride of Performance The Pride of Performance (), officially known as the Presidential Pride of Performance, is an award bestowed by the Pakistan, Islamic Republic of Pakistan to recognize people with "notable achievements in the field of art, science, literature, sp ...

(1993) * Technology Gold Medal from

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 ...

(1993)

Bibliography

* Khan, Shaukat Hameed, ''The laser triggered spark gap (Second Edition)'' (1969), University of Oxford Presshttp://www.worldcat.org/oclc/227549403&referer=brief_results *Khan, Shaukat Hameed, ''Optics'' (1998), University of Punjab Press.

References

External links

Shaukat Hameed Khan
{{DEFAULTSORT:Khan, Shaukat Hameed Living people 1941 births Pashtun people Scientists from Lahore Academics from Lahore Government Gordon College alumni Pakistani expatriates in England Alumni of the University of Oxford Pakistani expatriates in the United Kingdom Pakistani electrical engineers Pakistani physicists Pakistani nuclear physicists Optical physicists Plasma physicists Pakistani Rhodes Scholars Project-706 people Laser researchers Fellows of Pakistan Academy of Sciences People associated with CERN Recipients of the Pride of Performance Academic staff of Ghulam Ishaq Khan Institute of Engineering Sciences and Technology Pakistani educators Pakistani scientists Pakistani textbook writers Pakistani scholars Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf politicians Nuclear weapons scientists and engineers