AVUL PAKIR JAINULABDEEN ABDUL KALAM was the eleventh President of
India, from 2002 to 2007. He is a recipient of the Padma Bhushan, the
Padma Vibhushan and the nation's highest civilian award, the Bharat
Ratna.
Born in 1931 in Rameswaram in Tamil Nadu, Dr Kalam studied
aeronautical engineering at the Madras Institute of Technology. He
played a key role in the development of India's first satellite launch
vehicle, the SLV-3; in the building and operationalization of India's
strategic missile systems; and in the 1998 nuclear tests.
As an elder statesman, he remains in the public eye for his role in
offering counsel, reaching out to people and building bridges across
religious and social divides. Dr Kalam's focus stays on transforming
India into a developed nation by 2020 and to this end he continues to
travel across the country for his teaching assignments at IITs and IIMs,
to address conferences and to meet students and people from all walks
of life.
V. PONRAJ is a scientist from ADA (Aeronautical Development Agency),
DRDO, Bangalore. He worked with Dr Kalam as an advisor on
science and technology and public policy from 2007 to 2014. He was
the director (technology interface) at the President's Secretariat from
2003 to 2007. He has worked closely on developed India missions
pioneered by Dr Kalam and is presently working on a Ph.D.
