Anuradha TK is one dynamic woman who not only debunked myths surrounding women's lack of inclination towards fields related to science but also risen to the topmost position of India's space agency. She joined ISRO in 1982 and has been working since then. Anuradha is now the seniormost woman scientist at ISRO.
Know more about this intriguing woman
Born in Karnataka in 1961, she graduated with a bachelor's degree in electronics from the University Visvesvaraya College of Engineering in Bangalore.
It was Neil Armstrong's landing on the moon that fascinated her a lot. She had no television during those days, but got to know about it from her parents and teachers.
"It really ignited my imagination. I wrote a poem on a man landing on the moon in Kannada, my native language".
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Illustrious career at ISRO
- At present, Anuradha TK works as an Indian Geosat Programme Director at ISRO Satellite Centre. She works in the area of geo-synchronous satellites, which are crucial to telecom and data links.
- Anuradha played a pivotal role in developing and launching ISRO communication satellite GSAT-12 into space from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre on 15 July, 2011. Besides that, she also led the technical group of 20 engineers working for the same.
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- In September 2012, Anuradha TK led the launch of GSAT-10.
- As the project director at ISRO, she supervised the launch of the GSAT-9, GSAT-17 and GSAT-18 communication satellites.
- She has also worked in the capacity of Project Manager, Deputy Project Director and Associate Project Director for the Indian Remote Sensing and the Indian Regional Navigation Satellite System programs.
Advice for aspiring female scientists
She says women aspiring to become rocket scientists need to make domestic arrangements. “Once I had made up my mind that I needed a purposeful career where my passion lay, I created a good setup at home. My husband and parents-in-law were always cooperative, so I didn’t have to worry much about my children."
Anuradha TK is the quintessence of what one becomes when one lets one's inner child dream and pursue what one wants.
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