How many names of famous Indian scientists do you know? With advances in science, technology and innovations in the modern world, several Indian scientists are lesser-known yet should be remembered for their contributions. These scientists have to be celebrated for bringing India’s name to the forefront and for their dedication to the progression of science. They have worked in different realms, and their inventions are truly unique and remarkable.
Today, let us rewind and explore all about the famous men and women scientists of India. It is truly insightful, inspirational and a great learning experience to know about our Indian scientists.
20 Famous Indian Scientist’s Names and their Inventions:
Let us begin with knowing the names of ten famous women scientists in India. These names must truly be remembered; as very few women are known for coming out from gender boundaries and for being among the first in India’s advancements in science. So, let us know more about these great women scientists of India and widen our knowledge!
Female Scientists of India:
1. Asima Chatterjee:
Asima Chatterjee is from West Bengal, India and is famous for her contribution to organic chemistry. Asima is the second woman in India to get a doctorate of science from an Indian university in chemistry. She studied at the University of Calcutta. She has worked during the development of the anti-epileptic drug, Ayush-56. In addition, she is also famous for anti-malarial drugs and research on alkaloids. Asima also has received Padma Bhushan from the Indian government for her contributions to science, besides other awards such as CV Raman and PC Ray awards.
2. Chandrima Saha:
Chandrima Saha is the first Indian woman president of the Indian National Science Academy. She is a biologist and was elected into the science academy in 2008. She specializes in cell biology and worked on the Leishmania parasite that has the potential to cause Kala Azar. Chandrima has received several awards and recognitions for her research, such as the Shakuntala Amirchand Award of ICMR, the Special award for the 50th anniversary of DNA and others. She has been part of over 80 research papers. She is truly inspiring to modern-day women scientists! She is among the most popular female scientists in India to date!
3. Shuba Tole:
Shuba Tole is an Indian scientist in the field of Neuroscience. She is famous for discovering the mater regulator gene that controls the brain’s cortex, hippocampus and amygdala. Shuba works at the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research (TIFR) in Mumbai, India, and has also received the prestigious Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar prize in 2010.
4. Darshan Ranganathan:
Another not-very well-known scientist in India who yet deserves all our attention is Darshan Ranganathan. She worked in bio-organic chemistry and is among the very early female student at the University of Delhi. Darshan Ranganathan dedicated her life to work in supramolecular assemblies, molecular design, synthesis of functional hybrid peptides and nanotubes and others. She was a fellow of the Indian Academy of Sciences in 1991 and was even awarded the prestigious Third World Academy of Sciences Award in Chemistry in 2000 to recognize her achievements.
5. Paramjit Khurana:
Paramjit Khurana is a celebrated scientist for her invention of All Weather Seeds. She dedicated her life to developing hybrid strains of wheat, rice and mulberry that are drought resistant. These hybrid train seeds help farmers depending on purely weather conditions for their crops. The seeds especially can withstand heat and have higher UV radiation capacity.
6. Mangala Mani:
Most of you may have heard this name! Mangala Mani is ISRO’s first women scientist and is lovingly known as the ‘polar woman of ISRO’. She spent over a year in Antarctica and was a part of 23 member team that went on an expedition. Mangala Mani spent around 403 days operating and maintaining ISRO’s station in southern Antarctica.
7. Tessy Thomas:
Tessy Thomas, also known as the ‘Missle Woman of India’, is the director of the general of Aeronautical Systems. She was also formerly associated with Project Director for the Agni IV missile in Defence Research and Development Organization (DRDO). Tessy Thomas is, in fact, the first lady scientist in India to head a missile project and has gained popularity, especially after the launch of the Agni series. Her contribution to supervising and guiding several young scientists to mission designs and simulations is notable. She has received Lal Bahadur Shastri National Award and the Agni self-reliance award.
8. Ritu Karidhal:
Ritu Karidhal is the mission director of India’s famous Chandrayaan-2 mission. She has worked on the execution and detailing of the craft and was dubbed ‘Rocket Woman of India.’ Ritu Karidhal has been associated with ISRO since 2007 and was also popular as Deputy Operations Director to Mangalyaan тАУ popular India’s Mars mission. She has received several accolades and awards, such as the ISRO Young scientist award.
9. Charusita Chakravarty:
Charusita Chakravarthy is a notable woman for her work on the effects of change in molecular bases on DNA proteins. She has specialized in molecular dynamics, structure and dynamics of liquids; and has dedicated herself to contributing to the field. She has even won the Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar prize and the BM Birla science award.
10. Gagandeep Kang:
Gagandeep Kang is known for her work in developing, transmitting and preventing enteric infections in children in India. She is the executive director of the Translational Health Science and Technology Institute in Faridabad and Chairperson of the World Health Organization Southeast Asia immunization technical advisory group. In fact, Gagandeep is the first woman scientist in India to be elected as a Fellow of the Royal Society, the oldest scientific institution in the world. She has dedicated her life to Human immunology research in India.
Male Scientists in India:
Most of us have often heard the very famous Indian men scientists, especially the names of great men who were at forefront of the inventions many decades back prior to the independence of the country. However, it is noteworthy to know the most famous names who contributed their lives to the advancement of science. So, let us see the list of some famous Indian men scientists and their inventions.
11. CV Raman:
CV Raman is well-known in India for his contributions to Physics. He is the first Asian to receive the Nobel Prize in Sciences and dedicated his life to his work on the scattering of light. Chandrasekhara Venkata Raman is born in Tiruchirapalli, and is widely known across the globe for his leading discovery, also famously known as the ‘Raman effect’.
12. Homi J Bhabha:
Another very famous Indian scientist known globally is Homi J Bhabha. Homi Jehangir Bhabha has worked his life for the development of Quantum theory. He was also the first Chairperson of the Atomic Energy Commission of India and started the nuclear programme in the country with the then-famous Congress Leader, Nehru. Homi Bhabha is still widely acknowledged as the father of Indian nuclear power. His suggestions and discoveries involved how to use atomic power in the country to help poverty. He truly is a role model!
13. Visvesvaraya:
Mokshagundam Visvesaraya is a very popular Indian engineer and scholar. Visvesaraya’s name often echoes his suggestions for India to be equal with other industrialized countries and his focus on development through the Industrial route. He invented a block irrigation system and automatic sluice gates and is awarded India’s highest honour, Bharat Ratna.
14. Venkatraman Radhakrishnan:
Venkatraman Radhakrishnan is a globally famous Astrophysicist for his work on the design and fabrication of ultralight aircraft and sailboats. He dedicated his life to studying the mysteries, interstellar clouds, and celestial bodies and is a renewed space scientist. He was also a member of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences.
15. Satyendra Nath Bose:
Satyendra Nath Bose is an Indian physicist who worked on quantum mechanics. Born in Calcutta, SN Bose was always remembered for his work on particles called ‘bosons’. He is also popular for Bose-Einstein statistics, for which Bose worked on “Planck’s Law and Hypothesis of Light Quanta” and shared with Einstein, after which the latter appreciated him and translated the same into German under Bose’s name.
16. Meghnad Saha:
Most of us know Meghnad Saha as India’s chief architect of the Damodar Valley project. However, do you know that he was also popular for the Saha equation? Meghnad Saha worked on the thermal ionization of elements and came up with the discovery of the Saha equation, which changed the course of study in astrophysics.
17. Srinivasa Ramanujan:
Another very famous and celebrated scientist in India is Srinivasa Ramanujan. Ramanujam is born in Tamil Nadu and is a popular Indian mathematician. He contributed to number theory, fractions, infinite series and mathematical analysis. Unfortunately, Srinivasa Ramanujan died at the very young age of just 32 years. However, right from childhood, he is known as a genius for mastering mathematical techniques in just by 13 years.
18. Jagadish Chandra Bose:
Jagadish Chandra Bose, born in West Bengal, India, is a multitalented scientist. He was a physicist, biologist, polymath, archaeologist and botanist. JC Bose is known for his contributions to studying radio and microwave options. He was among the beginners in India who started to make contributions to experimental science through the study of plants. His name will be remembered as one of the famous physicists of India.
19. Har Gobind Khorana:
Har Gobind Khorana is a noted Indian biochemist who won Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine along with Robert W Holley and Marshall W Nirenberg. He worked alongside two international scholars studying nucleic acids that carry the genetic code of the cell. Khorana is also the first to synthesize artificial genes in living cells. His work is still a vital lead point in biotechnology and gene therapy and changed the future course of development.
20. Vikram Sarabhai:
Vikram Sarabhai is known as the Father of India’s space programme. Sarabhai is well-known for beginning and setting up the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) and convincing the Indian government to a space programme. As a result, he was awarded Padma Bhushan and Padma Vibhushan. In addition to ISRO, Vikram Sarabhai is also behind the establishment of several reputed Indian institutes, such as the Nehru Foundation for Development and the Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad.
These famous Indian scientists are still well-known for their contributions to the fields of science. They have dedicated their lives to the world of science and have changed the course of study with their inventions and discoveries. Aren’t they all truly inspiring? Let us know your thoughts!
