Pantur Silaban

Pantur Silaban (11 November 1937 – 1 August 2022) was an Indonesian physicist, regarded as one of the foremost in his profession in Indonesia, especially in the field of theoretical physics. He was also one of the earliest physicists from ASEAN countries who studied Einstein's general relativity theories in depth.

Pantur Silaban
Born(1937-11-11)11 November 1937
Sidikalang, Dairi, Dutch East Indies
Died1 August 2022(2022-08-01) (aged 84)[1]
Bandung, West Java, Indonesia
Alma mater
Known forTheory of General Relativity
SpouseRugun br. Lumbantoruan
Children
  • Anna
  • Ruth
  • Sarah
  • Mary
Scientific career
FieldsPhysics, theory of relativity, quantum theory
InstitutionsBandung Institute of Technology
ThesisNull Tetrad, Formulation of the Equation of Motion in General Relativity (1971)
Doctoral advisorPeter G. Bergmann

Early life

Pantur Silaban was born in Sumatra to Israel Silaban and Regina Lumbantoruan in Dairi regency in Sumatra, Indonesia.

He finished his bachelor's degree in physics from Bandung Institute of Technology, Indonesia in 1964.[2]

Career

In 1967, Silaban went to United States to study General Relativity theory at Central Studies of Gravitation at Syracuse University under direction of Peter Bergmann and Joshua N. Goldberg who were among the authoritative experts in general relativity after Albert Einstein. Here, Silaban went furthermore to study one of the hottest topics in physics at the time which tried to unify quantum field and general relativity to find quantum gravity theory. It is one of Einstein's dreams which had tried but failed to formalize the fourth interaction in the universe into one single theory called Grand Unified Theory.

Instead of insisting to work on quantum gravity, Silaban eventually followed the advice of Goldberg to change the subject for his dissertation: to amputate the principle of General Relativity using Poincare Group to find a physical quantity that is conserved in gravitational radiation. These findings confirmed the Big Bang as a model for the formation of the Universe rather than the other models.[3] Silaban finished his dissertation with the title "Null Tetrad, Formulation of the Equation of Motion in General Relativity" in 1971.[4][5]

Three years later Joshua Goldberg – who produces many important physics treatises published in major journals such as Physical Review D, Journal of Mathematical Physics, and Journal of Geometrical Physics – referred to Silaban's work on his paper, Conservation Equations and Equations of Motion in the Null Formalism.[6]

A year after completing his dissertation, Silaban went back to Bandung in 1972 and taught at the Department of Physics, Bandung Institute of Technology. Silaban is the first Indonesian scientist who studied General Relativity to a doctoral level. Besides general relativity, he also studied Particle physics.

Silaban became a full professor at ITB in 1995.[7] Less than a month after Bergmann died, Silaban retired from ITB in November 2002 at the age of 65.[8] For his contribution to science, especially physics, Freedom Institute – Center of Democracy, Nationalism, and Market Economy Studies awarded him Achmad Bakrie Award in 2009.[9]

References
  1. "Fisikawan Pantur Silaban Wafat, Konsisten Meneliti Teori Einstein". Tempo. Retrieved 2 August 2022.
  2. Sirait, P. Hasudungan; Naipospos, Nabisuk. "Si Jenius Fisika dari Tanah Batak : PANTUR SILABAN – Dari Snellius ke Einstein" (in Indonesian). Retrieved 7 June 2014.
  3. Sirait, P. Hasudungan; Naipospos, Nabisuk. "Si Jenius Fisika dari Tanah Batak : PANTUR SILABAN – Dari Snellius ke Einstein" (in Indonesian). Retrieved 6 December 2016.
  4. "Lebih jauh dengan Pantur Silaban" (in Indonesian). Retrieved 7 June 2014.
  5. Silaban, Pantur (1971). Null Tetrad Formulation of the Equations of Motion in General Relativity. Syracuse University. Bibcode:1971PhDT.......168S.
  6. Goldberg, Joshua N. (1974). "Conservation Equations and Equations of Motion in the Null Formalism". General Relativity and Gravitation. 5 (2): 183–200. Bibcode:1974GReGr...5..183G. doi:10.1007/BF00763500. S2CID 119825205.
  7. "The Pantur Silaban: From Snellius To Einstein" (in Indonesian). Silaban Brotherhood. Archived from the original on 15 October 2008. Retrieved 15 October 2008.
  8. Simanungkalit,Salomo (8 March 2003). "Cucu Murid Einstein Itu Kini Pensiun" (in Indonesian). Retrieved 19 August 2015.
  9. Siswanto, Mohammad Adam (16 August 2009). "Murid Einstein Peraih Achmad Bakrie Award" (in Indonesian). Retrieved 19 August 2015.
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