Milind Pimprikar

Dr Milind Pimprikar is President of the Centre for Large Space Structures and Systems Inc. since 1992. Listed in "World's Who's Who" and "Oxford Dictionary of International Biography", Milind is recipient of the "International Scientist of the Year" and various honors, awards, medals and grants. He has also been an invited contributor to the activities of the Canada's Prime Minister's Advisory Board on Science and Technology and related committees and recent 2000 "Expert Panel". Milind's main strength lies in his ability to initiate and undertake major inter-disciplinary engineering research and development projects using emerging technology successfully.

Milind was CO-Chairman of the "National Task Group on large space structures and systems", and has Chaired and organized many national and international conferences, e.g.: (a) "International conference on Design of Space Station", (b) the 1st International Conferences on "Large Space Structures and Systems (LSSS)", and (c) Centennial Engineering in Canada "Challenges and Opportunities for the 21st Century". He has also regularly chaired sessions at UNESCO sponsored "World Conference on Continuing Engineering Education" held at Florida, China, etc.

Milind has contributed 3 monographs and over 30 publications in the filed of space structures, prestressed and composite structures, structural monitoring systems. He was director of short courses on "Analysis & Design of Large Structures in Space" at AIAA/ASCE/NASA meetings at Albuquerque. Milind began his professional career at age 19 as tenured track faculty member at Polytechnique Institute and President of an engineering company he had founded with his university colleagues.

Currently, Milind is representing the CLS3 as partner in three major' MEMS related projects, underway within the EU 5th Framework programme, EURIMIUS-Eureka programme and IMS-led project.