Who is Nallathamby Kalaiselvi: First Woman Chief of CSIR ?

Nallathamby Kalaiselvi is an Indian electrochemical scientist who became the first woman Director General of the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR). She took up the post in August 2022 and also serves as Secretary of the Department of Scientific and Industrial Research.

Before leading CSIR, Kalaiselvi directed the Central Electrochemical Research Institute (CECRI) in Karaikudi. Her research career has focused on electrochemical energy storage, including lithium-ion batteries and related technologies. That background connects her leadership role with research areas important to batteries, electric mobility and energy storage.

CSIR is a network of publicly funded research laboratories across India. As its Director General, Kalaiselvi oversees an organisation working across a wide range of scientific and industrial fields.

The director general of the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), a grouping of 38 research organisations across the nation, has been named as senior scientist Nallathamby Kalaiselvi. The first woman to hold the position was Nallathamby Kalaiselvi, who was appointed for a two-year term beginning on the date she assumed responsibility for the job or until further orders.

Kalaiselvi Nallathamby is well known for her work in the field of lithium ion batteries.
Additionally, Nallathamby Kalaiselvi will be in charge of the Department of Scientific and Industrial Research's secretary position. At the same institute, Nallathamby Kalaiselvi began her research career as a junior scientist. 

Kalaiselvi, who comes from the small village of Ambasamudhram in Tamil Nadu's Tirunelveli district, attended school in the Tamil language, which she claims helped her understand the principles of science in college.

Over the course of more than 25 years, Nallathamby Kalaiselvi has conducted extensive research on electrochemical power systems, with a particular emphasis on the development of electrode materials and the electrochemical assessment of internally prepared electrode materials for suitability in energy storage device assembly.

Her research interests include lithium and other types of batteries, supercapacitors, waste-to-wealth driven electrodes and electrolytes, and electrocatalytic applications.

The creation of supercapacitors and sodium-ion/lithium-sulfur batteries is now being worked on by Nallathamby Kalaiselvi.
The National Mission for Electric Mobility also benefited greatly from Kalaiselvi's contributions. She has published more than 125 scientific publications and holds six patents.