Dr. Avur Pakir Jainulabdeen Abdul Kalam was born at Dhanushkodi in the Rameshwaram district of Tamil Nadu on 15th October 1931. He received secondary education at Schwarts High School in Ramanathapuram. He graduated from St. Joseph College, Tiruchirapalli and obtained his DMIT in Aeronautical Engineering at the Chennai Institute of Technology, Chennai, during 1954 ? 57. After completing his third year at MIT, Kalam joined Hindustan Aeronauticals Limited (HAL), Bangalore as a trainee. In 1958 he entered DTD&P (Directorate of Technical Development and Production) of the Ministry of Defence as Senior Scientific Assistant. He was posted at the Technical Centre (Civil Aviation). Here, he undertook a design assignment on supersonic target aircraft with the assistance of his officer-in-charge, R. Varadharajan. The design of a DART target was taken up at the DTD&P and he was included in the team. He succeeded in designing and developing a vertical take off and landing platform and Hot Cockpit. Later he worked at he Aeronautical Development Establishment (ADE) at Bangalore. During 1963-82, he served the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO)in different capacities. He initiated Fibre Reinforced Plastics (FRP) activities. He joined the satellite launch vehicle team at Thumba. near Thiruvananthapuram and soon became Project Director for SLV-3. The project came out successful in putting Rohini, a scientific satellite, into orbit in July 1980. Kalam?s contribution was duly acknowledged as he was honoured with the Padma Bhushan in 1981. In 1982 he was entrusted with the Integrated Guided Missile Development Programme (IGMDP). The missiles were to be accomplished within the time span of 10years. Anyhow, they were completed in time, Trishul in 1985, Prithvi in 1988, Agni in 1989 and the remaining two in 1990. Kalam was awarded the Padma Vibhushan in 1990. On 25th November 1997 he was awarded India?s Kalam received the prestigious Indira Gandhi award for National Integration (1997). His role in 1998?s Pokharan blast was highly appreciated by his countrymen. He was involved in the Arjun MBT and the Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) projects. On 25th November 1999, Kalam was appointed Principal Scientific Advisor to the Government of India and accorded the rank of a Cabinet Minister. His main task was to advise on matters concerning the scientific and technical policy in different fields. On December 8, 2000, Life-time Contribution Award in Engineering was conferred on him by the Deputy Chairman of Planning Commission, Shri K.C. Pant. Speaking on this felicitating function, Kalam said that Engineering and Technology should be put into service for the uplift of the people living below the poverty time.

Dr. Kalam has been devoting his precious time in the past few years to develop the concept of India Millennium Missions 2002-a blueprint for transforming India into a developed nation. He wants the children of India to ignite in their minds a love for science and technology.

Dr. Kalam believes like Gandhiji in simple living and high thinking. He is a very liberal and broad-minded person who has complete trust and faith in secularism. He cites from the Bhagvad Gita as often he does from the Holy Koran. ?For great men, religion is a way of making friends, small people make religion a fighting tool?, he remarks.

His hobbies include playing the rudra veena and writing poetry in Tamil which is his first language.

Dr. Kalam enjoys remarkable energy even at this age. He works late into the night and wakes up early to go for a long walk. he is a pure vegetarian as well as a teetotaller. He has never smoked in his life.

He has great faith and confidence in his country?s bright future. He believes that only way to show the strength of the country is the might to defend it. ?Strength respects strength and not weakness.? Strength, according to Dr. Kalam, means military might and economic prosperity.

Dr. Kalam?s elevation to the most prestigious office of the country has been widely welcomed. Known as the Missile Man and branded as 200% percent India by his colleagues, he will bring to his office an element of scientific rationalism which has been missing from the public life in recent years. India has already had a philosopher as President, but never a true-blue scientist/engineer. Let us all pray to the Almighty for his long healthy life.