K. Kasturirangan (Padma Vibhushan)
Chair, Governing Council, Future Earth South Asia, India
Dr Krishnaswamy Kasturirangan is an Indian space scientist who headed the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) from 1994 to 2003. Over many decades of a highly distinguished career, Dr Kasturirangan has served in capacities advising governments on a range of policy interventions. He is presently Chancellor of Central University of Rajasthan. He is the former chancellor of Jawaharlal Nehru University and the chair of Karnataka Knowledge Commission. He is a former member of the Rajya Sabha (2003–09) and a former member of the now defunct Planning Commission of India. He was also the Director of the National Institute of Advanced Studies, Bangalore, from April 2004 to 2009. He is a recipient of the three major civilian awards from the Government of India: Padma Shri (1982), Padma Bhushan (1992) and Padma Vibhushan (2000).