Senior scientist Nallathamby Kalaiselvi has been appointed as the first woman Director General of the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), India’s top scientific body. It is a consortium of 38 research institutes across the country.
She will also hold the charge as secretary of Department of Scientific and Industrial Research.
Her areas of expertise include organic chemistry, nanomaterials chemistry, materials chemistry, and electrochemical power sources.
Kalaiselvi is known for her work on the subject of lithium ion batteries, and she is the current director of the CSIR-Central Electrochemical Research Institute (CSIR-CECRI) at Karaikudi, Tamil Nadu.
Her appointment is for a period of two years with the day from the date of assumption of charge or till further orders, whichever is earlier, a personnel ministry order stated on Saturday.
In 2019, Kalaiselvi was the first woman scientist to head the Central Electrochemical Research Institute (CSIR-CECRI). She was also awarded the C.V. Raman Mahila Vijnana Puraskara that year at the Twelfth National Women’s Science Congress.
She began her profession as an entry-level scientist in the similar institute.
Hailing from Ambasamudhram, a small city in Tirunelveli district of Tamil Nadu, Kalaiselvi went to a Tamil medium school. She holds six patents and has more than 125 research papers to her credit.
Her other professional achievements include the MRSI medal, CSIR Raman Research Fellowship, INSA-NRF Exchange award, Brain Pool Fellowship of Korea and the Most Inspiring Women Scientist award.
IANS
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