Narinder Singh Kapany, father of fibre optics, passes away at 94

Narinder Singh Kapany (Imperial College Twitter)

Narinder Singh Kapany, also known as the father of fibre optics, passed away on December 4 at the age of 94. The India-born American physicist was named as one of the seven "Unsung Heroes" by Fortune in their 'Businessmen of the Century' issue of November 22, 1999.

Kapany coined the term fibre optics in 1956. He had over 100 patents to his name for his research on fibre optic communications, lasers, bio-medical instrumentation, solar energy and pollution monitoring.

Punjab Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh said that Kapany had been one of India's greatest ambassadors abroad.

"Saddened to learn of passing away of ‘Father of Fibre Optics’ Dr. Narinder Singh Kapany. A scientist and philanthropist, he’s been one of our greatest ambassadors abroad. I cherish my long association with him. My heartfelt condolences to his family and friends. Rest in peace!" Singh tweeted.

Saddened to learn of passing away of ‘Father of Fibre Optics’ Dr. Narinder Singh Kapany. A scientist and philanthropist, he’s been one of our greatest ambassadors abroad. I cherish my long association with him. My heartfelt condolences to his family and friends. Rest in peace! pic.twitter.com/WsV2VDpB1X

— Capt.Amarinder Singh (@capt_amarinder) December 4, 2020

Kapany published over 100 scientific papers and four books on optoelectronics and entrepreneurship. He has lectured to various national and international scientific societies.

As a philanthropist, Kapany was the founding chairman of the Sikh Foundation and has been a major funder of its activities for over 50 years. He has also received many awards, including The Excellence 2000 Award from the USA Pan-Asian American Chamber of Commerce in 1998.