{"id":617,"date":"2025-08-06T12:00:31","date_gmt":"2025-08-06T06:30:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/v3.pisharodysamajam.com\/?p=617"},"modified":"2025-08-06T12:02:35","modified_gmt":"2025-08-06T06:32:35","slug":"prof-p-r-pisharoty","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/v3.pisharodysamajam.com\/index.php\/2025\/08\/06\/prof-p-r-pisharoty\/","title":{"rendered":"Prof. P R Pisharoty"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Pioneer of Remote Sensing in India | Renowned Meteorologist<\/strong> (1909 \u2013 2002)<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Prof. P. R. Pisharoty was a distinguished meteorologist of international repute, widely acknowledged as the pioneer who introduced remote sensing technology in India<\/strong>. A disciple of Nobel Laureate Prof. C. V. Raman<\/strong>, he played a pivotal role in advancing meteorological and atmospheric sciences in the country.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Early Life and Education<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Born on 10 February 1909<\/strong> to Kollankott Perum Trikkovil Pisharath Lakshmi Pisharasiar<\/strong> and Gopala Vadhyar<\/strong> in Kerala, Prof. Pisharoty completed his early education in the state. He went on to earn a B.A. (Honours) in Physics<\/strong> from St. Joseph\u2019s College, Trichinopoly<\/strong>, then part of the Madras Presidency, and an M.A. in Physics<\/strong> from Madras University<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Between 1932 and 1941, he worked as a college lecturer in Physics in Chennai<\/strong>, while spending his summers conducting research under Prof. C. V. Raman<\/strong> at the Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Career in Meteorology<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

In 1942, upon Prof. Raman\u2019s recommendation, Pisharoty joined the India Meteorological Department (IMD)<\/strong>, where he carried out significant research on:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \n
  • Thunderstorms<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  • Western disturbances<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  • Movement of monsoon depressions<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  • Orographic rainfall<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n

    He later pursued advanced studies at the University of California<\/strong>, working under renowned meteorologist Jacob Bjerknes<\/strong>. He earned his M.S. and Ph.D. in Meteorology<\/strong> by 1954, publishing important reports on atmospheric dynamics.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Pioneering Contributions and Leadership Roles<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

    Prof. Pisharoty held several key scientific and administrative roles:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      \n
    • Founder Director<\/strong>, Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology (IITM)<\/li>\n\n\n\n
    • Founder Director<\/strong>, National Physical Research Laboratory (Ahmedabad)<\/li>\n\n\n\n
    • Founder Director<\/strong>, National Remote Sensing Agency<\/li>\n\n\n\n
    • Director<\/strong>, Remote Sensing and Satellite Meteorology at ISRO\u2019s Space Applications Centre<\/strong>, Ahmedabad (1972\u201375)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n

      He was also actively involved in international meteorological research:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

        \n
      • Chairman<\/strong>, Scientific Advisory Board, World Meteorological Organization (WMO)<\/li>\n\n\n\n
      • Vice-President<\/strong>, International Association of Meteorology and Atmospheric Sciences<\/li>\n\n\n\n
      • Member, Joint Organising Committee<\/strong>, Global Atmospheric Research Programme (1969\u20131977)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n

        Publications<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

        Prof. Pisharoty authored several works, including:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

          \n
        • X-Ray<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n
        • Monsoon<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n
        • Biography of Dr. C. V. Raman<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n

          Awards and Honors<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
            \n
          • 1957<\/strong> \u2013 Fellow, Indian Academy of Sciences<\/li>\n\n\n\n
          • 1970<\/strong> \u2013 Padma Shri<\/strong>, Government of India<\/li>\n\n\n\n
          • 1978<\/strong> \u2013 Fellow, Indian National Science Academy<\/li>\n\n\n\n
          • 1988<\/strong> \u2013 First recipient, Raman Centenary Medal<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n
          • 1989<\/strong> \u2013 IMO Prize<\/strong>, awarded by WMO<\/li>\n\n\n\n
          • 1990<\/strong> \u2013 K. R. Ramanathan Medal<\/strong>, INSA<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n

            Legacy<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

            Prof. Pisharoty worked at the Physical Research Laboratory (PRL)<\/strong> until the early 1990s, retiring due to health reasons. He passed away on 24 September 2002<\/strong> in Pune at the age of 93.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

            In his memory:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

              \n
            • The Indian Society of Remote Sensing<\/strong> renamed its highest honor the P. R. Pisharoty Memorial Award<\/strong>.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
            • The GPS Radiosonde<\/strong> developed by ISRO\u2019s Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre<\/strong> is named after him.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n

              Family<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
                \n
              • Wife<\/strong>: Droupadi Pisharasiar, Thonnangamath Pisharam, Thrissur<\/li>\n\n\n\n
              • Children<\/strong>:\n
                  \n
                • Rema Pisharoty<\/li>\n\n\n\n
                • Narayan Pisharoty<\/li>\n\n\n\n
                • Jaya Pisharoty<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

                  Pioneer of Remote Sensing in India | Renowned Meteorologist (1909 \u2013 2002) Prof. P. R. Pisharoty was a distinguished meteorologist of international repute, widely acknowledged as the pioneer who introduced remote sensing technology in India. A disciple of Nobel Laureate Prof. C. V. Raman, he played a pivotal role in advancing meteorological and atmospheric sciences […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":618,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[59,46],"tags":[94],"class_list":["post-617","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-alathur","category-legends","tag-legend"],"amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/v3.pisharodysamajam.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/617","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/v3.pisharodysamajam.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/v3.pisharodysamajam.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/v3.pisharodysamajam.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/v3.pisharodysamajam.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=617"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/v3.pisharodysamajam.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/617\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":620,"href":"https:\/\/v3.pisharodysamajam.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/617\/revisions\/620"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/v3.pisharodysamajam.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/618"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/v3.pisharodysamajam.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=617"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/v3.pisharodysamajam.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=617"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/v3.pisharodysamajam.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=617"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}