A physics professor from Pakistan, whose outspoken viewpoints have been attacked by both militarist and religious factions, will discuss the lack of interest in science in Islamic countries and its long-term effects in a lecture at the University of Rochester.
Pervez Hoodbhoy will talk about "The Teaching of Science as a Subversive Activity" at 7 p.m. Wednesday, April 17, in the Welles-Brown Room in Rush Rhees Library on the River Campus. He teaches at Quaid-e-Azam University in Islamabad.
Hoodbhoy received his Bachelor of Science, Master of Science, and doctoral degrees from Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and maintains close research ties with MIT and the University of Maryland. He has been the recipient of the Abdus Salam Prize for Mathematics and the Baker Award for Electronics.
In addition to his scientific work, Hoodbhoy has written and spoken extensively on issues in nuclear disarmament and is the author of Islam and Science: Religious Orthodoxy and the Battle for Rationality. An outspoken humanist and scientist, he has been persecuted for his activities on such issues as democratic freedoms, ecology, arms control, and disarmament.
The program is free and open to the public and is presented by the Departments of Physics and Astronomy and of Religion and Classics. For more information, (585) 275-5378.