Prominent Physicist Professor Dr Khursheed Athar Siddiqui Departs
By Dr A. Khan
Chicago, IL, USA
Professor Dr Khursheed Athar Siddiqui, prominent educator, physicist, and researcher passed away in Karachi on Friday, October 7, 2022 ( Rabi-ul-Awwal 10, 1444 AH) .
He was born on January 2, 1948. He received his school, college and university education in Karachi: matric (1964), intermediate (1966), BSc (D. J. Science College 1968), and MSc (Physics, University of Karachi, 1971). In 1971 he went to England for higher studies and obtained his PhD from the University of Nottingham (1978). The title of his doctoral thesis was: “Interactions Within Cr3+ Pairs.”
Professor Khursheed Siddiqui joined the Department of Physics, University of Karachi, as lecturer in September 1979, and retired in September 2004 as Professor. During his tenure at the Department of Physics he promoted intellectual and cultural activities. His research interests were in areas of theoretical physics, solid state physics, and biophysics. He visited the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, as a Fulbright Scholar.
Professor Siddiqui taught courses in the Department of Applied Physics, University of Karachi, and served as Professor in the Department of Physics, King Abdul Aziz University, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. He was a very humble and helpful person. He enjoyed mentoring his students and peers. Dr Siddiqui supervised a number of graduate dissertations and wrote more than 55 research papers. Some of the papers that he authored/co-authored included:
- A Group Theoretic Treatment of f-Electrons in Endohedral Fullerenes (2009)
- Magnetic Structure of Endohedral Fullerenes (2009)
- A Molecular Theoretic Approach to GaN (2009)
- DNA and Genetic Code: a Candidate for Nano Devices (2009)
- The Sixth Paradigm of Physics (2000)
- The Covariant-Generalized-Coupling Model of Global-Electrocortical Activity (1997)
- The Sixth Paradigm of Physics: Mathematical Formulation (1997)
- Effects of Weak Magnetic Fields on Global-Electrocortical Activity (1992)
- Electrodynamics of the Brain (1992)
- Strangeness production in quark-gluon plasma (1988)
Professor Siddiqui’s demise is a great loss for the academia. He belonged to a rare and very dedicated group of academics who completed their studies in Physics at University of Karachi during 1950s, 1960s and 1970s, and went to Europe and North America for higher studies, then returned to Pakistan and served in various capacities all over the country.
Professor Siddiqui is survived by — his wife Dr Nayyar and two children — son Talha (CA) and daughter Shahrish. May Allah SWT bless his soul and assign him a station in Janet-ul-Firdous for his outstanding efforts and accomplishments in educating the youth of Pakistan and Saudi Arabia. Ameen!
