Rukhmabai initiatives Stories of women
in stem
Inclusive storytelling about accomplished Indian women in STEM, written by women journalists from India
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Stories From Rukhmabai Edition 4
Soothing hands behind SNEHA’s suicide prevention mission
By Rohini Murugan
Dr Lakshmi Vijayakumar brings back the distressed from the brink of death through her NGO that offers timely psychological support, campaigns to decriminalise suicides, and implements pesticide locker rooms to restrict farmer suicides
Following the sun: How a zig-zag journey led her to Aditya-L1
By Angana Chakrabarti
One of the lead investigators of a team studying sunspot waves on India’s first solar observation mission, astrophysicist Aishawnnya Sharma will decode data, which will help with space weather forecasting, safeguard satellites and communication systems, and deepen our understanding of the Sun’s magnetic dynamics
They belong in the lab, not the kitchen: Meet the food scientists fighting India's nutrition crisis
By Safeena Wani and Sumayyah Qureshi
Fighting the stubborn stereotype of being called home cooks, these women are now recognised food scientists on a mission to combat hunger, food insecurity and ensure the health of patients in hospitals as clinical dietitians
A portrait of a scientist, as an administrator
By Bharti Dharapuram
Dr Jyotsna Dhawan’s career spanning close to three decades is not just about tackling scientific questions related to stem cells. It is also about dealing with institutional structures, working for institution’s sustenance, and going about with the routine management tasks.
The long haul: Life in science with a chronic illness
By Bharti Dharapuram
A peek into the lives of women researchers who persisted in their academic quest despite battling chronic illnesses for years
She does more than stop and smell the flowers
By Bharti Dharapuram
Geetha Ramaswami leads the SeasonWatch programme, which uses the power of citizen science to understand how trees respond to changing seasons
When AI models reinforce gender disparities, women rewrite the algorithm
By Saishya Duggal
Artificial intelligence recruiting tools have been found to prefer men unfavourably, while large language models have demonstrated a tendency to reinforce gender biases, associating women with caregiving roles and men with professional success.
This botanist from Kerala builds a bryophyte brigade for the Western Ghats
By Rekha Pulinnoli
Dr Manju C Nair shines a light on the little-known world of bryology, identifies 24 new species, and attracts new blood to the subject that no one in South India quite heeded before.
For me, it was never an issue of what to do. Everything was fascinating
By Yams Srikanth
Dr Renee Borges draws from chemistry, behaviour and ecology to interrogate how organisms perceive the world and make their decisions
Catch ‘em young: why early impressions of science matter
By Yams Srikanth
There is a gender gap in choosing science, with girls more likely to opt for non-STEM streams after class 10 — an idea shaped partly by wrong perception of one’s ability, lack of women role models and biased classroom interactions of teachers
A pioneer in cost-effective, eco-friendly solutions for water purification
By Angana Chakrabarti
The first woman from Arunachal Pradesh to receive a PhD in physics, Yana developed biocompatible nanoparticles for lead remediation and characterised low-cost bamboo-activated carbon nanoparticles to remove fluoride ions from water
The one who believes in mentorship beyond research
By Disha Tandon
Dr Nita Parekh juggles physics and computational biology with ease, and has been instrumental in building the MTech course in bioinformatics at the International Institute of Information Technology-Hyderabad
The woman scientist behind India’s first geothermal pilot
By Safeena Wani
Kunzes Dolma’s relentless efforts to better the lives of people of Ladakh by improving energy accessibility have led to ONGC’s Puga Valley Geothermal Project, a one-of-its-kind initiative in India
Chasing the dream of growing best quality saffron
By Sumayyah Qureshi
Ensuring quality plant material, establishing proper irrigation methods and developing a rot-resistant saffron corm are the top priorities of Dr Nasheeman Ashraf, a principal scientist at the Plant Molecular Biology and Biotechnology Laboratory at IIIM Srinagar
STEM education: Think of disability as diversity, not deficit
By Shikha Sharma
Very few differently-abled students opt for higher education in STEM due to the visual approach of teaching, practicals, lack of scientific terms and vocabulary in the Indian Sign Language, and physical barriers linked to accessibility and transportation, among others
Meet the turtle woman on the banks of Chandragiri
By Kanishka Puri
Ayushi Jain has developed a network of local conservationists of critically endangered Cantor’s giant softshell turtle in Kerala’s Kasaragod district
Ensuring genetic well-being of all is the core of Prof Thelma's research
By Nishtha Bhargava
The overarching vision that drives the work of renowned geneticist and genomics expert Professor BK Thelma is the paradigm of predictive, preventive, personalised and participatory medicine
STEM Collectives: Sisters are doin’ it for themselves
By Anagha Pavithran
In the uneven playing field of academia and research, women are now empowering women through mentoring collectives that connect experienced people with those seeking guidance and support in education, entrepreneurship and personal growth
From urban slums to rural schools, this geneticist and teacher got kids curious about science
By Aditi Subramaniam
Sparking scientific temper using affordable tools and helping students learn by observing their surroundings make Sonali Kadam’s teaching style interesting and unique
