G Madhavan Nair

G Madhavan Nair (born October 31, 1943) is the former Chairman of Indian Space Research Organisation and Secretary to the Department of Space, Government of India since September 2003 He is also the Chairman, Space Commission and acts as the Chairman of Governing Body of the Antrix Corporation, Bangalore Madhavan Nair was awarded the Padma Vibhushan, Indias second highest civilian honour, on January 26, 2009He also served as the Chairman, Board of Governors, Indian Institute of Technology Patna until he stepped down voluntarily due to his alleged involvement in AntrixDevas deal
Nair was born at Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala, India in an Middle Class Nair Family He also studied as a youth in Kanyakumari District He graduated with a BSc in Engineering (1966) from College of Engineering, Trivandrum, of the University of Kerala with specialization in Electronics & Communication Engineering After his graduation, Nair attended a training program at the Bhabha Atomic Research Center (BARC) Training School, Mumbai
Nair is a leading technologist in the field of rocket systems and has made significant contribution to the development of multistage satellite launch vehicles, achieving selfreliance in independent access to space using indigenous technologies Nair and his team have advanced their work in the face of several challenges in the regime of technology denials by adopting several innovations and novel techniques to realise world class launch vehicle systems India today has a pride of place amongst the spacefaring nations in launch vehicle technology Specifically, as Project Director, he led the development of Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) which has since become the workhorse for launching mainly Indian remote sensing satellites
As Director of ISROs largest R & D Centre, the Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre, he also saw Indias Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle (GSLV) successfully come to fruition Further, as Director of the Liquid Propulsion Systems Centre of ISRO, he played a central role in the design and development of the crucial cryogenic engine for GSLV