Pages

Saturday, August 27, 2011

Dr. A. P. J. ABDUL KALAM

(Born in Rameshwaram in 1931)

Early Life and Education:

Abul Phaqir Jain-ul-Abideen Abdul Kalam usually referred to as A. P. J. Abdul Kalam, was born in Rameshwaram, presently Tamil Nadu, in India in 1931. He spent most of his childhood in financial problems and started working at an early age to supplement his family's income.
After completing his school education, Kalam graduated in physics from St. Joseph's College, Tiruchirapalli. He then graduated with a diploma in Aeronautical Engineering in the mid-1950s from the Madras Institute of Technology. As the Project Director, he was heavily involved in the development of India's first indigenous Satellite Launch Vehicle (SLV-II).

Career:
Dr. A. P. J. Abdul Kalam is an Aerospace engineer, professor, and chancellor of the Indian Institute of Space Science and Technology (IIST), who served as the 11th President of India from 2002 to 2007. During his term as President, he was popularly known as the People's President. He was awarded the Bharat Ratna, India's highest civilian honor in 1997.
Before his term as India's president, he worked as an aeronautical engineer with DRDO and ISRO. He is popularly known as the Missile Man of India for his work on development of ballistic missile and space rocket technology. Kalam played a pivotal organizational, technical and political role in India's Pokhran-II nuclear test in 1998, the first since the original nuclear test by India in 1974.
He is currently the chancellor of Indian Institute of Space Science and Technology, a professor at Anna University (Chennai), a visiting professor at Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad, Indian Institute of Management Indore, and an adjunct/visiting faculty at many other academic and research institutions across India.
In May 2011, Dr. Kalam launched his mission for the youth of the nation called the What Can I Give Movement. Dr. Kalam better known as a scientist, also has special interest in the field of arts like writing Tamil poems, and also playing the music instrument Veena.

Awards and Honors:


Year of Award or Honor

Name of Award or Honor

Awarding Organization

2011

Doctor of Science (microbiology)

S.Gujarati University

2009

Doctor of Science (Honoris Causa)

Anna University of Technology

2009

Hoover Medal

ASME Foundation, USA[11]

2009

International von Kármán Wings Award

California Institute of Technology, U.S.A[12]

2008

Doctor of Engineering (Honoris Causa)

Nanyang Technological University, Singapore[13]

1997

Bharat Ratna

Government of India

1990

Padma Vibhushan

Government of India

1981

Padma Bhushan

Government of India


Books and Documentaries:

Kalam's writings
  • Wings of Fire: An Autobiography of APJ Abdul Kalam by A. P. J Abdul Kalam, Arun Tiwari; by K. Bhushan, G. Katyal; A. P. J. Pub. Corp, 2002.
  • Scientist to President by Abdul A. P. J. Kalam; Gyan Publishing House, 2003.
  • Ignited Minds: Unleashing the Power Within India by A.P.J. Abdul Kalam; Penguin Books, 2003.
  • India 2020: A Vision for the New Millennium by A.P.J. Abdul Kalam, Y.S. Rajan; Penguin Books India, 2003.
  • India-my-dream by A.P.J. Abdul Kalam; Excel Books, 2004.
  • Envisioning an Empowered Nation: Technology for Societal Transformation by A.P.J. Abdul Kalam; TATA McGraw-Hill Publishing Company Ltd, 2004.
  • Guiding Souls: Dialogues on the Purpose of Life by A.P.J. Abdul Kalam, Arun K Tiwari; Ocean Books, 2005.
  • Children Ask Kalam by A.P.J. Abdul Kalam; Pearson Education, ISBN 81-7758-245-3
  • Indomitable Spirit by A.P.J. Abdul Kalam, 2006
  • The Scientific Indian: A Twenty-first Century Guide to the World around Us by APJ Abdul Kalam and YS Rajan
  • My Journey by APJ Abdul Kalam, Published By: V Suryanarayana Murthy

Future India: 2020

In his book India 2020, Kalam strongly advocates an action plan to develop India into a knowledge superpower and a developed nation by the year 2020. He regards his work on India's nuclear weapons program as a way to assert India's place as a future superpower.
It has been reported that there is a considerable demand in South Korea for translated versions of books authored by him.
Kalam continues to take an active interest in other developments in the field of science and technology. He has proposed a research program for developing bio-implants. He is a supporter of Open Source over proprietary solutions and believes that the use of free software on a large scale will bring the benefits of information technology to more people.