Dr BN Suresh: From a coffee planter's son to a great scientist

BANGALORE, INDIA: On January 26, former director of Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre (VSCC), Thiruvananthapuram, Dr Byrana Nagappa Suresh (B.N. Suresh) was conferred with the third highest civilian award in the Republic of India, the Padma Bhushan.

While some might have been familiar with him and that he was instrumental in the Space Capsule Recovery Experiments (SRE), which were conducted in January 2007, not many would be aware of the fact that he had a very modest upbringing in a small hamlet in Karnataka.

As it stands, he was born to a coffee planter in Koppa village, but his father was unwavering in his ambition to make his son an engineer, in that, one of repute. After his schooling in his neighborhood locality, he got his bachelor's degree in science in 1963 and, then, in engineering in 1967, from Mysore University.

Upon successful completion of his graduation, he went to Madras (present-day Chennai) for his master's degree in mechanical engineering from the prestigious Indian Institute of Technology, Madras (IIT-M) in 1969.

Fast forward 35 years, and he would be honored with the Distinguished Alumni Award by his alma mater in 2004. But, what lies in between makes for an interesting story of change, as it is about the metamorphosis of a small-town boy into a scientist of national fame and recognition.

Dr Suresh is one of the speakers at this year's C-Change 2013 awards event, the tenth edition, organized annually by CIOL.

For the uninitiated, the SRE programme was to bring back to earth an orbiting satellite safely. It was Dr Suresh who pulled it off successfully in the renowned history of Indian space research. A feat worthy of the name of the centre he was associated with.

In fact, even half-a-decade before that, he was awarded Padma Shri in recognition of his meritorious contributions towards science & technology, in 2002. He served as the director of VSSC between 2003 and 2007 in an illustrious career spanning over 38 years.

It was not the SRE alone that brought laurels his way, but Dr Suresh's stint as the VSSC director also was the phase that had the successful launch of GSLV D2, PSLV C5, GSLV FO1, PSLV C6, PSLV C7 and GSLV FO4.

It has been widely reported that his expertise and prompt action had helped overcome the problems related to the failed GSLV FO2 mission. This led to the successful launch of GSLV FO4 in September 2007.

Another feather on his cap was his being the founding-director of the Indian Institute of Space Science and Technology (IIST), Thiruvananthapuram, from where he retired in November 2010.

His is as good as any other inspiring story, don't you agree?