FIRST WOMAN DIRECTOR GENERAL OF CSIR
FIRST WOMAN DIRECTOR-GENERAL OF CSIR
The
Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) has, for the first time in
its 80-year history, appointed a woman Director-General. N. Kalaiselvi,currently
Director of the CSIR-Central Electro Chemical Research Institute (CSIR-CECRI),
Karaikudi, Tamil Nadu.
Ms.
Kalaiselvi’s research spans over 25 years and is focused on electrochemical
power systems and developing electrode materials, custom-design synthesis
methods, optimising reaction parameters and electrochemical evaluation of
inhouse prepared electrode materials for making energy storage devices.
Her
research interests include lithium and beyond lithium batteries,
supercapacitors and waste-to-wealth driven electrodes and electrolytes for
energy storage and electro-catalytic applications.
She has been involved in projects to increase
electric mobility in India and her expertise in these sectors will likely help
with India’s push towards increasing the number of electric vehicles. India has
around 1.4 million electric vehicles comprising motorbikes, cars,
three-wheelers and buses.
The Centre announced the second phase of a
programme, FAME (Faster Adoption and Manufacturing of (Hybrid &) Electric
Vehicles in India), that will invest ₹10,000 crore in developing electric
vehicle infrastructure.
Ms.
Kalaiselvi. Having studied in a Tamilmedium school in the district, she had
gone on to pursue her Ph.D. degree from Annamalai University in Chidambaram. In
February 2019, Ms. Kalaiselvi was appointed Director of the Karaikudi-based
Central Electro Chemical Research Institute (CECRI). This is the first time a
scientist from the CECRI has been appointed Director-General of the CSIR.
A scientist from the CECRI said Ms. Kalaiselvi
was better known as “lithium battery expert” among the academics. She was instrumental
in bringing out a number of research papers, has six patents to her credit and
was a guide to research scholars in pursuing their Ph.D. degrees.
The CECRI will be celebrating its platinum
jubilee in 2022 from where Ms. Kalaiselvi has been elevated to the top position
in the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research as its DirectorGeneral,
New Delhi, the scientist added