A.P.J. ABDUL KALAM Born on 15 October 1931, at Rameswaram in Tamil Nadu, Dr Avul Pakir Jainulabdeen Abdul Kalam specialized in aeronautical engineering from Madras Institute of Technology. Dr. Kalam is one of the most distinguished scientists of India and has received honorary doctorates from forty-five universities and institutions in India and abroad. He has been awarded the Padma Bhushan (1981), the Padma Vibhushan (1990) and India's highest civilian award, the Bharat Ratna (1997). He has also received the King Charles Il medal (2007), the Woodrow Wilson Award (2008), the Hoover Award (2008) and the International Von Karman Wings Award (2009) among other international accolades. Dr. Kalam became the eleventh President of India on 25 July 2002. His focus and greatest ambition remains to find ways to transform India into a developed nation.
