Abdul Kalam Dr.A.P.J.
Dr. Avul Pakir Jainulabhudin Adbul
Kalam, the twelfth President of India, is rightfully termed as the father of
India's missile technology. He was born to parents Jainulabdeen Marakayar and
Ashiamma on 15th October,
1931, at Dhanushkodi in
Rameshwaram district, Tamil Nadu. Dr.
Kalam as an eminent Aeronautical
Engineer, contributed for the development of India’s first Satellite launch
vehicle SLV-3 and the missiles like the Trishul, Agni, Pritvi etc.
He did his secondary
education at Schwartz High School in Ramanathapuram, B.Sc. at St. Joseph's
College(1950), Tiruchi, and DMIT in Aeronautical Engineering at the MIT, Madras
during 1954-57. After passing out as a graduate aeronautical engineer, Kalam
joined Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL), Bangalore as a trainee and
later joined as a technical
assistant in the Directorate of Technical Development and Production of the
Ministry of Defence.
In the 1960's Kalam joined the Vikram Sarabhai Space
Centre at Thumba in
Kerala. He played a major
role in the centre's evolution to a key hub of space research in India, helping
to develop the country's first indigenous satellite-launch vehicle.
During 1963-82, he served the
ISRO in various capacities. In 1982, he rejoined DRDO as Director, and
conceived the Integrated Guided Missile Development Programme (IGMDP) for five
indigenous missiles. Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam has established an Advanced
Technology Research Centre, called 'Research Centre Imarat' to undertake
development in futuristic missile technology areas. He also served as the
Principal Scientific Adviser to the Defence minister and later the Government
of India. After retiring from the post Dr. Kalam joined Annamalai University
till he became the President in January 2002.
He is a member of Indian
National Academy of Sciences, Astronautical Society of India and many other
professional bodies. Dr. APJ abdul Kalam has been awarded Padma Bhushan in
1981, Padma Vibhushan in 1990 and India's Highest civilian Award 'The Bharat
Ratna' in 1997. Other prestigious awards include Dr.Biren Roy Space Award, Om
Prakash Basin Award for Science and Technology, National Nehru Award, Arya
Bhatta Award etc. Dr. Kalam was conferred with the degree of Doctor of Science
(D.Sc. Honoris-causa) by twenty eight universities.
Dr. Kalam, a bachelor 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 reads the Quran and the
Bhagavad Gita with equal devotion. He is also the Author of the books 'India
2020 : A vision for the New Millennium'(1998 with YS Rajan), 'Wings of Fire :
an Autobiography' and 'Ignited Minds – unleashing the power within India'.
Totally dedicated to the nation, Dr. Abdul Kalam's
vision is to transform India into a developed nation by the year 2020 through
hard work and perseverance. He holds a first world dream for the third world
nation.
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