There’s a lot of buzz around the Chadrayan 2 mission and for enough reason. Press statements of the ISRO Chief K Sivan along with the PM offering warm consolation went viral across all news and social media platforms. But one never wondered, who is this chief and how did he become the ‘rocket man’.
K Sivan is the son of a land farmer from Sarakkalvilai and is the only graduate in his family. Let alone being a graduate his qualifications go beyond any regular achievement. Sivan completed his BTech degree from the prestigious Madras Institute of Technology followed by his masters from Indian Institute Of Science.
Later in 2006, he completed his PhD. Sitting in his last recent interview with The Times Of India, he revealed how he used to help his father in the fields and did not wear shoes at all in his entire childhood. “The first time I wore pants was during his engineering degree,” he told the leading daily.
Sivan’s life kept changing and marked a major milestone as he joined ISRO in the early 1980s to work on the PSLV project. He soon came to be known as the ‘Rocket Man’ of India. Working on a number of ISRO’S projects, he helped specialise in project management and organization.
His roles in the development of rockets, engines, PSLV and GSLV made Sivan a name to behold in the field of aeronautics. Sivan was soon appointed as Director of ISRO’s Liquid Propulsions System Centre in 2014. His last post before Chairman of ISRO was the Director of Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre and played a crucial role in the development of India’s most revolutionary rocket missions.
After being promoted to Chief at the ISRO HQ at Bengaluru, Sivan has been widely appreciated for thinking on his feet in times of crisis.
Sivan’s juniors regard him as one of the calmest and composed bosses ever. The post he is at, a review like this seems impossible.
His award cabinet is a sight to behold including some of ISRO’s most prestigious awards for research and merit. The Tamil Nadu government conferred the Dr APJ Abdul Kalam Award to him in 2019 as a recognition for his work in the field.
Being perhaps one of the most important intellectuals of the country, Sivan is still just like anyone of us. The down to earth genius in his free times loves gardening. Play classical Tamil music and you, have got yourself a very happy K. Sivan. Not much is known about his personal life but in his field of work, you have met a superstar in work ethic and the most humble personality.
