Ishrat Hussain Usmani | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Dr. I. H. Usmani (1917–92) | |
| Born | (1917-04-15)15 April 1917 |
| Died | 17 June 1992(1992-06-17) (aged 75) |
| Alma mater | Aligarh Muslim University Bombay University London University |
| Known for | Nuclear arms control |
| Awards |  Nishan-i-Imtiaz (1998) |
| Scientific career | |
| Fields | Atomic physics |
| Institutions | Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission (PAEC) International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) |
| Thesis | A study of the growth of compound crystals by electron diffraction (1939) |
| Doctoral advisor | Niels Bohr |
| Other academic advisors | George Paget Thomson |
Ishrat Hussain Usmani (Urdu: عشرت حسین عثمانی) (15 April 1917 – 17 June 1992)NI, best known asI. H. Usmani, was aPakistaniatomic physicist, and later apublic official who chaired thePakistan Atomic Energy Commission (PAEC) from 1960 to 1971 as well as overseeing the establishment of theSpace Research Commission.
His career was mostly spent in theGovernment of Pakistan as apublic policy official where he pushed for peaceful and commercial usage of thenuclear energy, and later worked onarms control withMinistry of Defense to become a party ofPartial Nuclear Test Ban Treaty in 1963 before joining theInternational Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) as the Chair ofits Board of Governors.[1] Usmani oversaw thenuclear power generation in Pakistan, working towards commissioning thenuclear power grid station in Karachi, and strengthened the role of the atomic energy commission at theUnited Nations.[2]
Ishrat Hussain Usmani was born inDelhi inIndia on 15 April 1917.: 54 [3]: 619 [4] Usmani hailed from an educated,cultured, andgentry class, having completed hisschooling inAligarh.: 13 [2] Usmani attended theSt. Xavier's College inBombay, and graduated withBSc withhonors inphysics from theBombay University in 1936.: 13 [2] His graduation from the Bombay University was noted in the localIndian press for being the first in thePresidency's Physics and Mathematics Group.: 57 [5] Usmani continued his education in physics and went to attend theAligarh Muslim University (AMU) where he attained hisMSc in physics.: 57 [5] Usmani went to theUnited Kingdom to attend the doctoral program in physics at theImperial College inLondon, to work underGeorge Paget Thomson onelectron diffraction.[6] At Imperial College, Usmani qualified forDiploma of Imperial College (DIC).[7]
Usmani later joinedNiels Bohr at theLondon University to continue his investigation on the electron diffraction throughcrystallization, and submitted his thesis under the supervision of Dr. Bohr, titled: "A study of the growth of compound crystals by electron diffraction" in 1939.[8] His early work and investigation was based on the crystallization,lattice arrangement, andatomic properties ofUranium.[7]
In 1941, Usmani was conferred withPhD in atomic physics, just aged 23, and subsequently returned toIndia in 1942, where he qualified for the examination for theIndian Civil Service (ICS).[6] Rather than seeking teaching career in physics at theIndian universities, Usmani joined the Indian Civil Service in a view of seeking an employment opportunity with theIndian government, and served as anICS officer inMadras Presidency from 1942 to 1947.: 13 [2][7]
After thepartition of India in 1947 by theUnited Kingdom, Usmani, who had decided to never teach physics at the university, chose to continue hispublic service with theGovernment of Pakistan, serving in various federal agencies including his role as Chief Controller of Imports and Exports with theMinistry of Finance.: 13 [2] He built up his prestige in the federal government and was noted by PresidentAyub Khan for his doctorate in physics who could advise the federal government on scientific matters, especially ways ofelectricity generation in Pakistan besideshydroelectricity.[7]
In 1959,Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, then-Minister of Energy in theAyub administration, lobbied to appoint Usmani to the corporate administration of thePakistan Atomic Energy Commission that was being chaired by Dr.Nazir Ahmed, and eventually took its chairmanship in 1960.[9] Under his chairmanship, Usmani engaged the PAEC towards the peaceful usage ofnuclear energy for greater industrial output, and supported the American initiatives forAtoms for Peace.: 14 [2] Usmani launched the PAEC scholarship program that selected 50 of the brightest students inphysical science,mathematics, and engineering to pursue higher education in the United States, namely attending theUniversity of North Carolina,Massachusetts Institute of Technology,Pennsylvania State University, and theUniversity of Michigan.: 14 [2] Funding of the students was not restricted to study in United States but also inUnited Kingdom andCanada.: 14 [2] In addition, Usmani placed a request to his American friends, Dr.Alvin Martin Weinberg and Dr. Robert Charpi, to allow Pakistan's foreign exchange students to carry out their research atOak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) andArgonne National Laboratory (ANL), asking them to arrange an on-the-job training program at their sites.: 15 [2]
In 1961, Usmani commissioned the American firms, the Gibbs and Hill and Internuclear Company, to conduct feasibility and standard study for the establishment of nuclear power plants, whose recommendations became the standard for the PAEC's construction of nuclear power industry in the country.: 15 [2] Usmani also provided his support toPlanning Commission andGeological Survey (GSP) to independently conduct surveys for the construction of the power plant, and engaged in negotiation with theInternational Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) for financial and further support for the power plant to be constructed inKarachi, known as theKarachi Nuclear Power Plant (KANUPP).: 15 [2] In 1967, Usmani played a pivotal role in securing the federal funding for establishing theInstitute of Nuclear Science and Technology nearIslamabad– a visionary national laboratory site functioning under Dr.Abdus Salam, a theoretical physicist.: 15 [2] He helped negotiate the establishment of the Institute by speaking with the American architect,Edward Durrell Stone, and oversaw the final construction of theInstitute of Nuclear Science and Technology by 1967–68.: 15–16 [2]
Usmani also took great interest inspace exploration by helping Dr.Abdus Salam establishing theSpace Research Commission in 1961, serving as its deputy director, and soughtNASA's helped in his nation's firstrocket launching program.[10][6]
Usmani was well known for his support for theanti-nuclear weapons movement, and saw the American 'Project Plowshare' tests for using nuclear bombs to create artificial lakes as ineffective and insignificant.[7] In 1967–70, he worked with theMinistry of Defense on nuclear arms control by advising theYahya administration.[7] At one point, Usmani refused to allow a team of Pakistani scientists to participate in the American testing because he believed,"Pakistan would not be benefitted at all due to the technology Pakistanis at that time were unfamiliar with it.[clarify][7] In 1964, he deplored thePeople's Republic of China's first nuclear test, 'Project 596', but congratulated the Chinese scientists for their achievement while cautiously stressing for the Chinese to focus towards increasing living standards and theirgross national product (GNP) rather than conducting atomic tests.: 173 [11][7]
He also rebuffedHomi J. Bhabha's claim of India following the American nuclear tests, and viewed negatively India's claims of their first test, 'Smiling Buddha' being a"peaceful" atomic test in 1974.[7] In 1971, there was a serious diplomatic incident when PAEC'sDhaka Center complained of theair quality when it detected nuclear particles that originated from China, Usmani reportedly shared the data with Americans when thePakistan Air Forces' (PAF)Boeing WC-135 Constant Phoenix was flown on a secretive air sampling mission over China— this matter was quietly closed between China and Pakistan.: 91 [12]
By 1971, PAEC had become a world leading nuclear organization and focused their role towards the advancement of science and technology while developing the nuclear power generation program,accompanying the officials at the commissioning services of theKANUPP-I– Pakistan's first nuclear power plant.[clarify][9] As Chairman of the PAEC, Usmani tried advising fornuclear arms control to theBhutto administration by keeping theirnuclear capability as discreet as possible to prevent unwanted international attention. Usmani was widely notorious at PAEC for disrupting research on nuclear materials by transferring scientists to non-technical and corporate positions.: 91 [12] Usmani also strongly objected and vocally disagreed with the appointment of Dr.Mubashir Hassan, an engineer with doctorate incivil engineering, asFinance Minister who was looking after the PAEC's operational scope.: 90 [12]
On 20 January 1972, PresidentZulfikar Ali Bhutto relieved Usmani from the Chairmanship by appointingMunir Ahmad Khan, a reactor physicist, in his place.: 90 [12]: 11 [13] Usmani was dispatched to theMinistry of Science and Technology as itsSecretary, remaining involved withthe PAEC's matter,[clarify] and continued lobbying for arms control.: 90 [12] This appointment remained short when he was fired from the position and dispatched to theMinistry of Education.: 11 [13]
In 1974, Usmani was reassigned in the Bhutto administration when he was appointed as theEducation Secretary at theMinistry of Education. He retired from the public service in 1976.: 11 [13] He accepted a position at theUN Environment Program, and relocated toNew York City in theUnited States.: 11 [13] He advised onsolar radiation management until 1978 when he left to join theInternational Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).[9]
In 1978,Mohammad Rezā Pahlavi, the Shah of Iran, contacted Usmani to advise theIranian nuclear program, asking him for scientific recommendations to establish theBushehr Nuclear Power Plant but he never visited Iran due to theIranian Revolution.[9]
Even at the IAEA, he remained concerned aboutnuclear proliferation and called for arms control when he published an articleNucleonics Week in 1981, in which he claimed that Pakistan'satomic bomb program has been a failure and is unlikely ever to be capable of producing even the crudest ofnuclear devices— therefore the program is near collapse.[14] Although, Usmani was notified and knew well that the atomic bomb project was a complete success, the program has gone mature, and the critical phase of producing the fissile cores had been achieved since 1978.[14] His publication played an influential role in convincing the United States' policy to ease off the nuclear embargo on Pakistan.[14]
He remained with the IAEA until 1985 when he joined theBank of Credit and Commerce International (BCCI) to oversee the funding and construction of theUniversity of Computer and Emerging Sciences and theGhulam Ishaq Khan Institute of Technology.[9] He remained associated with the BCCI until 1991 when he retired and returned to Pakistan after 17 years. While in Pakistan, Usmani became a consultant of the New and Emerging Sciences and Technology (NEST)— a scientific think tank based in Pakistan.[9]
Usmani returned to Pakistan in 1991 where he bought an estate inKarachi,Sindh, and died on 17 June 1992.[6] In his country, Usmanis' advocacy for nuclear arms control and civil use of nuclear power remains popular.[6]
During his public service, Usmani successfully presented the idea of Scientific Services, where scientists could seek promising career and permanent employment with the federal government, which many of his peers and scientists did.[6] In May 1998, Usmani was posthumously recognized for his services when he was conferred with his nation's highest honor, theNishan-i-Imtiaz.[6]
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