Senior scientist Nallathamby Kalaiselvi was appoint as director general of the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), the first ever woman to lead the consortium of 38 research institutes across India.
Nallathamby Kalaiselvi known for her work in the field of lithium ion batteries, she is at present director of the CSIR-Central Electrochemical Research Institute at Karaikudi in Tamil Nadu.
She succeeds Shekhar Mande, who retire in April.
Rajesh Gokhale, Secretary, of the Department of Biotechnology, was given the additional charge of CSIR upon Shekhar Mande’s retirement.
Nallathamby Kalaiselvi 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, a personnel ministry order said.
This is not the first time that Nallathamby Kalaiselvi is making history by being the first woman to head an institute.
Nallathamby Kalaiselvi has broken record before in 2019 when she became the first woman to lead the Central Electrochemical Research Institute (CSIR-CECRI).
She will also hold the charge as secretary, Department of Scientific and Industrial Research.
How did Nallathamby Kalaiselvi Start?
Nallathamby Kalaiselvi has risen through CSIR ranks from starting her career in research as an entry-level scientist to becoming the Director General of CSIR.
From Ambasamudhram, a small town in Tirunelveli district of Tamil Nadu, Nallathamby Kalaiselvi went to a Tamil medium school which, she said, help her grasp the concepts of sciences in college.
Nallathamby Kalaiselvi’s research work of more than 25 years is primarily focus on electrochemical power systems and in particular, development of electrode materials, and electrochemical evaluation of in-house prepare 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.
Nallathamby Kalaiselvi Contributions
She is currently involve in the development of practically viable Sodium-ion/Lithium-sulfur batteries and supercapacitors.
Nallathamby 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.
Nallathamby Kalaiselvi Projects
Apart from the galaxy of projects falling under extramural research, collaborative and sponsore categories fund by DST, MNRE and CSIR, Dr Nallathamby Kalaiselvi has serve as a Nodal Scientist for MULTI FUN (Multifunctional Electrodes and Electrolytes for Futuristic Technologies’) with CSIR-CECRI as the Nodal lab and 6 CSIR Institutes as participating labs during 2012-2017.
Nallathamby Kalaiselvi Work Experience
Dr Nallathamby Kalaiselvi’s research work of more than 25 years is primarily focus on electrochemical power systems and in particular, the development of electrode materials, custom-design synthesis methods, optimization of reaction parameters and electrochemical evaluation of in-house prepare electrode materials for their suitability in energy storage device assembly.
