Tessy Thomas

Tessy Thomas
Born April 1963
Alappuzha, Kerala
Nationality Indian
Education B.Tech.Government Engineering College, Thrissur, M.Tech from Institute of Armament Technology, Pune
Occupation Scientist at DRDO
Years active 1988 – present
Notable credit(s) Agni Missile Project Director Agni-IV
Title Scientist
Spouse(s) Saroj Kumar
Children Tejas

Tessy Thomas (born in 1964) is the Project Director for Agni-IV missile in Defence Research and Development Organisation. She is the first woman scientist to head a missile project in India. She is known as the 'Missile Woman' of India.

Early life and Education

Tessy was born in April 1963 in Alappuzha, Kerala,[1] to a small-businessman father and a homemaker mother. She graduated in engineering from Government Engineering College, Thrissur. She grew up near a rocket launching station and says her fascination with rockets and missiles began then. She also has an M.Tech in Guided Missile from the Institute of Armament Technology, Pune (now known as the Defence Institute of Advanced Technology).[2] Her devout Nasrani Syrian Christian parents from Kerala named her after Mother Teresa[3] the late Nobel laureate and saint of the Latin church who worked with the poor in Calcutta.[4]

Career

Tessy was associate project director of the 3,000 km range Agni-III missile project.[5] She was the project director for mission Agni IV which was successfully tested in 2011.[6] Tessy was appointed as the Project Director for 5,000 km range Agni-V in 2009 and is based at the Advanced Systems Laboratory in Hyderabad.[7] The missile was successfully tested on 19 April 2012.[8] In January 2012, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh told the Indian Science Congress that Mrs Thomas is an example of a "woman making her mark in a traditionally male bastion and decisively breaking the glass ceiling". The media loves to call her Agniputri, or one born of fire, after the missiles she has helped develop. "We are all proud of our country. Agni-V is one of our greatest achievements," she says.

Personal life

She is married to Saroj Kumar, now a commodore in the Indian Navy and they have a son, Tejas.[2] engineer in Ford Technologies.In a glowing tribute in 2008, The Indian Woman Scientists Association did not forget to mention that "like most women she also does a tight-rope walk between home and career, between being a mother and a scientist who is dedicated to her job. We feel Tessy Thomas serves as a role model and an inspiration for women scientists to achieve their dreams and have their feet planted in both worlds successfully," the group said.

Awards

Tessy Thomas was conferred the Lal Bahadur Shastri National Award for her outstanding contribution for making India self-reliant in the field of missile technology.[9][10]

See also

References

  1. ↑ Profile of Dr.Tessy Thomas
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 "Meet India's "Missile Woman"." (PDF). IWSA Newsletter 34 (3). September 2008. Retrieved 19 April 2012.
  3. ↑ Fire in the Belly, With eggs: India's Missile woman: Tessy Thomas; 28 April 2012
  4. ↑ Bagla, Pallav. "The 'missile woman' behind India's new ICBM". BBC Online. Retrieved 21 April 2012.
  5. ↑ Smt. Tessy Thomas is first woman scientist to head missile project .
  6. ↑ 'Agni Putri' Tessy Thomas breaks glass ceiling
  7. ↑ Tessy Thomas is Agni V project head
  8. ↑ Agni-V successfully test-fired
  9. ↑ "Scientist honoured for work on Agni missile tech". Retrieved 2 October 2012.
  10. ↑ "‘Missile woman’ Tessy Thomas conferred Shastri award". October 2, 2012. Retrieved 2 October 2012.

External links