Whenever we come across the name Abdul Kalam, none other than the image of an academician occupies our mind. A paragon of dedication, patience, resilience, and hard work, APJ Abdul Kalam was a man who saw the sky without any boundaries; who believed in dreaming big, taking steps towards it and achieving it.
APJ Abdul Kalam's Achievements:
- Avul Pakir Jainulabin Abdul Kalam, a boy from Rameshwaram who dreamt of touching the sky by becoming a pilot, ended up being one of the most popular Presidents of India. Always an academician, Kalam was well known for his books, contributions to science, and being a motivational speaker.
- Abdul Kalam was born on 15 October 1931 in Rameshwaram in Tamil Nadu. During his school years, he supported his family by selling newspapers. After completing his schooling from Rameshwaram, Kalam graduated in Aerospace Engineering from Madras Institute of Technology in 1960 and joined the Aeronautical Development Establishment of the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) as a scientist. Though Kalam wanted to become a fighter pilot, he missed the chance by one position. However, he became a member of the Defence Research & Development Service (DRDS) and started his career by designing a small hovercraft.
- In 1969 Kalam was transferred to the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) where he established himself as the “missile man of India”. Kalam became the Project Director of first Satellite Launch Vehicle (SLV-III) of India in 1980.
- In 1982, Kalam became the Chief Scientific Advisor to the Prime Minister of India and also the Secretary of DRDO. He also served as the Chief Project Coordinator in the Pokhran-II Nuclear Test along with R Chidambaram. It was after media's intervention that Indian people came to know about Kalam's achievements and he became the most successful and popular scientist of India.
- Kalam along, with cardiologist Sonam Raju, invented a low-cost coronary stent which was named as Kalam-Raju stent. They both also designed a rugged tablet PC to ensure health care in rural areas which was named as “Kalam Raju Tablet”.
- It was due to his pivotal role in developing missiles AGNI ( a ballistic missile) and PRITHVI (surface to surface missile) that he came to be known as the Missile Man of India.
- In 2002, all the parties unanimously elected Kalam as the 11th President of India. APJ Abdul Kalam had received the most prestigious awards including the Bharat Ratna (1997), Padma Vibhushan (1990) and Padma Bhushan (1981). Kalam was also a recipient of the Von Braun Award (2013) from the National Space Society for recognizing his excellence, management, and leadership in a space-related project.
- Switzerland commemorates May 26 as Science Day in memory of APJ Kalam as it was on this day in 2005 when he visited the country.
- Kalam has received doctorates from nearly 40 universities, including Edinburg University and Oakland University.
