New Delhi: Outstanding scientist Dr K N Shankara has taken over as the director of Indian Space Research Organisation's (ISRO) Space Applications Centre (SAC), Ahmedabad.

Shankara took over his new assignment from Dr A K S Gopalan, who retired on October 31, an ISRO release said in New Delhi on November 1.

Shankara, a member of the governing council of the Society for Applied Microwave Electronics Engineering Research (SAMEER), Mumbai and member of the research council of Central Electronics Engineering Research Institute (CEERI), Pilani, joined ISRO in 1971 at SAC.

He has carried out pioneering work in the design and development of communication transponders that were used in INSAT series of satellites.

In 1996, he took over as deputy director of ISRO satellite centre, Bangalore and moved over to Organisation's headquarters in 2000 as director of Satellite Communication Programme Office (SCPO) and programme director, INSAT, a release from ISRO said.

PTI