Dr.

Surendra Pal
Distinguished Scientist
Program Director, Satellite Navigation / Deputy Director, DCA
ISRO Satellite Centre, Bangalore-17

Dr. S Pal, an alumnus of Birla Institute of Technology & Science (BITS), Pilani
and Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Bangalore, India is presently
Distinguished Scientist & Program Director, Satellite Navigation
Program and also Deputy Director (Digital & Communication Area) at
ISRO Satellite Centre, Bangalore.
He joined Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) in 1971, after a brief
tenure at Tata Institute of Fundamental Research. Dr. Pal pioneered the
Microwave & Antenna activities at the ISRO Satellite Centre at the inception.
He has been responsible for the development & fabrication of all spacecraft
related telecommunication systems for India’s all satellites beginning with
Aryabhata to the present day IRS & INSAT series of spacecraft. Dr. Pal is
also responsible for pioneering satellite based navigation activities in India. .
He is spear heading the Indian Satellite Based Wide Area
Augmentation System – GAGAN (GPS Aided Geo Augmented
Navigation System) and Indian Regional Navigation Satellite System
(IRNSS) activities for civil aviation for civil & restricted users
respectively. GAGAN Technology Demonstration Phase has been
successfully completed and Final Operation Phase has been taken up.

He has been consultant to: (I) INMARSAT/ICO (UK) for LEOSAT

definitions, responsible for the development of Satellite Hand Held
Telephone Antenna System for ICO (UK) (ii) International
Telecommunication Union (ITU) for defining Regional African Satellite
Communication System and (iii) Nanyang Technological University,
Singapore on X-Sat. He was also Chairman of Information
Infrastructure Working Group of Ministry of Information Technology

He is also on the United Nations panel of experts on Global Navigation

Satellite Systems (GNSS) and Chaired/participated in various UN
meetings at Vienna, Geneva and at other international venues. Dr. Pal
a Distinguished Fellow of IETE, Fellow of Indian National Academy of
Engineering, Indian National Academy of Sciences, Fellow IEEE(USA),
MAMTA(USA), MASI, has received more than a dozen national and international
awards, including, Performance Excellence Award by ISRO, Distinguished
Achievement Award for launching Aryabhata, Om Prakash Bhasin Award , Hari
Om Ashram Vikram Sarabhai Award, IEEE Third Millennium Medal, Prof. S N
Mitra Memorial Award (INAE), Om Prakash Bhasin Award, Vikram Sarabhai
Award, Four National Research and Development Corporation of India invention
awards for various developments, inventions and overall contributions towards
the growth of communication and space technology in India. Besides these he
holds Indian, European & International patents for his various inventions. He
has delivered many memorial lectures including IETE 39th Vikram Sarabhai
Memorial Lecture.
Dr. Pal has published more than 200 papers in international and national
journals of repute , one book on communications & guided number of Ph.D.
students. He has been on the editorial board of various technical journals. He
was a Distinguished Visiting Professor of Indian National Academy of
Engineering & presently he is on the Distinguished Lecturer Programme of
IEEE-USA. He has also given courses on Communication Satellites at Indian
Institute of Science, Bangalore under Proficiency Scheme and extensively
delivered lectures/talks/colloquiums & Symposiums on Microwaves, Space
Communications, Satellite Navigation Systems & Antennas in India and abroad.
He was Co-convener of International Radar Symposium (IRSI) 2005,2007 &
responsible for starting International Microwave Symposium and arranging
International Symposium on Measurements & Robotics ISCMR
(2004,2006,2008), Bangalore.

His fields of interest are Microwave Communications, Space

Technology, Electromagnetics, Antennas and Satellite Navigation.