• PAGE ONE
• INDEX
• HOME

A woman of substance

Isidore Domnick Mendis

Even as we step into the next millennium, there seems to be a sea change in the profile of a number of educated urban women. They are not just managers of their homes and mothers to their children but are making amazing strides in their chosen fields.

And for many, even the chosen fields are changing as they get down to competing with men and shattering one male bastion after another. In fact, a number of women have far overtaken men and are pursuing careers which are a gleam in the eye of the opposit e sex.

No, not just the teacher-secretary-executive stereotypes. But they are striding ahead in the fields of medicine and science and technology and shaping the future of the world.

Meet Professor Indra K. Varma, a polymer scientist at the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) in Delhi. A doctorate in chemistry from the Glasgow University in the UK, she was also awarded the D.Sc. by the same university. She joined IIT in 1966 as lect urer in the department of chemistry and became a professor in 1977. From 1997 to 2000 she was head of the Centre for Polymer Science and Engineering.

Indra has published more than 275 papers in reputed scientific journals besides being the principal investigator in 11 projects sponsored by CSIR, ISRO, UNDP, DST, DNES, MHRD, DRDO and NIST (US). She has made significant contributions in the field of pol ymers and her specialisation is the synthesis of polymers. Indra has four patents to her credit in the field.

One of her most outstanding achievements came in 1979, when she went to the US for two-and-a-half years to work in the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) laboratory in California on a special project.

Says Indra, ``NASA was interested in developing a material which doesn't burn in air.'' So Indra got down to developing the flame-resistant polymides. For this breakthrough project she received seven certificates of recognition and cash award from NASA.

Taking off into space

In 1995, the space centre again invited her for eight months to work on a project involving electrically conducting polymers. ``I was overwhelmed at seeing the shuttle from such close quarter,'' she says.

But the job assigned to her was more than just marvelling at the space shuttle. She played a pivotal role in developing a thermal stable polymer that would not burn in the air when the spacecraft travelled at a tearing speed in the atmosphere.

The scientist is not aware how many of her patents are still in use. As other scientists were also involved in the projects the patents have become the property of NASA.

The patents in the joint names of Indra and other scientists are: Phosphorous Containing Bisimide Resins (Indra K. Varma, G.M. Fohlen and J.A. Parker--June 1981), Phosphor Containing Imide Resins (Indra K. Varma, G.M. Fohlen and J.A. Parker-July 1983), E lastomer Modified Phosphorous Containing Imide Resins (Indra K. Varma, G.M.Fohlen and J.A. Parker, December 1983), and Phosphorus Containing Imide Resins (Indra K. Varma, G.M. Fohlen and J.A. Parker, January 1985).

Besides certificates of excellence from NASA, Indra is also the recipient of Dupont International Award for Polymer Characterisation by Thermal Analysis (1987). She has co-authored a number of books notable among them being Recent Trends in Polymers and Composites, Thermosetting Resins -- Properties and Synthetic Polymers as also a book for the undergraduate students of Indira Gandhi Open University and a class XI NCERT book of Chemistry (1977).

``Polymers have a wide array of applications both in domestic and industrial life. In the house they are useful in the form of plastic combs, buckets, bags, jugs and jars. Industrially they have played a key role in the development of spaceship, aircraft s, and in the electronic and construction industry,'' says Indra, who was also a visiting professor at the department of polymer technology at Sweden's Royal Institute of Technology last year.

She says the consumption of polymers in India is low as compared to the rest of the world. During the last 10 years global demand for polymers grew from 67 million tonnes in 1989 to 108 million tonnes in 2000.

``There is no alternative or substitute to polymers. Researchers must concentrate on improving the quality of production and making it more efficient. The other two areas of focus must be the safe disposal of waste and recycling of plastic. These are our areas of emphasis at the IIT,'' she adds.

Inspired research

Understandably Indra gives all credit to the IIT for her progress that has given her the opportunity to do her research on polymers. Some of her significant contributions in the area include the synthesis and characterisation of thermally-stable polymers , modification of synthetic and natural polymers and structure property relationship in polymers.

Under her tutelage at the Centre for Polymer Science & Engineering at the IIT, 37 students have been awarded Ph.D. degrees and five students are currently working towards their doctorate on topics such as flame-resistant polymers, thermal stable polymers and adhesive from proteins.

However, in the initial years, the going wasn't easy for the eminent scientist. After her return from the Glasgow University, she applied for a research officer's job but the organisation turned her away saying that such specialised jobs were not meant f or women. ``At that time, the mindset of people in the industry was male-centric. Only men were expected to do serious scientific work,'' says Indra who later got a job in Centre for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), Allahabad, before joining II T in 1966.

``Over the years,'' she says, ``there has been a sea change in attitudes. There has never been any gender-bias in IIT. In fact, my male colleagues have been positively encouraging.'' One of her now-retired colleagues was her husband Dr. Dharmendra Varma who was professor at the department of textile technology. Both her son and daughter have done their B.Tech from IIT and are now working in leading companies.

For a working women, managing both the family and a demanding profession can be a daunting task. But, says Indra, ``You should have a determination that you will not fail either at the domestic front or in office. That's what's kept me going. And I can a ssure you today my family is both supportive and proud of me.''

Indra has virtuous plans after retirement in October 2002. ``Plastic waste management is one area where I would like to work in the future because this is an issue which is of concern to all of us today,'' says Indra who now occupies the Reliance Chair at the IIT.

Despite the fact that women are less in number in the field of science and technology as compared to men, their contribution is no less significant. Says Indra, ``See the number of women in these fields and then see their contribution. If you work out th e ratio it would equal or even be higher than that of men. That's because women usually don't have many distractions and are more focused if they go for higher studies.''

So why talk of socialite evenings. Women like Indra are better role models for the younger generation of aspiring girls both in schools and colleges.

Newsmen Features

Pic.: Professor Indra K Varma