Narinder Singh Kapany, also known as the father of fibre optics, passed away on December 4 at the age of 94.

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.

Narinder Singh Kapany

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.

Born to a Sikh family in Moga, Punjab, Kapany studied at Agra University before going to Imperial College London to work on a PhD degree in optics.

Narinder Singh Kapany

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.