can we get e mail address of her ----- Original Message ----- From: "B.V." <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: <accessindia@accessindia.org.in> Sent: Thursday, January 25, 2007 9:39 PM Subject: [AI] First doctrate in science:
> PROFILE > > Winning formula > > Hard work plus determination equals success for mathematician Dr Sushama > Agrawal > > Picture of Dr Sushama Agrawal.When she was just nine years old, Dr Sushama > Agrawal was diagnosed with retinitis pigmentosa, a degenerative eye > problem. > This led to her slowly losing her vision, but not her purpose in life. > Motivated by a will to succeed, she chose a subject-mathematics-that was a > challenge > in itself. Today, she is a lecturer at Ramanujan Institute for Advanced > Study in Mathematics, University of Madras. She teaches MSc and MPhil > students > and also supervises MPhil and PhD students in their dissertations and > theses. "I do not think of this as a major achievement," she says. "I just > did what > I wanted to." And this is precisely what she wants to carry on doing: > "working sincerely and guiding scholars". > > Dr Agrawal's journey has been marked by many highs and lows. The making of > the mathematician can be traced back to her college days, where she > secured a > first division in BSc as well as MSc. She then qualified for the UGC-CSIR > Junior Research Fellowship examination. She received a fellowship from the > National > Board for Higher Mathematics and went on to complete her PhD in > Mathematics from the Institute of Technology, Chennai, in 1996. She was > the first visually > challenged person in India to receive a Doctorate in a Science subject. A > feat that did not go unnoticed; she even received a letter of appreciation > from > the then Prime Minister of India, Deve Gowda. > > As the next logical step in her life, Dr Agrawal began applying for > teaching jobs. This was not an easy task, she soon discovered. She wrote > for national > and international journals and also presented papers at prestigious > conferences across the world. > > Six years later, in November 2000, Dr Agrawal was appointed lecturer at > the Madras University. > > For her, life now is a perfect blend of professional and personal > happiness. Her husband is a Professor in the Department of Mathematics at > the Indian Institute > of Technology, Chennai. They have a daughter who is doing her postgraduate > studies. Life is also hectic-she keeps herself busy attending symposiums > and > seminars, participating in short-term courses, travelling abroad and > delivering guest lectures. She has been recognised for her contribution to > the subject > of mathematics and has received many awards, including one from the All > India Confederation of the Blind. > > If her choice of career has been unconventional, so is her spare-time > activity. A firm believer in the alternative forms of healing, Dr Agrawal > practises > homeopathy, Bach flower remedies and acupressure on her friends and > family. As for her role model "Mahatma Gandhi," she says, without a moment > of hesitation. > Inspired by his ideals, she has read My Experiments with Truth and seen > The Making of the Mahatma. > > Dr Agrawal has never let her disability get in her way. In fact, at times > she has even considered it an advantage-"I get an opportunity to interact > with > so many young people who volunteer to read to me," she says in an aside. > She considers herself a normal person, and this, she stresses, is the key > to her > success. "I have never felt advantaged or disadvantaged," she continues, > acknowledging that it was her disability that helped her reach her present > position. > Grateful to her husband who encouraged her, her family and friends who > supported her, Dr Agrawal, 46, looks back to a life that was, at times, > complex > and complicated. Yet she never gave up and, somewhere along the way, she > mastered the winner's formula. > > To unsubscribe send a message to [EMAIL PROTECTED] > with the subject unsubscribe. > > To change your subscription to digest mode or make any other changes, > please visit the list home page at > http://accessindia.org.in/mailman/listinfo/accessindia_accessindia.org.in > > > -- > No virus found in this incoming message. > Checked by AVG Free Edition. > Version: 7.5.432 / Virus Database: 268.17.10/651 - Release Date: 1/24/2007 > 6:48 PM > > To unsubscribe send a message to [EMAIL PROTECTED] with the subject unsubscribe. To change your subscription to digest mode or make any other changes, please visit the list home page at http://accessindia.org.in/mailman/listinfo/accessindia_accessindia.org.in
