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Tuesday December 19, 2006

Pope appointed noted scientist K Kasturirangan as a member of Pontifical Academy of Sciences

Pope Benedict XVI has appointed noted space scientist K Kasturirangan as a member of the prestigious Rome-based Pontifical Academy of Sciences - and the Indian said he was "extremely delighted".

"I am extremely delighted to be appointed at the world's most prestigious academy where over 35 per cent members are distinguished Nobel laureates in various disciplines of natural sciences," Kasturirangan, who headed the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) until 2003, said in Bangalore.

"It was a great honour to receive the appointment letter from His Holiness the Pope himself," the 66-year-old director of the Bangalore-based National Institute of Advanced Studies (NIAS) said over telephone.

According to a Vatican press statement, the astronomer led India's space programme for more than nine years. He is known for his contribution to the development and launching of satellites for civil use, telecommunications and ocean observation.

"I am the fourth Indian scientist to be named by the Pope after (the late physicist and Nobel laureate) CV Raman, MGK Menon and CNR Rao," he said.

Menon is a physicist and policy maker, a former president of the National Academy of Sciences and from the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research, Mumbai (1966-75).

Rao, a distinguished chemist, is a former director of the Indian Institute of Science at Bangalore and visiting professor at Purdue, University of Oxford, the University of Cambridge and Latrobe University. He is also a former scientific advisor to the prime minister.

Kasturirangan, who worked with the eminent Indian space scientist Vikram Sarabhai, said the academy membership is for life and the academy's 80-90 members were selected after a thorough scrutiny.

"The academy members meet biannually in Rome to discuss, debate and study issues related to various sciences affecting mankind," said Kasturirangan, A member of Indian Parliament. He has authored nine books on space research and 220 research papers in international journals.

Born in 1940 in Ernakulam, Kerala, he graduated in sciences from the University of Bombay and obtained a doctorate in experimental high-energy astronomy at the Physical Research Laboratory of Ahmedabad where he is honorary physics professor.

He was conferred the Life Time Achievement award by Indian National Academy of Engineering (INAE), New Delhi, in 2004. He has won several international awards.

He is a member of the International Academy of Astronautics and an associate member of the Indian National Academy of Engineering, where he is currently the chairman. He has been awarded Padma Vibhushan, India's second highest civilian honour.

The 403-year-old Pontifical Academy of Sciences is under the protection of the Pontiff and aims to promote the progress of the mathematical, physical and natural sciences and the study of related epistemological problems.