J. "Bob" Balaram (born 28 June 1959) is an

Indian-American Indian Americans are Americans whose ancestry originates wholly or partly from India. The terms Asian Indian and East Indian are used to avoid confusion with Native Americans in the United States, who are also referred to as "Indians" or "Am ...

scientist A scientist is a person who Scientific method, researches to advance knowledge in an Branches of science, area of the natural sciences. In classical antiquity, there was no real ancient analog of a modern scientist. Instead, philosophers engag ...

and

engineer Engineers, as practitioners of engineering, are professionals who Invention, invent, design, build, maintain and test machines, complex systems, structures, gadgets and materials. They aim to fulfill functional objectives and requirements while ...

currently working for

National Aeronautics and Space Administration The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA ) is an independent agency of the US federal government responsible for the United States's civil space program, aeronautics research and space research. Established in 1958, it su ...

. He is the chief engineer and designer of ''

Ingenuity Ingenuity may refer to: *Ingenuity (helicopter), part of NASA's Mars 2020 mission * ''Ingenuity'' (Crespi), a painting * ''Ingenuity'' (album), a 1994 Ultravox album *QIAGEN Silicon Valley, formerly Ingenuity Systems, a biotechnology software comp ...

'' (project name: ''

Mars 2020 Mars 2020 is a NASA mission that includes the rover ''Perseverance (rover), Perseverance'', the now-retired small robotic helicopter ''Ingenuity (helicopter), Ingenuity'', and associated delivery systems, as part of the Mars Exploration Progra ...

'' helicopter), the first

extraterrestrial Extraterrestrial may refer to: Science * Extraterrestrial life, life that occurs outside of Earth and that probably did not originate from Earth Media * ''Extraterrestrial'' (TV program), a program on the National Geographic Channel * '' Extrate ...

aircraft, that was attached underside of car-sized ''

Perseverance Perseverance most commonly refers to: * ''Perseverance'' (rover), a planetary rover landed on Mars by NASA * Psychological resilience Perseverance may also refer to: Geography * Perseverance, Queensland, a locality in Australia * Perseverance I ...

'' rover that successfully landed on the Mars in February 2021.

Early life and education

After schooling at

Rishi Valley School Rishi Valley School is an Indian boarding school, founded by the philosopher Jiddu Krishnamurti. The school has a holistic approach to education in the spirit of Krishnamurti's pedagogical vision. Community service and extracurricular activitie ...

, Balaram completed his

Bachelor of Technology A Bachelor of Technology (BTech) is an undergraduate degree that is awarded for a higher education program in engineering. Countries Australia In Australia, the Bachelor of Technology degree is offered by RMIT University, Edith Cowan Univ ...

course from Indian Institute of Technology, Madras, India in 1980, and further went to receive his MS and

Ph.D. A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, DPhil; or ) is a terminal degree that usually denotes the highest level of academic achievement in a given discipline and is awarded following a course of graduate study and original research. The name of the deg ...

Computer A computer is a machine that can be Computer programming, programmed to automatically Execution (computing), carry out sequences of arithmetic or logical operations (''computation''). Modern digital electronic computers can perform generic set ...

and Systems

Engineering Engineering is the practice of using natural science, mathematics, and the engineering design process to Problem solving#Engineering, solve problems within technology, increase efficiency and productivity, and improve Systems engineering, s ...

from

Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (; RPI) is a private university, private research university in Troy, New York, United States. It is the oldest technological university in the English-speaking world and the Western Hemisphere. It was establishe ...

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

Work at NASA

Bob joined NASA's

JPL The Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) is a federally funded research and development center (FFRDC) in La Cañada Flintridge, California, Crescenta Valley, United States. Founded in 1936 by California Institute of Technology (Caltech) researche ...

in 1985 after finishing his doctorate. He has been working at

Jet Propulsion Laboratory The Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) is a Federally funded research and development centers, federally funded research and development center (FFRDC) in La Cañada Flintridge, California, Crescenta Valley, United States. Founded in 1936 by Cali ...

for the past 20 years in Mobility &

Robotic Robotics is the interdisciplinary study and practice of the design, construction, operation, and use of robots. Within mechanical engineering, robotics is the design and construction of the physical structures of robots, while in computer s ...

Systems Department. During his time here, Bob has been actively engaged in the area of

telerobotics Telerobotics is the area of robotics concerned with the control of semi-autonomous robots from a distance, chiefly using television, wireless networks (like Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and the Deep Space Network) or tethered connections. It is a combinatio ...

technology development for several Mars rovers, planetary balloons, descent and landing technology, and surface mobility technology. He is recipient of two NASA awards. In 2012 MiMi Aung was leading then JPL director

Charles Elachi Charles Elachi (born April 18, 1947
. ''Cedars Network''. Retrieved on February 20, 2008.) is a ...

on a tour of the Autonomous Systems Division. Looking at the drones demonstrating onboard navigation algorithms in one of the labs, Elachi asked, “ ''Hey, why don't we do that on Mars?''” Engineer Bob Balaram briefed Elachi about feasibility, and a week later Elachi told him, “ ''Okay, I’ve got some study money for you''”. By January 2015 NASA agreed to fund the development of a full-size model, which came to be known as the “risk reduction” vehicle.

Scientific publications

* * *

Video

Status reports of Bob Balaram in the ''Ingenuity'' mission

* * * *

References

Sources

External links

Bob Balaram
s profile at NASA * {{DEFAULTSORT:Balaram, Bob NASA people Mars 2020 IIT Madras alumni American people of Indian descent 20th-century Indian engineers Jet Propulsion Laboratory Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute alumni Living people 1961 births 21st-century Indian engineers