Mathematics Success

Ayesha Asloob Qureshi, a former postdoctoral fellow in ICTP's Mathematics section, is one of the first recipients of the Abdus Salam Medal (ASM) of the National Mathematical Society of Pakistan (NMSP). Qureshi, who was at ICTP from 2013 to 2014, is currently an assistant professor at Sabanci University, Turkey, working in the area of commutative algebra.

She shares the prize with Sahibzada Waleed Noor of the University of Campinas, Brazil, who works in the area of complex analysis and operator theory. The award ceremony was held on 17 February 2018 in Lahore. Qureshi was cited by the selection committee for "her remarkable papers published in good journals with a high impact on combinatorial commutative algebra. The concepts and ideas introduced by Qureshi continue to give rise to new and interesting developments in our field."

Created in 2017, the ASM recognizes young Pakistani mathematicians who have received their doctoral degree within the last ten years. According to the NMSP, the award is meant to send a clear message to a new generation of mathematicians in Pakistan that dedicating oneself to serious mathematics and overcoming the temptation of short-term incentives and shortcuts will bring rewards and international recognition.

ICTP's Mathematics section, with its long tradition of building mathematics capacity in developing countries, played an active role in evaluating candidates for the first ASM award. Specifically, ICTP mathematician Stefano Luzzatto served on the international selection panel.

"It is the rigorous evaluation process put in place by an international panel of mathematicians that makes the ASM the most prestigious Pakistani award for young mathematicians," said Alla Ditta Raza Choudary, the former Director General of the Abdus Salam School of Mathematical Sciences in Pakistan.

In April 2015, the NMSP created the Abdus Salam Shield of Honor (ASSH) to recognize the life-time achievements of a senior mathematician of Pakistani origin. The award is given to someone who sacrificed his or her working life pursuing serious mathematical research at the possible cost of short-term career incentives and high publication counts. The first recipient of this award was Professor Hassan Azad of King Fahad University of Petroleum and Minerals, Saudi Arabia.