Lifetime Achievement Award from Rotary Club of Chennai

The Rotary Club of Chennai Capital honored eminent personalities for their exemplary contribution towards the society. The Award Ceremony was held on 10 June 2023 at the Hotel Hyatt Regency, Chennai. Madam Founder Chancellor, Dr. Mrs. Elizabeth Verghese, and Dr. Sivathanu Pillai, Father of Brahmos, Founder CEO & MD (Retd.) Brahmos Aerospace and Professor Emeritus, HITS were presented Lifetime Achievement Award for their lifelong commitment and service in their respective fields.

Dr. Mrs Elizabeth Verghese, Founder Chancellor has served the Government of Tamil Nadu for 35 years in various capacities before retiring as the Joint Chief Engineer in the Highways Department. She was the first woman Engineer in the department and was involved in the various Research activities of the State Government. She has represented the department in various forums of Central & State Governments and other professional bodies and served as the Member of the Norms Committee of Indian Road Congress, New Delhi. Dr. Mrs. Verghese is a pioneer among woman Chancellors in the private sector education in India. Her emphasis is on excellence in imparting quality education in various institutions under the Group. She encourages everyone at HGI to facilitate creativity, innovative thinking by creating an exclusive learning ambiance to fuel their growth as future technologists and scientists, and win many awards, laurels and recognition.

As an Electrical engineer by profession, Dr. Sivathanu Pillai has fifty years of experience in ISRO and DRDO. He has worked alongside great visionary leaders like: Dr. Vikram Sarabhai, Prof. Satish Dhawan and 40 years with Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam. His expertise is in the field of Satellite Launch Vehicles, Guided Missiles, Aerospace Systems, Propulsion Engineering of Rockets, System Engineering and Program Management. Dr. Pillai’s outstanding leadership qualities, as Founder CEO and MD of BrahMos Aerospace, made India proud to possess the fastest, highly precise and the most potent missile BRAHMOS which is now inducted in multiple platforms in all the three services of Indian Armed Forces. BRAHMOS is a world leader in the family of Cruise Missiles, surpassing those in the developed countries and for this Dr. Pillai is regarded as the Father of Brahmos.