S.K. Satheesh
Global Hub Director, South Asia Hub
Prof. S. K. Satheesh is an Indian meteorologist and a professor at the Centre for Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences of the Indian Institute of Science (IISc). He holds the chair of the Divecha Centre for Climate Change, a centre undertaking research on climate variability, climate change and their impact on the environment. He is known for his studies on atmospheric aerosols and is an elected fellow of all the three major Indian science academies, i.e., Indian Academy of Sciences, Indian National Science Academy and the National Academy of Sciences, India, as well as The World Academy of Sciences. The Council of Scientific and Industrial Research, the apex agency of the Government of India for scientific research, awarded him the Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Prize for Science and Technology, one of the highest Indian science awards for his contributions to Earth, Atmosphere, Ocean and Planetary Sciences in 2009. He received the TWAS Prize of the World Academy of Sciences in 2011. In 2018, he received the Infosys Prize (in Physical Sciences category), one of the highest monetary awards in India that recognize excellence in science and research, for his work in the field of climate change. In recent years, Prof. Satheesh has conceived and led numerous field experiments in remote and hostile environments, in pursuit of the science of aerosols, employing research ships and aircrafts, besides a network of ground-based observatories. The campaigns in which Prof. Satheesh was the Chief Mission Scientist remain benchmarks in scientific planning, meticulous execution, creative data analysis and interpretation. Currently, as the Director of Future Earth GSH South Asia, Prof. Satheesh is responsible for entwining his knowledge for action plans for sustainable development. In recognition of his outstanding research contributions in the field of Atmospheric Science and Technology the Ministry of Earth Sciences honoured him with the “National Award in the field of Atmospheric Science and Technology” for the year 2019.