The Chairman of the Indian Space Research Organisation, a senior police official of the Karnataka Lokayukta and a watchmaker were among those who received the Distinguished Alumnus Award 2015 at the Indian institute of Science (IISc) on Sunday.
A.S. Kiran Kumar, Chairman of ISRO, said his experiences at the premier science institute moulded his career in the space organisation.
Mr. Kumar had done his Masters in Physical Engineering with distinction in 1975, before heading out to ISRO where he played crucial roles in the Chandrayaan-1 and the Mars Orbiter missions.
“My exposure to interdisciplinary work (in IISc) helped me especially in my early years.
This process of innovative work helped me bring together different people from different disciplines in order to forge a team,” Mr. Kiran Kumar said.
The other four being honoured are: K.S.R. Charan Reddy, Inspector General of Police, Special Investigation Team of the Karnataka Lokayukta, who graduated with a Masters in Management Studies in 1990; Professor Mitter Vedu, who pioneered professional grade multi-layer printed circuit boards, hybrid integrated circuits and electronic quartz watches with chip-on-board technology; Sunil Kumar, from the 1992 IISc batch who is now a professor in operations management; and, Subhash C. Singhal – from the 1965 batch who then went on to become a prominent researcher in solid oxide fuel cell technology.
The award is jointly constituted by the IISc and the IISc Alumni Association.
Director of IISc Anurag Kumar hoped that the alumni would re-engage with the institute in its various activities.
This article has been edited for a factual error
