Prime Minister Narendra Modi, in his 139th ‘Mann Ki Baat’ programme has paid his respects to the ‘Father of Fiber Optics’ – Padma Vibhushan Dr. Narinder Singh Kapany on his birth centenary on October 31st. The PM has asked the youth to draw inspiration from such great scientists.

 

Dr Kapany worked at an ordnance factory in India where he learned to make optical instruments. Later, while working with Professor Harold Hopkins at the Imperial College London in the early1950s he demonstrated that images could be transmitted through bundles of flexible glass fibers. After receiving his Ph.D. in optics, he coined the term “fiber optics” in an article in Scientific American. 

 

Akashvani Punjab Correspondent reports that “Born on October 31, 1926, in Moga, Punjab, to Sardar Sundar Singh and Smt. Kundan Kaur, Dr. Kapany grew up in Dehradun and graduated from Agra University. Besides being known as a world class renowned scientist, he was also a philanthropist. His daughter, Ms. Kiran Kaur Kapany, who is settled in America, told Akashvani that no story of Dr. Kapany is complete without his wife, Satinder Kaur. Her steadfast encouragement gave him the resilience to keep going as he pioneered new technology.

 

Together with his wife, Dr. Kapany also co-founded the Sikh Foundation, a charitable organization and built one of the finest collections of Sikh art. Guru Nanak Dev University, Amritsar, had the honour to present Dr. Kapany with an honoris causa before his death in the year 2020 and celebrated his birth centenary as well. GNDU Vice Chancellor , Dr Karamjit Singh while speaking about Dr. Kapany’s contribution said.

 

“In his last years, Dr Kapany wrote his memoir, “The Man Who Bent Light.” He passed away peacefully in California on December 3rd, 2020.