S. Somanath

In this Indian name, the name Sreedhara Panicker is a patronymic, and the person should be referred to by the given name, Somanath.

Dr. Sreedhara Panicker Somanath (born July 1963) is an Indian aerospace engineer serving as the chairman of the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO).^[2] Under his chairmanship, ISRO carried out the third Indian lunar exploration mission named Chandrayaan-3. The lander named Vikram and the rover named Pragyan landed near the lunar south pole region on 23 August 2023 at 18:04 IST, making India the first country to successfully land a spacecraft near the lunar south pole and the fourth country to demonstrate soft landing on the Moon.^[3][4][5][6] This landing gained India a proud history.

Dr. S. Somanath
Somanath in 2019
10th Chairman of the Indian Space Research Organisation
Incumbent
Assumed office 15 January 2022 (2022-01-15)
Preceded by	K. Sivan
Director of Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre
In office 24 January 2018 – 14 January 2022
Preceded by	K. Sivan
Succeeded by	S. Unnikrishnan Nair[1]
Director of Liquid Propulsion Systems Centre
In office 1 January 2015 – 23 January 2018
Preceded by	K. Sivan
Succeeded by	V. Narayanan
Personal details
Born	July 1963 (age 61) Thuravoor, Cherthala, Kerala, India
Spouse	Valsalakumari
Children	2
Alma mater	Thangal Kunju Musaliar College of Engineering (B.Tech., Mechanical Engineering). Indian Institute of Science, Bengaluru (M.Tech., Aerospace Engineering). Indian Institute of technology, Madras (PhD)

Somanath served as the director of Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre, Thiruvananthapuram and director of Liquid Propulsion Systems Centre, Thiruvananthapuram.^[7][8] Somanath is known for his contributions to launch vehicle design, particularly in the areas of launch vehicle systems engineering, structural design, structural dynamics, and pyrotechnics.^[9][10]

Early life and education

Somanath was born in a Malayali family^[11] as child of V. Sreedhara Panicker, a Hindi teacher, and Thankamma at Thuravoor in Alappuzha district of Kerala.^[12]

Somanath did his schooling at St. Augustine's High School, Aroor and completed his pre-university program from Maharaja's College, Ernakulam. He received his graduate degree in mechanical engineering from Thangal Kunju Musaliar College of Engineering, Kollam, Kerala University and a master's degree in aerospace engineering from Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore with specialization in dynamics and control. He has been awarded a Ph.D. at the Indian Institute of Technology Madras (IIT Madras).^[13]

Somanath is married to Valsala, and has a daughter and a son.^[14]

Career

After his graduation, Somanath joined the Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre in 1985. He was associated with the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle project during its initial phase. He became associate director of the Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre and the project director of the Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle Mark III launch vehicle in 2010. He was also the deputy director of the Propulsion and Space Ordnance Entity till November 2014.^[9]

In June 2015, he took over as director of the Liquid Propulsion Systems Centre at Valiamala, Thiruvananthapuram and served until January 2018. Somanath took over as director of the Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre from K. Sivan who became chairman of Indian Space Research Organisation. In January 2022, he took over as the chairman of the Indian Space Research Organisation, again succeeding K. Sivan.

In recognition of his contributions to the field of science, Somanath was awarded a Doctorate of Science (Honoris Causa) on 25 September by SRM Institute of Science and Technology, Tamil Nadu, on the occasion of the 18th Annual Convocation.^[15][16] On 23 August 2023, he as ISRO chairman spearheaded the soft landing of Chandrayaan-3 on the South Pole of the lunar surface along with other notable senior ISRO scientists.

Somanath earned his PhD from the Department of Mechanical Engineering at IIT Madras and was awarded his doctorate during the institute's 61st convocation on July 19, 2024.^[17][18]

Awards

Uttarakhand Technical University conferred an Honorary Doctorate of Literature (D.Litt.) on him during its 7th convocation held on 10 October 2023.^[19]

In 2014, S Somnath received performance excellence award for GSLV Mk-III realization from ISRO.^[20][21][22] In 2023, the Government of Karnataka felicitated him with the prestigious Rajyotsava award.^[23][24] K.P.P Nambiar Award in Feb 2024.

References

1. "Dr.S. Unnikrishnan Nair". Archived from the original on 7 February 2022. Retrieved 7 February 2022.
2. "Shri. S Somanath assumes charge as Secretary, Department of Space". ISRO. Archived from the original on 14 January 2022. Retrieved 15 January 2022.
3. "Chandrayaan-3 launch on 14 July, lunar landing on 23 or 24 August". The Hindu. 6 July 2023. ISSN 0971-751X. Archived from the original on 11 July 2023. Retrieved 14 July 2023.
4. "India lands spacecraft near south pole of moon in historic first". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 23 August 2023. Retrieved 23 August 2023.
5. "What foreign media said on Chandrayaan-3's historic lunar feat". India Today. Archived from the original on 24 August 2023. Retrieved 23 August 2023.
6. "चंद्रयान-3: भारत ने रचा इतिहास, चंद्रमा के दक्षिणी ध्रुव पर की सफल लैंडिंग". Post Inshort (in Hindi). Archived from the original on 24 August 2023. Retrieved 23 August 2023.
7. "Somanath takes charge as VSSC director". www.indiatoday.in. 22 January 2018. Archived from the original on 23 January 2018. Retrieved 22 January 2018.
8. "Somanath takes charge as VSSC director". Business Standard India. Press Trust of India. 22 January 2018. Archived from the original on 23 January 2018. Retrieved 22 January 2018.
9. "New Directors for Three Major ISRO Centres: Three major ISRO Centres have new Directors from today". www.isro.gov.in. 1 June 2015. Archived from the original on 23 January 2018. Retrieved 22 January 2018.
10. Prasanna, Laxmi (22 January 2018). "S Somnath takes charge as Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre's director". The Times of India. Archived from the original on 19 November 2018. Retrieved 26 May 2019.
11. "എസ്.സോമനാഥ് തുറവൂർ മഹാക്ഷേത്ര ദർശനം നടത്തി" (in Malayalam). 29 August 2023. Archived from the original on 23 September 2023. Retrieved 30 August 2023.
12. "New Isro chief S Somanath: All you need to know". The Times of India. 13 January 2022. ISSN 0971-8257. Archived from the original on 23 August 2023. Retrieved 23 August 2023.
13. "Meet IIT Madras Alumni Who Played Crucial Role In Chandrayaan-3 Mission". www.ndtv.com. Retrieved 18 June 2024.
14. "എസ്. സോമനാഥിലൂടെ വാനംതൊട്ട് വീണ്ടും മലയാളിപ്പെരുമ". Madhyamam (in Malayalam). 13 January 2022. Archived from the original on 30 August 2023. Retrieved 30 August 2023.
15. "SRMIST hosts 18th convocation". 25 September 2022. Archived from the original on 13 February 2023. Retrieved 13 February 2023.
16. "SRM's Mega Convocation for 7380 Graduands". Archived from the original on 13 February 2023. Retrieved 13 February 2023.
17. "ISRO Chairman Somnath Gets PhD in Engineering from IIT Madras". Times Now. 19 July 2024. Retrieved 20 July 2024.
18. "Village boy to ISRO chief to IIT PhD: The inspirational journey of Dr S Somanath". WION. 19 July 2024. Retrieved 20 July 2024.
19. "Uttarakhand Technical University confers DLitt to Isro chairman". The Times of India. 11 October 2023. ISSN 0971-8257. Archived from the original on 24 October 2023. Retrieved 27 February 2024.
20. "S Somanath: Personal Life, Education, Awards and Honors, Salary".
21. "Shri S. Somanath".
22. "Alumnus Shri S Somanath appointed next ISRO Chair".
23. "Karnataka Rajyotsava award presented to ISRO's S Somnath, journalist Maya Sharma and 66 others".
24. "ISRO Chairman S Somanath Among 68 Awardees Of Karnataka's Rajyotsava Award".

Government offices
Preceded by K. Sivan	Chairman of the Indian Space Research Organisation 2022-present	Incumbent
	Director, Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre 2018-2022	Succeeded by S. Unnikrishnan Nair