Zia Mian

Zia Mian
Born	Lahore, Punjab province, Pakistan
Residence	Princeton, New Jersey, New Jersey, United States of America.
Citizenship	Pakistan and United States (Dual citizenship)
Nationality	Pakistani-American
Fields	Physics
Institutions	Princeton University U.S Yale University Quaid-i-Azam University, Pakistan
Alma mater	Newcastle University, Newcastle upon Tyne, United Kingdom
Known for	Nuclear disarmament, global security, Arms Control/Nuclear nonproliferation, security in South Asia, and the Pakistani Atomic Program.

Zia Mian (Urdu: ضياء میاں ) is a Pakistani-American physicist, nuclear expert, nuclear policy maker and research scientist at Princeton University. Dr. Zia Mian is also a prominent peace activist and a strong supporter of non-nuclear proliferation, nuclear disarmament, and peaceful use of nuclear technology. However, he has strongly supported Pakistan's peaceful nuclear program in many international forums and conferences.

He has also criticized Pakistan's and India's nuclear weapon programs in many international forums. He was a staunch critic of President Bush's policies in South Asia and especially in Pakistan, and he heavily criticized President Bush's policies toward the War on Terror. He is a sponsor of The Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists.

Currently, he is the director of the Project on Peace and Security in South Asia, at the Program on Science and Global Security. He is the editor of several books, his books heavily focus on the issues concerning nuclear science, nuclear technology, and Science and technology in Pakistan. Zia Mia has played a pivotal role in Pakistan's peaceful use of nuclear technology and helped make two documentary films on peace and security in South Asia. Mian has been listed as one of the 15 Asian Scientists To Watch by Asian Scientist Magazine on 15 May 2011.^[1]

Biography

Zia Mian was born in Lahore, Punjab, Pakistan. He received his early education from Lahore and later migrated to United Kingdom with his family. He attended Newcastle University, Newcastle upon Tyne, UK, where he received his B.Sc in Physics; later he received his M.Sc and Ph.D from the same institution. He then came back to Pakistan where he joined Quaid-i-Azam University as a Geophysics professor. In 1994, he went to United States and taught at Yale University. In 1997, he joined Princeton University as a research scientist. At Princeton, he continues to research in non-nuclear proliferation, nuclear disarmament, global security issues.

Mian was a strong critic of the President of the United States, George W. Bush's policies in the South Asia particularly Pakistan. Zia Mian began criticizing President Bush after President Bush visited India and met with Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to sign a nuclear deal. According to Mian, neglecting Pakistan in nuclear issues, will intensify a nuclear arms race between Pakistan and India. Zia Mian also criticized Bush regarding his policies in Afghanistan by saying that Talibans insurgency has increased, and that NATO and American forces in Afghanistan, had not introduced any social and economic reforms there. He so said that the Taliban was also destabilizing the adjacent country Pakistan.

Role in Pakistan's Nuclear Policy

Dr. Zia Mian played a significant role in Pakistan's nuclear policy. He is seen widely with respect in Pakistan's Nuclear Society. He also helped the Higher Education Commission of Pakistan to build and establish particle accelerators in Pakistan's universities. Zia Mia also advocated for civilian nuclear power plants in Pakistan. Dr. Zia Mian also assisted then-Prime Minister of Pakistan, Shaukat Aziz to establish particle accelerators in the universities of Pakistan.

Academic career in Pakistani and American Universities

He briefly taught at Yale University and Quaid-i-Azam University, Islamabad as a non-faculty member. He has worked at the Union of Concerned Scientists, Cambridge (Massachusetts), and at the Sustainable Development Policy Institute, Islamabad. He is Associate Editor of Science & Global Security, an international journal for peer-reviewed scientific and technical. In 1997, Dr. Zia Mian joined Princeton University as a research scientist.

Mian is also on the advisory board of FFIPP-USA (Faculty for Israeli-Palestinian Peace-USA), a network of Palestinian, Israeli, and International faculty, and students, working in for an end of the Israeli occupation of Palestinian territories and just peace.

Documentary films

In 2004, Dr. Zia Mian, along with well-known Pakistani Nuclear Physicist Dr. Pervez Hoodbhoy, produced two documentary films focusing on nuclear issues. In an Interview, Dr. Mian said "The aim of the film was to challenge the national stories common in India, Pakistan and Kashmir and to make a case for living together in plural and diverse democratic societies rather than fighting over borders."

Crossing the Lines: Kashmir, Pakistan, India (2004)
Pakistan and India Under the Nuclear Shadow (2001)

Journals and Scientific Papers

Nuclear War in South Asia with Matthew McKinzie, Zia Mian and A. H. Nayyar,
The Nuclear Confrontation in South Asia with Zia Mian,
Feeding potential for South Asia’s nuclear fire with Zia Mian and Frank von Hippel
Fissile Materials in South Asia and the Implications of the U.S.-India Nuclear Deal with Zia Mian, A.H. Nayyar, and R. Rajaraman, p
Stepping away from the Nuclear Abyss with Zia Mian
Beyond Missile Defense with Andrew Lichterman, Zia Mian and Jurgen Scheffran
Nuclear War in South Asia with Matthew McKinzie, Zia Mian and A. H. Nayyar
Wrong Ends, Means, and Needs: Behind the U.S. Nuclear Deal with India with Zia Mia
A time of testing?, Zia Mian and A.H. Nayyar
Perspectives - Sanctions: Lift 'em, Pervez Hoodbhoy, Zia Mian
Plutonium dispersal and health hazards from nuclear weapon accidents, Zia Mian, M V Ramana, R Rajaraman
THE NEXT GENERATION OF NUCLEAR WEAPONS - Global debate - SOUTH ASIA, RUSSIA, CHINA & THE MIDDLE EAST - ZIA MIAN, M. V. RAMANA, ALEXANDER A. PIKAYEV, DINGLI SHEN & SAIDEH LOTFIAN warn that RRW might prompt states to reevaluate their nuclear postures—And not for the better. Zia Mian, M V Ramana, Alexander A Pikayev, Dingli Shen, Saideh Lotfian
Resource Letter PSNAC-1: Physics and society: Nuclear arms control Alexander Glaser, Zia Mian
Response to Zia Mian's 'How Not to Handle Nuclear Security'
Nuclear Passions and Interests:The Founding of Atomic Pakistan by Zia Mian

Bibliography

The nuclear debate: Ironies and immoralities (1998)
Out of the Nuclear Shadow (2002)
Memories of Fire (2006)
Forestalling Another Rain of Ruin: The Need to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (2008)
Rule of Force vs. Rule of Law in Pakistan (2008)
Pakistan’s Atomic Bomb and the Search for Security (2001)
South Asian cultures of the bomb: atomic publics and the state in India and Pakistan

References

↑ "The Ultimate List Of 15 Asian Scientists To Watch – Zia Mian". AsianScientist.com. May 15, 2011. Retrieved June 6, 2011.

External links

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