Professor Emeritus Harkishan Singh, Padma Shri Awardee
Professor Harkishan Singh, , Ph.D., D.Sc. (University of Science, Philadelphia, PA, USA & Punjab University, Chandigarh, India) was Professor Emeritus at the Panjab University (Chandigarh, India), is a well-recognized pharmaceutical academic, medicinal chemistry researcher and a science historian. He has experience of over half a century to his credit. He has worked at the Banaras Hindu University, University of Saugor and Panjab University in India, and abroad at the University of Maryland, University of Mississippi and the University of London.
His scientific research has been in organic chemistry, medical chemistry, and natural products. Nearly 50 master and doctoral theses have been completed under his supervision. There have been 125 original scientific research papers. 14 patents have been obtained. His research group has been successful in designing a clinically useful drug candocuronium iodide (INN) (chandonium iodide, HS-310), which is a synthetic azasteroid.
Dr Singh has lectured on his research at several of the institutions and conferences in India, United States of America, Canada, United Kingdom, Switzerland and China. He delivered invited lectures at the Harvard School of Medicine and at the International Symposium on Molecular Structure sponsored by the International Union of Crystallography at Beijing.
As a science historian Professor Singh has examined the history of pharmaceutical developments in India of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. His history research studies have been on pharmacopoeias and formularies, pharmaceutical education, pharmacy practice, biographies of pharmaceutical luminaries, and pharmaceutical journalism. He has published over eighty articles. In addition to his scientific and history research papers, Dr Singh has authored and/or co-authored many books and review articles, including several book chapters. He has written extensively on educational, scientific, historical and professional issues.
All told, his total publications come to well over 400, including eighteen books. Selected publications are listed on his website and Wikipedia. Professor Singh has been on many academic, scientific, professional and governmental bodies. He was a member of the Committee on International Education of Medicinal Chemists of the International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry, which prepared the Report on the International Education of Medicinal Chemists (IUPAC Technical Reports Number 13; 1974).
His affiliations with several scientific and professional organizations include emeritus membership of the American Chemical Society, life memberships of the Indian Pharmaceutical Association and Association of Pharmaceutical Teachers of India, and memberships of the American Institute of History of Pharmacy and British Society for History of Pharmacy.
Professor Harkishan Singh was a recipient of several scientific and professional awards and recognitions. He has been a National Fellow of the University Grants Commission, New Delhi. He has been General President of the Indian Pharmaceutical Congress. He received the Eminent Pharmacist Award of the Indian Pharmaceutical Association. Lifetime achievement awards have been conferred on him by several bodies; the recent one is the Lifetime Achievement Award by the Punjab Academy of Sciences. Dr Singh’s standing as historian has been recognized through his election to the Academie Internationale d’Histoire de la Pharmacie. The University of the Sciences in Philadelphia and Punjab University in Chandigarh conferred upon Professor Harkishan Singh the degree of Doctor of Science (Honoris Causa) in recognition of his distinguished academic career and outstanding contributions to scientific research in organic and medicinal chemistry and the history of pharmacy
Professor Harkishan Singh is also known for his creation of National Institute of Pharmaceutical Education and Research , SAS Nagar, Punjab along with Dr. Parvinder Singh, MD, Ranbaxy. Today, NIPER is the only postgraduate research and research institute in Pharmaceuticals as AIIMS is to Medicine and IIM is to Management. NIPER.
Professor Harkishan Singh had the biggest collection of pharmaceutical 1750 books/ bound volumes, magazines and publications collected from around the world, his awards and certificates and all photographs including his original degrees, citations, proclamations including his Padma Shri. His collection was described to be priceless worth millions at one point and was referred to as a historical archive. This treasure collection is now at the NIPER’s Pharmaceutical Heritage Center at Professor Harkishan Singhs Archival Collection Center. Here with attached find NIPERS 114-page listing of this collection per Professor Singh’s will was fully transferred to NIPER in January 2020, two months before he chose to bid farewell to the mundane world on March 20, 2020.
