Meet Annapurni Subramaniam, first Indian woman to win COSPAR medal
What's the story
Professor Annapurni Subramaniam, the Director of the Indian Institute of Astrophysics in Bengaluru, has become the first Indian woman to be awarded the COSPAR Vikram Sarabhai Medal. The prestigious international medal is given by the Committee on Space Research (COSPAR) and ISRO for outstanding contributions to space research. Professor Subramaniam received her award at the 46th COSPAR Scientific Assembly in Florence, Italy.
Award significance
First Indian woman to receive medal
The COSPAR Vikram Sarabhai Medal is awarded for exceptional contributions to space research, especially work done in developing countries.
Professor Subramaniam's achievement is historic as she is not just the first Indian woman scientist to receive the medal but also the third woman overall to be honored with it.
She joins an elite group of Indian recipients that includes U.R. Rao (1996), Gurbax Singh Lakhina (2014), and Anil Bhardwaj (2024).
Scientific impact
Professor Subramaniam's stellar career in space research
Professor Subramaniam has dedicated her career to studying the mysteries of the universe, including star clusters, galaxies, and stellar evolution.
She was also the calibration scientist for AstroSat's Ultraviolet Imaging Telescope (UVIT), India's first dedicated multi-wavelength space observatory launched in 2015.
Her work has been instrumental in India's contribution to the international Thirty Meter Telescope project and as Principal Investigator of INSIST, a proposed next-generation ultraviolet-optical space telescope.
Career highlights
Other notable achievements of Professor Subramaniam
In 2019, Professor Subramaniam became the first woman to head the Indian Institute of Astrophysics.
Over her scientific career spanning more than three decades, she has published about 175 research papers and supervised 15 PhD students.
Her contributions have been recognized with several awards, including the Rashtriya Vigyan Puraskar - Vigyan Shri 2024 in Space Science and Technology for her work on stars, star clusters, galactic structure, Magellanic Clouds as well as AstroSat mission.