Ashima Chatterjee

Great Lives

Arnab Sil, Project Student, S.N. Bose National Centre for Basic Sciences, Kolkata

   Ashima Chatterjee, the grand old lady of Indian science, was born in 1917 and she breathed her last on 2006 in Kolkata. She obtained her M.Sc degree from Calcutta University in 1938 with Organic Chemistry as the special paper and D.Sc degree in 1944 from the same university under the guidance of P.K. Bose, the pioneer natural product chemist in India. Incidentally, she happens to be the first woman to be awarded the D.Sc of any Indian university. In 1944, she was appointed as an Honorary Lecturer in chemistry, Calcutta University. From 1947 to 1950, she worked on naturally occurring glycosides, carotinoids and biologically active alkaloids abroad with several well known professors.
   After her return to India in 1950, she vigorously pursued investigations on the chemistry of Indian medicinal plants. She successfully developed an anti-elliptic drug - Ayush-56 from Marsilia minuta and an anti-malarial drug from Alstonia scholaris, Swertia chirata, Picrorhiza kurroa and Ceasalpinna crista. The patented drugs are marketed by several companies today. She made signifiacant contributions in the field of medicinal chemistry with special reference to alkaloids, coumarins and terpenoids. She published around 400 papers in national and international journals. She was elected a Fellow of the Indian National Science Academy(INSA), New Delhi(1960), received Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Award (1961) and was conferred the prestigious Padma Bhusan (1975) as well. She was the first lady scientist to be elected as the general President of the Indian Science Congress Association. She was also nominated by the President of India as member of Rajya-Sabha, which she served with distinction from 1982 to 1990. Google paid homage to this trailblazer and her great accomplishments in the name of science by creating this doodle on her 100th birthday on 23rd September 2017.

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   Ashima Chatterjee, the grand old lady of Indian science, was born in 1917 and she breathed her last on 2006 in Kolkata. She obtained her M.Sc degree from Calcutta University in 1938 with Organic Chemistry as the special paper and D.Sc degree in 1944 from the same university under the guidance of P.K. Bose, the pioneer natural product chemist in India. Incidentally, she happens to be the first woman to be awarded the D.Sc of any Indian university. In 1944, she was appointed as an Honorary Lecturer in chemistry, Calcutta University. From 1947 to 1950, she worked on naturally occurring glycosides, carotinoids and biologically active alkaloids abroad with several well known professors.
   After her return to India in 1950, she vigorously pursued investigations on the chemistry of Indian medicinal plants. She successfully developed an anti-elliptic drug - Ayush-56 from Marsilia minuta and an anti-malarial drug from Alstonia scholaris, Swertia chirata, Picrorhiza kurroa and Ceasalpinna crista. The patented drugs are marketed by several companies today. She made signifiacant contributions in the field of medicinal chemistry with special reference to alkaloids, coumarins and terpenoids. She published around 400 papers in national and international journals. She was elected a Fellow of the Indian National Science Academy(INSA), New Delhi(1960), received Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Award (1961) and was conferred the prestigious Padma Bhusan (1975) as well. She was the first lady scientist to be elected as the general President of the Indian Science Congress Association. She was also nominated by the President of India as member of Rajya-Sabha, which she served with distinction from 1982 to 1990. Google paid homage to this trailblazer and her great accomplishments in the name of science by creating this doodle on her 100th birthday on 23rd September 2017.

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