Biography:
S.V. Chandrashekhar Aiya (1911–1992) was an Indian scientist and engineer who mathematically demonstrated the effect of thunderstorms and lightning on television and radio broadcasting signals (RF signals). He was the second Chairman of the Department of Electrical and Communications Engineering in the Indian Institute of Science (1959–1969). The S.V.C. Aiya award is named after him. He was also the first full-time director of the National Council of Educational Research and Training.

Personal life and education:
S. V. Chandrashekhar Aiya was born in 1911. His father, S. Vishkant Aiya, was a lawyer in service with the Maharaja of Mysore. He relocated with his family to what is now the Maharashtra region when Professor Aiya was still young. He completed his early schooling in the Esplande High School in Bombay, earned his degree from Wilson College and completed his master's degree at Caius College, Cambridge. He was married to Meenakshi Belavady, the sister of Dr. Bhavani Belavady. Dr. Bhavani was an Indian nutrition researcher. The novelist S. L. Bhyrappa described his exchanges with S.V.C. Aiya in his autobiography Bhitti. In his book, S. L. Bhyrappa recounts his positive interactions with the professor and his wife, during a time when the novelist was also employed with NCERT.

Career:
He is credited with starting the BE, ME and PhD programs at the College of Engineering, Poona (COEP) and setting up electronics and telecommunications engineering laboratories from scratch. COEP is the third oldest engineering college in Asia and was the only engineering college in Pune at the time. Aiya also acted as the Dean in the Universities of Bombay, Poona and Ahmedabad. He was the second chairman (1959–1969) of the Department of Electrical and Communications Engineering in the Indian Institute of Science. The bust of Heinrich Hertz installed at the entrance of the Department is said to have been gifted by the Government of West Germany during his tenure. The Indian Institute of Science's first PhD was granted to Aiya's student B. S. Sonde. Dr. Sonde went on to become the Chairman of the Department in 1981. He was also the first full-time director of NCERT in Delhi, contributing to the education of a renewed India.

Research Area:
• RF Signal Propagation and Atmospheric Effects
• Mathematical Modeling in Communication Systems
• Broadcasting Technologies
• Radiation Detection Instrumentation
• Technological Forecasting and System Design
• Tropicalization of Engineering Systems
• Electronics and Telecommunications Engineering
• Engineering Education and Policy Development

Awards and recognitions/ Positions held:
• Member, Bombay Education Service (Class 1)
• Chairman, ECE Department, IISc
• Director, NCERT
• President, IETE (1959–60)
• Fellow – Institution of Engineers India
• Fellow – Institution of Electrical Engineers, London
• Honorary Fellow – National Academy of Sciences India
• Member of several Govt. committees