Vikram Sarabhai

VIKRAM  SARABHAI

Born on : August 12,1919

Died on : December 31,1971

ABOUT HIM : Vikram Sarabhai was born on August 12,1919 in Ahmedabad,Gujarat state in western
                         India.The Sarabhai family was an important and rich Jain business family.His father
                         Ambalal Sarabhai was an industrialist and owned many mills in Gujarat.He is considered
                         as one of the great scientists of India.

EDUCATION : After his matriculation, Vikram Sarabhai went to England and joined the St. John's
                         College,University of Cambridge.He received the tripos in natural sciences from
                         Cambribge in 1940.
                                           With the escalation of the Second World War, he returned to Indian Institute
                          of Science in Bangalore and began research in cosmic rays under the guidance of Sir C.V
                          Raman,a Nobel Prize winner.
                                             He returned to Cambridge after the war in 1945 and was awarded a PhD
                          degree in 1947 for his thesis titled "Cosmic Ray Investigation in Tropical Latitudes".

ACHIEVEMENTS : He is considered as the "Father of the Indian space program".He played a major role
                                 in the creation of the Indian Institute of Management,Ahmedabad.
                                
                                 Vikram Sarabhai was instrumental in establishing the Physical Research Laboratory
                                 (PRL) in Ahmedabad in November,1947.

                                  The year 1957-58 was designated as International Geo-physical year(IGY).The
                                  Indian program for the IGY had been one of the most significant ventures of Vikram
                                  Sarabhai.It exposed him to the new vistas of space science with the launching of
                                  Sputnik-I in 1957.After that the Indian National Committee for Space Research
                                  was created,of which Vikram Sarabhai became the Chairman.

                                  He set up the first Rocket Launching Station (TERLS) in the country at Thumba
                                  near Thiruvananthapuram on the Arabian Coast,as Thumba is very close to the
                                  equator.The first rocket with sodium vapour payload was launched on November
                                  21,1963.In 1965,the UN General Assembly gave recognition to TERLS as an
                                  international facility.
                           
                                  After the sudden death of Homi Bhabha in an air crash, Vikram Sarabhai was
                                  appointed Chairman,Atomic Energy Commission in May 1966.

                                  Vikram Sarabhai wanted the practical application of science to reach the commom
                                   man so he decided to acquire competance in advance technology for solution of
                                   country's problems based on technical and economic evaluation of its real  resource
                                   He initiated India's space programme,which today is renowned aii over the world.

AWARDS :                Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Award (1962)
                                  
                                   Padma Bhushan (1966)

                                   Padma Vibhushan , posthumous ( after death ) (1972)

DISTINGUISHED POSITIONS :   

                                  President of the Physics section, Indian Science Congress (1962)

                                  President of the General Conference of the I.A.E.A,Verina (1970)

                                  Vice-President , Fourth U.N. Conference on "Peaceful uses of Atomic Energy"
                                   (1971)

 HONOURS  :        The Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre , (VSSC), a research institute specialising in
                                solid and liquid propellants for rockets located in Thiruvananthapuram (Trivandrum)
                                capital of Kerala state ,is named in his memory.

                                Dr.Vikram Sarabhai died on Decenber 30,1971 at Kovalam,Thiruvananthapuram,
                                Kerala.