Abdul Kalam, who served as the 11th president of India from 2002 to 2007, will speak Thursday, Oct. 22, at the University of Central Florida.

Kalam will give a presentation entitled “World Space Vision 2050” at 4:15 p.m. in the Pegasus Ballroom of the Student Union. The event is free and open to the public.

During his term in office, Kalam was often referred to as the “People’s President.” He is the only surviving former president of India.

Prior to being elected president, Kalam worked as an aeronautical engineer with the Indian Space Research Organization. He is popularly known as the “Missile Man” for his contribution to India’s development of ballistic missile and space rocket technology. He also served as a project director to develop India’s first Satellite Launch Vehicle.

Kalam was the scientific adviser to the defense minister and secretary of the Department of Defense Research & Development 1992 to 1999. During that period, he led the effort to weaponize strategic missile systems and played a key role in the Pokhran-II nuclear tests.

Kalam believes India can be transformed into a developed nation by the year 2020. He would also like India to take a more assertive stance in international relations. He regards his work on India's nuclear weapons program as a way to assert India’s place as a future superpower.

Kalam has written numerous books, including “India 2020: A Vision for the New Millennium,” in which he expounds upon his idea that India can and should develop, through science, to be a global superpower by 2020.

Sponsors include the UCF Department of Mechanical, Materials and Aerospace Engineering; UCF College of Engineering and Computer Science; UCF Global Perspectives Office; The India Program at UCF; UCF Office of Diversity Initiatives; UCF Political Science Department; and the Global Connections Foundation.