Fahad Mahmood

The Loomis Confessions: Fahad Mahmood

If you couldn’t be a physicist, what career would you choose? 

Constitutional lawyer or political philosopher.

What is your favorite place? 

Devon Avenue in Chicago (the best Pakistani food in the US!); Costco (am I allowed to say this as a state employee?); my backyard in the spring/summer.

What is the greatest scientific blunder in history? 

Acceptance of eugenics as a scientific research field in the early 1900s.

Who is/are your favorite artist(s) in any medium—painters, composers, authors, filmmakers? 

Mirza Ghalib; Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan; Taylor Swift; Doris Kearns Goodwin; Jon Stewart; Tom Brady (yes, I truly believe he is an artist).

Who is/are your favorite hero(es) in life or in fiction? 

Abraham Lincoln; John Bardeen; my mother

Who is/are the villain(s) you love to hate? 

Dictators; religious fundamentalists; people who tend to cast reality distortion fields.

What is your idea of happiness? 

Pakistani food (specifically biryani, haleem, karahi – my mouth is watering now); grilling/cooking for family and friends; playing cricket; weekend trips to Costco with my daughter; turning optical mirror mount knobs with a plan.

What is your idea of misery? 

Living in a religious hegemony or a totalitarian society; being surrounded by dogmatic thinking; turning optical mirror mount knobs without a plan and expecting different results.

What quality do you most admire in others? 

Initiative and the ability to get creative things done with kindness and humility.

What scientific question do you hope will be answered in your lifetime? 

A cure for cancer or a definitive understanding of what causes it.