Who Is Anna Mani? Google Doodle Celebrates Birth Anniversary Of Indian Meteorologist

Google on Tuesday, 23 August celebrated physicist and meteorologist Anna Modayil Mani’s 104th birth anniversary with a special doodle dedicated to her. Her life’s work and research made it possible for India to make accurate weather forecasts and laid the groundwork for the nation to harness renewable energy.

Mani played a significant role in the field of meteorological instrumentation, and is fondly remembered as the "Weather Woman of India"

Who Was Anna Mani?

Anna Mani was born in Peerumade village of Kerala on August 23, 1918. She was known to be an avid reader from childhood having read almost every book at her local library by an early age, reports The Indian Express.

She graduated in Physics and Chemistry from the Pachaiyappas College, Madras (now Chennai), and also got a research scholarship for the Indian Institue of Science (IISc). After that, she went to London's Imperial College to study Physics and later got inclined toward meteorological instruments.

Before heading to London, she was a tutor at Women's Christian College. At IISc, she studied spectroscopy under Nobel Laureate Sir CV Raman. In 1948, she returned to India to make weather instruments. Later, she set up a workshop that produced instruments for measuring wind speed and solar energy.

Throughout the ’50s, Mani published several papers on sustainable energy measurement, making her one of the earliest advocates for sustainable energy in India. She created a network of solar radiation monitoring stations and published many papers on sustainable energy measurement. Weather forecast measurement has been some of her biggest contributions.

In 1987, Mani became the Deputy Director General of the Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) and held several key positions in the United Nations World Meteorological Organisation. She was also awarded the Indian National Science Academy (INSA), K.R Ramanathan Medal, for her contributions to the country and science.

Mani passed away on August 16, 2001 in Thiruvananthapuram. On her 100th birth anniversary in 2018, the World Meteorological Organisation published her profile and interview, in recognition of her legacy.

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