AS Kiran Kumar is new ISRO chief

Alur Seelin Kiran Kumar, Director, Space Applications Centre, Ahmedabad, has taken charge as Chairman, Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), and as Secretary, Department of Space. He also chairs the think-tank body, the Space Commission. According to an ISRO release, Kiran Kumar’s career spans over four decades in ISRO in the satellite payload and applications domains. He obtained his Physics (Honours) degree from Bangalore University in 1971, a Master’s degree in Electronics from the same university in 1973, and M.Tech in physical engineering from the Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore in 1975. He joined Space Applications Centre in 1975. Later, he became its Associate Director and in March 2012 took over as Director.