CSIR Director General N Kalaiselvi gets two-year extension

New Delhi: Nallathamby Kalaiselvi, the first woman Director General of the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), on Tuesday was granted a two-year extension in service.

A government order said the Appointments Committee of the cabinet has approved the extension of tenure of Kalaiselvi “for a period of two years beyond 07.08.2024, or until further orders, whichever is earlier.” She was appointed to the post in August 2022 following the superannuation of Shekhar Mande in April that year.

She will also hold the charge of Secretary, Department of Scientific and Industrial Research.

Kalaiselvi has risen through the ranks in CSIR and broke the proverbial glass ceiling by becoming the first woman scientist to head the Central Electrochemical Research Institute (CSIR-CECRI) in February 2019.

She had started her career in research as an entry-level scientist at the same institute.

Hailing from Ambasamudhram, a small town in Tirunelveli district of Tamil Nadu, Kalaiselvi did her schooling in Tamil medium, which, she said helped her grasp the concepts of science in college.

Kalaiselvi’s research work of more than 25 years is primarily focused on electrochemical power systems and in particular, development of electrode materials, and electrochemical evaluation of in-house prepared electrode materials for their suitability in energy storage device assembly.

Her research interests include lithium and beyond lithium batteries, supercapacitors and waste-to-wealth driven electrodes and electrolytes for energy storage and electrocatalytic applications.

She is currently involved in the development of practically viable sodium-ion/lithium-sulfur batteries and supercapacitors.

Kalaiselvi also made key contributions to the National Mission for Electric Mobility. She has more than 125 research papers and six patents to her credit.