Advanced Certification Programme in
Space Technologies

Prof. Aloke Kumar
Ph.D., Purdue University, (West Lafayette), USA
Associate Professor, Department of Mechanical Engineering, IISc

Research Expertise: Soft Matter/Complex fluids, Bacteria, Biofilms, Microfluidics, Opto-electro Fluidics and Biophysics

With a solid academic foundation from IIT Kharagpur and Purdue University, USA, Prof. Aloke possesses a wealth of knowledge and experience in mechanical engineering. Before joining IISc, he worked as an Assistant Professor at Canada's University of Alberta. He also served as a Staff Scientist at Oak Ridge National Laboratory, USA. His research contributions have been recognised with esteemed awards and honours, including the Canada Research Chair in Microfluidics for Biological Systems and the Eugene P. Wigner Fellowship. Additionally, he has been actively involved in several sponsored projects, a significant one being the ISRO-IISc Space Technology Cell project titled "Bacterial growth induced self-healing and smart consolidation of structural mass," for which he served as the Principal Investigator.

Prof. KJ Vinoy
Ph.D., Pennsylvania State University, USA
Professor, Division of Electrical, Electronic and Computer Sciences, IISc

Research Expertise: Microwaves Antennas & Circuits, RF Sensors, Computational Electomagnets

Prof. Vinoy is a prominent academician and researcher with a remarkable career spanning over two decades. He has published over 250 research papers in reputed technical journals and conferences, authored four books, and holds two US and three (filed) Indian patents. Furthermore, he is the series editor for Springer's "Briefs on Computational Electromagnetics." His other academic commitments include serving as Chairperson for IISc's Centre for Scientific and Industrial Consultancy (CSIC) and the convener for Office of Career Counselling and Placement (OCCaP). In addition to his membership in the Indian National Academy of Engineering (INAE), Prof. Vinoy has been an active member of IEEE, a global scientific community.

Prof. Amrit Ambirajan
Ph.D., Missouri University of Science and Technology, Rolla, USA
Ex-Deputy Head, Thermal Testing Division - U. R. Rao Satellite Centre, ISRO
Research Professor, Department of Mechanical Engineering, IISc

Research Expertise: Thermal Management, Two-phase Heat Transport Devices, Thermal Property Measurements, Radiation Heat Transfer, Thermo-acoustic Devices

Prof. Amrit is a distinguished Research Professor with a rich academic background from IIT Madras and Missouri University of Science and Technology, Rolla, USA, respectively. Before switching to academics, Prof. Amrit enjoyed an illustrious career spanning over two decades working with ISRO, the world's sixth largest space agency. He served as a Deputy Head at the Thermal Systems Group, contributing significantly to research and development in spacecraft thermal management—a critical aspect of space technology. He holds the esteemed title of being an elected Fellow of the Indian National Academy of Engineering. His profound expertise is reflected in his extensive research contributions, with published papers covering a broad spectrum of topics, including space vehicles, thermal management, and thermodynamics. Beyond academia, he has lent his expertise as a consultant for projects related to thermal management and air pollution monitoring.

Dr Philip N.K.
Ph.D., Indian Institute of Science
Former Programme Director, U. R. Rao Satellite Center, ISRO, Bengaluru

Research Expertise: Overall Spacecraft Systems, Control Engineering, Kalman Filtering and State Estimation, Spacecraft Dynamics, Control Schemes for Space Rendezvous and Docking, Management of Satellite Navigation Programme

Dr. Philip NK is a renowned figure in the field of space science and engineering. He holds a B.Tech from Calicut University and an M.Tech from IIT Madras. In 1986, he began his remarkable journey as a Scientist Engineer at the UR Rao Satellite Centre, where he achieved the prestigious title of Outstanding Scientist in July 2019.

Throughout his career, Dr. Philip NK held several influential positions and retired as Programme Director in July 2021. Post-retirement, he shared his knowledge as a guest faculty at a prominent engineering college, teaching Space Dynamics, and served as a technical consultant to AAdyah Aerospace Pvt Ltd, specializing in satellite attitude determination and control systems.

His expertise encompasses Overall Spacecraft Systems, Control Engineering, Kalman Filtering, State Estimation, Spacecraft Dynamics, Control Schemes for Space Rendezvous and Docking, and Management of Satellite Navigation Programmes. Dr. Philip NK's contributions have left an enduring mark on the space industry, and his journey is a testament to his passion and dedication to space exploration.

Prof. Koushik Viswanathan
Ph.D., Purdue University, USA
Assistant Professor, Department of Mechanical Engineering, IISc

Research Expertise: Advanced Manufacturing and Finishing Processes, Experimental Mechanics and Metrology, Theoretical Methods in Mechanics and Physics

Prof. Koushik holds an impressive academic background, having completed his PhD and MS from Purdue University, USA, and his BTech and MTech from IIT Madras. At IISc, he teaches various courses, including Engineering Mathematics, Materials and Structure Property Correlations, Analysis of Manufacturing Processes, and Applied Mathematics for Mechanics. Professor's research endeavours are marked by his involvement in several sponsored projects, where he contributes to the field of deformation processing of lightweight structural metals, shear banding dynamics in structural alloys under impact loading, and modular additive manufacturing systems.

Prof. Jishnu Keshavan
Ph.D, University of Maryland, USA
Assistant Professor, Department of Mechanical Engineering, IISc

Research Expertise: Autonomous aerial and ground systems, Nonlinear estimation and control theory, Data-driven and learning-based control, Robust control systems design, Vision-based navigation

Prof. Jishnu Keshavan holds a B.Tech in Aerospace Engineering from IIT Bombay. He further pursued an MS and Ph.D. at the University of Maryland, where he later served as a Postdoctoral Researcher. He then joined the University of Colorado Boulder as a Senior Research Associate in the Department of Mechanical Engineering. Subsequently, he served as an Assistant Professor in the Department of Aerospace Engineering at Mississippi State University. In 2020, Prof. Keshavan joined the prestigious Indian Institute of Science (IISc) as an Assistant Professor, bringing with him a wealth of experience in advanced research and teaching in aerospace engineering.

Prof. D. Nagesh Kumar
Ph.D., IISc
Professor, Department of Civil Engineering, IISc

Research Expertise: Climate Hydrology, Water Resources Systems, Climate Change Impact on Water Resources, ANN, Evolutionary Algorithms, Fuzzy Logic, MCDM and Remote Sensing & GIS applications in Water Resources

Prof. D. Nagesh Kumar is a distinguished professor from the Civil Engineering Group at IISc. In addition to his role as a professor, he has held various prestigious positions throughout his career. Notably, he served as the Chairman of the Centre for Earth Sciences at IISc for six years. He was the Visiting Professor at the Ecole Nationale Supérieure des Mines de Saint-Etienne (EMSE) in Saint-Etienne, France (2012). He also taught at IIT Kharagpur and spent time as a BOYSCAST Fellow at Utah Water Research Lab, Utah State University, USA. His contributions to academia and research have been recognized with awards such as the Prof. Satish Dhawan Chair Professor Award by IISc. He is a Fellow of the Indian Academy of Sciences. His extensive research contributions extend to 8 authored books and over 225 papers, most published in international journals. In addition to that, he is an active member of various professional bodies, including the American Society of Civil Engineers, the American Geophysical Union, and the International Association of Hydraulic Engineering and Research.