Sreedhara Panicker Somanath (born July 1963) is an Indian aerospace engineer serving as the chairman of the

Indian Space Research Organisation The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO; ) is the national space agency of India, headquartered in Bengaluru. It operates under the Department of Space (DOS) which is directly overseen by the Prime Minister of India, while the Chairman ...

. Somanath also served as the Director of Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre (VSSC), Thiruvananthapuram and Director of Liquid Propulsion Systems Centre (LPSC), Thiruvananthapuram. 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.

Early life and career

Somanath was born in a Malayali Hindu family as a son of Sreedhara Panicker, a Hindi teacher, and Thankamma in Thuravoor, Kerala. Somanath did his schooling at St Augustine's High School, Aroor and completed his pre-university program from Maharaja's College, Ernakulam. Somanath received his graduate degree in Mechanical Engineering from TKM College of Engineering,

Kollam Kollam (), also known by its former name Quilon , is an ancient seaport and city on the Malabar Coast of India bordering the Laccadive Sea, which is a part of the Arabian Sea. It is north of the state capital Thiruvananthapuram. The city i ...

, Kerala University and Master's Degree in Aerospace Engineering from Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore with specialization in Dynamics and Control. After his graduation, Somanath joined Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre,

in 1985. He was associated with Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) Project during its initial phase. He became the Associate Director (Projects) of

VSSC The Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre (VSSC) is a major space research centre of the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), focusing on rocket and space vehicles for India's satellite programme. It is located in Thiruvananthapuram, in the Indi ...

and also the Project Director of GSLV Mk-III launch vehicle in 2010. He was also the Deputy Director of the Propulsion and Space Ordinance Entity till November 2014. In June 2015, he took over as Director of Liquid Propulsion Systems Centre (LPSC) at Valiamala, Thiruvananthapuram and served there until January 2018. Somanath took over as Director of

from

K. Sivan Kailasavadivoo Sivan (born 14 April 1957) is an Indian space scientist who served as the Secretary of the Department of Space and chairman of Indian Space Research Organisation and Space Commission. He has previously served as the Director o ...

who became Chairman of

. In January 2022, he took over as the

Chairman The chairperson, also chairman, chairwoman or chair, is the presiding officer of an organized group such as a board, committee, or deliberative assembly. The person holding the office, who is typically elected or appointed by members of the grou ...

of the

, again succeeding

References

1963 births Living people Indian Space Research Organisation people Indian Institute of Science alumni Scientists from Thiruvananthapuram Indian aerospace engineers Date of birth missing (living people) IIT Madras alumni {{India-scientist-stub