Former ISRO chief K Radhakrishnan to head IIT-B BoG

Radhakrishnan, who led ISRO from 2009 to 2014, brings extensive experience in both administration and academia. His tenure at the space agency was marked by the successful launch of Mangalyaan, India’s Mars Orbiter Mission. He was awarded the Padma Bhushan, the third highest civilian honour in India, in 2014

Mumbai: Former Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) chief K. Radhakrishnan has been appointed as the chairperson of Board of Governors (BoG) at Indian Institute of Technology-Bombay (IIT-B) for a three-year term commencing on November 17.

Former ISRO chief K Radhakrishnan (HT Photo)

Radhakrishnan, who led ISRO from 2009 to 2014, brings extensive experience in both administration and academia. His tenure at the space agency was marked by the successful launch of Mangalyaan, India’s Mars Orbiter Mission. He was awarded the Padma Bhushan, the third highest civilian honour in India, in 2014. He succeeds Sharad Saraf, the first IIT-Bombay alumnus to hold the position, who completed his tenure this month.

He has earlier chaired the BoG of IIT-Kanpur and also led several national committees set up by the Ministry of Education for formulating higher education reforms, including a panel in 2021 that drafted a roadmap for Indian institutions to establish foreign campuses, a committee in 2022 to work on strengthening assessment and accreditation, and an expert group on revamping national entrance examinations in 2024.

Radhakrishnan has also been associated with key science and research initiatives in the country. He also chairs the Department of Science and Technology’s expert committees for SATHI (Sophisticated Analytical & Technical Help Institutes) and SAIF (Sophisticated Analytical Instruments Facilities) programmes. and also leads the Apex Review Committee for the Partnerships for Accelerated Innovation and Research (PAIR) under the Anusandhan National Research Foundation.