10 Indian women and their invaluable contribution in the...

10 Indian women and their invaluable contribution in the field of Science

India Education

Gender equality has been one of the most debated topic in the past decade. Though most of us agree that women deserves equal rights and opportunities as men, yet there are many challenges that a woman has to face regularly. If we examine deeper in the pages of history, we’ll see that that contribution of women in the field of science, arts, sports and finance has been as worthy as men but somehow their contributions are not much talked about or has been forgotten with time.

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Technology has advanced so much over the years and this wouldn’t have been possible without the contribution of people in Science. While we know about the priceless contribution of great scientists like C V Raman, Meghnad Saha, Dr. A.P.J Abdul Kalam, many of us are unaware of the contributions of women in the field of science. So here are 10 Indian women, who have contributed to Science and made us proud!

1. Asima Chatterjee

Asima Chatterjee’s contribution to organic chemistry was huge.She is known for the development of anti-epileptic drug,Ayush-56 and anti-malarial drugs along with her research on vinca alkaloids.She became the second woman to be conferred a Doctorate of Science by an Indian university based on her research on the chemistry of plant products and synthetic organic chemistry.

2. Dr. Indira Hinduja

Dr. Indira is one of the renowned gynecologist, obstetrician and infertility specialist who introduced GIFT (Gamate Intra fallopian Transfer). Her research work in GIFT has been published in many prestigious national and international journals. She delivered India’s first test tube baby.

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3. Shubha Tole

Shubha Tole is well known for her contribution in the field of neuroscience. She discovered a master regulator gene which controls the development of the brain’s cortex hippocampus and amygdala. She was a recepient of Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar prize in 2010 and currently works at Tata Institute of Fundamental Research, Mumbai.

4. Darshan Ranganathan

Darshan Ranganathan is well known for her work in bio-organic chemistry. She is noted for her work in supramolecular assemblies, molecular design, chemical simulation of key biological processes, synthesis of functional hybrid peptides and synthesis of nanotubes.

5. Paramjit Khurana

Paramjit Khurana is known for inventing ‘All Weather Seeds’.She developed hybrid strains of mulberry,wheat and rice that are drought resistant, can withstand heat and have a higher UV radiation capacity thus helping farmers who depend on weather condition for their crops.

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6. Dr. Aditi Pant

Dr. Aditi is a noted oceanographer and was the first Indian woman to visit Antarctica in 1983. She participated in the third and fifth Indian expeditions to Antarctica to research about oceanography and geology

7. Tessy Thomas

Tessy Thomas is known as the ‘Missile lady’ due to the successful launch of Agni series of missiles.She was the Project Director for the Agni-IV and Agni-V missile in Defence Research and Development Organisation and is the first Indian woman scientist to have headed a missile project. She is also a recipient of the Lal Bahadur Shastri National Award.

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8. Usha Barwale Zehr

She produced India’s first genetically modified food, the Bt brinjal. She is the Joint Director of Research at Maharashtra Hybrid Seeds Company Limited in Jalna and one of the most sought after researcher in the field of Botany.

9. Charusita Chakravarty

Charusita is known for her work on the basis of molecules and effects of change in molecular base on DNA proteins. She has also worked on Classical and Quantum Monte Carlo, Molecular Dynamics and Structure and Dynamics of Liquids. Her research work earned her Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Prize and B.M. Birla Science Award. She worked as a Chemistry professor at IIT Delhi

Read: Chemical Engineering- Courses & Careers

10. Anandibai Joshee

Anandibai stands among one of the first Indian women doctors to learn and practice western medicine at the age of 21. She went abroad to study medicine in Women’s Medical College of Pennsylvania in 1886 and later became the physician-in-charge of the female ward at Albert Edward Hospital in Kolhapur.

About Shreoshe Ghosh

Shreoshe has been into content writing for more than a year now. An animal lover since childhood, you can find her watching movies or playing with her pet cat, when she’s not writing. She is also enthusiastic about cooking and enjoys trying her hand at new recipes often. She wishes to travel around the world someday and work for animal welfare.