International Day of Women And Girls in Science: Celebrating Female Indian Scientists

International Day of Women And Girls in Science is a day acknowledging the contribution of female scientists all around the world in building of an advanced society. On this day, we remember some great female Indian scientists who became the building blocks of a technical India.

A day is not enough to commemorate the contribution of these great Indian scientists towards the scientific advancement of the country. These female scientists broke the shackles of the society and decided to be remembered in the history of their country for something big.

International Day of Women And Girls in Science Special: 10 Indian Female Scientist Who Changed The Face Of Science

Asima Chatterjee (1917-2006)

Remembered as one of the first Indian women scientists, chemist Asima Chatterjee is known for her work in phytomedicine and organic chemistry. She is known for developing anti-malarial drugs, anti-epileptic drugs and her study on vinca alkaloids and medicinal plants. She was one of the first women to earn a Doctorate in Science from an Indian University.

Anna Mani (1918-2001)

Anna Mani was an Indian female physicists and meteorologists and served as the Deputy Director General at the Indian Meteorological Department. She is known for her work in the field of wind energy measurements, ozone and solar radiation. An alumni of Imperial College, London and Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore she worked under CV Raman and studied the properties of ruby and diamond as well.

Janaki Ammal (1897-1984)

Known as the Mother of Botany in India, EK Janaki Ammal completed her masters from University of Michigan in 1924. She is remembered for her commendable work cytogenetics, plant breeding and phytogeography. She researched and successfully invented a breed of sugarcane that would do well in Indian climate and hence, is contributed to India's development in sugarcane production.

Kamala Sohonie (1912-1998)

In 1939, Kamala Sohonie became the first Indian woman to earn a PhD in Science. She studied and worked at the Indian Institute of Science and paved the way for the participation and admission of women in technical institutes. This Indian biochemist studied and made important contribution to the country's crop production at that time.

Darshan Ranganathan (1941-2001)

Darshan Ranganathan was an Indian organic chemist who contributed a lot to the development and study of protein folding and molecular structures. In 1967, she completed her PhD in Science from Delhi University and pursued her postdoctoral research at Imperial College London.

Rajeshwari Chatterjee (1922-2010)

Rajeshwari Chatterjee was Karnataka's first woman engineer. She studied engineering at the University of Michigan and after completing her PhD from Washington DC, came back to India to become a faculty member at the Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore. She started as a professor and was promoted to the chairperson of Electrical Communication Engineering department at IISc.

Anandi Gopal Joshi (1865-1887)

Named as one of the first Indian female doctors to study western medicines, Anandi Gopal Joshi was the first woman from Bombay to earn a two year degree in western medicine in the US in 1880s. She was encouraged by her husband for further studies and set an example for the education of girls in Indian orthodox society.

Anandi Gopal Joshi

Ritu Karidhal (1975)

Known as the "Rocket Woman" of India, Ritu Karidhal is an aerospace engineer who works at Indian Space Research Organisation. She was a Deputy Operations Director to Mangalyaan, India's Mars orbital mission and a contributor to the mission's success.

Bibha Chowdhuri (1913-1991)

Bibha Chowdhuri was a Kolkata born Indian physicist who studied cosmic rays and particle Physics. One of the few women physicist of her time, Bibha's work in the field on Physics while she worked in the laboratory of Patrick Blackett for her doctoral research is said to have contributed to Blackett's Nobel Prize win.

Kamal Ranadive (1917-2001)

Kamal Jayasing Ranadive established the first tissue culture research laboratory in India at the Indian Cancer Research Centre, Mumbai in 1960. The scientist researched primarily on the links between cancer and tissues and was also a founding member of Indian Women Scientist's Association.

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