Bengaluru: One look at him and your heart swells with pride. He looks simple and perhaps ordinary as well. But he is extraordinary in every sense of the term. 

Meet K Sivan, the chairman of the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO). He is indeed the man of the moment as the ISRO has successfully launched Orbiter, which does the majority of the Chandrayaan-2 mission, but (ISRO) has lost contact with lander Vikram. 

For the son of a farmer to become one of the topmost scientists in the country is in itself a marvel. 

He studied in a Tamil medium Government school in Mela Sarakkalvilai Village and later in Vallankumaranvilai in Kanyakumari district. 

Interestingly, he happens to be the first graduate from his family. 

In the year 1980, he graduated with a bachelor's degree in engineering from Madras Institute of Technology. 

Later, he earned his master's degree in aerospace engineering from Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore in 1982. Sources say that it was then he started working in ISRO. He also earned a doctoral degree in aerospace engineering from Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay in 2006. 

Also read: Chandrayaan-2: PM Modi hugs ISRO chairman Sivan in a gesture of solace, extolls scientists as ‘exceptional professionals’

His achievements certainly have no end. In 2006, he became a Fellow of the Indian National Academy of Engineering, the Aeronautical Society of India and the Systems Society of India. 

Sivan has been a recipient of several awards. Two to mention are: 

Doctor of Science (Honoris Causa) from Sathyabama University, Chennai in April 2014

Tamil Nadu government’s Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam Award. 

Sivan is also a marquee name in the field of cryogenic engines. 

It is worth noting that he has previously served as the Director of the Vikram Sarabhai Space Center and the Liquid Propulsion Systems Centre.

Presently, as ISRO has lost contact with Vikram, the scientists are studying what went wrong and working hard to restore contact.