Padma Vibhushan Awardee And Aerospace Scientist Roddam Narasimha Dies

Eminent aerospace scientist and Padma Vibhushan awardee Roddam Narasimha died at a private hospital 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 prestigious Indian Institute of Science (IISc), 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, Prof 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 the director of the National Aerospace Laboratories from 1984 to 1993.

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 contribution, the central government bestowed on him Padma Vibhushan, the second-highest civilian award of India, in 2013.

According to his family friends, Narasimha was in the league of the Missile Man of India and former president Dr APJ Abdul Kalam.

Dr Kalam and Prof Narasimha had together authored a book --"Developments In Fluid Mechanics and Space Technology".

He was also a good friend of eminent scientist and Bharat Ratna awardee Dr CNR Rao. He was the student of Indian rocket scientist Prof Satish Dhawan.

His family members said the last rites will be performed on Tuesday.