AVUL
PAKIR JAINULABDEEN ABDUL KALAM
Born on 15th
October, 1931 at Rameshwaram in Tamilnadu, Bharat Ratna Avul Pakir
Jainulabdeen Abdul Kalam assumes the office of the President of
the Republic of India on July 25, 2002.
From a humble
beginning, Dr. Kalam had an unparalleled career as an Aerospace
and Defence Scientist, leading the nation with a vision of "Developed
India." Dr. Kalam as an eminent Aeronautical Engineer, contributed
for the development of India’s first Satellite launch vehicle
SLV III, became the architect of Indian Guided Missile development
programme, led to the successful Nuclear experiments and envisioned
a road map for realising "Developed India" within 20 years.
A
graduate from the St. Joseph’s College, Tiruchirapalli, Abdul
Kalam later studied aeronautical engineering in the Madras Institute
of Technology which was regarded as the crown jewel of technical
education in Southern India in the fifties. After passing out
as a graduate aeronautical engineer, Abdul Kalam joined the Directorate
of Technical Development and Production of the Ministry of Defence.
He
later joined the Indian Committee for Space Research (INCOSPAR)
as a Rocket Engineer, which during the later half of 1962 had
decided to set up the Equatorial Rocket Launching Station at Thumba.
He became a member of team led by Prof. Vikram Sarabai which aimed
at organising an integrated national space programme for the manufacture
of rockets and launch vehicles indigenously.
Dr.
Abdul Kalam was chosen to lead a team for the design & development
of Satellite Launch Vehicle, SLV III which was successfully launched
on 18th July, 1980, injecting Rohini satellite into
low earth orbit. He later became Director of ISRO Launch Vehicles/Systems
and contributed for the evolution of launch vehicle configurations.
Dr.
Abdul Kalam was appointed Director of the Defence Research and
Development Laboratory, Hyderabad in 1982. As Director, DRDL,
he was the Chief of integrated Guided Missile Development Programme
and led to successful completion of Prithvi and Agni missiles.
He was appointed as the Scientific Advisor to the Defence Minister,
Secretary to Department of Defence Research and Development and
Director General of Defence Research and Development Organisation
in 1992. Many new technology projects towards building self-reliance
in defence and also spin-off to society emerged during this period.
Later he became the Principal Scientific Advisior to the Government
of India in the rank of Cabinet Minister and served in this capacity
from November 1999 till November 2001. He was primarily responsible
for evolving policies, strategies and missions for generation
of innovations in technology development for multiple applications
through Government departments, academic institutions and industries
as partners. Dr. Kalam was also the Chairman, Ex-officio of the
Scientific Advisory Committee to the Cabinet (SAC-C). Dr. Kalam
believes that Technology can be used as a tool for national development.
In December 2001 he moved over to Anna University as Professor
of Technology & Societal Transformation.
Dr.
APJ abdul Kalam has been awarded Padma Bhushan in 1981, Padma
Vibhushan in 1990 and Bharat Ratna in 1997.
Dr.
Kalam was conferred with the degree of Doctor of Science (D.Sc.
Honoris-causa) by twenty eight universities. He is the recipient
of several awards including the National Design Award. Dr. Biren
Roy Space Award; Prof. Y Nayudamma Memorial Gold Medal (1996)
: GM Modi Award for Science (1996) : R K Firodia Award for Excellence
in S&T (1996) : Veer Savarkar Award (1998) : and Indira Gandhi
Award for National integration (1997).
He is a Fellow of
many professional societies including Aeronautical Society of
India : Astronautical Society ; Indian National Academy of Engineering
; Indian Academy of Sciences and Institution of Electronics and
Telecommunication Engineers.
Dr. Kalamn is a connoisseur
of classical Carnatic music. He plays veena in his leisure. He
writes poetry in Tamil, his mother tongue. Seventeen of his poems
were translated into English and published in 1994 as a book entitled
"My Journey". He is also the Author of three books in English
– "India 2020 : A vision for the New Millennium", "Wings of Fire
: an Autobiography" and "Ignited Minds – unleashing the power
within India."
