Virendra Singh (born 8 June 1938) is an Indian theoretical physicist and a former C. V. Raman chair professor and director of the

Tata Institute of Fundamental Research Tata Institute of Fundamental Research (TIFR) is a public deemed research university located in Mumbai, India that is dedicated to basic research in mathematics and the sciences. It is a Deemed University and works under the umbrella of the ...

(TIFR). Known for his research in

high energy physics Particle physics or high energy physics is the study of Elementary particle, fundamental particles and fundamental interaction, forces that constitute matter and radiation. The fundamental particles in the universe are classified in the Standa ...

, Singh is an elected fellow of all the three major Indian science academies -

Indian National Science Academy The Indian National Science Academy (INSA) is a national academy in New Delhi for Indian scientists in all branches of science and technology. In August 2019, Dr. Chandrima Shaha was appointed as the president of Indian National Science Acade ...

Indian Academy of Sciences The Indian Academy of Sciences, Bangalore was founded by Indian Physicist and Nobel Laureate C. V. Raman, and was registered as a society on 24 April 1934. Inaugurated on 31 July 1934, it began with 65 founding fellows. The first general meet ...

and

National Academy of Sciences, India The National Academy of Sciences, India, established in 1930, is the oldest science academy in India. It is located in Prayagraj, Uttar Pradesh. Prof. Meghnad Saha was the founder president. Fellows *Suddhasatwa Basu * Sudha Bhattacharya * Ch ...

as well as

The World Academy of Sciences The World Academy of Sciences (TWAS) is a merit-based science academy established for developing countries, uniting 1,000 scientists in some 70 countries. Its principal aim is to promote scientific capacity and excellence for sustainable deve ...

. The

Council of Scientific and Industrial Research The Council of Scientific and Industrial Research ( IAST: ''vaigyanik tathā audyogik anusandhāna pariṣada''), abbreviated as CSIR, was established by the Government of India in September 1942 as an autonomous body that has emerged as the ...

, the apex agency of the Government of India for scientific research, awarded him the

Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Prize for Science and Technology The Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Prize for Science and Technology (SSB) is a science award in India given annually by the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) for notable and outstanding research, applied or fundamental, in biology, ...

, one of the highest Indian science awards, for his contributions to Physical Sciences in 1973.

Biography

Early life and education

Born in Bijnor in the Indian state of

Uttar Pradesh Uttar Pradesh (; , 'Northern Province') is a state in northern India. With over 200 million inhabitants, it is the most populated state in India as well as the most populous country subdivision in the world. It was established in 1950 ...

, Singh completed his schooling at Dev Nagri Inter College,

Meerut Meerut (, IAST: ''Meraṭh'') is a city in Meerut district of the western part of the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. The city lies northeast of the national capital New Delhi, within the National Capital Region and west of the state capital ...

in 1951 and passed the intermediate course from

Meerut College Meerut College is a state-funded college in Meerut, Uttar Pradesh, India. The college is affiliated to Chaudhary Charan Singh University, Meerut. The college was established in 1892 and has a campus of . The college has glorious history of achiev ...

Agra University Dr. Bhimrao Ambedkar University, formerly Agra University, is an Autonomous University located in Agra, Uttar Pradesh, India. The university is named after Bhimrao Ambedkar, Indian scholar, social reformer, and the architect of the Indian Cons ...

in 1953. After earning a BSc in physics, chemistry and mathematics in 1955 and an MSc in physics in 1957 from the same institution, he joined

as a research assistant the same year. Subsequently, taking a sabbatical from service, he enrolled for doctoral studies at

University of California, Berkeley The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California) is a public land-grant research university in Berkeley, California. Established in 1868 as the University of California, it is the state's first land-grant u ...

and worked under the guidance of Geoffrey Chew, known for his contributions to the fields of

mesons In particle physics, a meson ( or ) is a type of hadronic subatomic particle composed of an equal number of quarks and antiquarks, usually one of each, bound together by the strong interaction. Because mesons are composed of quark subparticles, ...

and

bootstrap model The term "bootstrap model" is used for a class of theories that use very general consistency criteria to determine the form of a quantum theory from some assumptions on the spectrum of particles. It is a form of S-matrix theory. Overview In the 1 ...

, to secure a PhD in 1962. He stayed in the US to complete his post-doctoral work at three institutions, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (1959–62) as a graduate student,

California Institute of Technology The California Institute of Technology (branded as Caltech or CIT)The university itself only spells its short form as "Caltech"; the institution considers other spellings such a"Cal Tech" and "CalTech" incorrect. The institute is also occasional ...

(1962–63) as a research fellow with

Murray Gell-Mann Murray Gell-Mann (; September 15, 1929 – May 24, 2019) was an American physicist who received the 1969 Nobel Prize in Physics for his work on the theory of elementary particles. He was the Robert Andrews Millikan Professor of Theoretical ...

and

Institute for Advanced Study The Institute for Advanced Study (IAS), located in Princeton, New Jersey, in the United States, is an independent center for theoretical research and intellectual inquiry. It has served as the academic home of internationally preeminent schola ...

, Princeton (1963–64) as a member.

Career

On his return to India in 1964, he resumed his career at TIFR and served the institution in such various capacities as a professor (1970–81), senior professor (1981–90), and a professor of eminence till his superannuation from service in 2003. During this period, he held the directorship of the institution from 1987 to 1997. Post-retirement, he continued his association with TIFR as a C. V. Raman Research Professor of the

till 2008. In between, he had two short stints at Rockefeller University, first as a visiting associate professor during (1966–67) and then as a visiting professor during (1971–72). When the Indian Physics Association and the

Institute of Physics The Institute of Physics (IOP) is a UK-based learned society and professional body that works to advance physics education, research and application. It was founded in 1874 and has a worldwide membership of over 20,000. The IOP is the Physic ...

jointly introduced an exchange lecture program in honor of John Douglas Cockcroft,

Ernest Thomas Sinton Walton Ernest Thomas Sinton Walton (6 October 1903 – 25 June 1995) was an Irish physicist and Nobel laureate. He is best known for his work with John Cockcroft to construct one of the earliest types of particle accelerator, the Cockcroft–Walton ...

and Homi J. Bhabha in 1998, he was the first to deliver the Homi Bhabha lecture in 2000.

Personal life

Singh lives in

Andheri Andheri ( �n̪d̪ʱeɾiː is a locality in the western part of the city of Mumbai in India. Udayanagari, the name of a hill near the Mahakali caves, inspired the name Andheri. On the former islet of Versova, also known as Vasave, there was ano ...

west in

Mumbai Mumbai (, ; also known as Bombay — List of renamed Indian cities and states#Maharashtra, the official name until 1995) is the capital city of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of Maharashtra and the ''de facto'' fin ...

Legacy

Singh's studies spanned the fields of high energy physics,

quantum mechanics Quantum mechanics is a fundamental theory in physics that provides a description of the physical properties of nature at the scale of atoms and subatomic particles. It is the foundation of all quantum physics including quantum chemistr ...

and

particle physics Particle physics or high energy physics is the study of fundamental particles and forces that constitute matter and radiation. The fundamental particles in the universe are classified in the Standard Model as fermions (matter particles) an ...

and he has made reportedly significant contributions on

S-matrix theory ''S''-matrix theory was a proposal for replacing local quantum field theory as the basic principle of elementary particle physics. It avoided the notion of space and time by replacing it with abstract mathematical properties of the ''S''-matrix ...

and symmetry theories of

hadrons In particle physics, a hadron (; grc, ἁδρός, hadrós; "stout, thick") is a composite subatomic particle made of two or more quarks held together by the strong interaction. They are analogous to molecules that are held together by the ele ...

. His collaboration with Virendra Gupta resulted in the development of ''Gupta-Singh coupling constant sum rule'' related to

baryon In particle physics, a baryon is a type of composite subatomic particle which contains an odd number of valence quarks (at least 3). Baryons belong to the hadron family of particles; hadrons are composed of quarks. Baryons are also classif ...

decuplet and he worked along M. A. Beg to develop the ''Beg-Singh SU (6) mass formula''. His theoretical work on scattering amplitudes have helped widen the understanding of ''high energy total cross-sections in hadronic processes''. He proposed ''Singh lemma'', a method of calculating the ''threshold value of the amplitude from the gauge condition''. His other contributions include ''Singh-Pais theorems'' and ''Singh-Roy bounds'' related to

compton scattering Compton scattering, discovered by Arthur Holly Compton, is the scattering of a high frequency photon after an interaction with a charged particle, usually an electron. If it results in a decrease in energy (increase in wavelength) of the photon ...

and scattering amplitudes. His studies have been documented by way of a number of articles and the article repository of the Indian Academy of Sciences has listed 84 of them. Besides, he has contributed chapters to books published by others including a lecture in a book edited by B. V. Sreekantan and ''Scientific Realism and Classical Physics'', a general article published in ''History and Philosophy of Physics'' published by Indian Council of Philosophical Research. His work has also drawn citations from other authors.

Professional associations

On the academic front, he was instrumental in organizing a school of research on theoretical physics at

, along with Bhalchandra Udgaonkar. He has been a member of the editorial boards of ''Indian Journal of Pure and Applied Physics'' (1974–76 & 1989–91), ''Indian Journal of Pure and Applied Mathematics'' (1975–77), ''

Pramana ''Pramana'' (Sanskrit: प्रमाण, ) literally means "proof" and "means of knowledge".Department of Atomic Energy and sat in the commission on particles and fields of

International Union of Pure and Applied Physics The International Union of Pure and Applied Physics (IUPAP ) is an international non-governmental organization whose mission is to assist in the worldwide development of physics, to foster international cooperation in physics, and to help in the ...

from 1986 to 1993. He was the vice president of the Indian Physics Association for 1983–84 and presided the association from 1985 to 1987. He served as the chairman of the Mumbai chapter of ''Society for Applied Microwave Electronics Engineering & Research'' (SAMEER) of the

Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) is an executive agency of the Union Government of the Republic of India. It was carved out of the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology on 19 July 2016 as a standalon ...

(1993–97) and the Nehru Science Centre (1994–96). He has been associated with the Indian Academy of Sciences as a council member (1977–82) and with National Academy of Sciences, India as the president of its Mumbai chapter (2001–07). He has also been a member of the councils of a number of institutes and associations which included

Indian Statistical Institute Indian Statistical Institute (ISI) is a higher education and research institute which is recognized as an Institute of National Importance by the 1959 act of the Indian parliament. It grew out of the Statistical Laboratory set up by Prasanta ...

(1986–88),

Saha Institute of Nuclear Physics The Saha Institute of Nuclear Physics (SINP) is an institution of basic research and training in physical and biophysical sciences located in Bidhannagar, Kolkata, India. The institute is named after the famous Indian physicist Meghnad Saha. ...

(1987–92), Indian Science News Association (1994–2001) and

National Council of Science Museums National Council of Science Museums (NCSM) is an autonomous organisation under Indian Ministry of Culture. It is the largest chain of science centers or museums under a single administrative umbrella in the world. There are 24 own science cen ...

(1994–98).

Awards and honors

The Indian Academy of Sciences elected Singh as a fellow in 1970 and the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research awarded him the

Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Prize The Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Prize for Science and Technology (SSB) is a science award in India given annually by the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) for notable and outstanding research, applied or fundamental, in biology, ...

, one of the highest Indian science awards in 1973. He became an elected fellow of the Indian National Science Academy in 1975 and four years later, the

university Grants Commission of India University Grants Commission (UGC) is a statutory body set up by the Department of Higher Education, Ministry of Education, Government of India in accordance to the UGC Act 1956 and is charged with coordination, determination and maintenanc ...

selected him for the 1979 Meghnad Saha Award. He received the fellowship of the National Academy of Sciences, India in 1989 and the Goyal Prize for Physical Sciences in 1995. The Indian Science Congress Association awarded him the C. V. Raman Birth Centenary Gold Medal in 1996 and

elected him as their fellow in 1999. He is also a fellow of the

and the award orations delivered by him include K. R. Ramanathan Memorial Lecture of

Physical Research Laboratory The Physical Research Laboratory (PRL) is a National Research Institute for space and allied sciences, supported mainly by Department of Space, Government of India. This research laboratory has ongoing research programmes in astronomy and astrop ...

(1995), Bicentennial Lecture of

Indian Institute of Astrophysics The Indian Institute of Astrophysics (IIA), with its headquarters in Bengaluru,is an autonomous Research Institute wholly financed by the department of Science and Technology, Government of India. IIA conducts research primarily in the areas of ...

(1995), S. N. Bose Memorial Lecture of S.N. Bose National Centre for Basic Sciences (1995), S. N. Bose Memorial Lecture of Kolkata Mathematical Society (1995), Meghnad Saha Lecture of National Academy of Sciences, India (1996) and Bhabha Memorial Lecture of the Institution of Electronics and Telecommunication Engineers (1997).

Biography

Early life and education

Career

Personal life

Legacy

Professional associations

Awards and honors

Selected bibliography

Chapters

Articles

See also

Notes

References

External links

Further reading