chairman of ISRO until 1984. Director, IISc (1962–1981) Dhawan joined as faculty at the Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Bangalore, in 1951 and became its director in 1962. Although he was the head of the Indian space programme, he devoted substantial efforts towards boundary layer research. His most important contributions are presented in the seminal book Boundary Layer Theory by Hermann Schlichting. He set up the country's first supersonic wind tunnel at IISc. He also pioneered research on relaminarization of separated boundary layer flows, three-dimensional boundary layers and trisonic flows. Support of space research Dhawan carried out pioneering experiments in rural education, remote sensing and satellite communications. His efforts led to operational systems like INSAT, a telecommunications satellite; IRS, the Indian Remote Sensing satellite; and the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV), that placed India in the league of space faring nations. Honours Dhawan died on 3 January 2002 in Bangalore. Following his death, the satellite launch centre at Sriharikota, Andhra Pradesh, located about 100 km north of Chennai in South India, was renamed to the Satish Dhawan Space Centre. Satish Chander Dhawan Government College For Boys in Ludhiana is named after him. Department of Mechanical Engineering Building at Indian Institute of Technology Ropar is also named after him as Satish Dhawan Block, IIT Ropar. Uttar Pradesh Textile Technology Institute Kanpur is also named as Prof SATISH Dhavan Computer Centre in year 2019 Career Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore Senior Scientific Officer, 1951 Professor and Head of the Department of Aeronautical Engineering, 1955 Director, 1962–1981 California Institute of Technology, US Visiting Professor, 1971–72 National Aerospace Laboratories, Bangalore Chairman, Research council, 1984–93 Indian Academy of Sciences President, 1977–1979 Indian Space Research Organisation Chairman, 1972–1984 Indian Space Commission Chairman, 1972–2002 Awards Padma Vibhushan (India's second highest civilian honour), 1981 Padma Bhushan (India's third highest civilian honour), 1971 Indira Gandhi Award for National Integration, 1999 Distinguished Alumnus Award, Indian Institute of Science Distinguished Alumnus Award, California Institute of Technology, 1969 Personal life Satish Dhawan was born on 25 September 1920 in Srinagar in the state of Jammu and Kashmir, India, in a Saraiki Hindu family. His father came from Dera Ismail Khan, and Satish Dhawan grew up in Lahore and Kashmir. He was married to Nalini Dhawan, a cytogeneticist, and his daughter Jyotsna Dhawan is serving as Senior Principal Scientist in the Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology. Works 1953: "Direct measurements of skin