In Memoriam

Riazuddin, born November 1930, passed away on September 9, 2013 after an extended illness. A distinguished Pakistani theorist, he published extensively on various problems in elementary particle physics. Working under the supervision of Abdus Salam, he obtained his PhD from Cambridge University in 1958 on the problem of pions and charge symmetry breaking in the nucleon system, and followed it up by an important work on hadron mass differences resulting from chiral symmetry breaking.

Riazuddin's book, Theory of Weak Interactions in Particle Physics, coauthored with Robert Marshak and Ciaran Ryan, turned out to be a classic text for a generation of particle theorists in the 1970s. He authored over a dozen other books, including introductory ones in quantum mechanics and particle physics. His most widely quoted research used current algebra to relate the rho-meson decay constant to the pion decay constant and goes under the name of KSRF relation. It was written in collaboration with his twin brother Fayyazuddin, with whom he coauthored numerous papers. In later years he turned towards a broad range of problems in strong and weak interactions, modeling neutrino oscillations, and took a keen interest in graphene physics.

As the founder-director of the physics institute at Islamabad University in the late 1960s, which later became the physics department of Quaid-e-Azam University, Riazuddin was instrumental in bringing together a number of high-energy theorists and in creating a strong and active group that maintained links with ICTP. It had a globally visible profile in the 1970s and 1980s, and was the only such group at the time. It has never been replaced. But dissatisfaction with an insensitive university bureaucracy and leadership led to Riazuddin's resignation from QAU, after which he spent several years at the King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals in Saudi Arabia. Returning to Islamabad, long after his other colleagues had retired or left, he continued teaching at QAU almost to the end of his life. He will also be remembered for creating the National Centre for Physics on the QAU campus, although this particular endeavour was not as fruitful.

A man of gentle disposition and exceedingly soft-spoken, Riazuddin came from a modest middle-class background. He was was born in Ludhiana in British Punjab. After the 1947 partition of India the family migrated to Lahore. Of impeccable integrity, and supremely above the nasty work-place politics around him, he was inspired in numerous ways by his mentor, Abdus Salam. He worked quietly but effectively to help physics grow in Pakistan. In particular, he set up a scholarship fund for needy students from his personal funds, and then initiated and directed a summer school on physics and contemporary needs. His autobiography which, among other issues, lays out his personal journey on the issue of nuclear weapons, remains incomplete. It is unclear at this point whether it will be published.

by Pervez Hoodbhoy