Meet #GES2017 Speaker Tessy Thomas, the Missile Woman of India!
Dr. Tessy Thomas, the "Missile Woman of India", is going to address Global Entrepreneurship Summit-2017 in Hyderabad. She broke the Internet after NITI Aayog and Mahindra Group Chairman Anand Mahindra tweeted about her. Mahindra said DRDO's Tessy, the first woman to head an Indian missile project, deserves to be more famous than any Bollywood star. Here's more about Dr. Tessy Thomas, the "Agni Putri"!
Poster of Tessy to wreck stereotypes!
Project and Technology Leader at DRDO
Dr. Tessy Thomas is the Director of Advanced Systems Laboratory of Defence Research and Development Organisation at Hyderabad. The GES-2017 speakers' list says, as a Project and Technology Leader, Tessy played a significant role in Mission Design, Infrastructure Development, Process and Product development. She would speak about how she mentored and nurtured scientists while ensuring "Collective Learning" atmosphere and developing a knowledge-sharing platform.
Honorary DSc from five universities
Dr. Tessy Thomas's profile on the GES-2017 speakers' list says: "She is a fellow of various professional Bodies -INAE, IEI, TAS and Senior Member of IEEE, ASI, and AeSI. She received Doctor of Science (Honoris Causa) from five different Universities."
About Dr. Tessy Thomas
Dr. Tessy Thomas was born in 1963 in Kerala's Alappuzha; her father was a small businessman and mother, a homemaker. She has a BTech (Electrical) from Calicut University, ME (Guided Missiles) from Poona University, MBA in Operations Management, and a PhD in Missile Guidance. She joined the DRDO (Defence Research and Development Organisation) in 1988 and had even worked under Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam.
Dr. Tessy Thomas: India's Missile Woman
While Dr. APJ Adbul Kalam is the "Missile Man of India," Dr. Tessy Thomas is the "Missile Woman of India." She is a leading expert in ballistic missiles and was the Project Director for DRDO's Agni IV and V missiles, right from their inception. She is the first woman to lead missile teams in India; that's why she is also called "Agni Putri".
AGNI Self Reliance Award for designing guidance scheme
Dr. Tessy Thomas not only worked on the Agni missiles but also designed the guidance scheme for the long-range missile systems previously, which is still used in all Agni missiles. It was the first such long-range system's energy management guidance scheme designed and developed in the country. She was also conferred with the AGNI Award for Excellence in Self-Reliance in 2001.
Conferred with several awards and honors
Dr. Tessy Thomas was the DRDO Scientist of 2008; she received DRDO Performance Excellence Award for 2011 and 2012. She was the India Today "Woman of the Year" in 2009 and CNN-IBN Indian of the Year 2012 (Special Achievement Award). She was honored with Bharat Ratna Sir Mokshagundam Visvesvaraya Award-2016 for outstanding contributions in the field of Engineering from The Institution of Engineers (India).
