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Hardev Singh Virk

From EverybodyWiki Bios & Wiki











Prof. Hardev Singh Virk, born on 23rd Feb. 1942, is an Indian scientist.[1][2], educationist[3], author[4], and a Sikh theologian[5][6][7]. His teaching and research career spans an era of more than 50 years (1963-2021) with longer stints in Punjabi University, Patiala (1965-79) and Guru Nanak Dev University, Amritsar (1979-2002). He has published 435 research papers in the diverse fields of Physics, Earth Sciences, Nanotechnology, History & Philosophy of Science[8]. In recognition of his research work and lifetime achievements, Flogen Technologies is organizing Virk Symposium on Physics, Technology and Interdisciplinary Research for Sustainable Development during SIPS International Conference in Phuket, Thailand on 28th Nov. – 2nd Dec. 2021[9].

Early life[edit]

Born at village Majhiwala Bhuler (Chak #270 RB), Dist. Lyallpur, British India (now in Pakistan)[10]. His education started in a rural school in India after partition in 1947[11]. Despite hardships and handicaps during his school days, he topped in the Matriculation examination in Govt. High School, Malerkotla in 1957. He passed his B.Sc. with Distinction in Physics from Punjab University, Chandigarh in 1961 and received his Master degree (M.Sc.) in Physics from Aligarh Muslim University in 1963. He started his teaching career at Guru Nanak Dev Engineering College, Ludhiana.

Career[edit]

Professor Virk joined Punjabi University, Patiala in 1965. In 1970, he won a French Govt. Scholarship and received a Ph.D. degree in 1972 from Marie and Pierre Curie University, Paris, France[12]. He served Punjabi University, Patiala for 14 years (1965-79), and retired from Guru Nanak Dev University, Amritsar in 2002 after serving for 23 years (1979-2002) as Founder Head, Dean Academics and Director, Earthquake Research Centre. He was reemployed as Director Research at DAVIET, Jalandhar (2008-11) to set up a research centre in Nanotechnology. Punjabi University Patiala reemployed him as Professor of Eminence for the development of Punjabi language (2017-2019)[13][14].

Works[edit]

Physics Research[edit]

Professor Virk is a pioneer in interdisciplinary research in India using heavy ion beams for irradiation of minerals, glasses, polymers and other insulators. He was instrumental in using Radon concentration in indoor air, soil and groundwater for estimation of health hazard effects and earthquake prediction in the Himalayas. Presently, he is engaged in the study of groundwater pollution due to Uranium and heavy metals in Punjab state.

Track Studies and Applications to Geochronology[edit]

During his doctoral work, Virk studied high-energy nuclear interactions in nuclear emulsions[15]. On his return to India, he started the application of fission-track (FT) dating to determine the age of tektites, meteorites, volcanic eruptions[16][17], uranium estimation in pegmatite minerals and age of Himalayan rocks[18][19]. FT technique was used for dating of Copper and Iron ores of India[20], natural glasses[21] and radioactivity of fossil bones[22].

Heavy Ion Radiation Damage Studies in Materials[edit]

Professor Virk used heavy ion beams available at GSI, Darmstadt, Germany to irradiate polymers, glasses and mineral samples for the study of radiation damage etching and annealing along with range measurements[23][24][25]. Modgil-Virk's Single Activation Energy Model is a consequence of his investigations into the annealing characteristics of heavy ion tracks in materials[26][27].

Radon Studies for U Exploration, Health Hazards and Earthquake Prediction[edit]

Virk played a pioneering role in the use of Radon for Uranium exploration, environmental health hazards and Earthquake prediction studies in India[28][29]. He measured Radon concentration in soil, air, water, thermal springs and indoor air to determine its health hazard effects on the public[30]. Radon was used as a precursor for earthquake studies and its correlation was established with micro-seismicity in the Himalayan region[31][32].

Nanotechnology and Applications[edit]

After retirement, Virk set up a research centre in Nanotechnology at DAVIET, Jalandhar. He fabricated nanocrystals, nanowires, quantum dots, and nanoflowers to study their properties and applications[33][34][35]. Microstructural and magnetic properties of Barium hexaferrite were also investigated[36].

Groundwater Pollution Studies in Punjab State (India)[edit]

Prof. Virk is presently engaged in the study of groundwater pollution due to contamination of Uranium and heavy metals in the state of Punjab[37]. He has published two dozen papers covering most of the districts. His investigations reveal a pattern where Uranium contamination is prevalent in the Malwa belt of Punjab, Arsenic in the Majha belt and Selenium in the Doaba belt[38]. Health hazard effects and incidence of cancer risk are calculated and a geochemical model is proposed to explain the occurrence of Uranium in groundwater[39]

Scientific Literature[edit]

Published 150 general articles and about two dozen books[40] on diverse topics in science and technology.

Sikh Theology and Literature[edit]

With over 300 articles and 12 books on Sikh theology and Literature[41] to his credit, a score of his Youtube talks on Sikhism are available on the internet[42][43]

Awards[edit]

2005 Honorable Mention Award for Research Project: Global Perspectives of Science & Sikh Religion[44], Templeton Foundation, USA.

2000 S. Kartar Singh Dhaliwal Award for Scientific & Literary Writing in Punjabi[45] by Panjabi Sahit Akademy, Ludhiana, India.

1993 Shiromani Award as Best Writer of Scientific Literature in Punjabi[46], by Govt. of Punjab, India

1988-93 Senior Associateship of International Centre for Theoretical Physics, Trieste, Italy.

1972 "Most Honorable" mention in Doctoral Dissertation of Marie Curie University, Paris, France.

1969-78 Won three First Prizes for Scientific Text Books in Punjabi medium[47], awarded by Punjabi University, Patiala, India.

Video Links[edit]

External Links[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ↑ Hardev Singh Virk Biography. "ORCID Connecting Research and Researchers". orcid.org. ORCID.
  2. ↑ Autobiography (30 September 2018). My Journey in Science- Autobiography of an Indian Scientist (First ed.), Patiala, Punjab, India: Gracious Books. p. 216. ISBN 978-93-87276-46-8.
  3. ↑ E-Book on APNA site. My Journey in Science. www.academia.edu. Academia.Edu. Retrieved 10 May 2020.
  4. ↑ ਮੇਰਾ ਜੀਵਨ ਸਫ਼ਰ (First ed.). Patiala, Punjab, India: Gracious Books. 31 March 2017. p. 144. ISBN 978-93-85670-85-5.
  5. ↑ Sikh Religion. "Global Perspectives In Science And Sikh Religion". www.sikhphilosophy.net. Sikh Philosophy Network. Retrieved 3 November 2004.
  6. ↑ Opinion. "Interview of Prof. Hardev Singh Virk By Dr. D. P. Singh". sikhphilosophy.net. Sikh Philosophy Network. Retrieved 27 February 2020.
  7. ↑ Interfaith Dialogue. "Sikh Religion and Islam: Interfaith Dialogue". sikhnet.com. SikhNet. Retrieved 10 December 2011.
  8. ↑ "Home".
  9. ↑ Virk International Symposium
  10. ↑ "My Role Models in School and College Days". 25 August 2021.
  11. ↑ Wikipedia : Partition of India
  12. ↑ "Hardev Singh". LinkedIn.linkedin.com. Retrieved 20 May 2020.
  13. ↑ https://www.flogen.org/sips2021/pdf/Hardev_Singh_Virk_Bio.pdf
  14. ↑ Hardev Singh Virk Scientist, Educator & Author
  15. ↑ Virk H S (1972). Proton-nucleon interactions at 14 GeV in the nuclear emulsion. Nucl. Phys. B, 48, 476-486.
  16. ↑ Virk H S (1977). Origin and age of Tektites. Curr. Sci., 46, 583-585.
  17. ↑ . Virk H S (1986). Fission track dating of volcanic eruptions. Mineralogical J. of Japan, 13, 34-38.
  18. ↑ Singh S and Virk H S (1978). Fission track dating and uranium estimation in pegmatite minerals of Rajasthan State (India). Geochemical Journal (Japan), 12, 271-274.
  19. ↑ Virk H S and Koul S L (1977). Fission-track ages and Uranium estimation of Himalayan muscovites, Kathmandu valley (Nepal). J. Phys. of Earth, 25, 177-186.
  20. ↑ Singh S, Singh L, Singh J and Virk H S (1988). Fission track dating of some copper ore formations in India. Nucl. Track and Rad. Meas., 15, 715-718.
  21. ↑ Virk H S, Singh G and Kaur S (1988). Fission track dating of natural glasses. Nucl. Track and Rad. Meas., 15, 719-721.
  22. ↑ Singh N P and Virk H S (1993). Natural radioactivity in fossil bones. Proc. Int. Conf. on High Levels of Natural Radiation, Ramsar, Iran (1990). IAEA Publ. Vienna, 1993, pp. 221-228
  23. ↑ Singh G, Devi S, Singh S and Virk H S (1986). Track etch rate characteristics of Makrofol polycarbonate plastic detectors exposed to Xe ions. Nucl. Tracks and Rad. Meas., 12, 383-386
  24. ↑ Bhatia R K and Virk H S (1988). Annealing kinetics of heavy ion tracks in CR-39. Nucl. Track and Rad. Meas., 15, 239-240
  25. ↑ Randhawa G S, Sharma S K and Virk H S (1996). Inter-comparison of experimental and theoretical range values in plastic detectors. Nucl. Instrum. Methods Phys. Res. B, 108,7-10
  26. ↑ Virk H S (1992). Heavy-ion radiation damage annealing in track recording insulators and single activation energy model. Nucl. Instrum. and Meth. Phys. Res. B, 65, 456-458.
  27. ↑ Virk Hardev Singh (2015). Modgil-Virk Formulation of Single Activation Energy Model of Radiation Damage Annealing in SSNTDs: A Critical Appraisal. In: Radiation-Induced Modification of Materials (Ed. Hardev Singh Virk), Solid State Phenomena Series, Trans Tech Publications, Switzerland, Vol.239, pp. 215-242
  28. ↑ Virk H S (1990). Radon studies for Earthquake prediction, Uranium exploration and Environmental pollution : A review. Ind. J. of Phys., 64A, 182-191
  29. ↑ Ramola R C, Sandhu A S, Singh M, Singh S and Virk H S (1989)Geochemical exploration of uranium using radon measurement techniques. Nucl. Geophys.,3,57-69.
  30. ↑ Virk H S and Sharma Navjeet (2000). Indoor radon levels and inhalation doses to a population in Punjab. Curr. Sci., 78, 1418-1420
  31. ↑ Virk H S (1995). Radon monitoring of microseismicity in the Kangra and Chamba valleys of Himachal Pradesh, India. Nucl. Geophys., 9, 141-146
  32. ↑ Walia V, H S Virk, Yang T F and B S Bajwa (2005). Earthquake prediction studies using radon as a precursor in N-W Himalayas, India: A case study. TAO (Taiwan) 16(4), 775-804
  33. ↑ Virk H S, Kishore K and Baloria V (2010). Fabrication of Copper Nanowires by Electrodeposition using Anodic Alumina and Polymer Templates. Journal of Nano Research 10, 63-67.
  34. ↑ Virk H S and Poonam Sharma (2010). Synthesis, Characterization and Clustering Phenomenon of Zinc Oxide Nanocrystals. Int. J. of Nanosci. & Tech. 1(1), 11-16.
  35. ↑ Virk H S (2011). Fabrication and characterization of metallic Copper and Copper Oxide nanoflowers. Pakistan J. of Chemistry 1(4), 1-7
  36. ↑ Jotania R, Poonam Sharma and Virk H S (2011). Effect of CTAB surfactant on the microstructural and magnetic properties of barium hexaferrite. J. Nanoscience Letters, 1(1), 63-71
  37. ↑ . Hardev Singh Virk (2017). A Crisis Situation Due to Uranium and Heavy Metal Contamination of Ground Waters in Punjab State, India: A Preliminary Report. Research & Reviews: A Journal of Toxicology 7(2), 6-11
  38. ↑ Hardev Singh Virk (2020). Groundwater Contamination in Punjab due to Arsenic, Selenium and Uranium Heavy Metals. Research & Reviews: A Journal of Toxicology. 10(1), 1-6
  39. ↑ Sahoo P, Virk HS, Powell M, Kumar R, Pattanaik J, Salomao G, Mittal S and Tiwari RP (2021)Meta-analysis of uranium contamination in groundwater in the alluvial plains of Punjab, northwest India: status, health risk, and hydrogeochemical processes. Science of Total Environment(Accepted)
  40. ↑ "HARDEV SINGH Virk | Sri Guru Granth Sahib World University - Academia.edu".
  41. ↑ "Hardev Singh Virk BOOKS - SikhBookClub".
  42. ↑ Vichaar - "Why Sikhism Fails to Impact at Global Level" (Apr 10, 2018)
  43. ↑ Vichaar - "Relevance of Guru Nanak in Modern Scientific Era" (August 2019)
  44. ↑ Honorable Mention Award for Research Project
  45. ↑ S. Kartar Singh Dhaliwal Award for Scientific & Literary Writing in Punjabi
  46. ↑ Shiromani Award as Best Writer of Scientific Literature in Punjabi
  47. ↑ First Prizes for Scientific Text Books in Punjabi medium


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