Tuesday, July 28, 2015
Life of Avul Pakir Jainulabdeen Abdul Kalam
15 October 1931 :
Born to a Tamil Muslim family in Rameswaram in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. His father's name was Jainulabudeen, a boat owner, and his mother Ashiamma, a housewife.
1954:
He graduated in physics from University of Madras.
1955:
He went to Madras to study Aerospace Engineering.
1960:
Graduated from the Madras Institute of Technology and joined the Aeronautical Development Establishment of the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) as a scientist. He started his career by designing a small helicopter for the Indian Army, but remained unconvinced by his choice of a job at DRDO.
1969:
Kalam was transferred to the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) where he was the project director of India's first Satellite Launch Vehicle (SLV-III) which successfully deployed the Rohini satellite in near-earth orbit in July 1980.
In 1963–64, he visited NASA's Langley Research Centre in Hampton, Virginia, Goddard Space Flight Centre in Greenbelt, Maryland and Wallops Flight Facility. Between the 1970s and 1990s, Kalam made an effort to develop the Polar Satellite Launching Vehicle (PSLV) and SLV-III projects, both of which proved to be successful.
1970:
Kalam also directed two projects, Project Devil and Project Valiant, which sought to develop ballistic missiles from the technology of the successful SLV programme.
Kalam served as the Chief Scientific Adviser to the Prime Minister and the Secretary of the Defence Research and Development Organisation from July 1992 to December 1999.
In 1998, along with cardiologist Soma Raju, Kalam developed a low cost coronary stent, named the "Kalam-Raju Stent".In 2012, the duo designed a rugged tablet computer for health care in rural areas, which was named the "Kalam-Raju Tablet".
2002:
Kalam served as the 11th President of India, succeeding K. R. Narayanan. He won the 2002 presidential election with an electoral vote of 922,884, surpassing the 107,366 votes won by Lakshmi Sahgal. He served from 25 July 2002 to 25 July 2007.
Post-presidency
After leaving office, Kalam became a visiting professor at the Indian Institute of Management Shillong, the Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad and the Indian Institute of Management Indore, an honorary fellow of Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore,Chancellor of the Indian Institute of Space Science and Technology Thiruvananthapuram, professor of Aerospace Engineering at Anna University and an adjunct at many other academic and research institutions across India. He taught information technology at the International Institute of Information Technology, Hyderabad and technology at Banaras Hindu University and Anna University.
In May 2012, Kalam launched a programme for the youth of India called the What Can I Give Movement, with a central theme of defeating corruption. He also enjoyed writing Tamil poetry and playing the veenai, a South Indian string instrument. He was nominated for the MTV Youth Icon of the Year award in 2003 and 2006.In the 2011 Hindi film I Am Kalam, Kalam is portrayed as a positive influence on a poor but bright Rajasthani boy named Chhotu, who renames himself Kalam in honour of his idol.
In 2011, Kalam was criticised by civil groups over his stand on the Koodankulam Nuclear Power Plant; he supported the establishment of the nuclear power plant and was accused of not speaking with the local people.The protesters were hostile to his visit as they perceived to him to be a pro-nuclear scientist and were unimpressed by the assurances provided by him regarding the safety features of the plant.
Death
 |
| Last Photo of Abdul Kalam |
While delivering a lecture on Livable Planet Earth at Indian Institute of Management Shillong on 27 July 2015, Kalam suffered a severe heart attack at around 6:30 p.m IST. He was rushed to the Bethany Hospital in a critical condition; despite efforts to revive him, he died of cardiac arrest at 7:45 p.m IST.
Year of award or honour
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Name of award or honour | Awarding organisation |
| 2014 | Doctor of Science | Edinburgh University,UK |
| 2012 | Doctor of Laws (Honoris Causa) | Simon Fraser University |
| 2011 | IEEE Honorary Membership | IEEE |
| 2010 | Doctor of Engineering | University of Waterloo |
| 2009 | Honorary Doctorate | Oakland University |
| 2009 | Hoover Medal | ASME Foundation, USA |
| 2009 | International von Kármán Wings Award | California Institute of Technology, USA |
| 2008 | Doctor of Engineering (Honoris Causa) | Nanyang Technological University, Singapore |
| 2007 | King Charles II Medal | Royal Society, UK |
| 2007 | Honorary Doctorate of Science | University of Wolverhampton, UK |
| 2000 | Ramanujan Award | Alwars Research Centre, Chennai |
| 1998 | Veer Savarkar Award | Government of India |
| 1997 | Indira Gandhi Award for National Integration | Indian National Congress |
| 1997 | Bharat Ratna | Government of India |
| 1994 | Distinguished Fellow | Institute of Directors (India) |
| 1990 | Padma Vibhushan | Government of India |
| 1981 | Padma Bhushan | Government of India |
Books By this Great Hero:
