New Delhi: Search engine giant Google celebrated the 100th birth anniversary of renowned Indian chemist Asima Chatterjee with a themed doodle on Saturday.
Doodle paid homage to the chemist for her significant contribution in the fields of organic chemistry and phytomedicine.
Chatterjee grew up in Calcutta (now Kolkata) in the 1920s and 1930s, when it was almost unheard of for a woman to study chemistry.
But that did not stop Chatterjee and she not only completed her undergraduate degree in organic chemistry, but also went on to receive a Doctorate of Science in 1944 from the University of Calcutta.
Later, she was appointed Reader in the Department of Pure Chemistry in the same university in 1954. She was the first woman to be awarded the D.Sc. of any Indian university.
Asima Chatterjee, who was born on September 23, 1917 in Bengal, had successfully developed the anti-epileptic drug Ayush-56 from Marsilia minuta and an anti-malarial drug from Alstonia scholaris, Swrrtia chirata, Picrorphiza kurroa and Ceasalpinna crista.
She made significant contributions in the field of medicinal chemistry with special reference to alkaloids, coumarins and terpenoids, analytical chemistry, and mechanistic organic chemistry.
A recipient of the Padma Bhushan in 1975, Chatterjee, was a member of the Rajya Sabha from 1982 to 1990 and was the first woman to be appointed general president of the Indian Science Congress in 1975.
She also authored a considerable volume of work on medicinal plants of the Indian subcontinent.
(With inputs from IANS)
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