ISLAMABAD, May 10: The chairman, Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission, Pervez Butt, said a balanced approach between theoretical research and practical application was necessary for prosperity under the present socio-economic condition.
He was speaking at the inauguration of the Abdus Salam International Centre for Theoretical Physics (ICTP), Pakistan chapter, here at the Comsats headquarters on Friday.
He said the PAEC had embarked on public service endeavours in energy, agriculture and medicine.
He paid tributes to Dr Abdus Salam, and said he played a significant role in the development of science and technology, and the establishment of International Centre for Theoretical Physics in Trieste, Italy.
He urged the scientists to take full benefit of the centre for further research and development activities in different fields.
He assured the centre that the PAEC would support it and expressed the hope that it would prove to be another landmark in the history of scientific research and development in Pakistan.
Mr Butt said the centre had built an extensive infrastructure for the industrial support of the country.
The PAEC started with Pinstech as research and development centre and later developed into a multi-faceted and multi- disciplinary source of engineering, physical sciences, agriculture and medicine, he said.
Comsats’ executive director Dr Hameed Ahmad Khan said Pakistan was a major beneficiary of the ICTP programmes and activities.
“The ICTP has assisted our scientists in their research work, thus giving them the opportunity to interact with other scientists of international repute,” he added. The president of ICTP, Pakistan Chapter, N.M. Butt, said each year about 4,000 scientists from different parts of the world visited the ICTP in Italy, and more than 70,000 scientists from 170 countries and 45 international organizations had participated in the centre’s academic activities since 1964.
APP ADDS: The PAEC chairman said the commission had adopted support-industry approach to achieve high yield in different sectors.
In the agriculture sector, he said the commission had developed new high yield pest resistance crop varieties which had helped increase production.
He said the commission also developed a laser-land leveller which resulted in 50 per cent saving of irrigation water.