Mr. A. S. Kiran Kumar is Vikram Sarabhai Distinguished Professor at Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) and Member of the Space Commission, Govt of India. During 2015-2018, he has served as Secretary, Department of Space and Chairman, ISRO.
Born on October 22, 1952 in Hassan, Karnataka (India), Mr. Kiran Kumar holds M.Sc. Degree in Physics (Electronics) from Bangalore University and M.Tech. Degree in Physical Engineering from Indian Institute of Science.
He has steered the implementation of the applications oriented Indian Space Programme, which has facilitated rapid development of the country in many important spheres of earth observation, communication, navigation, meteorology and space science, as well as the development of indigenous launch vehicles and related technologies for providing assured access to space. He has led design and development of more than 50 Electro-Optical Imaging Sensors flown on various Space borne platforms starting from Bhaskara in 1979. Further, his role in the success of Chandrayaan-1 mission and Mars Orbiter Mission has been significant.
Mr. Kiran Kumar has been the Chair of the Committee on Earth Observation Satellites (CEOS) in 2012. He has made valuable contributions to Coordination Group of Meteorological Satellites (CGMS), Expert Team on Satellite Systems – World Meteorological Organisation (ETSAT of WMO) and Indo-US Joint Working Group on Civil Space Cooperation.
He is Fellow of Indian National Academy of Engineering, National Academy of Sciences India, Indian Society of Remote Sensing, Institution of Electronics & Telecommunications Engineers, Indian Society of Systems for Science & Engineering, Indian Meteorological Society, Indian Society of Geomatics, Gujarat Science Academy, Andhra Pradesh Akademi of Sciences and an elected member of International Academy of Astronautics. He has been conferred with Honoris Causa and DSc by 18 Indian academic institutions.
Mr. Kiran Kumar has co-authored 85