Dr. A.P.J Abdul Kalam is a great and renowned aerospace engineer, professor (Aerospace engineering), author and 11th President of India.  He was popularly known as Missile Man of India and also the People’s President.  He played a key role in organizational, technical and political sectors in India.  Besides all these he has a special interest in writing and he is an author too.  His autobiography “The Wings of Fire” and “India 2020” are some of his best seller books in India.  He is a vegetarian and a teetotaler, who says that both Quran and Bhagawad Gita are equal in devotion.  Dr. Kalam always has three visions for India – Freedom, Development and Self-Reliance which can change the country’s fate. 

EARLY & PERSONAL LIFE:
Dr. A.P.J Abdul Kalam born as Avul Pakir Jainulabdeen Abdul Kalam was born to Jainulabdeen Marakayar and Ashiamma a Muslim family on 15 October 1931 at Rameswaram in Tamil Nadu.  His primary and secondary school education was at Schwartz High School in Ramanathapuram and later he attended the St. Joseph’s College, Tiruchirappalli and graduated in Physics.  During 1954 – 1957, he also did his DMIT in Aeronautical Engineering at the MIT, Madras.

CAREER & HIGHLIGHTS:
Dr. Kalam after completing his course at MIT, he joined the HAL (Hindustan Aeronautics Limited), Bengaluru as a trainee.  He worked in a team who examines and tests on piston and turbine engines.  He received training on radial engine-cum-drum operations and he also learnt to check a crankshaft for wear and tear.  In 1958, he came out of HAL as a graduate in Aeronautical Engineering.  Since childhood he always dreamt of flying and after graduating, he applied to two interviews for employment.  One was at the DTD&P (Directorate of Technical Development & Production) and the other one was a career at IAF (Indian Air Force).  He just missed an opportunity and the job slipped from his hands and could not get the job at IAF but got selected at DTD&P.

He joined DTD&P as a Senior Scientific Assistant with a basic salary of Rs. 250/- a month.  He was posted at the Civil Aviation Technical Center.  During his first year he carried out a design assignment on supersonic aircraft with the help of his superior in-charge officer and won a prize which boosted a lot of confidence in him.  Later he was sent to Aircraft and Armament Testing Unit (A&ATU), Kanpur to get exposure and experience in the aircraft maintenance.  Later he was chosen in the design team of a DART target which the project was taken up by DTD&P.  There he undertook a preliminary design study on Human Centrifuge.  Later, he designed and developed a vertical takeoff and landing platform and a Hot Cockpit.  After three years, the ADE (Aeronautical Development Establishment) was formed at Bengaluru and Dr. Kalam was posted there.

From 1969 – 1982, he worked at ISRO (Indian Space Research Organization) and there he initiated the FRP (Fiber Reinforced Plastics) activities.  Later he joined as a Project Director for Satellite Launch Vehicle (SLV-3) and was responsible for carrying out design, development, qualification and flight testing of 44 major sub-systems.  In 1980, this project has successfully managed to put Rohini a scientific satellite into the orbit. 

In 1982, Dr. Kalam as a Director of DRDO, he was made responsible with the IGMDP (Integrated Guided Missile Development Program) which is India’s most successful military research task till date.  This IGMDP constitutes of five major projects to meet the defense service requirements.  From his past experiences of successful SLV-3, Dr. Kalam has been appointed as the Chairman of the Management Board.  He assigned almost all the executive and financial powers to five carefully selected Project Directors and he totally involved himself in the core technology issues.  He inspired, monitored and motivated all the people working the longtime project and successfully they have launched the missiles: Trishul in 1985, Prithvi in 1988, Agni in 1989 and the two others Akash & Nag in 1990.  The successful launch of Agni missile was made a unique achievement and India has become one of the member in the highly developed countries list. 

Dr. Kalam was the head of various laboratories and also involved himself in developing the products include avalanche-controlling structures in Kashmir, water desalination kits for the Thar desert, a world class sonar submarine finder for the latest warship and infra-red night vision goggles for the Indian army etc.  In 1999, he was appointed as the Principal Scientific Advisor to the GOI (Government of India) and his role involved to advice on overall scientific development in the country on the issues relating to scientific and technical policies in different sectors.  In 2001, he quit the job and he started helping the young scientists all across the country and in developing their research capabilities as he is very keen on pursuing the academic interests.

In 2002, he was elected and became the 11th President of India and successfully completed his five years tenure as the People’s President.  Dr. Kalam, in the recent days is developing the concept of “India Millennium Mission – 2020” which is a blueprint to transform India as a developed country in all aspects.  He is now focusing on the children of India to motivate and ignite in their minds a love for science and technology to see India as a developed country. 

SOME NOTABLE WRITINGS:
Wings of Fire (An Autobiography), India 2020, Mission India, Inspiring Thoughts, Indomitable Spirit, India My Dream, Scientist to President etc. are to name a few and many others including poems in Tamil and English.

SOME NOTABLE AWARDS & ACHIEVEMENTS:
•  1981 – “Padma Bhushan” by the Government of India
•  1990 – “Padma Vibhushan” by the Government of India
•  1997 – Was awarded “Bharat Ratna” by the President and Government of India
•  1997 – Indira Gandhi Award for National Integration by the Govt. of India
•  1998 – Veer Savarkar Award by the Government of India
•  2000 – Ramanujam Award by Alwars Research Center, Chennai
•  2007 – Honorary Doctorate of Science by University of Wolverhampton, UK
•  2007 – King Charles II Medal by Royal Society, UK
•  2009 – International von Kármán Wings Award by California Institute of Technology, USA