Speakers

Dr. K. Rajalakshmi Menon is a distinguished scientist and a trailblazer in the field of aerospace technology in India. She holds the position of Director General of Aeronautical Systems (Aero) at the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO). Her expertise lies in the design and development of advanced airborne surveillance systems, including complex systems engineering, Command, Control, Communications, Computers, Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (C4ISR), and imaging radars for various platforms like UAVs, fighters, and satellites. She is notably recognized for her leadership in the development and induction of India's indigenous Airborne Early Warning & Control (AEW&C) system, a significant milestone that positioned India as the fifth country globally to possess such a capability. Her work demonstrates a strong commitment to fostering indigenous research and development and building a robust defence and aerospace industry within the nation.

Dr. Rama K. Yedavalli received his Ph.D degree from the School of Aeronautics and Astronautics of Purdue University in the Dynamics and Control area in 1981. His Bachelor’s and Master’s degree were both from the Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Bangalore, India. He spent his sabbatical at IISc as the “Satish Dhawan Chaired Professor” in 2017-18. He received the `Distinguished Alumnus Award’ in 2009 and the “Platinum Jubilee Award” and the “Satish Dhawan (Visiting) Chaired Professorship” in 2017-18, all, from the AE department of IISc. Dr. Yedavalli is a (Life) Fellow of IEEE, a Fellow of ASME, a Fellow of AAAS and an Associate Fellow of AIAA. He received the O. Hugo Schuck Best Paper award from the American Automatic Control Council in 2001. In 2002, he also received the `Lumley Research Award’ by the Ohio State University’s College of Engineering. He published a graduate level textbook with Springer in Jan 2014 titled: “Robust Control of Uncertain Dynamic Systems: A Linear State Space Approach” and an Undergraduate level textbook titled: “Flight Dynamics and Control of Aero and Space Vehicles” published by Wiley in 2020. A third book is under contract to be delivered to AIAA Education Series in 2025 in which he plans to discuss the Convex Stability Approach. He published more than 200 Journal, Book chapters and Conference papers and presented invited seminars on these topics. He holds the title of Academy Professor from the Ohio State University and currently serves as the Founder, President, CEO and CTO of the startup firm Robust Engineering Systems, LLC, which holds the patent for the contents of this keynote presentation.