Pervez Hoodbhoy

Pervez Hoodbhoy is a prominent nuclear physicist, educator, and outspoken public intellectual. After earning a PhD in nuclear physics from MIT, he spent over forty years teaching at Quaid-i-Azam University in Islamabad while advocating for secularism, scientific literacy, and rational public discourse. Hoodbhoy is a long-time member of the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, where he is part of the board that annually sets the Doomsday Clock, raising global awareness of nuclear risks — especially those in South Asia. A vocal critic of nuclear armament and religious extremism, he authored Islam and Science: Religious Orthodoxy and the Battle for Rationality (1991), warning against ideological influences in education. As founder and president of The Black Hole, a non-profit, open-to-all, educational and intellectual space for science, art and culture in Islamabad, Hoodbhoy continues his efforts for education in Pakistan.