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Aerospace Scientist, Padma Vibhushan Awardee Roddam Narasimha Passes Away

Aerospace Scientist, Padma Vibhushan Awardee Roddam Narasimha Passes Away

Featured image: Roddam Narasimha. Photo: Wikimedia Commons

Bengaluru: Eminent aerospace scientist and Padma Vibhushan awardee Roddam Narasimha died at a private hospital here on Monday, doctors said. He was 87.

He was admitted to the hospital on December 8 after he suffered a brain haemorrhage.

The scientist, who served at the Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Bengaluru, breathed his last at 8:30 pm, neurologist Dr Sunil V. Furtado said.

“When he was brought to our hospital, he was in a very critical stage. There was bleeding inside his brain,” Dr Furtado, neurosurgeon and senior consultant at the Ramaiah Memorial Hospital in the city, told PTI.

According to him, Narasimha had a heart-related ailment and suffered a brain stroke in 2018 as well.

He is survived by his wife and a daughter.

Born on July 20, 1933, Narasimha made a mark in the field of aerospace and as a fluid dynamicist. He taught aerospace engineering at the IISc from 1962 to 1999. He also served as director of the National Aerospace Laboratories from 1984 to 1993.

Also read: The Teacher Who Had a Lasting Influence on Satish Dhawan and Roddam Narasimha

He was the chairperson of the engineering mechanics unit at the Jawaharlal Nehru Centre for Advanced Scientific Research (JNCASR) in Bengaluru from 2000 to 2014.

Considering his contributions, the Centre conferred him the Padma Vibhushan, India’s second-highest civilian award, in 2013.

According to his family friends, Narasimha was in the league of the ‘Missile Man of India’ A.P.J. Abdul Kalam. Kalam and Narasimha had together authored a book – Developments in Fluid Mechanics and Space Technology.

Narasimha was also a good friend of eminent scientist and Bharat Ratna awardee C.N.R. Rao. He was the student of Indian rocket scientist and former Indian Space Research Organisation chairman Satish Dhawan.

His family members said Narasimha’s last rites will be performed on Tuesday.

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