Atta-ur-Rahman (chemist)

Atta-ur-Rahman was born on 22 September 1942 in Delhi, British Raj (today's Republic of India) into an Urdu-speaking academic family.[7] His grandfather, Sir Abdur Rahman, was a vice-chancellor of the University of Delhi (1934–38) who briefly served as a judge at the Madras High Court.[8]

In 1946, Abdur Rahman was appointed as vice-chancellor of the Punjab University in Lahore, eventually relocating his family there, a year before the Partition of India took place.[8] Abdur Rahman eventually became a Senior Justice at the Supreme Court of Pakistan in 1949.[8] His father, Jamil-ur-Rahman, was a lawyer who established a cotton ginning textile industry in Okara, Punjab, Pakistan.[8] After settling in Karachi in 1952, he passed the competitive O-Level and A-Level from the Karachi Grammar School and joined Karachi University.[8]

Attending Karachi University in 1960, Rahman graduated with a bachelor's degree (with honors) in chemistry in 1963.[8][9] He obtained a Master of Science (MSc) in organic chemistry in 1964 with first class and 1st position, and lectured at Karachi University for a year before receiving a Commonwealth Scholarship for doctoral studies in the United Kingdom.[8] He joined King's College at the University of Cambridge and resumed research in natural products under John Harley-Mason.[9] In 1968, Rahman received a Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) in organic chemistry; the subjects of his doctoral thesis were natural products and organic materials.[10][8] He was elected as a fellow of King's College, University of Cambridge in 1969 and continued his research at Cambridge University until 1973.[11] During that period, he is credited with correcting the earlier work of the Nobel Laureate Sir Robert Robinson on the chemistry of harmaline.[12] Later in 2007, he was appointed as an honorary life fellow of King's College Cambridge.[13]

In 1964, Rahman joined the Karachi University as a lecturer in undergraduate chemistry.[14] He remained associated with the Cambridge University between 1969 and 1973, and is presently honorary Life Fellow at the King's College of the Cambridge University.[14] In 1977, he became the co-director of the Hussain Ebrahim Jamal Research Institute of Chemistry at University of Karachi; eventually he was ascended as the Director in 1990.[14] In 1979, Rahman did the post-doctoral research at the University of Tübingen. Upon returning to Pakistan, he joined Karachi University where he lectures and taught chemistry.[14] He was appointed Professor Emeritus at University of Karachi for life.[15]

He carried out important studies on the synthesis of anti-cancer alkaloids present in the plant Catharanthus roseus and analytical studies on organic compounds involving circular dichroism and is generally recognized as bringing a huge positive change in the development of science and technology as well as higher education in Pakistan.[16][17]

His book entitled "Stereoselctive Synthesis in Organic Chemistry" (Springer-Verlag) was termed a monumental contribution in the field by the Nobel Laureate Sir Derek Barton in the foreword of the book written by him.[18] His book entitled "NMR Spectroscopy-Basic Principles" was published by Springer-Verlag and translated into Japanese for use in university courses in Japan [19] The Nobel Laureate Herbert C. Brown applauded the contributions of Rahman in science and technology.[20]

• Fellow, King's College, Cambridge University (1969–1973, 2007– for Life)[21]
• Professor at H.E.J. Research Institute of Chemistry at Karachi University[22]
• Professor Emeritus at H.E.J. Research Institute of Chemistry at Karachi University (2012)[23]
• Coordinator General of COMSTECH(1996–2012)[24]
• Federal Minister of Science & Technology (2000–2002)[10][25]
• Federal Minister of Education (2002)[26][27]
• Federal Minister/Chairman, Higher Education Commission, Pakistan (resigned due to govt issues)(2002–2008)[10][26]
• Advisor to the Prime Minister of Pakistan on Science and Technology(2002–2008)[28]

After securing the fellowship of the Pakistan Academy of Sciences, Rahman had been affiliated with the Pakistan government regarding education and science affairs.[14] From 1996 until 2012, Rahman served in the board of directors of the Committee on Scientific and Technological Cooperation, representing Pakistan's delegation.[14] In 1997, Rahman served as the Coordinator General of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation's (OIC) Committee on Scientific and Technological Cooperation (COMSTECH) that comprised 57 Ministers of Science and Technology from 57 OIC member countries.[29] In recognition of his scientific transformation of Pakistan and building a large number of Centers of Excellence in the country as well as promoting scientific research, Rahman was conferred the TWAS Prize in Institution Building, in Durban, South Africa in 2009.[30] Atta-ur-Rahman has seved as the co-chairman of UN ESCAP.[31]

In 1999, he joined the Ministry of Science and Technology (MoSci) as its minister, assisting in drafting the official science policy of the country. In 2002, he was appointed as minister of the Ministry of Education (MoEd) as well as becoming the chairman of the Higher Education Commission (HEC) until resigning in 2008.[32] Atta-ur-Rahman has also served as Chairman of the Prime Ministers National Task Force on Science and Technology, Co Chairman of Prime Ministers National Task Force on Information Technology and Telecommunications,[33] and Vice Chairman of the Prime Ministers Task Force on Technology Driven Knowledge Economy [34] during the years 2019 to 2022. He is the President of the Network of Science of Organisation of Islamic Countries (NASIC) [35]

Atta-ur-Rahman receiving an award from the Minister of Higher Education of Austria for revolutionary changes brought about to uplift higher education sector in Pakistan.

Atta-ur-Rahman receiving UNESCO Science Prize at World Congress on Science in Budapest Hungary (1999)

Atta-ur-Rahman (middle) after receiving the International Science and Technology Collaboration Award, from President Xi Jinping on 10 January 2020

Atta-ur-Rahman Institute of Natural Product Discovery established in Universiti Teknologi, Mara, near Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia

Atta-ur-Rahman has been selected as one of the 500 most influential personalities of the Islamic World.[36] Institutions have been named after Rahman in China,[37] the Atta-ur-Rahman Institute for Natural Product Discovery (AuRIns) in Malaysia[38][39] and the Academician Professor Atta-ur-Rahman One Belt and One Road TCM Research Center were named after Rahman,[40] as well as the Atta-ur-Rahman School of Applied Biosciences at the National University of Sciences & Technology (Islamabad, Pakistan)[41] and the Atta-ur-Rahman Laboratories, International Center for Chemical and Biological Sciences at the University of Karachi (Karachi, Pakistan).[42] The US Publisher ARKAT USA has published a special issue of the journal Arkivoc, Vol 2007, in honour of Atta-ur-Rahman FRS which had contributions from top scientists in the field of natural product chemistry.[43] Similarly, the international journal Molecules published by the Swiss publisher MDPI published a special issue of the journal in honour of Atta-ur-Rahman.[44] The World Academy of Science, Italy has introduced a special Prize in his honour (TWAS-Atta-ur-Rahman Award in Chemistry) for young scientists which is awarded once every two years.[45] In recognition of his eminent contributions, Prof. Atta-ur-Rahman has received honorary doctorate degrees from many universities including the University of Cambridge (UK), Coventry University (UK), Bradford University (UK), Universiti Teknologi Mara (Malaysia), Asian Institute of Teknologi (Thailand), University of Karachi (Pakistan), Gomal University (Pakistan), and several other universities [46]

• H.E.J. Research Institute of Chemistry
• Higher Education Commission
• Salimuzzaman Siddiqui
• Civil decorations of Pakistan

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Atta-ur-Rahman.

• Official website
• Profile at IAS Website
• Pakistani leaders.com, Dr_Atta_ur_Rehman