chemistry

K. N. Ninan (scientist)

K. N. Ninan (scientist) is a chemistry topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand K. N. Ninan (scientist) rather than just read about it. In short: Kovoor Ninan Ninan (born 6 September 1946) is a space scientist from India, who has contributed to the development of rocket propellants, polymers and chemical systems for India's space program. He was the Deputy Director of Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre (VSSC) at ISRO, and later an emeritus professor at the Indian Institute of Space Science and Technology (IIST).

Key takeaways

K. N. Ninan (scientist) belongs to chemistry; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect K. N. Ninan (scientist) to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of K. N. Ninan (scientist) from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Kovoor Ninan Ninan (born 6 September 1946) is a space scientist from India, who has contributed to the development of rocket propellants, polymers and chemical systems for India's space program. He was the Deputy Director of Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre (VSSC) at ISRO, and later an emeritus professor at the Indian Institute of Space Science and Technology (IIST).

Personal life Born on 6 September 1946 to K.I. Ninan and Annamma of the Kovoor family, at Thiruvalla in the erstwhile Travancore, K. N. Ninan did his schooling from SCS High School Thiruvalla. He obtained his bachelor's degree and Masters in Chemistry from Mar Thoma College, Tiruvalla in 1966 and Maharaja's College Ernakulam in 1968 respectively, both then affiliated to the University of Kerala. He secured first rank from the university for both his degrees. While working at VSSC, he earned his doctorate degree in the field of solid state thermal decomposition kinetics from the same university in 1981, under the joint supervision of Dr. Vasant R Gowariker, and Prof. C.G. Ramachandran Nair, then head of the department of Chemistry at University of Kerala.

Career Ninan joined the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) in 1968 at its Space Science & Technology Centre (presently VSSC) at Thiruvananthapuram as a trainee under Dr. Vasant Gowariker, Head, Propellant Engineering Division, working to develop indigenous composite solid propellants using the meager facilities available in those days. He superannuated in 2008 as an ‘Outstanding Scientist’ and Deputy Director, VSSC after serving the Space Centre in different capacities as: Propellant Engineer, founding Head, Analytical & Spectroscopy Division and Group Director, Propellant & Special Chemicals Group. After his superannuation, he served as an emeritus professor at IIST for 5 years. During his career at ISRO, he has contributed in the areas of analytical sciences and chemical systems for space applications. He has established a modern chemical facility at VSSC and led an R&D team of scientists and engineers engaged in the development of propellants, polymers and chemicals required for the launch vehicles and satellites of the country. The studies of his team of analytical scientists on functionality distribution of hydroxyl terminated polybutadiene fuel binder for composite solid propellants and the development of analysis method for the liquid propellant UDMH (1,1-dimethylhydrazine) have been cited in a Wikipedia profile. The studies on binder functionality also contributed to the development of solid propellant grains with adequate structural margins for ISRO’s large solid motors. An outcome of the research on thermal analysis was new equations for kinetic analysis of non-isothermal reactions, cited as "Madhusudhanan-Krishnan-Ninan (MKN) Method". Towards the development of green propellants for ISRO's future rocket and spacecraft propulsion systems, his team developed and patented the processes for making the high energy fuel binder, glycidylazide polymer (GAP) (Indian Patent 207299) and the chlorine free oxidiser, ammonium dinitramide (ADN), the latter in collaboration with Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (US patent 6787119). The research of his team on polymers included those for launch vehicle cryogenic upper stages and aerospace thermal protection systems, as well as matrix resins for polymer matrix composites such as cyanate esters and polyether nitrile copolymers. At IIST, he mentored a team of students who made India's first student-designed sounding rocket, named "Vyom" and guided a research project on sorbents with superior CO2 capture performance. He has over two hundred and forty publications and 28 patents in his credit

Awards and honors Performance Excellence Award, ISRO (2009) <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/K._N._Ninan_(scientist)#cite_note-10> Life Time Achievement Award, Indian Society of Analytical Scientists (2019) HEMSI-M R Kurup Endowment Award, High Energy Materials Society of India (2015) Melpadom Attumalil Georgekutty Merit Award, Mar Thoma Church (2012) Netzsch-ITAS Award of Indian Thermal Analysis Society (1987) Honorary Fellow, High Energy Materials Society of India Fellow, Kerala Academy of Sciences Member, International Academy of Astronautics In the Elsevier-Stanford University list of top 2% Scientists[1] Honorary Fellow, Indian Society of Analytical Scientists [18]

Selected patents Indian Space Research Organization (A.U. Francis, S. Venkatachalam and K.N.Ninan), (4 January 2007) "A process for synthesising a hydroxy terminated glycidylazide polymers"’ Indian Patent 207299. BM Choudary, K M Lakshmi, R K Jeeva, K Vijayakumar, C Sridhar (CSIR), S.Venkatachalam, G. Santhosh, R. Ramaswamy. K.N. Ninan; KS. Sastri (VSSC) (15 December 2004) "A process for the Preparation of Dinitramidic acid and salts thereof" European Patent EP1344748A1.

Selected articles Madhusudanan, P. M.; Krishnan, K.; Ninan, K. N. (1993-06-28). "New equations for kinetic analysis of non-isothermal reactions" Thermochimica Acta. 221 (1):13–21.DOI:10.1016/0040-6031(93)80519-G Venkatachalam, S; Santhosh , G; Ninan , K. N. (2004) "An Overview on the Synthetic Routes and Properties of Ammonium Dinitramide (ADN) and other Dinitramide Salts", Propellants, Explosives, Pyrotechnics29 (3) 178 – 187. https://doi.org/10.1002/prep.200400043 Nair, C.P.R., Mathew, D., Ninan, K.N. (2001). "Cyanate Ester Resins, Recent Developments". In: New Polymerization Techniques and Synthetic Methodologies. Advances in Polymer Science, vol 155. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. doi.org/10.1007/3-540-44473-4_1. Saxena, A.; Rao, V. L.; Ninan, K. N. (2003). "Synthesis and properties of polyether nitrile copolymers with pendant methyl groups" European Polymer Journal. 39 (1): 57–61. doi:10.1016/S0014-3057(02)00185-4. Sivadas, Deepthi L.; Vijayan, Sujith; Rajeev, R.; Ninan, K. N.; Prabhakaran, K.(2016). "Nitrogen-enriched microporous carbon derived from sucrose and urea with superior CO2 capture performance". Carbon. 109: 7–18. doi:10.1016/j.carbon.2016.07.057

References

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with K. N. Ninan (scientist)

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what K. N. Ninan (scientist) claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In chemistry, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to K. N. Ninan (scientist) before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about K. N. Ninan (scientist) ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of K. N. Ninan (scientist)

In research: K. N. Ninan (scientist) appears in chemistry research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses K. N. Ninan (scientist) in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: K. N. Ninan (scientist) is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics 1946 births, Academic staff of the Indian Institute of Space Science and Technology, ISRO people, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for K. N. Ninan (scientist) outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

Ask Teacher Smith questions about this articleOpens your AI tutor with a question about “K. N. Ninan (scientist)” →

Affiliate

Preply — study more efficiently by working with a personal tutor. 50% off.

How to study K. N. Ninan (scientist) in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what K. N. Ninan (scientist) means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain K. N. Ninan (scientist) out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is K. N. Ninan (scientist) in simple terms?

Why does K. N. Ninan (scientist) matter?

Because it connects several chemistry ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study K. N. Ninan (scientist)?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on K. N. Ninan (scientist).