Women in Engineering Day: 9 pioneering women engineers who made history in India

9 First Women Engineers of India Who Made History

Engineering is often considered a male-dominated field, but there have been many women who have broken the stereotypes and made their mark in this domain. In this article, we will celebrate the achievements of nine first women engineers of India who have inspired later generations of girls to pursue their dreams in science and technology.

A. Lalitha

Born on August 27, 1919, in a middle-class family in Chennai, A. Lalitha was the first woman engineer in India. She married at 15 and became a widow at 16, but with her father's support, she decided to pursue a secondary education and enrolled in the College of Engineering, Guindy (CEG) in 1940. She graduated in 1943 with a degree in electrical engineering and went on to work as an assistant engineer at the Central Standards Organization of India in Shimla. She also assisted her father with research on smokeless ovens and an electrical musical instrument called jelectromonium. She later joined Associated Electrical Industries as a design engineer and worked on power transmission equipment, including the Bhakra Nangal Dam project. She was also an active member of the Institution of Electrical Engineers and the British Women's Engineering Society. She attended the First International Conference of Women Engineers and Scientists in New York in 1964. She retired after 30 years of service and passed away in 1979.

P.K. Thressia

P.K. Thressia was one of the two women who joined CEG along with Lalitha in 1941 and graduated with her in 1943. She was the first woman engineer from Kerala and specialized in civil engineering. She worked as an assistant engineer at the Public Works Department of Kerala and rose to the rank of chief engineer. She was involved in many projects such as roads, bridges, buildings, irrigation and water supply schemes. She also served as a member of the Kerala State Planning Board and the Kerala State Electricity Board. She retired in 1982 and passed away in 2014.

Leelamma Koshie

Leelamma Koshie was the other woman who joined CEG along with Lalitha and Thressia in 1941 and graduated with them in 1943. She specialized in mechanical engineering and worked as an assistant engineer at the Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) in Bangalore. She was involved in designing aircraft engines and components. She later moved to Canada and worked for Pratt & Whitney, a leading aerospace company. She retired in 1988 and passed away in 2015.

Rajeshwari Chatterjee

Rajeshwari Chatterjee was born on January 24, 1922, in Karnataka. She was the first woman engineer from Karnataka and one of the first women scientists to work at the Indian Institute of Science (IISc) in Bangalore. She obtained her master's degree in electrical engineering from CEG in 1946 and went on to pursue her PhD at the University of Michigan on a scholarship. She returned to India in 1953 and joined IISc as a faculty member. She specialized in microwave engineering and antenna theory and made significant contributions to the field. She also mentored many students and encouraged women to pursue careers in science and engineering. She retired in 1982 and passed away in 2010.

Sudha Murty

Sudha Murty was born on August 19, 1950, in Karnataka. She was the first woman engineer to be hired by Tata Engineering and Locomotive Company (TELCO), now known as Tata Motors. She obtained her bachelor's degree in electrical engineering from B.V.B College of Engineering & Technology, Hubli, Karnataka, and her master's degree from IISc Bangalore.

 She joined TELCO as a development engineer in Pune and worked on various projects such as designing dumpers for mines. She later shifted to computer science and became a teacher at various institutes. She is also a renowned writer, philanthropist and social worker. She is the chairperson of Infosys Foundation, a non-profit organization that supports various causes such as education, health care, rural development, arts and culture.

Tessy Thomas

Tessy Thomas was born on April 1963 in Kerala. She is the first woman to head a missile project in India and is known as the "Missile Woman" of India. She obtained her bachelor's degree in electrical engineering from Government Engineering College, Thrissur, Kerala, and her master's degree and PhD in guided missile technology from Defence Institute of Advanced Technology, Pune. She joined the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) in 1988 and worked on various projects such as Agni, Prithvi, Akash and Nag missiles. She is currently the director general of Aeronautical Systems and the project director of Agni-V, India's longest range nuclear-capable ballistic missile.

Kalpana Chawla

Kalpana Chawla was born on March 17, 1962, in Haryana. She was the first woman of Indian origin to go to space and one of the seven crew members who died in the Space Shuttle Columbia disaster in 2003. She obtained her bachelor's degree in aeronautical engineering from Punjab Engineering College, Chandigarh, and her master's degree and PhD in aerospace engineering from the University of Texas at Arlington and the University of Colorado Boulder, respectively. She joined NASA as a research scientist in 1988 and worked on various projects such as fluid dynamics, computational fluid dynamics, aerodynamics and propulsion. She became an astronaut in 1994 and flew on two space missions: STS-87 in 1997 and STS-107 in 2003.

Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw

Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw was born on March 23, 1953, in Karnataka. She is the founder and chairperson of Biocon Limited, India's largest biotechnology company. She obtained her bachelor's degree in zoology from Mount Carmel College, Bangalore, and her master's degree in malting and brewing from Ballarat College, Melbourne University. She started Biocon in 1978 as a small enzyme manufacturing company with a seed capital of Rs. 10,000. She faced many challenges such as lack of funding, infrastructure, skilled manpower and credibility as a woman entrepreneur. She overcame these obstacles and transformed Biocon into a global leader in biopharmaceuticals, biosimilars, research services and novel therapies. She is also a philanthropist and supports various causes such as health care, education, innovation and social development.

Roshni Nadar Malhotra

Roshni Nadar Malhotra was born on September 1982 in Delhi. She is the chairperson of HCL Technologies, India's third-largest IT company. She obtained her bachelor's degree in communication from Northwestern University, USA, and her master's degree in business administration from Kellogg School of Management, USA. She joined HCL Corporation, the holding company of HCL Technologies, in 2009 as executive director and CEO. She became the chairperson of HCL Technologies in 2020 after her father Shiv Nadar stepped down from the role. She is also the founder and trustee of The Habitats Trust, a non-profit organization that works for the conservation of natural habitats and indigenous species.

Source: 

(1) Famous Women Engineers Of India - Women Community Online. https://womencommunityonline.com/famous-women-engineers-india.

(2) 9 first women engineers of India who made history - India Today. https://www.indiatoday.in/visualstories/education/9-first-women-engineers-who-made-history-in-india-44571-23-06-2023.

(3) Ayyalasomayajula Lalitha: India’s First Female Engineer. https://www.autodesk.com/products/fusion-360/blog/ayyalasomayajula-lalitha-indias-first-female-engineer/.

(4) How Lalitha, a single-mother, became India's first woman-engineer in 1940s. https://www.newsbytesapp.com/news/india/all-about-india-s-first-woman-engineer-a-lalita/story.

(5) Celebrating 5 Pioneering Indian Women Engineers Who Have Inspired Later .... https://www.womensweb.in/2020/06/pioneering-indian-women-engineers-international-women-engineers-day-jun20wk4sr/.

FAQ's

Who is the first woman engineer in India?

Ayyalasomayajula Lalitha MIEE (A Lalitha) (27 August 1919 – 12 October 1979) was India's first female engineer.

Who was the first female engineer in history?

Edith Clarke is the very first female engineer. Born in 1883, she created the Clarke calculator for graphing electrical properties. She used her inheritance from her deceased parents to attend college and study mathematics. She created the Clarke calculator after graduating.

Who are some famous female engineers?

7 Famous Female Engineers in History Edith Clarke. In 1918, Edith Clarke became the first woman to earn an electrical engineering degree from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. ... Emily Roebling. ... Martha Coston. ... Lillian Gilbreth. ... Stephanie Kwolek. ... Mary Anderson. ... Hedy Lamarr.

Who is the founder of women in engineering?

Edith Clarke Clarke struggled to find work as a female engineer instead of the 'usual' jobs allowed for women of her time, but became the first professionally employed female electrical engineer in the United States in 1922.