Former president of India to discuss space science and technology Oct. 18 at Rice

A.P.J. Abdul Kalam, former president of India and father of India’s missile program, will discuss the challenges and opportunities of space science and technology during a free public lecture at Rice University at 8 p.m. Oct. 18.

Before Kalam became India’s 11th president in 2002, he specialized in aeronautical engineering at the Madras Institute of Technology and developed India’s first indigenous satellite launch vehicle and missile systems. He served as scientific adviser to India’s defense minister and secretary in the Department of Defense Research and Development from 1992 to 1999. Kalam also served as the principal scientific adviser to the government of India in the rank of cabinet minister from November 1999 to November 2001. 

An eminent scientist, a poet and visionary for India, Kalam has received honorary doctorates from 30 universities and institutions from around the world, as well as India’s highest civilian honors. Known as the “People’s President,” Kalam has been dedicated to the betterment of the common man and the transformation of India into a developed nation by 2020. His term ended this past July.

Kalam holds the position of visitor at the Indian Institute of Science, India’s premier graduate research institute, where he conducted his early research. His autobiography, “Wings of Fire,” is also a biography of India’s space science research and should enhance the viewpoints he will present at Rice.

The lecture will be held in Stude Concert Hall in Alice Pratt Brown Hall, 6100 Main St.  Seating opens at 7 p.m.  The lecture is free but tickets are required.  Information on how to obtain tickets will be posted at <www.rice.edu> Oct. 10.  Free parking will be available on campus. For a campus map, visit <www.rice.edu/maps/maps.html>.

Kalam’s presentation is part of the Rice University President’s Lecture Series, which brings to campus a variety of stimulating speakers on a range of topics to enhance the intellectual life of both the Rice and Houston communities. In addition to the President’s Lecture Series, Kalam’s lecture is being co-hosted by Rice’s James A. Baker III Institute for Public Policy and Rice’s Ting Tsung and Wei Fong Chao Center for Asian Studies.  His visit was arranged in collaboration with the Indian Institute of Science-Bangalore and India House-Houston.

The President’s Lecture Series is sponsored by the Office of the President and supported by the J. Newton Rayzor Lecture Fund.