Atish Dabholkar, a theoretical physicist known for research on string theory and quantum black holes, has been appointed the next director of the Italy-based International Centre for Theoretical Physics founded in 1963 by Nobel laureate Abdus Salam of Pakistan.
India-born Dabholkar, 53, will succeed Fernando Quevedo in the role from November, according to an ICTP announcement welcomed by the London-based family of Salam, who passed away in 1996 after a path-breaking career in theoretical physics.
Dabholkar is the second Indian appointed to the post in ICTP history after Katepalli Sreenivasan, who was Quevedo’s predecessor. Dabholkar is currently the head of the High Energy, Cosmology and Astroparticle Physics section of ICTP based in Trieste, north-east Italy.
Ahmad Salam, son of Abdus Salam, said: “The four directors since my father have been from developing countries and have been first class physicists in their own right. But more than this the nationality of the director is totally irrelevant”.
‘Dabholkar a strong physicist, has empathy and understanding’
“The fact that he (Dabholkar) is a strong physicist and has empathy and understanding, and background from the developing countries is key. Naturally we are delighted the steering committee has chosen a renowned physicist and someone who knows the ICTP family and system so well”.
“We are delighted to welcome Atish and look forward to working with him on the Spirit of Salam Award and supporting Atish in any way that we can”, Salam added.
Dabholkar’s research includes investigations that build on Abdus Salam’s Nobel-winning work on electroweak unification: “Salam’s work was an important milestone leading to the questions I’m working on”, he says.
Winner of the 2006 Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Award for Science and Technology, Dabholkar is a graduate of the IIT, Kanpur, and earned a PhD in theoretical physics from Princeton University, followed by postdoctoral and research positions at Rutgers University, Harvard University and the California Institute of Technology.
Until 2010, he was a professor of theoretical physics at the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research, Mumbai, and has been a visiting professor at Stanford University and a Visiting Scientist at CERN. He joined ICTP in 2014 on secondment from Sorbonne Université and the National Center for Scientific Research.
‘Great honour to be chosen as ICTP’s next director’
Dabholkar said on his appointment: “It’s a great honour and responsibility to be chosen as ICTP’s next director. ICTP is a dynamic organization with a very high level of research and a unique global mission for international cooperation through science”.
“It was envisioned as an international hub for excellence in science and as an anchor for building scientific capacity and a culture of science around the globe. This vision remains valid today, more than 50 years since its founding, but requires flexibility to meet changing realities and priorities.”
The ICTP said Dabholkar’s appointment comes at a time of its expansion. Over the past 10 years, the current director, Quevedo, has reinforced its commitment and contribution to world-class theoretical physics research by hiring more researchers and creating new research initiatives in quantitative life sciences, high performance computing, renewable energies and quantum technology.
“Directing ICTP is a once in a lifetime opportunity due to its unique mission and its big impact in developing countries. I am glad that when I leave in November the institute will be in very good hands,” said Quevedo.
