Senior Nallathamba Kalaiselvi has become the first woman Director General of the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), a consortium of 38 research institutes across the country. He replaces Shekhar Mande, who retired in April. Rajesh Gokhale, Secretary, Ministry of Biotechnology, has been given additional charge of CSIR after Mande’s retirement, a personnel ministry order said on Saturday. Known for her work in lithium-ion batteries, Kalaiselvi is currently the Director of the CSIR-Central Electrochemical Research Institute in Karaikudi, Tamil Nadu.
Kalaiselvi will also serve as Secretary, Department of Scientific and Industrial Research. Her appointment is for a period of two years with effect from the date of assumption of office or until further orders, whichever is earlier. Kalaiselvi made her mark at CSIR and broke the proverbial glass ceiling by becoming the first woman scientist to head the Central Electrochemical Research Institute (CSIR-CECRI) in February 2019.She started her research career as a basic scientist at the same institute.
Hailing from Ambasamudhram, a small town in Tamil Nadu’s Tirunelveli district, Kalaiselvi did her schooling in the Tamil medium, which she said helped her grasp science concepts in college. Kalaiselvi’s more than 25 years of research work is primarily focused on electrochemical energy systems and in particular the development of electrode materials and the electrochemical evaluation of in-house prepared electrode materials for their suitability for assembly of energy storage devices.
Her research interests include lithium batteries and other lithium batteries, supercapacitors, and waste-to-wealth fueled electrodes and electrolytes for energy storage and electrocatalytic applications. He is currently involved in the development of practically viable sodium/lithium-sulfur batteries and supercapacitors. Kalaiselvi also contributed significantly to the National Mission for Electric Mobility. He has more than 125 research papers and six patents to his credit.
great lady 🙏💯🙌