N Kalaiselvi, an electrochemical scientist, has become the first female director general of the Council for Scientific & Industrial Research (CSIR), shattering yet another glass ceiling in the nation's scientific organisations.

The Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) is India's largest public sector R&D organisation, overseeing a variety of state-run institutions nationwide.

Kalaiselvi, a native of a tiny hamlet in the Tamil Nadu district of Tirunelveli, rose through the ranks of the CSIR and in 2019 became the first woman to lead the CSIR-Central Electrochemical Research Institute (CSIR-CECRI).

She will also serve as Secretary of the Ministry of Science and Technology's Department of Scientific and Industrial Research (DSIR).

Research interests of Kalaiselvi include lithium and beyond lithium batteries, supercapacitors, and waste-to-wealth driven electrodes and electrolytes for energy storage and electrocatalytic applications.

Additionally, Kalaiselvi contributed significantly to the National Mission for Electric Mobility.

It was established in 1942 as an independent body (under the Societies Registration Act, 1860).

India's largest government-funded multidisciplinary industrial research and development (R&D) organisation is the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR).

It falls under the administrative supervision of the Government of India's Ministry of Science and Technology.

Aerospace engineering, structural engineering, ocean sciences, biological sciences, metallurgy, chemicals, mining, food, petroleum, leather, and environmental science are among CSIR's R&D operations.

The headquarters of CSIR is in New Delhi.

The Source: The Hindu