He was a pioneer and innovator for Indian space science

Satish Dhawan

25 September 2020 was the 100th anniversary of the birth of famous Indian rocket scientist Professor Satish Dhawan. He is considered to be the father of experimental fluid dynamics research in India and was key in making the nation’s space program what it is today.

There is an Indian space launch centre now named after Dhawan

© ISRO

Dhawan was born in Srinagar, India, and was well educated, with a peculiar array of qualifications gained from the University of Lahore, now in Pakistan. This includes a bachelor’s degree in physics and mathematics and a master’s degree in English literature, finished off with a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering. His inquisitive academic nature then took him abroad to the US, where he received a master’s degree in aeronautical engineering in Minneapolis and a PhD in aeronautics and mathematics from the California Institute of Technology (Caltech). It was here, under the tutelage of Hans W. Liepmann, where his interests in fluid dynamics peaked.