ISRO Chief K. Sivan Named As the Recipient for Von Karman Award 2020
ISRO chief, Dr Kailasavadivoo Sivan, the space scientist has now been named as the recipient of the 2020 Von Karman Award of the International Academy of Astronautics. The award which is the highest distinction of the Academy will be conferred in March 2021 in Paris. Charles Elachi was the previous recipient of the award which has been named after Theodore von Karman who was an aerospace engineer and notably known for his key advances in aerodynamics.
This Theodre Von Karman Medal is awarded annually to an individual recognition of a person's distinguished achievement in Engineering Mechanics. It was in 2019 that the award was honoured to Yonggang Huang for his contribution in the field Mechanics of materials and structures. Sivan was appointed the chief of ISRO in January 2018 and under his chairmanship, ISRO launched Chandrayaan 2, the second mission to the moon on July 22, 2019. ISRO Chief K Sivan has been honoured with Dr A.P.J Abdul Kamal Award 2019 and IEEE Simon Ramo Medal shared with Byrana N. Suresh for the year 2020.
The International Academy of Astronautics (IAA) was also founded by von Karman who was the first President of the organization which is committed to expanding the frontiers in space. The von Karman award was established in 1982 and is the premier award of the Academy. It is given annually to recognize outstanding lifetime achievements in any branch of science without limit of nationality or gender. The award honours the memory of the Academy's founder and first President, a scientist of the highest international reputation.
Prior to K Sivan, two Indians namely - Krishnaswamy Kasturirangan and U.R. Rao - have been recipients of the award.
