MM News

LONDON: The prestigious Imperial College London has announced renaming its central library after Pakistani physicist and Nobel Prize winner Dr Abdus Salam.

In a statement, the university said Imperial’s Central Library will be named the Abdus Salam Library in recognition of the Nobel Prize winning physicist.

Imperial College President Hugh Brady said: “Throughout his career, the Nobel Prize winning Professor of Theoretical Physics Abdus Salam made a tremendous contribution to Imperial, as well as to the world of physics and science more generally. It is right that we do more to celebrate this legacy. I hope the new Abdus Salam Library inspires many more people in the years to come.”

The university’s management board decided to name the Central Library after Professor Salam as part of its ongoing response to the History Group’s report.

Published last year, the report focused on Imperial’s associations with historical figures and under-celebrated people associated with the institute. The university said recognising the contribution of academics like Professor Salam is a key part of Imperial’s response to this report.

It said further work is underway to respond to its findings, including other initiatives to recognise under-celebrated individuals like Professor Salam, both physically around our campuses, through portraiture or through scholarships.

Professor Abdus Salam joined Imperial in 1957. During his time here, he set up the Theoretical Physics Department with the late Professor Paul T Matthews. He later shared the 1979 Nobel Prize for his contribution to the electroweak unification theory.

He was also a passionate promoter of science education in the developing world, founding the International Centre for Theoretical Physics in 1964 where scientists from developing countries would be able to come on a regular basis to interact with leaders in the field.

The university said a formal launch and naming ceremony for the Abdus Salam Library will take place in the next academic year.