P. V. Manoranjan Rao

P. V. Manoranjan Rao

Born	(1936-12-07) 7 December 1936 (age 80) Nellore
Residence	Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala, India
Nationality	Indian
Alma mater	Doctor of Philosophy (University of Calcutta)
Occupation	Scientist, writer
Years active	1962–present
Notable work	From Fishing Hamlet To Red Planet, 50 Years of Space: A Global Perspective, A Brief History of Rocketry in ISRO

P. V. Manoranjan Rao is a veteran space scientist and author from India. In his career spanning over three decades — including over two decades at the Indian Space Research Organisation's Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre — he has done extensive research in areas including the physics of lightning discharge, ionospheric physics, magnetospheric physics, VLF and ELF wave propagation, electrostatics of launch vehicles, electrostatic charging of communications satellites, EMI/EMC and lightning protection for launch vehicles. He has edited and authored three books on India's space history.

During 1959–1961, Manoranjan Rao did research in theoretical physics at the Indian Association for the Cultivation of Science in Kolkata. This was followed by research stints (1962–1968) on the physics of lightning at the University College of Science and Bose Institute under the eminent physicist Prof. Satish Ranjan Khastgir. In 1968, he was awarded a Doctor of Philosophy in Physics by the University of Calcutta. In 1969, he moved to Kuden-kenkyujo, Toyokawa, Japan to continue with his research on atmospheric electricity and lightning physics at the Nagoya University. After spending a year in Japan, Manoranjan Rao joined the National Physical Laboratory of India for a brief stint. Later, at Banaras Hindu University, he worked on whistler phenomenon, which led to his research on very low frequency (VLF) and extremely low frequency (ELF) propagation in the magnetosphere.