Dr Abraham E. Muthunayagam, a mechanical engineer with a PhD from Purdue University, USA, joined INCOSPAR, the predecessor of ISRO, in 1966, where he contributed extensively to the development of propulsion technologies as the founder–director of the organization's Liquid Propulsion Systems Centre. From 1996 to 2001, he was secretary, Department of Ocean Development, Government of India, and chairman, Regional Committee of Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission for the Central Indian Ocean. He was vice-chairman, Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission (1996–98) and chairman, Commission for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources (1998–2000). He has been the founder–vice chancellor of Karunya University, Coimbatore (2001–04); executive vice president, Kerala State Council for Science and Technology and Environment (2005–07); chairman, Board of Governors, IIT Madras (2005–08); and chairman, State Environment Impact Assessment Authority, Kerala (2011–13). Dr Muthunayagam has received several national accolades, including the Dr V.M. Ghatage Award from the Aeronautical Society of India (1989), the Mechanical Engineering Design Award (1995) from the Institution of Engineers (India), the Life Time Achievement Award in Ocean Science and Technology (2007) from the Ministry of Earth Sciences, the ISRO Outstanding Achievement Award (2008) and the Aryabhata Award (2010) for his contribution in the area of propulsion technology.
<p style="margin: 6px 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; background-image: initial; background-position: 0px 0px; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; line-height: 24px; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-family: "Open Sans", sans-serif;">In 2008, with the successful launch of Chandrayaan-1, India’s first mission to the Moon, the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) joined an elite space club. The foundation of this achievement, however, was laid decades ago by a small group of people, one of whom was Dr Abraham E. Muthunayagam.</p><p style="margin: 6px 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; background-image: initial; background-position: 0px 0px; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; line-height: 24px; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-family: "Open Sans", sans-serif;">Handpicked by Dr Vikram Sarabhai, Muthunayagam was the chief architect of rocket propulsion in the country, directing the project that developed the Vikas engine, which sent many Indian rockets into space, including the one that took Chandrayaan-1 to the Moon.</p><p style="margin: 6px 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; background-image: initial; background-position: 0px 0px; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; line-height: 24px; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-family: "Open Sans", sans-serif;"><em style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; background: 0px 0px;">In From Space to Sea and Beyond</em>, Muthunayagam looks back at the nascent phase of the Indian space programme, the breakthroughs, international collaborations, and professional rivalries and jealousies that were the highlight of his years at ISRO. Though he was eventually transferred from the organization, it did not signal the end of his career. Just like propulsion systems land up in the ocean after completing their missions in space, Muthunayagam too joined, and subsequently transformed, the Department of Ocean Development.</p><p style="margin: 6px 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; background-image: initial; background-position: 0px 0px; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; line-height: 24px; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-family: "Open Sans", sans-serif;">A riveting mix of memoir and history, this book is an inspiring call to young Indians to carry forward the spirit of enquiry.</p>
