Avul Pakir Jainulabdeen Abdul Kalam was born in 1931 in Rameswaram, India. He showed a strong desire to learn as a student, particularly in mathematics. He studied aerospace engineering and joined the Defense Research and Development Organization, where he helped develop India's first satellite launch vehicle. As project director of the SLV-III, he helped lead the mission that successfully launched India's first satellite into space. Later in his career, Kalam was elected as the 11th President of India, where he served from 2002 to 2007.