'Rocket man' K Sivan: Five things you must know about the new ISRO chief

NEW DELHI: Renowned scientist K Sivan was on Wednesday appointed by the government as the chairman of Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) to replace A S Kiran Kumar. Sivan, at present Director of Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre, will succeed Kumar, who was appointed on January 12, 2015.

• He graduated from Madras Institute of Technology in aeronautical engineering in 1980 and completed Master of Engineering in Aerospace engineering from IISc, Bangalore in 1982, according to his biodata.
• An alumnus of IIT Bombay, Sivan has contributed significantly in Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV), Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle (GSLV) and GSLV Mk-Ill vehicle design. He has been credited for development of the PSLV rocket that launched 104 satellites in a single mission, setting a world record in February last year.
• Sivan joined the ISRO in 1982 in PSLV project and has contributed immensely towards end to end mission planning, mission design, mission integration and analysis.
• He has numerous publications in various journals and is a fellow of Indian National Academy of Engineering, Aeronautical Society of India and Systems Society of India.
• Sivan has received numerous awards throughout his career which includes Doctor of Science (Honoris Causa) from Sathyabama University, Chennai in April 2014 and Shri Hari Om Ashram Prerit Dr Vikram Sarabhai Research award for 1999.

(With PTI inputs)