Dr. V. Sudha Rao
Designation: Chairperson
Email: sudharao43@gmail.com
Education & Qualifications:
M.Sc. (Food & Nutrition) – SNDT Women’s University
M.S (Grain Science) – Kansas State University
USA; Ph.D. (Food Technology) – Bombay University
Dr. Sudha Rao has been a member of the Board of Trustees since 2015. Dr. Sudha worked as Senior Scientist in Food Technology Div. BARC, Mumbai for 34 years. Her expertise is in radiation preservation of foods, especially in cereals & legumes. She has worked on compositional, functional & organoleptic properties of food after low dose of gamma irradiation. She has 67 publications in scientific journals. She is a fellow of Maharashtra Academy of Science and many professional organizations. She is also member on the research council of Institute of Chemical Technology. She is an Expert Member, Panel on Food Irradiation (under Technology Vision 2020). Mission Projects of TIFAC (Technology Information), Forecasting & Assessment Council, Govt. of India, New Delhi. She has been a very active member of IWSA and served in its various programmes. She was Vice president, IWSA for 2 terms : 2009-2013 and President for the term 2013-15. Thereafter she joined as Member, IWSA’s Board of Trustees. Presently, she provides advice and guidance for conducting the Diploma course in Early Childhood Care & Education at IWSA. She also coordinates activities for IWSA’s Indirabai Padhye Nursery school.
Dr. Devaki Ramanathan
Designation: Secretary
Email: devakir66@yahoo.com
Education & Qualifications:
M.Sc (Physics) – Bombay University
Ph.D (Physics) – Pune University
Dr.Devaki Ramanathan has been a member of the Board of Trustees since 2019 and is presently its Secretary. Dr.Devaki was a Senior physicist in Technical Physics & Prototype Engineering Division of BARC, Mumbai for 39 years. Her specialization is in Ultra high vacuum technology, Field emission/Field in microscopy, surface physics, Mass spectrometry technology, Glow discharge & ICP-MS. She has published a number of papers in National & International scientific journals including a paper in the prestigious international journal “NATURE”.
She has been an active member of a number of professional societies. Devaki has served IWSA in different educational activities & program. She was President, IWSA during 2015-17. She also actively participates in the programs of the Science awareness committee and other committees of IWSA.
Dr. Surekha Zingde
Designation: Treasurer
Email: surekha.zingde@gmail.com
Education & Qualifications:
BSc Chemistry, Bangalore University, Bangalore
MSc Chemistry, IIT, Bombay
PhD, Chemistry, Boston University USA
Visiting Fellow, Tata Institute of Fundamental Research, Mumbai
Dr. Surekha Zingde has been a member of the Board of Trustees since 2019 and is now its Treasurer. She was the past President of IWSA (2017-19). Dr. Zingde was also a member of several committees of IWSA. She retired as Dy. Director, Cancer Research Institute, ACTREC, Tata Memorial Centre, Kharghar, Navi Mumbai, in March 2013 after 33y service with the Centre. Her expertise is in Cancer Biology, chronic myeloid leukemia, membrane proteins, signal transduction and Oral cancer proteomics. Dr. Zingde is Fellow, Maharashtra Academy of Sciences. She is Chairperson of the Indian Scientific Advisory Committee of Lady Tata Memorial Trust. She is a member of the Scientific advisory committees and Chairperson of the ethics committees of different institutions. Dr. Zingde is involved in syllabus revision and syllabus formation of some colleges in Mumbai. She has been a reviewer for several journals and reviewer of thesis from different universities. She was Professor of Life Sciences of the HBNI. Dr. Zingde has been a visiting faculty at University of Mumbai-DAE-CEBS, a member of the Research and Recognition Committee of ICT, Mumbai and University of Mumbai and member of government project review and funding committees. She has vast experience in setting up a Research Institute. She provides consultancy for life science research. She was the past President of the Proteomics Society, India during 2014-16 and is presently a member of its Executive Council (2023—25). Eleven students have completed their Ph.D and 4 students their MSc under her guidance. She has 76 peer reviewed papers, several book chapters, a monograph and 4 patents.
Dr. Lalitha Dhareshwar
Designation: Member
Email: lj_dhareshwar@yahoo.com
Educational Qualifications:
B.Sc. (Hons) Physics: Bangalore University
Ph.D. Physics: University of Mumbai
Raja Ramanna Fellow of DAE (2010-2015).
Dr. Lalitha Dhareshwar has been a member of the Board of Trustees since 2023. Dr. Lalitha has worked for forty-five years at BARC, in the field of High-power lasers, laser plasmas and applications. She was the Head of the Laser and Neutron Physics Division of BARC prior to her retirement in July, 2010. She was instrumental in carrying out several prestigious projects in BARC and has guided several students to obtain their PhD. She has been invited by International Laboratories and Universities, in USA, Japan, Germany, France, Russia, Spain, Italy, Poland, Lithuania, Czech Republic and other countries, for Scientific Collaboration and Training scientists and research scholars, in the latest field of Lasers & Plasma Physics. Lalitha is a member of Shri Ram Chandra Mission, a spiritual organization. As a Prefect, Spiritual Trainer, she has strived to impart spiritual training through meditation. She had formulated and conducted Value Based Education programs for several schools and colleges in Mumbai, as well as in Maharashtra and Gujarat.
Lalitha was Chairperson of Golden Jubilee Committee (2021-23), Co-ordinator of both Day-care and Vigyan Prasar Programmes (2021-2023). She is an active member of IWSA and has been Secretary of IWSA HQ EC (2015-2017), Vice president (2017-2019), President (2019-2021), and Convenor of Science Awareness Committee in the recent past.
Dr. Rita Mukhopadhyaya
Designation: Member
Email: rita45@gmail.com
Educational Qualifications:
M.Sc. & B.Sc. Environmental Physiology & Biochemistry
Life Sciences, Viswa Bharati University
Ph. D. (Chemistry) Immune Status in Oral Cancers, Applied Biology, University of Mumbai
Dr. Rita Mukhopadhyaya joined as a member of the Board of Trustees in 2025. Rita superannuated from the Bioscience Group, Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC), Mumbai, as Head of Gene Technology Section in November 2019. Rita was an INSA DFG visiting scientist at the Institute for Molecular Infection Biology, Wurzburg, (Germany, 2015-16, a Fogarty international fellow at the National Cancer Institute, NIH, Bethesda, Maryland (USA, 1988-92) a Sitaram Joglekar awardee for PhD at the Cancer Research Institute, Parel, (Mumbai, 1982-87), a Govt. of India Merit Scholarship holder for postgraduate study in Santiniketan (West Bengal, 1980-82). Rita spent her research career spanning 35 years with subject expertise on High Throughput Sequencing, Bioinformatics, Radiation Resistance in model organisms, Human Molecular Genetics, Molecular Biology of Retroviruses and Cancer Immunology. She now facilitates training for DNA & RNA sequencing and is a consultant for implementation of whole genome sequencing technology for national health programs. She also engages in popularising green technologies, education about introduction of new crop varieties and hygienic ways of solar drying to the rural sectors. She has acquired licenses for 3 non power based green technologies from BARC. These have been implemented at Murutdih village in Bankura, West Bengal and at Kasti & Dalkhan villages, Thane, Maharashtra. Among other social recognitions, Rita has been awarded the Rayat Shikshan Sanstha’s `Karmaveer’ award for women in education and social work: 2009-10, the CAPS award for women achievers of Navi Mumbai: 2008-09. Rita is an avid trekker and has trekked extensively across the Himalayas and Western Ghats while also making her way through the mountains in the North East and central India.
She has served as IWSA President 2021-2023; Vice President 2019-2021 and Convener of Computer Education Centre for 2 years. She has earlier been an elected EC member and worked as Secretary and Treasurer 2 years each in different terms of the EC. She introduced Workshop based advanced trainings on High Throughout sequencing (2017-2019), Protein simulations, Machine Learning (2020) and others thereafter.
Dr. Shyamala Bharadwaj
Designation: Member
Email: shyamala.bharadwaj@gmail.com
Educational Qualifications:
B.Sc. (Chemistry), University of Mumbai
M.Sc. (Chemistry), University of Mumbai
Ph. D. (Chemistry), University of Mumbai
Dr. Shyamala Bharadwaj joined as a member of the Board of Trustees in 2025. Dr. Shyamala retired as Head, Fuel Cell Materials and Catalysis Section, Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC), Mumbai in December 2015 after 38 years of research at BARC. Her expertise is in the field of chemical thermodynamics, catalysis, fuel cells and hydrogen energy. As professor of HBNI and Mumbai University, she had guided several M.Sc. and Ph.D. students. She is often invited to review Ph.D. theses from various universities, IITs etc and to review projects from DST and BRNS. She regularly reviews manuscripts for several international journals and is the regional editor of Journal of Thermal Analysis and Calorimetry. She has won several awards, such as NETZSCH-ITAS Award in the field of Thermal analysis and DAE Group Achievement Awards. As Hon. Secretary of Indian Thermal Analysis Society, she was involved in organizing several National Symposia and Workshops on Thermal Analysis in various parts of India. She has also organized several National Symposia and Workshops in Materials Chemistry and Chemical Thermodynamics. Shyamala has several publications in refereed international journals. She has co-edited a book on “Thoria based nuclear fuels” (published by Springer, 2013) and written several chapters in various books.
Shyamala is one of the 75 women featured in the book, “She Is” – 75 Women in Chemistry. This book is published by Beyond Black in collaboration with the office of the Principal Scientific Advisor to Government of India and the Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC) in the year 2024.
She has been associated with IWSA since 2015. She was Secretary, IWSA for the period 2017-19, Member Executive Committee, 2019-21, Vice President, 2021-23, President, 2023-25 and Editor of IWSA Newsletter since December 2015 till 2023.
Ms. Madhu Pahwa
Designation: Member
Email: madhupahwa50@gmail.com
Educational Qualifications:
M.Sc. (Botany), University of Allahabad
B.Ed. (Botany), Annamalai University
Ms. Madhu Pahwa joined as a member of the Board of Trustees in 2025. Ms. Madhu has over 20 years of teaching experience in the field of Biology. A gold medalist in Botany from Allahabad University, she has also been a part of her family business. Madhu was a Teacher at Sacred Heart High School, Vashi during June-1986 to Oct-1988, and at ICL Jhunjhunwala College of Science Arts & Commerce, Vashi during Nov-1988 to June-2008 when she retired from service. She received the Best Teacher Award from the college in 2008. During 1991 to 1999 she was an entrepreneur, managing a business of books and periodicals.
Madhu has been associated with IWSA since 2012. Initially as a member, then Jt Secretary in the Executive Committee of IWSA for two terms (2015-17 and 2017-19) and was Secretary (2021-23). In addition, she has been actively involved in the IWSA subcommittees of Science Awareness, Health, Computer education, Hostel and Day Care. She was the Convenor of Hostel and Day Care Committee (2021-2023 & 2023-2025).
