Piara Singh Gill
Encyclopedia
Piara Singh Gill was an India
n nuclear
physicist
who was a pioneer in cosmic ray
nuclear physics
and worked on the American Manhattan project
. He was the first Director of Central Scientific Instruments Organisation
(CSIO) of India
. He was research fellow
of Chicago University (1940). He was research Professorship fellow of Tata Institute of Fundamental Research
(TIFR) (1947), Officer-on-Special Duty (OSD) with the Atomic Energy Commission in New Delhi. Professor
and head of the Department of Physics at Aligarh University
(1949), Director of Central Scientific Instruments Organization (CSIO) (1959) and Professor Emeritus Punjab Agricultural University
(1971).
family in the village of Chela in Hoshiarpur district
of Punjab
. He attended Khalsa High School in Mahilpur
(1928) and left for America
in 1929. He attended and graduated with a bachelors and Master's degree from University of Southern California
. He worked for his PhD in Physics
at University of Chicago
under the supervision and guidance of Arthur Compton
, the Nobel Prize
winning scientist. He received his PhD in March 1940. He was a good friend and close colleague of Homi J. Bhabha
, who offered him the research fellow professorship at Tata Institute of Fundamental Research
in 1947.
He was a close friend of Nehru, who was impressed with his scientific breakthroughs. Nehru offered him the post of Officer-on-Special Duty (OSD) with the Atomic Energy Commission in New Delhi; he asked him to become the first Director of Central Scientific Instruments Organization (CSIO) of India
.
He as its Director established (CSIO) as a leader in advanced scientific instrument design in Asia
. Gill was a key advisor and planner to Nehru on India's nuclear weapons strategy in the 1950s-60s.
Robert Oppenheimer
was a close colleague and friend who he worked with on the Manhattan project
. Oppenheimer asked Gill to present a paper at the California Institute of Technology
at a conference arranged to celebrate the 80th birthday of Professor Robert Millikan
, winner of the 1928 Physics Nobel Prize.
Some free excerpts from Professor Piara Singh Gill's autobiography can be read at Google Books.
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
n nuclear
Nuclear physics
Nuclear physics is the field of physics that studies the building blocks and interactions of atomic nuclei. The most commonly known applications of nuclear physics are nuclear power generation and nuclear weapons technology, but the research has provided application in many fields, including those...
physicist
Physicist
A physicist is a scientist who studies or practices physics. Physicists study a wide range of physical phenomena in many branches of physics spanning all length scales: from sub-atomic particles of which all ordinary matter is made to the behavior of the material Universe as a whole...
who was a pioneer in cosmic ray
Cosmic ray
Cosmic rays are energetic charged subatomic particles, originating from outer space. They may produce secondary particles that penetrate the Earth's atmosphere and surface. The term ray is historical as cosmic rays were thought to be electromagnetic radiation...
nuclear physics
Nuclear physics
Nuclear physics is the field of physics that studies the building blocks and interactions of atomic nuclei. The most commonly known applications of nuclear physics are nuclear power generation and nuclear weapons technology, but the research has provided application in many fields, including those...
and worked on the American Manhattan project
Manhattan Project
The Manhattan Project was a research and development program, led by the United States with participation from the United Kingdom and Canada, that produced the first atomic bomb during World War II. From 1942 to 1946, the project was under the direction of Major General Leslie Groves of the US Army...
. He was the first Director of Central Scientific Instruments Organisation
Central Scientific Instruments Organisation
Central Scientific Instruments Organization is a national instrumentation research laboratory of the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research of the Government of India...
(CSIO) of India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
. He was research fellow
Research fellow
The title of research fellow is used to denote a research position at a university or similar institution, usually for academic staff or faculty members. A research fellow may act either as an independent investigator or under the supervision of a principal investigator...
of Chicago University (1940). He was research Professorship fellow of Tata Institute of Fundamental Research
Tata Institute of Fundamental Research
The Tata Institute of Fundamental Research is a research institution in India dedicated to basic research in mathematics and the sciences. It is a Deemed University and works under the umbrella of the Department of Atomic Energy of the Government of India. It is located at Navy Nagar, Colaba, Mumbai...
(TIFR) (1947), Officer-on-Special Duty (OSD) with the Atomic Energy Commission in New Delhi. Professor
Professor
A professor is a scholarly teacher; the precise meaning of the term varies by country. Literally, professor derives from Latin as a "person who professes" being usually an expert in arts or sciences; a teacher of high rank...
and head of the Department of Physics at Aligarh University
Aligarh Muslim University
Aligarh Muslim University ,is a residential academic university, established in 1875 by Sir Syed Ahmed Khan as Mohammedan Angelo-Oriental College and later granted the status of Central University by an Act of the Indian Parliament in 1920...
(1949), Director of Central Scientific Instruments Organization (CSIO) (1959) and Professor Emeritus Punjab Agricultural University
Punjab Agricultural University
The Punjab Agricultural University in Ludhiana, Punjab is one of the State Agricultural Universities in India. It was established in 1962 and is the nation's oldest agricultural university in India, after Govind Ballabh Pant University of Agriculture & Technology, Pantnagar. It has an...
(1971).
Personal life
He was born in 28 October 1911 in a GillGill (clan)
Gill is a gotra/surname of the Jat ethnicity found in Punjab. Though, to westerners, Gill seems like a familiar given name , the Gill surname does not have the same etymological origins. "Gill" stands out to be one of the most popular surnames of the Jat race, with population of Gills being resided...
family in the village of Chela in Hoshiarpur district
Hoshiarpur District
Hoshiarpur District , is a district of Punjab state in northern India.In 2011, Hoshiarpur had population of 1,582,793 of which male and female were 806,921 and 775,872 respectively. There was change of 6.85 percent in the population compared to population as per 2001...
of Punjab
Punjab region
The Punjab , also spelled Panjab |water]]s"), is a geographical region straddling the border between Pakistan and India which includes Punjab province in Pakistan and the states of the Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Chandigarh and some northern parts of the National Capital Territory of Delhi...
. He attended Khalsa High School in Mahilpur
Mahilpur
Mahilpur is a town and a Nagar Panchayat in Hoshiarpur district in the Indian state Punjab. It is situated on Hoshiarpur Chandigarh Road from Hoshiarpur. It is famous for the game of football in the region.-Demographics:...
(1928) and left for America
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
in 1929. He attended and graduated with a bachelors and Master's degree from University of Southern California
University of Southern California
The University of Southern California is a private, not-for-profit, nonsectarian, research university located in Los Angeles, California, United States. USC was founded in 1880, making it California's oldest private research university...
. He worked for his PhD in Physics
Physics
Physics is a natural science that involves the study of matter and its motion through spacetime, along with related concepts such as energy and force. More broadly, it is the general analysis of nature, conducted in order to understand how the universe behaves.Physics is one of the oldest academic...
at University of Chicago
University of Chicago
The University of Chicago is a private research university in Chicago, Illinois, USA. It was founded by the American Baptist Education Society with a donation from oil magnate and philanthropist John D. Rockefeller and incorporated in 1890...
under the supervision and guidance of Arthur Compton
Arthur Compton
Arthur Holly Compton was an American physicist and Nobel laureate in physics for his discovery of the Compton effect. He served as Chancellor of Washington University in St. Louis from 1945 to 1953.-Early years:...
, the Nobel Prize
Nobel Prize
The Nobel Prizes are annual international awards bestowed by Scandinavian committees in recognition of cultural and scientific advances. The will of the Swedish chemist Alfred Nobel, the inventor of dynamite, established the prizes in 1895...
winning scientist. He received his PhD in March 1940. He was a good friend and close colleague of Homi J. Bhabha
Homi J. Bhabha
Homi Jehangir Bhabha, FRS was an Indian nuclear physicist and the chief architect of the Indian atomic energy program...
, who offered him the research fellow professorship at Tata Institute of Fundamental Research
Tata Institute of Fundamental Research
The Tata Institute of Fundamental Research is a research institution in India dedicated to basic research in mathematics and the sciences. It is a Deemed University and works under the umbrella of the Department of Atomic Energy of the Government of India. It is located at Navy Nagar, Colaba, Mumbai...
in 1947.
He was a close friend of Nehru, who was impressed with his scientific breakthroughs. Nehru offered him the post of Officer-on-Special Duty (OSD) with the Atomic Energy Commission in New Delhi; he asked him to become the first Director of Central Scientific Instruments Organization (CSIO) of India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
.
Asia
Asia is the world's largest and most populous continent, located primarily in the eastern and northern hemispheres. It covers 8.7% of the Earth's total surface area and with approximately 3.879 billion people, it hosts 60% of the world's current human population...
. Gill was a key advisor and planner to Nehru on India's nuclear weapons strategy in the 1950s-60s.
Robert Oppenheimer
Robert Oppenheimer
Julius Robert Oppenheimer was an American theoretical physicist and professor of physics at the University of California, Berkeley. Along with Enrico Fermi, he is often called the "father of the atomic bomb" for his role in the Manhattan Project, the World War II project that developed the first...
was a close colleague and friend who he worked with on the Manhattan project
Manhattan Project
The Manhattan Project was a research and development program, led by the United States with participation from the United Kingdom and Canada, that produced the first atomic bomb during World War II. From 1942 to 1946, the project was under the direction of Major General Leslie Groves of the US Army...
. Oppenheimer asked Gill to present a paper at the California Institute of Technology
California Institute of Technology
The California Institute of Technology is a private research university located in Pasadena, California, United States. Caltech has six academic divisions with strong emphases on science and engineering...
at a conference arranged to celebrate the 80th birthday of Professor Robert Millikan
Robert Millikan
Robert A. Millikan was an American experimental physicist, and Nobel laureate in physics for his measurement of the charge on the electron and for his work on the photoelectric effect. He served as president of Caltech from 1921 to 1945...
, winner of the 1928 Physics Nobel Prize.
Some free excerpts from Professor Piara Singh Gill's autobiography can be read at Google Books.
Positions held
- Research Fellow, University of ChicagoUniversity of ChicagoThe University of Chicago is a private research university in Chicago, Illinois, USA. It was founded by the American Baptist Education Society with a donation from oil magnate and philanthropist John D. Rockefeller and incorporated in 1890...
, 1940-41. - Lecturer in Physics, Forman Christian CollegeForman Christian CollegeForman Christian College University, or FCCU, is a chartered university in Lahore, Pakistan, named after its American-born founder, Dr. Charles William Forman.- History :...
, Lahore, 1940-47. - Professor of Experimental Physics, Tata Institute of Fundamental ResearchTata Institute of Fundamental ResearchThe Tata Institute of Fundamental Research is a research institution in India dedicated to basic research in mathematics and the sciences. It is a Deemed University and works under the umbrella of the Department of Atomic Energy of the Government of India. It is located at Navy Nagar, Colaba, Mumbai...
, Bombay, 1947-48. - Officer-on-special Duty, Atomic Energy CommissionAtomic Energy CommissionMany countries have or have had an Atomic Energy Commission. These include:* Australian Atomic Energy Commission * Bangladesh Atomic Energy Commission * Commissariat à l'Énergie Atomique...
, 1948-49. - Professor and Head, Department of Physics, Aligarh Muslim UniversityAligarh Muslim UniversityAligarh Muslim University ,is a residential academic university, established in 1875 by Sir Syed Ahmed Khan as Mohammedan Angelo-Oriental College and later granted the status of Central University by an Act of the Indian Parliament in 1920...
, Aligarh, 1949-63. - Dean, Faculty of Science, Aligarh Muslim University, Aligarh, 1950–53 and 1956-58.
- Director, Gulmarg Research Observatory, Gulmarg, 1951-71.
- Honorary Scientific Adviser to the Government of PunjabGovernment of Punjab (India)The Government of Punjab also known as the State Government of Punjab , or locally as State Government, is the supreme governing authority of the Indian state of Punjab and its 20 districts...
. - Director, Central Scientific Instruments Organization (CSIO), Chandigarh, 1963-71.
- Professor Emeritus, Punjab Agricultural UniversityPunjab Agricultural UniversityThe Punjab Agricultural University in Ludhiana, Punjab is one of the State Agricultural Universities in India. It was established in 1962 and is the nation's oldest agricultural university in India, after Govind Ballabh Pant University of Agriculture & Technology, Pantnagar. It has an...
, 1972-1982. - Chairman, Universal Magnetics (P) Ltd.
- Adjunct Professor of Physics, Georgia Institute of TechnologyGeorgia Institute of TechnologyThe Georgia Institute of Technology is a public research university in Atlanta, Georgia, in the United States...
, Atlanta, Georgia, 1990-1994.
Honorary professor of physics
- University of JammuUniversity of JammuThe University of Jammu was established in 1969 by an Act of the State Legislature which effectively bifurcated the erstwhile Jammu and Kashmir University into the Universities of Jammu and Kashmir respectively. The University is at present located on the banks of the Tawi River...
and University of KashmirUniversity of Kashmir-Faculties/Departments:* Arts** Department of Arabic** Department of Urdu** Department of English** Department of Kashmiri** Department of Foreign Languages** Department of Library and Information Science** Department of Linguistics...
. - Punjab UniversityPunjab UniversityPunjab University may refer to:In India:*Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana*Punjab Technical University*Punjabi University, Patiala*Panjab University, ChandigarhIn Pakistan:*University of the Punjab, Lahore...
Membership of learned societies
- Fellow of the American Physical SocietyAmerican Physical SocietyThe American Physical Society is the world's second largest organization of physicists, behind the Deutsche Physikalische Gesellschaft. The Society publishes more than a dozen scientific journals, including the world renowned Physical Review and Physical Review Letters, and organizes more than 20...
. - Fellow of the Indian Physical SocietyIndian Physical SocietyThe Indian Physical Society is a professional society of physicists in India. It was formally established in 1934 by pioneering Indian physicist Meghnad Saha...
. - Fellow of the National Academy of Sciences of India.
- Fellow of the Indian National Science AcademyIndian National Science AcademyThe Indian National Science Academy , New Delhi is the apex body of Indian scientists representing all branches of science & technology.-History:...
. - Fellow of the Explorers Club.
Positions held in the societies
- President of the Physics section of the Indian Science Congress (1954).
- President of the National Academy of Sciences of India (1957–58).
- President of the Indian Physical SocietyIndian Physical SocietyThe Indian Physical Society is a professional society of physicists in India. It was formally established in 1934 by pioneering Indian physicist Meghnad Saha...
. - Secretary (Outstation) Indian Science Congress AssociationIndian Science Congress AssociationIndian Science Congress Association is a premier scientific organisation of India,started in the year 1914, with Headquarters at Kolkata.. It meets annually in the first week of January every year.-Introduction:...
(1960–63). - Foreign Secretary, Indian National Science AcademyIndian National Science AcademyThe Indian National Science Academy , New Delhi is the apex body of Indian scientists representing all branches of science & technology.-History:...
(1961–64). - Vice-President, Northern Indian Science Association.
- President, Optical Society of India (1970).
Membership of learned bodies
- Member of the U.P. Scientific Research Committee.
- Member of the U.P. University Grants Committee.
- Member of the Council of the Indian National Science AcademyIndian National Science AcademyThe Indian National Science Academy , New Delhi is the apex body of Indian scientists representing all branches of science & technology.-History:...
. - Member of the Council of Indian Physical SocietyIndian Physical SocietyThe Indian Physical Society is a professional society of physicists in India. It was formally established in 1934 by pioneering Indian physicist Meghnad Saha...
. - Member of the Council of the National Academy of Sciences of India.
- Member of the Board of Editors of the Indian Journal of Physics.
- Member of the Faculties of the University of LucknowUniversity of LucknowThe University of Lucknow is a university in the city of Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh, India. It is affiliated to University Grants Commission; Association of Commonwealth Universities ; Association of Indian Universities ; Distance Education Council...
, Banaras and Allahabad. - Member of the National Scientific Advisory Council of the Institute of Comprehensive Medicine and also the Editorial Board of the Int. Journal for Comprehensive Medicine, California.
- Member, Panel of Consultants in Technological Sciences and Applied Research to the Director-General of UNESCOUNESCOThe United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations...
, 1967. - Chairman, Development Council for Instruments Industry set up by the Govt. of India, Ministry of Internal Trade and Company Affairs (Department of Industrial Development).
- Member, Senate, Punjab UniversityPanjab University, ChandigarhPanjab University is one of the oldest universities in India. The university campus is residential, spread over an area of in sectors 14 and 25 of the city of Chandigarh...
, Chandigarh. - Member, Senate, and Syndicate, Punjabi UniversityPunjabi UniversityPunjabi University, located at Patiala, is one of the premier institutions of higher education in Punjab, India. Panjabi University teaches and researches in science, engineering and technology, humanities, social sciences, performing arts and sports....
, Patiala. - Member, Senate, Guru Nanak Dev UniversityGuru Nanak Dev UniversityGuru Nanak Dev University was established at Amritsar, India on November 24, 1969 to commemorate Guru Nanak Dev's birth quincentenary celebrations. Guru Nanak Dev University campus is spread over 500 acres near village of Kot Khalsa, nearly 8 km west of the Amritsar City on Amritsar - Lahore...
, Armitsar.
External links
- Article on Professor Piara Singh Gill
- News Article on Professor Piara Singh Gill
- Scientific papers of Professor Piara Singh Gill
- Autobiography of Professor Piara Singh Gill
- Autobiography 2 of Professor Piara Singh Gill
- Research papers of Professor Piara Singh Gill
- Paper on studies conducted on Cosmic Rays at Gulmarg Research Observatory by Professor Piara Singh Gill