With profound sorrow and a heavy heart, we announce that we lost our beloved Dr. Dip Singh Gill on April 23rd, 2022. He lived a fulfilling life as a caring husband of Dr. Mrs. Kirandip Gill and a doting father of daughters Param Gill and Tarun Gill. He was surrounded by loving sons-in-law, Mr. Ranjith Chandrasekar and Dr. Jagpreet Chhatwal. His affection and fondness towards his loving grandsons Aryan Gill Ranjith, Vir Singh Gill-Chhatwal, and Arjun Gill Ranjith will always remain in our hearts.
Born in Montgomery, Panjab (undivided India) on July 5th, 1945, to late Mr. Gopal Singh Gill and late Mrs. Kirpal Kaur, he was one of the four siblings: eldest brother late Mr. Manager Singh Gill, sister Mrs. Ajit Kaur Kahlon and younger brother late Mr. Ajit Singh Gill. His family migrated to Maujgarh, Punjab, India in 1947, where he spent a joyful childhood. Remembered as extremely intelligent with a photographic memory, he went on to obtain B.Sc (honors) in 1966, M.Sc (honors) in 1967 and a Ph. D. in 1971 (first division and 2nd rank) from Panjab University, Chandigarh. He started his research career as an Assistant Professor at Himachal Pradesh University, where he spent 14 years and later joined as a faculty at Panjab University Chandigarh in 1984. He was appointed as the Chairman of the Department of Chemistry in 2005 at Panjab University and later awarded the lifelong Emeritus Professorship at the Department in 2008. In 2017 he immigrated to the United States of America and settled in Andover, MA (Boston Area).
Rising from a modest background, he became an internationally renowned scientist by sheer hard work, dedication, and unparalleled inquisitiveness towards research and teaching. His significant contributions in the field of Chemistry and outstanding research career as an invited Professor in many prestigious universities of the world including Germany, France, United Kingdom, Norway, Sweden, Finland, Australia, and India brought him fame on a global platform. He was a recipient of many distinguished honors and awards including Fellow of the German Academic Exchange Program (Hamburg Germany), DAAD Professorship (Germany), Max Planck Fellow (Goettingen, Germany), Gleddon Senior Fellowship (Aachen, Germany), UGC Emeritus Fellowship (India) and Fellow of the National Academy of Sciences (India). He authored over a hundred research publications in scientific journals of high reputation in many pioneering areas of Chemistry. He is well known for the “Gill Equation”, a modification of Stoke’s law, a significant contribution to the field of Solution Chemistry. His work on Copper (II) chemistry is world-renowned among the scientific community.
He was the purest of souls, extremely honest, kind-hearted, and cared immensely for family and friends. Always with a smile on his face, he had a great sense of humor and was the life of gatherings and family get-togethers. An avid reader who loved nature, he was a well-traveled man. He loved to recite poems and Gurbani. He published his autobiography “My Long Journey to International Fame” in 2011 sharing his life experiences and inspiring others to achieve their dreams through hard work and dedication.
A big believer of equality for women in all spheres of life, he was an unconditionally supporting husband to Kiran. A loving father whose daughters were the center of his universe, he always aimed to provide them with the highest of education and the best of life. He brought up his daughters to live fearlessly, independently and have a strong voice for themselves. He spent long cheerful walks with his eldest son-in-law, Ranjith, discussing about God, goodness of the soul, the world and sharing his travel experiences with him. Sharing common interests in academics with his son-in-law, Jagpreet, he enjoyed having long conversations about his professional life with him. A proud grandfather, he could always be seen playing soccer with his three grandsons. Highly respected by family, colleagues and students, he lived a life of great honor and dignity. A proud Sikh, he imbibed the values of “Kirat Karo, Vand Chako, Naam Japo” in his family, who will continue to carry his legacy of helping those in need. Despite his long struggle with Parkinson's disease, he always believed in “Chardi Kala” and was a source of positivity and inspired everyone to take challenges head-on.
May Waheguru ji take care of his precious soul. His positive attitude and serene aura will live in our hearts forever.
Gill Family: Kirandip Gill, Former Head of Department of Biochemistry, PIGMER, Chandigarh (978-608-6996)? Param Gill and Ranjith Chandrasekar (617-710-4847 & 617-922-1823) Tarun Gill and Jagpreet Chhatwal (858-337-2204 & 608-334-3292) Aryan, Vir and Arjun