2021 Roundup: List Of Women Who Excelled In The Field Of Science

Women In Science 2021: Year after year, women scientists have proved wrong the sexist mindset that women are not good at science. Still, the popular idea on social media and family gatherings have stubbornly remained the same.

Every year, the Indian government and other institutions introduce awards and schemes to honour women scientists and researchers in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics). This year too, multiple women got recognised by the government and global institutions. From finding stars hotter than the sun to developing a novel anti-fungal strategy, women scientists have excelled in multiple sections in science.

Here Are Some Women In Science Who Their Mark In 2021:

Sumita Mitra

The Indian-American chemist was honoured with the European Inventor Award this year. It is a prestigious innovation prize in Europe. Mitra won the award for her application of nanotechnology in dentistry. She won it under the non-European Patent Office (EPO) countries category. Her creation integrated nanoparticles into the production of dental materials which led to a new composite to repair teeth. She is a partner at Mitra Chemical Consulting, LLC, a company she started with her husband Smarajit Mitra.

Suggested Reading: Ordinary Indian Girls Who Achieved Extraordinary Feats In 2021

Shriya Srinivasan

Srinivasan is a biomedical engineer whose research focuses on how to combat neurological diseases by combining human physiology with neutral interfaces. She got her PhD degree from Harvard in Medical Engineering and Medical Physics. Her research focused on developing novel amputation paradigms to restore the sensory feedback, which has now been translated to the clinic and is helping amputees to live a better life. Previously, she was the co-director of Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) Hacking Machine program.

Barnali Das

Das is a researcher from Assam. She along with her team found eight exotic radio stars which are hotter than the sun. Their discovery was detailed out in a research paper that was accepted by the Astrophysical Journal. They were able to make the discovery using the Giant Metrewave Radio Telescope. Her hometown is Pathsala in the Balaji district of the state and she has been working with Professor Poonam Chandra at the National Centre for Radio Astrophysics, Tata Institute of Fundamental Research in Pune.

Archana Chugh

An all-women team consisting of six members, led by Chugh developed a unique antifungal strategy that can cure fungal eye infection. All the members were PhD students and they came up with a novel peptide-based antifungal strategy. The team members included Dr Shikha Yadav, Dr Aashtha Jain, Harsha Rohira, Sujithra Shankar and Dr Sushmita G Shah. Professor Chugh who led the team belongs to the Kusuma School of Biological Sciences in IIT Delhi.

Dr Shobhna Kapoor

Kapoor is an assistant professor at the Indian Institute of Technology in Bombay, in Chemical Biology. She has expertise in Host-Pathogen Interactions and Membrane Biology, Chemical Body and Biophysics. She was selected for the award by the Science and Engineering Research Board (SERB), which recognises women scientists below the age of 40. Out of the four selected, she was awarded for her study of roles played by lipids in infectious diseases at the molecular level.