Vikram Sarabhai was an Indian physicist and astronomer. The Physical Research Laboratory (PRL), known as the cradle of space sciences in India, was founded in 1947 by Vikram Sarabhai. PRL had a modest beginning at his residence, the "RETREAT", with initial research on cosmic rays and the properties of the upper atmosphere. His most distinguished positions were, he was the President of the Physics section, Indian Science Congress (1962), President of the General Conference of the I.A.E.A., Vienna (1970), Chairman of the Atomic Energy Commission of India (1966–1971), Vice-President, Fourth UN Conference on 'Peaceful uses of Atomic Energy' (1971), and Founder and Chairman (1963–1971), Space Applications Centre. He was honoured with Padma Bhushan in 1966 and the Padma Vibhushan (posthumously) in 1972. He initiated space research and helped develop nuclear power in India. He is internationally regarded as the Father of the Indian Space Program. The Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre, (VSSC), which is the Indian Space Research Organization's lead facility for launch vehicle development located in Thiruvananthapuram (Trivandrum), capital of Kerala state, is named in his memory. Sarabhai started a project for the fabrication and launch of an Indian satellite. As a result, the first Indian satellite, Aryabhata, was put in orbit in 1975 from a Russian cosmodrome. He established VASCSC institute in Ahmedabad which is named after him. In 1973, the International Astronomical Union decided that a lunar crater, Bessel A, in the Sea of Serenity will be known as the Sarabhai crater. The lander on India's moon mission Chandrayaan-2 which was to land near the South Pole of the moon on Sep 20, 2019 was named Vikram in his honour.

He is known as C R Rao. Dr. Rao is a very distinguished scientist and a highly eminent statistician of our time. His contributions to statistical theory and applications are well known, and many of his results, which bear his name, are included in the curriculum of courses in statistics at bachelor's and master's level all over the world. The American Statistical Association has described him as a living legend whose work has influenced not just statistics, but has had far reaching implications for fields as varied as economics, genetics, anthropology, geology, national planning, demography, biometry, and medicine. C. R. Rao is a Senior Policy and Statistics advisor for the Indian Heart Association, non-profit association focused on raising South Asian cardiovascular disease awareness. He is an inspiring teacher and has guided the research work of numerous students in all areas of statistics. His early work had greatly influenced the course of statistical research during the last four decades. Dr. Rao has made major contributions to econometrics and has s major role in the development of econometric research in India. Rao has been honored by numerous colloquia, honorary degrees, and festschrifts and was awarded the US National Medal of Science in 2002.