6 Successful Women Engineers that made every Indian Proud - ITM Lucknow

 Successful women engineers who have made India proud.

1. Kalpana Chawla - First Indian woman in space

Kalpana Chawala is a name that no one will ever forget. As the first person of Indian heritage, she entered space. She was born on July 1, 1961 in Karnal and was the youngest of four children.

She earned a degree in aeronautical engineering from Punjab Engineering University before emigrating to the United States. She became a naturalised citizen in the 1980s.

In 1988, she earned a doctorate in aerospace engineering from the University of Colorado, having previously earned a master's degree from the University of Texas.

That same year, she began working at NASA's Ames Research Centre in the field of computational fluid dynamics for jet engines.

In 1994, she was selected as an astronaut candidate. In November 1997, she received her first opportunity to fly into space aboard the space shuttle Columbia on flight STS-87. Her second flight was in 2003, which failed on the way back to Earth, costing her and other crew members their lives.

2. A. Lalitha - India's first woman electrical engineer

She was married at the age of 15 and had her daughter at 18. In 1937, a few months later, her husband passed away. Instead of staying at home, she decided to pursue professional training.

She applied to the University of Engineering Guindy (CEG) in Chennai in 1939, an all-male institution at the time. At that time, she was the first female student at CEG, a widow and a mother.

After receiving her honorary doctorate, she spent a few years with his father, assisting him in his research work. She later joined Associated Electrical Industries, a British company.

There she began designing transmission lines, designing substations, and performing contract work. She was also involved in working on the electrical generators for the Bhakra Nangal Dam.

In 1964, she was the first Indian woman engineer to attend the first international conference for women engineers and scientists in New York. In 1979, she passed away.

3. Rajeshwari Chatterjee - First woman engineer from Karnataka

She received her early education in an experimental school. This school was established by her grandmother at Mahila Seva Samaj in Basavanagudi. She earned a B.Sc. (Hons) and an M.Sc. in Mathematics from Maharani's University, Bengaluru. She earned her Ph.D. degree from the University of Michigan.

Along with her husband, she joined the Department of Communications Engineering at the Indian Institute of Science (IISc), where she was the only woman faculty member. She was considered the first woman engineer from Karnataka.

She conducted research in the field of microwaves and set up a microwave research laboratory at IISc. Her contribution to microwave research is still relevant today in the field RADAR and is also used in defence applications.

The Union Ministry of Women and Child Development posthumously named her one of "India's first women achievers." She passed away in 2010 at the age of 88.

4. Digital Link Corporation's founder and chairman, Vinita Gupta (now Quick Eagle Networks).

She was born in Delhi, India, in 1950. She is an Indian-born American businesswoman. She founded Digital Link Corporation (now Quick Eagle Networks) and is considered the first woman of Indian origin to take her company public in the United States.

She graduated from the University of Roorkee with a bachelor's degree in electronics and communications (now Indian Institute of Technology Roorkee). She came to the United States in 1974 and earned a master's degree in electrical engineering from the University of California Los Angeles.

5. Vice President of Engineering at Discord, Prachi Gupta

She has over two decades of experience in consumer technology companies. She is an entrepreneurial engineer and enjoys prototyping and conceptualising, designing and delivering impactful software.

She is an active advocate for diversity in STEM and co-founder of LinkedIn's Women in Technology, and is also a former board member of Women's Audio Mission.

She holds a master's degree in computer science and has extensive experience working with startups to find innovative solutions to real-world problems.

6. Apple Inc. Vice President Priya Balasubramaniam

Priya Balasubramaniam is an engineer with experience in software engineering, marketing, supply chain management, and mechanical engineering. She joined Apple Inc. in 2001, and in June 2006, she became director of procurement for core technologies, which include touch panels, LCD and batteries. In July 2010, she was named senior director of the company. She has served as vice president of core technologies & iPhone operations since October 2014.

Michigan State University awarded Balasubramaniam an honorary doctorate of engineering in December 2017.