Thekkethil Kochandy Alex is an Indian space scientist. He was the director of the

ISRO Satellite Centre The U R Rao Satellite Centre (URSC), formerly ISRO Satellite Centre (ISAC) ( hi, इसरो उपग्रह केंद्र) is an Indian Space Research Organisation centre for the design, development, and construction of Indian satel ...

(ISAC) of

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 ...

(ISRO) (2008–2012) and Member, Space Commission. He specialized in electro-optic systems and satellite technology. Starting with the first Indian satellite

Aryabhata Aryabhata (ISO: ) or Aryabhata I (476–550 CE) was an Indian mathematician and astronomer of the classical age of Indian mathematics and Indian astronomy. He flourished in the Gupta Era and produced works such as the ''Aryabhatiya'' (which ...

he has been responsible for the sensor systems in all the Indian satellites. Under his leadership the Laboratory for Electro Optics Systems (LEOS) was established in 1993 and from the inception he was its director till 2008. He was conferred "Dr. Vikram Sarabhai Distinguished Professorship" in 2011.Astronautical Society of India, 2002 ASI Award winner Biography
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Education

Alex from Kerala studied at the SRVLP school, Azhoor, Pathanamthitta, and his high school studies were at the Catholicate High School. This was followed by the pre-university course at the

Catholicate College Pathanamthitta Catholicate College, Pathanamthitta, established in 1952, is an institution of higher education at Pathanamthitta of Kerala, India. Catholicate College belongs to the first group of colleges in Kerala to receive academic accreditation from the ...

, Kerala. He studied at the

T.K.M. 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 ...

, from 1964 to 1969. He received his

bachelor's degree A bachelor's degree (from Middle Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate academic degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six ...

electrical engineering Electrical engineering is an engineering discipline concerned with the study, design, and application of equipment, devices, and systems which use electricity, electronics, and electromagnetism. It emerged as an identifiable occupation in the l ...

from the

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 ...

(gold medallist), master's degree from

IIT Madras Indian Institute of Technology Madras (IIT Madras) is a public technical university located in Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India. As one of the Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs), it is recognized as an Institute of National Importance and has be ...

and doctorate from

IISc Bangalore 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 was ...

Aerospace Engineering 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 ...

Contributions to ISRO/India

Alex has contributed to Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) by establishing the Laboratory for Electro-Optics Systems in Bangalore. Alex was the project director of the remote sensing experiment on board the Indo-soviet manned mission in which the first Indian astronaut, Rakesh Sharma, squadron leader, flew aboard Soyuz T-11, launched on 3 April 1984. He contributed to India to the first Indian Moon mission, ''Chandrayaan-1'' in 2008. He provided guidance to the inter-planetary mission, Mars Orbiter mission, ''Mangalyaan''.

Awards and recognition

Alex was awarded the

Padma Shri Padma Shri (IAST: ''padma śrī''), also spelled Padma Shree, is the fourth-highest Indian honours system, civilian award of the Republic of India, after the Bharat Ratna, the Padma Vibhushan and the Padma Bhushan. Instituted on 2 January 1954, ...

in 2007, and the Distinguished Achievement Award of ISRO in 1976 for his contributions for the first Indian satellite. Other awards received include the IMDA award for the development of

Infrared sensors Infrared (IR), sometimes called infrared light, is electromagnetic radiation (EMR) with wavelengths longer than those of visible light. It is therefore invisible to the human eye. IR is generally understood to encompass wavelengths from around ...

and the Hari Om Ashram Vikram Sarbhai award (1987). He received the Aryabhata Award( 2015) of the Astronautical Society of India. He is a fellow of the

Indian National Academy of Engineering The Indian National Academy of Engineering (INAE), founded in 1987, comprises India's engineers, engineer-scientists and technologists covering the entire spectrum of engineering disciplines. The Academy is registered under the Societies Reg ...

(INAE), National Academy of Science, India (NASI) and the Institution of Electronics and Telecommunication Engineering, India (IETE) and a life member of ASI and Instrument Society of India. He is a fellow of the Optical Society of India and he was its President (2010–11).

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Alex, T. K. Indian Space Research Organisation people Indian aerospace engineers Engineers from Kerala Recipients of the Padma Shri in science & engineering IIT Madras alumni Indian Institute of Science alumni Living people Fellows of The National Academy of Sciences, India People from Pathanamthitta district 20th-century Indian engineers Year of birth missing (living people)