Prof Maruthi Akella, an alumnus of the National Institute of Technology (NIT), Calicut and Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Bengaluru, now has an asteroid named after him. The official notification was made in the current bulletin of the International Astronomical Union's Working Group on Small Bodies Nomenclature on October 26.

The IAU is responsible for classifying and formally naming all celestial objects. Asteroid 5376, a nearly five-mile-wide minor planet that orbits the Sun every 3.75 years, is now officially identified as Maruthiakella, reports The New Indian Express.

Expressing its pride and happiness, Prof Akella’s alma mater IISc Bengaluru took to its official X handle to congratulate him on this honour today, November 5.

About the professor

Prof Akella, an Indian-American aerospace engineer, holds the Cockrell Family Endowed Chair in the Department of Aerospace Engineering and Engineering Mechanics at the University of Texas at Austin.

Following his BTech in Mechanical Engineering from NIT Calicut, he earned master's and PhD degrees in Aerospace Engineering from the IISc and Texas A&M University, respectively.

Prof Akella's scientific contributions resulted in numerous high-impact applications in space systems control and vision-guided robots, including his team's help for the Intuitive Machines IM-1 lunar landing mission guiding in February this year.

Throughout his tenure, the professor has received several prestigious awards including the Distinguished Alumni Award 2023 from NIT Calicut.