After ‘Nobel’ Venky,top NASA scientist to visit alma mater

“We decided to call Dr Lulla not only because he is born and brought up in Vadodara but also because he is our alumnus. He taught at the botany department for two years before joining Indiana State University for his second PhD in space sciences. He had an opportunity to train astronauts like Kalpana Chawla and Captain Sunita Pandya Williams from Ahmedabad,” said botany department head Arun Arya.

According to Arya,Lulla is currently working as the deputy director for research and chief scientist for earth observation at NASA’s Johnson Space Center.

He has been with NASA for the past 23 years and is a leading expert on geospatial technologies and earth observations from space.

“Dr Lulla has trained people in earth observation science from space shuttle flights and from the International Space Station. He has trained NASA astronauts in earth imaging for over 18 years. He also served as a senior professor at Indiana State University before joining NASA. Lulla received ‘NASA Exceptional Achievement Medal’ in 2005,” Arya said.