Former Chairperson, ISRO and Former Secretary, Department of Space, Dr. K. Sivan is the Chairperson of the Board of Governors (BoG), Indian Institute of Technology Indore (MP). He served as the Secretary, Department of Space, Chairman, Space Commission and Chairman, Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) from January 2018 to January 2022.

Dr. K. Sivan joined ISRO in 1982 and was inducted into the PSLV Project. He is specialised in Aerospace Engineering, Space Transportation Systems Engineering, Launch Vehicle and Mission Design, Control & Guidance Design, Mission Simulation Software Design, Mission Synthesis, Simulation, Analysis and Validation of Flight Systems.

He has made significant contributions to end-to-end mission planning, design, integration and analysis, and his innovative mission design strategies ensured the consistent performance of PSLV, forming a strong foundation for other ISRO launch vehicles such as GSLV Mk II, GSLV Mk III and RLV-TD. He is the Chief Architect of the 6D trajectory simulation software, SITARA, which serves as the backbone of real-time and non-real-time trajectory simulations for all ISRO launch vehicles.

He was responsible for commissioning world-class simulation facilities in ISRO for mission synthesis, analysis, sub-system validation and integrated validation of avionics systems. He also developed the innovative “day-of-launch wind biasing strategy”, enabling rocket launches under varied weather and wind conditions, and served as the Chief Mission Architect for the successful launch of 104 satellites in a single PSLV mission.

He has received numerous awards, including the Doctor of Science (Honoris Causa) from selected universities, and has extensive publications in reputed journals, including the book “Integrated Design for Space Transportation System” (Springer, November 2015).