Yagnaswami Sundara Rajan or Y. S. Rajan (born 10 April 1943) is an Indian professor, scientist and administrator. He is Honorary Distinguished Professor in

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 o ...

. He has made major contributions to various aspects of management of science, technology and innovation. In 2012, he was awarded with

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

for his contributions in science and engineering. He is one of the well known scientists who has closely worked with

Abdul Kalam Avul Pakir Jainulabdeen Abdul Kalam (; 15 October 193127 July 2015) was an Indian aerospace scientist and statesman who served as the 11th President of India from 2002 to 2007. He was born and raised in Rameswaram, Tamil Nadu and studied ...

, former

President of India The president of India ( IAST: ) is the head of state of the Republic of India. The president is the nominal head of the executive, the first citizen of the country, as well as the commander-in-chief of the Indian Armed Forces. Droupadi Murm ...

Early life

Y. S. Rajan was born into a

Tamil Brahmin Tamil Brahmins are an ethnoreligious community of Tamil-speaking Hindu Brahmins, predominantly living in Tamil Nadu, though they number significantly in Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Kerala, Karnataka, in addition to other regions of India, as wel ...

family on 10 April 1943 in

Kottaram Kottaram is a village located in Kanyakumari district in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. Kottaram the word origin from Malayalam meaning Palace. So Kottaram means not only a village but also a Palace because 18th & the beginning of the 19th ce ...

near

Tirunelveli Tirunelveli (, ta, திருநெல்வேலி, translit=Tirunelveli) also known as Nellai ( ta, நெல்லை, translit=Nellai) and historically (during British rule) as Tinnevelly, is a major city in the Indian state of Tam ...

. His grandfather, Sundara Ganapadigal was a great Vedic scholar. His mother's name is Visalakshi and father's name is S Yagnaswami. His parents moved to

Mumbai Mumbai (, ; also known as Bombay — the official name until 1995) is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra and the ''de facto'' financial centre of India. According to the United Nations, as of 2018, Mumbai is the secon ...

, and Dr. Y S Rajan went on to do his schooling and later college education here. He received his master's degree in Physics from the

University of Bombay The University of Mumbai is a collegiate, state-owned, public research university in Mumbai. The University of Mumbai is one of the largest universities in the world. , the university had 711 affiliated colleges. Ratan Tata is the appointed h ...

in 1964. He started his career as a research scholar at Physical Research Laboratory.

Career

He went on to hold several positions including scientific secretary positions in

Department of Space The Department of Space is an Indian government department responsible for administration of the Indian space program. It manages several agencies and institutes related to space exploration and space technologies. The Indian space program un ...

. He contributed in areas like STI administration, institution building, diplomacy, strategic studies, environmental technologies, and natural resources management. He was elected as Member of

International Academy of Astronautics The International Academy of Astronautics (IAA) is an independent non-governmental organization established in Stockholm (Sweden) on August 16, 1960, by Dr. Theodore von Kármán, and recognized by the United Nations in 1996. The IAA has electe ...

(IAA) (1986). He was the first Executive Director of Technology Information and Forecasting and Assessment Council (TIFAC), since (1988-2002) and executed Mission REACH, an initiative of TIFAC. He has held several senior positions in National Natural Resources Management System,

Confederation of Indian Industry The Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) is a non-governmental trade association and advocacy group headquartered in New Delhi, India, founded in 1895. CII engages business, political, academic, and other leaders of society to shape globa ...

. He also served as Vice-Chancellor in

Punjab Technical University I. K. Gujral Punjab Technical University (IKGPTU), formerly Punjab Technical University (PTU), is a State university located by Kapurthala highway in Kapurthala, India. It was established by an act of State Legislature on 16 January 1997, to p ...

(PTU), Scientific Adviser to Punjab Chief Minister, Chairman of the Board in Nalanda University and Adjunct Professor in Birla Institute of Technology & Science (BITS), Pilani.

Books and works

He is a co-author of '' India 2020: A Vision for the New Millennium'' with A P J Abdul Kalam. (Hindi version: ''Bharat 2020 Aur Uske Baad''). He has authored many books including ''Discover Your Power Quotient'' and more than 200 articles and papers, which have also been published in international journals.

Honours

He has been honored with many awards including

(2012), Fellow of the Indian National Academy of Engineering (1998), Fellow of World Academy of Art and Science (WAAS) (2010), Honorary Degree of Doctor of Letters (D.Litt.) from Jain Vishva Bharati University, Ladnun, Rajasthan (2005)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rajan, Y. S. 1943 births Living people Recipients of the Padma Shri in science & engineering 20th-century Indian physicists Indian Space Research Organisation people University of Mumbai alumni Indian social sciences writers Indian scientific authors Indian self-help writers 21st-century Indian non-fiction writers People from Kanyakumari district Writers from Tamil Nadu Scientists from Tamil Nadu 20th-century Indian educational theorists