Sreedhara Panicker Somanath (born July 1963) is an Indian

aerospace engineer Aerospace engineering is the primary field of engineering concerned with the development of aircraft and spacecraft. It has two major and overlapping branches: aeronautical engineering and astronautical engineering. Avionics engineering is si ...

serving as the chairman of the

Indian Space Research Organisation The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO; ) is the national space agency of India, headquartered in Bengaluru. It operates under the Department of Space (DOS) which is directly overseen by the Prime Minister of India, while the Chairman ...

. Somanath also served as the Director of

Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre The Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre (VSSC) is a major space research centre of the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), focusing on rocket and space vehicles for India's satellite programme. It is located in Thiruvananthapuram, in the India ...

(VSSC),

Thiruvananthapuram Thiruvananthapuram (; ), also known by its former name Trivandrum (), is the capital of the Indian state of Kerala. It is the most populous city in Kerala with a population of 957,730 as of 2011. The encompassing urban agglomeration populati ...

and Director of

Liquid Propulsion Systems Centre The Liquid Propulsion Systems Centre (LPSC) is a research and development centre functioning under Indian Space Research Organisation. It has two units located at Valiamala, in Thiruvananthapuram of Kerala, and Bengaluru of Karnataka. LPSC is a ...

(LPSC), Thiruvananthapuram. Somanath is known for his contributions to launch vehicle design, particularly in the areas of launch vehicle systems engineering, structural design, structural dynamics, and pyrotechnics.

Early life and career

Somanath was born in a Malayali Hindu family as a son of Sreedhara Panicker, a Hindi teacher, and Thankamma in Thuravoor, Kerala. Somanath did his schooling at St Augustine's High School,

Aroor Aroor is a census town at the northern end of Alappuzha district and the southern suburb of the city of Kochi in the state of Kerala, India. It is a seafood related industrial area of Alleppey district, and acts as the Southern entry point ...

and completed his pre-university program from

Maharaja's College, Ernakulam The Maharaja's College is a government college of higher education located in Kochi, Kerala. Established in 1875, it is one of the oldest colleges in India. Located in the heart of the city, the college is spread over a campus of on the ban ...

. Somanath received his graduate degree in Mechanical Engineering from

TKM College of Engineering The Thangal Kunju Musaliar College of Engineering, commonly known as TKMCE, is the first government-aided engineering institution in the Indian state of Kerala inaugurated on 3 July 1958. It is the first Government aided engineering college in K ...

Kollam Kollam (), also known by its former name Quilon , is an ancient seaport and city on the Malabar Coast of India bordering the Laccadive Sea, which is a part of the Arabian Sea. It is north of the state capital Thiruvananthapuram. The city i ...

Kerala University University of Kerala, formerly the University of Travancore, is a state-run public university located in Thiruvananthapuram, the state capital of Kerala, India. It was established in 1937 by a promulgation of the Maharajah of Travancore, Chit ...

and Master's Degree in Aerospace Engineering from

Indian Institute of Science The Indian Institute of Science (IISc) is a public, deemed, research university for higher education and research in science, engineering, design, and management. It is located in Bengaluru, in the Indian state of Karnataka. The institute wa ...

, Bangalore with specialization in Dynamics and Control. After his graduation, Somanath joined

in 1985. He was associated with

Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle The Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) is an expendable medium-lift launch vehicle designed and operated by the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO). It was developed to allow India to launch its Indian Remote Sensing (IRS) satellites ...

(PSLV) Project during its initial phase. He became the Associate Director (Projects) of

VSSC The Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre (VSSC) is a major space research centre of the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), focusing on rocket and space vehicles for India's satellite programme. It is located in Thiruvananthapuram, in the Indi ...

and also the Project Director of GSLV Mk-III launch vehicle in 2010. He was also the Deputy Director of the Propulsion and Space Ordinance Entity till November 2014. In June 2015, he took over as Director of

(LPSC) at Valiamala,

and served there until January 2018. Somanath took over as Director of

from

K. Sivan Kailasavadivoo Sivan (born 14 April 1957) is an Indian space scientist who served as the Secretary of the Department of Space and chairman of Indian Space Research Organisation and Space Commission. He has previously served as the Director o ...

who became Chairman of

. In January 2022, he took over as the

Chairman The chairperson, also chairman, chairwoman or chair, is the presiding officer of an organized group such as a board, committee, or deliberative assembly. The person holding the office, who is typically elected or appointed by members of the grou ...

of the

, again succeeding

References

1963 births Living people Indian Space Research Organisation people Indian Institute of Science alumni Scientists from Thiruvananthapuram Indian aerospace engineers Date of birth missing (living people) IIT Madras alumni {{India-scientist-stub