Vasudev Kalkunte Aatre | |
|---|---|
| 8 th Director General ofDefence research and development organisation | |
| In office 1999-2004 | |
| Preceded by | APJ Abdul Kalam |
| Succeeded by | M Natarajan |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 1939 (age 85–86) |
| Citizenship | India |
| Alma mater | UVCE University of Waterloo,Canada Indian Institute of Science |
Vasudev Kalkunte Aatre (born 1939) is an Indian scientist and former head of theDefence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO),[1] India's premier defenceresearch and development organization. In that capacity, he also served as the Scientific Advisor to theMinister of Defence (Raksha Mantri). He is a recipient of thePadma Vibhushan award.[2][3]
Aatre was born in 1939 inBangalore. He completed hisBE inelectrical engineering fromUniversity of Visvesvaraya College of Engineering (UVCE), Bangalore, then part ofUniversity of Mysore in 1961 and a master's degree from theIndian Institute of Science (IISc), Bangalore, in 1963.[4] He was awarded aPhD in electrical engineering from theUniversity of Waterloo, Canada, in 1967. Thereafter, he worked as a professor of electrical engineering at theTechnical University of Nova Scotia,Halifax, Canada, until 1980.[4] He was a visiting professor at IISc till 1977. He is a former member of theDefence Research & Development Service (DRDS).[5][6]
In 1980, Aatre joined DRDO at theNaval Physical & Oceanographic Laboratory (NPOL),Cochin, and became its director in 1984. He was later appointed as chief controller (R&D) of DRDO.[7] In February 2000, he replacedAbdul Kalam as the director general of DRDO and SA to RM, serving as scientific advisor to the then Defence Minister,George Fernandes. He retired in October 2004 and was replaced by Dr. M. Natrajan.[8][9]
Aatre was awarded thePadma Bhushan award in 2000 by the thenPresidentK. R. Narayanan.[4]He was bestowed with thePadma Vibhushan award, India's second highest civilian award in 2016. He is now chairman of NIT Goa and IIEST SHIBPUR, Howrah.[3]
In 2015,Karnataka Science and Technology awarded him with the academy's Lifetime Achievement Award for 2014.[10]
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