Vijay Kumar Kapur

Vijay Kumar Kapur of Arlington, Virginia, passed away on Saturday, September 27, 2025, at the age of 82. Vijay was born on September 23, 1943, in Lahore, Panjab, India (now Pakistan). After the partition of the country, the family relocated to Gurgaon, Haryana, India, where he attended primary and secondary school.

Vijay graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree in chemistry from D.S.D. College in Gurgaon, where he then worked as an instructor, following which he was employed for several years as a production chemist in a chemical factory in Pune, Maharashtra, India. In 1963, Vijay moved to Mumbai (formerly Bombay), Maharashtra, India, where he was accepted into the Scientific Officer Training School at the Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC) of the Department of Atomic Energy of the Government of India. After completing Scientific Officer Training, Vijay worked in the waste treatment research division on the vexing problem of how to safely encapsulate/dispose of the “forever” nuclear reactive particles from nuclear energy production.

In 1968, Vijay came to Philadelphia, PA, to undertake doctoral studies in the Department of Chemistry of the University of Pennsylvania, where his faculty advisor was Bradford Wayland, PhD. Vjiay’s subsequent post-doctoral research at U. Penn led him to a career-long scientific interest in research into and development of cutting-edge types of solar cells.

Vijay’s good friends from BARC, Alagawadi Viswanatha, Virendra Bhatia, and Y.S. Murthy came to the northeast US around the same time, and they kept in close touch going forward throughout their lives in the US. Vijay’s Penn Chemistry PhD colleague, Charles Marino, has remained a true long-time friend as well. During his time in Philadelphia, Vijay met his wife, Patricia, who was studying medicine at U. Penn. Vijay and Patricia married in April 1975 and enjoyed a long and happy marriage.

In 1976, Vijay and Patricia moved to Palo Alto, CA, where Vijay worked at Stanford Research Institute in solar cell research and development. In 1979, the couple moved to Los Angeles, where Vijay worked in the research labs of ARCO Solar, Inc., and then led his own R&D company, International Solar Electric Technology (ISET, Inc.) until his retirement.

After retirement, Vijay and Patricia moved to Philadelphia, where he spent time with son Nick and his family and became involved with the Science History Institute’s Joseph Priestly Society’s program committee, the Hopkinson House HOA’s Engineering Committee, and the Washington Square Civic Association and its discussion group. He enjoyed getting to know friends and neighbors in Hopkinson House, attended numerous concerts and theater events, explored good food at many restaurants, and enjoyed going frequently to the arboretums and gardens in the Philadelphia area. The couple recently relocated to Arlington, VA, to share a home with their son Vincent and his family.

Vijay is survived by Patricia; sons Nick Kapur (Chinghsin Wu) and Vincent Kapur (Megan), and grandchildren Clarity, Kenning, and Nora Kapur; in addition to his siblings in India, sister Uma Vig, and brother Gulshan Kapur, and their families. Spending time with Nick and Vince and their families was his special delight.

Contributions may be made in Vijay’s memory to Doctors Without Borders or to your favorite PBS or NPR station.