Vikram Sarabhai

Vikram Ambalal Sarabhai (12 August 1919 – 30 December 1971) was an Indian physicist and astronomer who initiated space research and helped develop atomic energy in India. He was honoured with Padma Bhushan in 1966 and therefore the Padma Vibhushan (posthumously) in 1972. he's internationally thought to be the daddy of the Indian program.

Sarabhai started a project for the fabrication and launch of an Indian satellite. As a result, the primary Indian satellite, Aryabhatta, was put in orbit in 1975 from a Russian cosmodrome. He was the founding father of Indian Space Research Organization.

The decade following independence in 1947 was a witness to a surge of innovative ideas to make a fledgling independent nation into a model democratic state committed to growth with equity within the development of its people. The establishment of Indian Institute of Management,Ahmedabad (IIMA) was the end result of 1 such innovative initiative. Vikram Sarabhai and Kasturbhai Lalbhai, both natives of Gujarat were primarily chargeable for the establishment of IIM in Ahmedabad.

Son of Ambalal Sarabhai, he came from the famous Sarabhai family of India who were major industrialists committed to the Indian independence movement. Vikram Sarabhai married the classical dancer Mrinalini in 1942. The couple had two children. His daughter Mallika gained prominence as an actress and activist, and his son Kartikeya too became an energetic person in science. During his lifetime, he practiced Jainism.[7] He attended Gujarat College, Ahmedabad, but later shifted to the University of Cambridge, England, where he took his tripos in natural sciences in 1940.[8] In 1945 he returned to Cambridge to pursue a doctorate and wrote a thesis, “Cosmic Ray Investigations in Tropical Latitudes,” in 1947.

Known as the cradle of space sciences in India, the natural philosophy laboratory (PRL) was founded in 1947 by Vikram Sarabhai.[9] PRL had a modest beginning at his residence, the "RETREAT", with research on cosmic rays.

The institute was formally established at the M.G. Science Institute, Ahmedabad, on Martinmas 1947[10] with support from the Karmkshetra Educational Foundation and thus the Ahmedabad Education Society. Prof. Kalpathi Ramakrishna Ramanathan was the first Director of the institute. The initial focus was research on cosmic rays and thus the properties of the upper atmosphere. Research areas were expanded to include theoretical physics and radio physics later with grants from the energy Commission.

He led the Sarabhai family-owned business conglomerate. His interests varied from science to sports to statistics. He founded the research Group (ORG), the first market research organization within the country. Most notable among the many institutes he helped founded are the Nehru Foundation for Development in Ahmedabad, the Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad (IIMA), the Ahmedabad Textile Industry's Research Association (ATIRA) and thus the (CEPT). along with his wife Mrinalini Sarabhai, he founded the Darpana Academy of discipline. Other projects and institutions initiated or established by him include the Fast Breeder Test Reactor (FBTR) in Kalpakkam, Variable Energy Cyclotron Project in Calcutta, Electronics Corporation of India Limited (ECIL) in Hyderabad and Uranium Corporation of India Limited (UCIL) in Jaduguda, Jharkhand.

Sarabhai started a project for the fabrication and launch of an Indian satellite. As a result, the first Indian satellite, Aryabhata, was put in orbit in 1975 from a Russian cosmodrome.[9] He was the founding father of Indian Space Research Organisation.