Piara Singh Gill

Piara Singh Gill
Piara Singh Gill
Born	(1911-10-28)28 October 1911 Hoshiarpur district, Punjab British India
Died	23 March 2002(2002-03-23)(aged 90)
Nationality	Indian
Alma mater	University of Southern California University of Chicago
Known for	Advanced nuclear cosmic ray research. First director ofCSIO.
Scientific career
Fields	Nuclear physics
Institutions	Tata Institute of Fundamental Research Atomic Energy Commission of India Aligarh Muslim University Punjab Agricultural University University of Chicago Central Scientific Instruments Organisation
Doctoral advisor	Arthur Compton

Piara Singh Gill(28October 1911 – 23March 2002) was an Indiannuclearphysicistand a pioneer incosmic raynuclear physics.He was the first director ofCentral Scientific Instruments Organisation(CSIO) ofIndia.He wasresearch fellowofUniversity of Chicago(1940).He was research Professorship fellow ofTata Institute of Fundamental Research(TIFR) (1947), Officer-on-Special Duty (OSD) with the Atomic Energy Commission in New Delhi.Professorand head of the Department of Physics atAligarh University(1949), Director ofCentral Scientific Instruments Organization(CSIO) (1959) andProfessor EmeritusatPunjab Agricultural University(1971).

Education

He was born on 28October 1911 in a SikhGillJatt family in a village inHoshiarpur districtofPunjab.He attended Khalsa High School inMahilpurand left forAmericain 1929. He graduated with bachelor's and master's degrees fromUniversity of Southern California.He worked for his PhD inPhysicsatUniversity of Chicagounder the supervision and guidance ofArthur Compton,theNobellaureate. He was awarded his PhD in March 1940. He was a good friend and close colleague ofHomi J. Bhabha,who offered him the research fellow professorship atTata Institute of Fundamental Researchin 1947.

Professional life

He was a close friend ofNehru,who was impressed by his scientific knowledge.Nehru offered him the post of Officer-on-Special Duty (OSD) with the Atomic Energy Commission in New Delhi and asked him to become the first Director of Central Scientific Instruments Organization (CSIO) ofIndia.

Photo of Professor Piara Singh Gill.

As its director he established CSIO as a leader in advanced scientific instrument design inAsia.Gill was a key advisor toNehruon India's nuclear weapons strategy in the 1950-60s.

Robert Oppenheimerwas a close colleague and friend. Oppenheimer asked Gill to present a paper at theCalifornia Institute of Technologyat a conference arranged to celebrate the 80th birthday ofProfessor Robert Millikan,winner of the 1928 Physics Nobel Prize.

Positions held

• Research Fellow,University of Chicago,1940–41.
• Lecturer in Physics,Forman Christian College,Lahore, 1940–47.
• Professor of Experimental Physics,Tata Institute of Fundamental Research,Bombay, 1947–48.
• Officer-on-special Duty,Atomic Energy Commission,1948–49.
• Professor and Head, Department of Physics,Aligarh Muslim University,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 theGovernment of Punjab.
• Director,Central Scientific Instruments Organization(CSIO), Chandigarh, 1963–71.
• Professor Emeritus,Punjab Agricultural University,1972–1982.
• Chairman, Universal Magnetics (P) Ltd.
• Adjunct Professor of Physics,Georgia Institute of Technology,Atlanta, Georgia, 1990–1994.

Honorary professor of physics

• University of JammuandUniversity of Kashmir.
• Punjab University

Membership of learned societies

• Fellow of theAmerican Physical Society.
• Fellow of theIndian Physical Society.
• Fellow of theNational Academy of Sciences of India.
• Fellow of theIndian National Science Academy.
• Fellow of theExplorers Club.

Positions held in the societies

• President of the Physics section of theIndian Science Congress(1954).
• President of theNational Academy of Sciences of India(1957–58).
• President of theIndian Physical Society.
• Secretary (Outstation)Indian Science Congress Association(1960–63).
• Foreign Secretary,Indian National Science Academy(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 theIndian National Science Academy.
• Member of the Council ofIndian Physical Society.
• Member of the Council of theNational Academy of Sciences of India.
• Member of the Board of Editors of theIndian Journal of Physics.
• Member of the Faculties of theUniversity of Lucknow,Banaras and Allahabad.
• Member of the National Scientific Advisory Council of the Institute of Comprehensive Medicine and also the Editorial Board of theInt. Journal for Comprehensive Medicine,California.
• Member, Panel of Consultants in Technological Sciences and Applied Research to the director-general ofUNESCO,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 University,Chandigarh.
• Member, Senate, and Syndicate,Punjabi University,Patiala.
• Member, Senate,Guru Nanak Dev University,Armitsar.

See also

• Homi J. Bhabha

Further reading

• Piara Singh Gill (1992).Up Against Odds: Autobiography of an Indian Scientist.Allied Publishers.ISBN978-81-7023-364-0.

External links

• Article on Professor Piara Singh Gill
• News Article on Professor Piara Singh Gill^[usurped]
• 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