Krishnaswamy Kasturirangan
Krishnaswamy Kasturirangan | |
---|---|
Indian Space Research Organisation | |
In office 1994 – 27 August 2003 | |
Preceded by | Udupi Ramachandra Rao |
Succeeded by | G. Madhavan Nair |
Krishnaswamy Kasturirangan | |
---|---|
Born | Indian Space Research Organisation | 24 October 1940
Krishnaswamy Kasturirangan (born 24 October 1940) is an Indian space scientist who headed the
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
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
Under his leadership, the programme witnessed several major milestones including the successful launching and operationalisation of the India's prestigious launch vehicles, the
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
Kasturirangan is the recipient of honorary doctorates from 27 universities.
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.
References
- Indian Space Research Organisation. 2016. Archived from the originalon 25 September 2020. Retrieved 22 December 2016.
- ^ "Home | Central University of Rajasthan".
- ^ "Former ISRO chief Kasturirangan to take over as NIIT University chairperson". India Today. 23 November 2019.
- ^ "Welcome to Jawaharlal Nehru University". Archived from the original on 7 May 2012. Retrieved 2 May 2012.
- ^ "Planning Commission Organisation". Shivap. Archived from the original on 4 March 2010. Retrieved 3 December 2009.
- Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India. 2015. Archived from the original(PDF) on 15 October 2015. Retrieved 21 July 2015.
- S2CID 128034694.
- ^ "At 175, SRV School holds its head high". The New Indian Express. Retrieved 18 July 2021.
- ^ "Ramnarain Ruia Autonomous College". ruiacollege.edu. Retrieved 18 July 2021.
- ^ "Dr Kasturirangan, the mind behind the New Education Policy, used to head India's space agency". Business Insider. Retrieved 12 November 2020.
- ISSN 1476-4687
- ^ "K. Kasturirangan to head panel to develop new curriculum framework". The Hindu. 21 September 2021. Retrieved 22 September 2021.
- ^ "K Kasturirangan to head education ministry's panel to develop school curriculum". Hindustan Times. 22 September 2021. Retrieved 22 September 2021.
- ^ "Raman Research Institute". rri.res.in. Retrieved 19 November 2019.