Dr. Krishnaswamy Kasturirangan

Dr. Krishnaswamy Kasturirangan, former IAA Vice-President Scientific Activities and ISRO Chairman, died on April 25, 2025.

He was elected a Corresponding Member from Section 2 Engineering Sciences in 1986, Full Member in 1996 and Honorary Member in 2018.

Under his Chairmanship, ISRO accomplished 25 successful space missions. In the area of space science he was involved in the study of optical variations of the cataclysmic variable stars and x-ray sources and execution of the cosmic ray burst experiment planned to take place on board the next Indian satellite. He contributed to the study of high energy x-ray emissions from SCOX-1, CYGX-1, HERX-1, etc., and to investigations into the effects of ionization in the night-time low latitude D-region by cosmic x-ray. He directed the ISRO Satellite Centre and was responsible for overseeing development of next-generation satellites including INSAT-2 and IRS-1A & 1B.
After his illustrious space career, Kasturirangan pivoted to education policy and led the drafting committee of the NEP-2020, introducing a transformative vision for Indian schooling and higher education. He has published more than 200 papers and six books.