Prahlada

Prahlada Rama Rao is an Indian aerospace engineer who served as the former director of Defence Research and Development Laboratory (DRDL), the largest of the Defence Research and Development Organization (DRDO) laboratories in India, known for his contributions to the Indian space programme. He was honoured by the Government of India in 2015 with the Padma Shri, the fourth-highest Indian civilian award. He was vice chancellor of the Defence Institute of Advanced Technology from 2011 to 2014.

Early life and education Prahlada was born on 5 February 1947 in Bangalore and obtained a master's degree in aeronautical engineering from the Indian Institute of Science, with rockets and missile systems as his major. where he earned a doctoral degree (PhD). a deemed university based in Pune and run by the Ministry of Defence He holds the post of an adjunct professor at the Indian Institute of Science at its Department of Aerospace and the Department of Management Studies. on two occasions, in 2008 and 2010. the Indian Society for Nondestructive Testing (ISNT) and the Indian Academy of Engineering (INAE) and is a former president of the Society for Aerospace Quality and Reliability (SAQR). Systems Society of India, Institution of Electronics and Telecommunication Engineers and Aeronautical Society of India. He was conferred the doctoral degree (honoris causa) by Sri Venkateswara University in 2006 and by the Jawaharlal Nehru Technological University, Anantapur in 2012. He is a recipient of awards and honours such as DRDO Scientist of the Year, HMA – Member of the Year, IISc Distinguished Alumnus Award, Sivananda Eminent Citizen Award and Hyderabad Management Association Life Time Achievement Award. He has also received National Aeronautical Prize, 2008 DRDO Award and Eminent Engineers Award.

Indian governmental honours

2015 – 50px Padma Shri, India's fourth-highest civilian award.