(MENAFN- Trend News Agency)
Senior electrochemical scientist Nallathamby Kalaiselvi has
become the first woman director general of the Council of
Scientific and Industrial Research, a consortium of 38 state-run
research institutes across the country, Trend reports citing
The
Hindustan Times .
Her appointment is for a period of two years with effect from
the date of assumption of charge of the post or until further
orders, whichever is earlier, an order of the personnel ministry
said on Saturday.
Kalaiselvi succeeds Shekhar Mande, who superannuated in April.
Rajesh Gokhale, secretary, Department of Biotechnology was given
the additional charge of the Council of Scientific and Industrial
Research (CSIR) upon Mande's retirement.
Known for her work in the field of lithium ion batteries,
Kalaiselvi is at present director of the CSIR-Central
Electrochemical Research Institute at Karaikudi in Tamil Nadu.
She will also hold the charge as secretary, Department of
Scientific and Industrial Research.
Kalaiselvi has risen through the ranks in CSIR and had broken
the proverbial glass ceiling by becoming the first woman scientist
to head the Central Electrochemical Research Institute (CSIR-CECRI)
in February 2019.
Congratulations poured in from across the scientific community
and science administrators on her appointment to the key post.
“Heartiest congratulations and best wishes to Dr N Kalaiselvi,”
Ajay Sood, principal scientific adviser to the government said.
Sood's predecessor K VijayRaghavan, former Department of
Biotechnology secretary Renu Swarup, former Earth Sciences
secretary Madhavan Rajeevan and fellow scientists also greeted
Kalaiselvi.Former Union health minister Anbumani Ramadoss said he
was proud that Kalaiselvi hailed from Tamil Nadu. Ramadoss said he
was confident that as the first woman director general of CSIR,
Kalaiselvi will take India to great heights in scientific
innovations. Kalaiselvi started her career in research as an
entry-level scientist at CSIR-CECRI.
Hailing from Ambasamudhram, a small town in Tirunelveli district
of Tamil Nadu, Kalaiselvi did her schooling in Tamil medium, which,
she said, helped her grasp the concepts of sciences in college.
Kalaiselvi's research work of more than 25 years is primarily
focused on electrochemical power systems and in particular,
development of electrode materials, and electrochemical evaluation
of in-house prepared electrode materials for their suitability in
energy storage device assembly.
Her research interests include lithium and beyond lithium
batteries, supercapacitors and waste-to-wealth driven electrodes
and electrolytes for energy storage and electrocatalytic
applications.
She is currently involved in the development of practically
viable Sodium-ion/Lithium-sulfur batteries and supercapacitors.
Kalaiselvi also made key contributions to the National Mission
for Electric Mobility. She has more than 125 research papers and
six patents to her credit.
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