Krishnaswamy Kasturirangan

Last updated

Krishnaswamy Kasturirangan
Kasturirangan at IISc.jpg
Chairman, Indian Space Research Organisation
In office
1994 (1994) –27 August 2003 (2003-08-27)
Awards Padma Vibhushan
Scientific career
Fields Space Research
Institutions

Krishnaswamy Kasturirangan (born 24 October 1940) is an Indian space scientist who headed the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) from 1994 to 2003. [1] He is presently Chancellor of Central University of Rajasthan [2] and NIIT University. [3] He is the former chancellor of Jawaharlal Nehru University [4] and the chairman of Karnataka Knowledge Commission. [5] He is a former member of the Rajya Sabha (2003–09) and a former member of the now defunct Planning Commission of India. He was also the director of the National Institute of Advanced Studies, Bangalore, from April 2004 to 2009. He is a recipient of the three major civilian awards from the Government of India: the Padma Shri, the Padma Bhushan and the Padma Vibhushan. [6]

Contents

Early life and education

Early life

Kasturirangan was born on 24 October 1940, at Ernakulam in the erstwhile Kingdom of Cochin, to C. M. Krishnaswamy Iyer and Visalakshi. Kasturirangan's forefathers hailed from Tamil Nadu and later settled down in different parts of Kerala; his maternal forefathers settled in Nallepalli Agraharam, in Chittur taluk, Palakkad district and his paternal forefathers settled in the town of Chalakudy, near Thrissur. Kasturirangan's maternal grandfather Sri Ananthanarayana Iyer completed his school and college education and became a sanitary inspector in Ernakulam. He was well-respected in the community for his discipline and integrity. He and his wife Narayani had four daughters and a son, the eldest of whom was Visalakshi.

Kasturirangan's paternal grandfather, Chalakudy Manikam Iyer, being mindful of the importance of education, ensured that all his sons received a sound education up to graduation. Kasturirangan's father was a graduate in chemistry from Maharaja's College, Ernakulam. He worked in a variety of administrative capacities at Tata Airlines and retired as a senior accountant officer at the Indian Airlines Corporation. Kasturirangan and his brother Ravi spent their early childhood in Ernakulam in the care of their maternal grandparents after the death of their mother. At the age of ten, after the sudden death of his grandfather, he joined his father in Bombay (now Mumbai) along with his brother.

Shortly after completing his PhD in 1969, Kasturirangan married Lakshmi. They have two sons, Rajesh and Sanjay. His wife died in 1991. [7]

Education

Kasturirangan did his schooling at Sree Rama Varma High School. [8] Kasturirangan graduated in science with honours from Ramnarain Ruia College, [9] Mumbai, and obtained his Master of Science degree in physics from the University of Mumbai. [10] He received his Doctorate Degree in experimental high energy astronomy in 1971, working at the Physical Research Laboratory, Ahmedabad. He has published more than 240 papers in the areas of astronomy, space science and applications.

Key contributions

Kasturirangan served as Chairman of the Indian Space Research Organisation for 9 years, Chairman of Space Commission and Secretary to the Government of India in the Department of Space, before laying down his office on 27 August 2003. In ISRO he served as the director of ISRO Satellite Centre, overseeing the development of new generation spacecraft, the Indian National Satellite System (INSAT-2), the Indian remote sensing satellites (IRS-1A and -1B) as well as scientific satellites. He was also the project director for India's first two experimental earth observation satellites, Bhaskara-I and II.

Under his leadership, the programme witnessed several major milestones including the successful launching and operationalisation of the India's prestigious launch vehicles, the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle and the Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle (GSLV). Studies on the advanced version of the GSLV, GSLVMk-III, were also completed, including defining its full configuration. Further, he also oversaw the development and launching of THE remote sensing satellites, IRS-1C and IRS-1D, realisation of new generation INSAT communication satellites, besides ocean observation satellites IRS-P3 and -P4. He also led the initiative for India to enter the planetary exploration era by extensive studies leading to the definition of Chandrayaan-1. These efforts have put India as a pre-eminent space-faring nation among the handful of six countries that have major space programmes. As an astrophysicist, Kasturirangan's interests include research in high energy X-ray and gamma-ray astronomy, as well as optical astronomy. Defining India's most ambitious space based high-energy astronomy observatory and initiating related activities was also an important milestone under his leadership. He has made extensive and significant contributions to studies of cosmic X-ray and gamma ray sources and effect of cosmic X-rays in the lower atmosphere.

Kasturirangan is head of a committee tasked with creating the National Education Policy 2020 for India. [11] Later in September 2021, he was appointed as the head of a 12-member steering committee which would be responsible for developing a new National Curriculum Framework. This committee, having been given a tenure of 3 years, will be the guiding document for the development of textbooks, syllabi and teaching practices of schools across the country. [12] [13]

Kasturirangan also serves as a member of the board of trustees of the Raman Research Institute Trust, Bengaluru. [14]

Honours and awards

Year of award of honourName of award of honourAwarding organization
2009Vikram Sarabhai Memorial Gold MedalIndian Science Congress [15] [16]
2007Theodore von Karman AwardInternational Academy of Astronautics [17]
2003Aryabhata AwardAstronautical Society of India [18]
2000Padma VibhushanGovernment of India [19] [20]
1999H.K. Firodia Award for Excellence in Science & TechnologyH K Firodia Memorial Foundation [21] [19]
1997M.P. Birla Memorial Award in AstronomyM. P. Birla Institute of Fundamental Research [19] [22]
1992Padma BhushanGovernment of India [20] [23]
1982Padma ShriGovernment of India [20] [23]
1981Intercosmos Council AwardSoviet Academy of Sciences [16] [24]

Kasturirangan is the recipient of honorary doctorates from 27 universities. [25]

Controversies

He was the superior officer of ISRO when Nambi Narayanan was accused of selling secrets to Pakistan. Kasturirangan's lack of help to the latter was noted in the movie Rocketry: The Nambi Effect.


Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Udupi Ramachandra Rao</span> Indian space scientist (1932–2017)

Udupi Ramachandra Rao was an Indian space scientist and former chairman of the Indian Space Research Organisation. He was also the Chairman of the Governing Council of the Physical Research Laboratory at Ahmedabad and Nehru Planetarium at Bengaluru and chancellor of the Indian Institute for Space Science and Technology (IIST) at Thiruvananthapuram. He is known as "The Satellite Man of India". He pioneered India's first satellite launch Aryabhata in 1975.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Liquid Propulsion Systems Centre</span> ISRO India research centre

The Liquid Propulsion Systems Centre (LPSC),Thiruvananthapuram is a research and development centre functioning under Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO). It has two units located at Valiamala, in Thiruvananthapuram of Kerala, and Bengaluru of Karnataka. LPSC is augmented by ISRO Propulsion Complex at Mahendragiri of Tamil Nadu.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">S. K. Shivakumar</span> Indian scientist (1953–2019)

Dr. S. K. Shivakumar was an Indian Distinguished Scientist from Karnataka state who worked at the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) centres. He was awarded the Padma Shri, the fourth highest civilian award of India, in 2015.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Koppillil Radhakrishnan</span> Chairman of the Indian Space Research Organisation

K. Radhakrishnan a.k.a Koppillil Radhakrishnan is an Indian space scientist who headed the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) as Chairman of Space Commission, Secretary of the Department of Space, Government of India. Under his leadership, India became the first country to reach Mars in its first attempt.

INSAT-3D is a meteorological, data relay and satellite aided search and rescue satellite developed by the Indian Space Research Organisation and was launched successfully on 26 July 2013 using an Ariane 5 ECA launch vehicle from French Guiana. The satellite has many new technology elements like star sensor, micro stepping Solar Array Drive Assembly (SADA) to reduce the spacecraft disturbances and Bus Management Unit (BMU) for control and telecom and telemetry function. It also incorporates new features of bi-annual rotation and Image and Mirror motion compensations for improved performance of the meteorological payloads.

Sree Rama Varma High School, officially Sree Rama Varma Govt Model Higher Secondary School and popularly known as SRV High School) is the largest government-owned school in Kochi, Kerala, India. It was founded by the Kochi Royal family as the English Elementary School in 1845. The school was later named after King Rama Varma of the founding Kochi Royal family. After the independence of India from British rule in 1947, and the reorganization of the states of India in 1956, the school was handed over to the Government of Kerala, which now owns and operates it.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">George Joseph (scientist)</span> Indian space scientist (born 1938)

George Joseph is an Indian space scientist, best known for his contributions to the development of remote sensing technology in India, especially in the field of Earth observation sensors. He is a former chairman of the Lunar Mission Study Task Force of the Indian Space Research Organization and an elected fellow of the National Academy of Sciences, India, Indian Academy of Sciences and Indian National Academy of Engineering. The Government of India awarded him the Padma Bhushan, the third highest civilian award, in 1999.

GSAT-14 is an Indian communications satellite launched in January 2014. It replaced the GSAT-3 satellite, which was launched in 2004. GSAT-14 was launched by a Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle Mk.II, which incorporated an Indian-built cryogenic engine on the third stage.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">INSAT-4E</span> Indian communication satellite

INSAT-4E, also known as GSAT-6, is a member of the INSAT family and is a multimedia communication satellite that will offer a Satellite Digital Multimedia Broadcasting (S-DMB) service across several digital multimedia terminals or consoles which can be used to provide information services to vehicles on the fly and to the mobile phones. The satellite can be used for other social and strategic applications.

IRS-P3 was a remote sensing satellite launched by ISRO on board of Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) launch vehicle for remote sensing of Earth's natural resources. It also hosted a scientific instrument, the Indian X-ray Astronomy Experiment (IXAE), for the study of X-ray astronomy. The IRS-P3 satellite contained an X-ray astronomy instrument, a C-band transponder and two remote sensing instruments.

M.Y.S. Prasad is an Indian scientist and the former director of the Satish Dhawan Space Centre Sriharikota Range (SDSC-SHAR). Govt. of India’s Civilian Award Padma Shri for the year 2014 for his distinguished service in Science and Technology.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">A. S. Kiran Kumar</span> Indian Space Scientist

Aluru Seelin Kiran Kumar is an Indian space scientist and former chairman of the Indian Space Research Organisation, having assumed office on 14 January 2015. He is credited with the development of key scientific instruments aboard the Chandrayaan-1 and Mangalyaan space crafts. In 2014, he was awarded the Padma Shri, India's fourth highest civilian award, for his contributions to the fields of science and technology. Kiran Kumar previously served as Director of Ahmedabad Space Applications Centre.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Prem Shanker Goel</span> Indian scientist

Prem Shanker Goel is an Indian space scientist, former secretary at the Department of Ocean Development, Ministry of Earth Sciences, Government of India and a former director of Indian Space Research Organization. He was honored by the Government of India, in 2001, with the fourth highest Indian civilian award of Padma Shri.

Nagarajan Vedachalam is an Indian space scientist, K. R. Ramanathan Distinguished Professor of the Department of Space and distinguished scientist emeritus of Indian Space Research Organization, known for his contributions to Indian space programme. He is a former director of the Liquid Propulsion Systems Centre that developed the cryogenic engine of the Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle (GSLV) and is reported to have associated with over 100 space programmes of ISRO. He continues to sit in many committees of the Department of Space though officially retired from ISRO service as the director of ISRO Inertial Systems Unit (IISU) and holds several patents for his innovations.

Nilamber Pant is an Indian space scientist, a former member of the Space Commission of India and a pioneer of satellite based communication and broadcasting in India. He served at the Satish Dhawan Space Centre and the ISRO Satellite Centre before becoming the vice chairman of the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO). The Government of India awarded him the fourth highest Indian civilian honour of Padma Shri in 1984.

Suryanarayanan Srinivasan (1941–1999) was an Indian aeronautical engineer and the Director of the Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre (VSSC), known for his pioneering work in rocket science. He also served as the director of Satish Dhawan Space Centre and assisted A. P. J. Abdul Kalam in the SLV3 Mission as its deputy director. He was an elected Fellow of the Aeronautical Society of India and the Indian National Academy of Engineering. The Government of India awarded him the third highest civilian honour of the Padma Bhushan, in 2000, for his contributions to Indian space program.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">GEO Imaging Satellite</span> Indian earth observation satellite

Geo Imaging Satellite or GISAT is an Indian imaging satellite class for geostationary orbit with a high temporal resolution, meant for providing near real time imaging with fast revisit capability and real time monitoring. Two satellites will provide resolution in the range of 42 to 318 m. It will carry multi-spectral, multi-resolution imaging instruments.

Krishnaswamy is an Indian name and may refer to:

The U R Rao Satellite Centre (URSC), formerly ISRO Satellite Centre (ISAC) (Hindi: इसरो उपग्रह केंद्र) is an ISRO centre for the design, development, and construction of Indian satellites. It was established in 1972 as Indian Scientific Satellite Project (ISSP) in Peenya Industrial Estates of Bangalore. ISAC was renamed as U. R. Rao Satellite Centre (URSC) after the former ISRO Chairman and ISAC founding director Dr. Udupi Ramachandra Rao with effect from 2 April 2018. URSC is situated in Vimanapura Post.

References

  1. ↑ "Dr. Krishnaswamy Kasturirangan (1994–2003)". Indian Space Research Organisation. 2016. Archived from the original on 25 September 2020. Retrieved 22 December 2016.
  2. ↑ "Home | Central University of Rajasthan".
  3. ↑ "Former ISRO chief Kasturirangan to take over as NIIT University chairperson". India Today. 23 November 2019.
  4. ↑ "Welcome to Jawaharlal Nehru University". Archived from the original on 7 May 2012. Retrieved 2 May 2012.
  5. ↑ "Planning Commission Organisation". Shivap. Archived from the original on 4 March 2010. Retrieved 3 December 2009.
  6. ↑ "Padma Awards" (PDF). Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India. 2015. Archived from the original (PDF) on 15 October 2015. Retrieved 21 July 2015.
  7. ↑ Suresh, B. N., ed. (2021). Space and Beyond. doi:10.1007/978-981-33-6510-0. ISBN   978-981-33-6509-4. S2CID   128034694.
  8. ↑ "At 175, SRV School holds its head high". The New Indian Express. Retrieved 18 July 2021.
  9. ↑ "Ramnarain Ruia Autonomous College". ruiacollege.edu. Retrieved 18 July 2021.
  10. ↑ "Dr Kasturirangan, the mind behind the New Education Policy, used to head India's space agency". Business Insider. Retrieved 12 November 2020.
  11. ↑ ISSN   1476-4687
  12. ↑ "K. Kasturirangan to head panel to develop new curriculum framework". The Hindu. 21 September 2021. Retrieved 22 September 2021.
  13. ↑ "K Kasturirangan to head education ministry's panel to develop school curriculum". Hindustan Times. 22 September 2021. Retrieved 22 September 2021.
  14. ↑ "Raman Research Institute". rri.res.in. Retrieved 19 November 2019.
  15. ↑ "K Kasturirangan".
  16. 1 2 "Prof.Krishnaswamy Kasturirangan".
  17. ↑ "Dr K Kasturirangan Chairperson".
  18. ↑ "Chancellor".
  19. 1 2 3 "Prof.Krishnaswamy Kasturirangan".
  20. 1 2 3 "K. Kasturirangan (Padma Vibhushan)".
  21. ↑ "Celebrating 25 Years of H. K. Firodia Awards for Excellence in Science & Technology".
  22. ↑ "M P BIRLA PLANETARIUM M. P. Birla Memorial Award".
  23. 1 2 "Dr.Krishnaswamy Kasturirangan(1994-2003)".
  24. ↑ "Dr. Krishnaswamy Kasturirangan".
  25. ↑ "Dr. K. Kasturirangan Former Chairman ISRO".
Government offices
Preceded by ISRO Chairman
1994–2003		Succeeded by
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.