Kamala Sohonie

Kamala Sohonie
Born(1911-06-18)18 June 1911
Indore, Indore State, British India (now part of Madhya Pradesh, India)
Died28 June 1998(1998-06-28) (aged 87)
New Delhi, India
Alma materBombay University, Mumbai. Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore. Newnham College, University of Cambridge
Known forBeing the first Indian female to earn a PhD
SpouseM.V Sohonie
Scientific career
FieldsBiochemistry

Kamala Sohonie (18 June 1911 – 28 June 1998)[1] was an Indian biochemist who in 1939 became the first Indian woman to receive a PhD in a scientific discipline.[2][3] Her acceptance into and work at the Indian Institute of Science, Bengaluru, paved the way for women to be accepted into the institution for the first time in its history.[4]

Her research delved into the effects of vitamins and into the nutritive values of pulses, paddy, and groups of food items consumed by some of the poorest sections of the Indian population. Her work on the nutritional benefits of the palm extract called 'Neera' was inspired by the then-president Rajendra Prasad's suggestion. Kamala Sohonie received the Rashtrapati Award for this work.[5]

  1. ^ "Dr. Kamala Sohonie : Breaking the barriers in the history of Indian Science". Archived from the original on 24 April 2023. Retrieved 18 June 2023.
  2. ^ Cite error: The named reference insa was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. ^ "The Glass Ceiling: The why and therefore" (PDF). Vigyansagar. Government of India. Archived from the original (PDF) on 6 March 2016. Retrieved 19 October 2012.
  4. ^ "How Kamala Sohonie Defied Gender Bias & Became the First Indian Woman PhD in Science". The Better India. 10 March 2017. Archived from the original on 20 January 2019. Retrieved 20 January 2018.
  5. ^ Kumar, Ritesh (7 March 2015). "Kamala Sohonie - Woman, Who Established the Nutritive Value of the Plants, Consumed by Poor People". Archived from the original on 12 March 2019. Retrieved 20 January 2018.