IISc honours scientist whose work reached the Moon, names minor planet after him

IISc alumnus Maruthi R Akella developed algorithms that provided onboard guidance for Intuitive Machines' IM-1 lunar lander mission. Minor planet 5376 has been named 'Maruthiakella' in recognition of his contributions.

In Short

• Five recipients receive distinguished awards, while three younger researchers earn medals
• Honourees will be felicitated at JN Tata Auditorium on 19 December
• Manjunath advances computer vision, while Das Sarma specialises in materials science

From developing algorithms that helped guide a spacecraft to the lunar surface to having a minor planet named in his honour, aerospace scientist Maruthi R Akella's journey is among the highlights of the Indian Institute of Science's (IISc) 2026 Distinguished Alumnus/Alumna Awards.

Akella, who holds the Cockrell Family Chair in Engineering at The University of Texas at Austin, is among five distinguished alumni being recognised by IISc this year. His contributions to spacecraft guidance and control systems played a role in Intuitive Machines' IM-1 lunar lander mission, which achieved the first US Moon landing in more than 50 years. In recognition of his work, minor planet 5376 has been named 'Maruthiakella'.

FROM IISC TO THE MOON

An alumnus of IISc's Department of Aerospace Engineering, Akella completed his ME in 1994. His research spans spacecraft attitude estimation, adaptive control, vision-guided robotics and orbital mechanics. He is also the Founding Director of the Center for Autonomous Air Mobility at UT Austin and Editor-in-Chief of The Journal of the Astronautical Sciences. He is currently a VAIBHAV Fellow hosted by IISc.

SCIENTISTS SHAPING RESEARCH, DEFENCE AND DIGITAL INFRASTRUCTURE

Akella is one of five recipients of this year's Distinguished Alumnus/Alumna Awards. The other awardees are B S Manjunath, a computer scientist at the University of California, Santa Barbara; Dipankar Das Sarma, an eminent condensed matter physicist and ANRF National Science Chair; Jagannath Nayak, Director General of Missiles and Strategic Systems at DRDO; and Rajat Moona, Director of IIT Gandhinagar.

Their contributions span scientific research, defence technology, digital infrastructure and engineering.

Manjunath's work in computer vision and scientific image informatics includes the development of BisQue, an open-source platform adopted as a core service of the US National Science Foundation's CyVerse. He also contributed video descriptors to the MPEG-7 standard.

Das Sarma's research has advanced the understanding of materials and condensed matter physics. He also played a key role in securing India's access to international synchrotron facilities through the establishment of Indo-Italian beamlines at Elettra.

Nayak has led the indigenous development of high-accuracy Fibre Optic Gyroscopes for defence programmes such as Akash, Nag and Astra, besides contributing to the development of India's first operational Laser Directed Energy Weapon system.

Moona's work has helped shape India's digital infrastructure, including the technology behind driving licences, e-passports, electronic voting machines, VVPAT and the Electronic Toll Collection system, including FASTag. He also contributed to India's supercomputing capabilities during his tenure as Director General of C-DAC.

THREE YOUNG RESEARCHERS ALSO RECOGNISED

IISc will also confer its Young Alumnus/Alumna Medals on three researchers under the age of 40 — Abhishek Sinha, Geethu Joseph and Himanshu Joshi.

Sinha, a Reader at the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research, Mumbai, has made contributions to theoretical computer science, particularly online learning and network optimisation.

Joseph, a tenured Assistant Professor at Delft University of Technology, Netherlands, works on sparse control, intelligent sensing and autonomous systems.

Joshi, an Assistant Professor of Biotechnology at IIT Hyderabad, specialises in computational biophysics, molecular simulations and DNA nanotechnology, with research that includes artificial water channels and DNA-based ion channels.

AWARDS TO BE PRESENTED IN DECEMBER

The awardees will be felicitated at a ceremony on December 19, 2026, at the JN Tata Auditorium on the IISc campus.

"It is always wonderful to see our alumni making a mark in their chosen fields and contributing to society in so many different ways," said IISc Director Prof G Rangarajan.

He said the awards celebrate the journeys and achievements of alumni and recognise the many ways in which they continue to inspire the IISc community.

The awards recognise alumni who have made exceptional contributions to their professions, society and the Institute. Nominations are evaluated by a committee under the oversight of the IISc Director.

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