A. Sivathanu Pillai

Dr. A. Sivathanu Pillai, a systems engineer by profession, has 50 years of experience in ISRO & DRDO. He was Honorary Distinguished Professor at ISRO and Distinguished Scientist and Chief Controller (R&D), DRDO. He was also Founder CEO & MD of BrahMos Aerospace--an Indo-Russian joint venture for the development of supersonic cruise missiles. Dr. Pillai started his career in 1969 in systems engineering and systems management of launch vehicles at ISRO. He assisted Dr. Vikram Sarabhai in the evolution of the ten-year space profile. He also worked with Dr. Kalam in SLV-3 and PSLV configuration design, and with Prof. Satish Dhawan in the study of future ISRO launch vehicles and missions. At DRDO, he worked with Dr. Kalam in the Missile Programme and later was Programme Director, IGMDP and Associate Director, DRDL, Hyderabad. He contributed towards the development of critical technologies by networking academic institutions, R&D laboratories and industries. As the architect of BrahMos, he led India to be the world leader in supersonic Cruise Missile Technology. He is honorary professor of many institutions and member of many professional bodies. Among his many awards, he is the recipient of Padma Shri and Padma Bhushan from the Government of India and the Order of Friendship, the highest award for foreign citizens, from the Government of the Russian Federation.