Research Areas
• Radar and Communication Systems
• Signal Processing
• Defense Technology
• High-Frequency Transmission
• Oceanographic and Naval Applications

Biography
Vakkaleri Narayana Rao (21 December 1921 – 13 August 2009) was an Indian defense scientist and one of the pioneers of electronic warfare in India. He served as the Director of the Defense Electronics Research Laboratory (DERL), Hyderabad, and made foundational contributions to radar engineering, communication systems, and defense technologies in the country.

Born in Bangalore to Sripati Rao and Kamalamma, he was the third of eight children. He completed his schooling in Chamrajpet, Vishweshwarpuram, Shimoga High School, and Fort High School before pursuing intermediate studies in Bangalore. He earned his B.Sc. (Honors) degree in Physics from Central College, Bangalore, under Madras University in 1943, followed by an M.Sc. in Physics from Mysore University in 1945.

Rao began his career as a trainee at Hindustan Aeronautics Limited in the Radio Department but soon joined the Indian Institute of Science (IISc) as a research assistant, where he worked with Vikram Sarabhai at his laboratory in Pune. Later, with a scholarship, he trained at the British Broadcasting Corporation and the Marconi College of Wireless Communications in Chelmsford, UK. He also conducted research at the Manchester College of Technology (University of Manchester), where his work earned him a patent. In 1948, he received an M.Sc. (Tech) degree from the University of Manchester.

On returning to India, he joined All India Radio (AIR), Delhi, as an Assistant Engineer at the High-Power Transmitting Station. In 1949, he joined the Department of Electrical Communication Engineering at IISc as a Lecturer, where he established the Radar Laboratory and served for five years. In 1954, Rao moved to the Defense Research and Development Organization (DRDO), working at the Naval Physical and Oceanographic Laboratory (NPOL), Kochi. When the Defense Electronics Research Laboratory (DERL) was founded in 1962, he was appointed its first Director, guiding India’s early developments in electronic warfare systems.

He was married to Shakuntala, and they had three daughters. After retirement from DERL, he returned to Bangalore, where he lived until his passing on 13 August 2009 at the age of 87.

Awards
• Padma Shri (1982), Government of India
• VASVIK Industrial Research Award (1978)

(Source(s): Wikipedia)