Tessy Thomas
| Tessy Thomas | |
|---|---|
| Born | April 1963 Alappuzha, Kerala |
| Nationality | Indian |
| Education | B.Tech.Government Engineering College, Thrissur, M.Tech from Institute of Armament Technology, Pune |
| Occupation | Scientist at DRDO |
| Years active | 1988 – present |
| Notable credit(s) | Agni Missile Project Director Agni-IV |
| Title | Scientist |
| Spouse(s) | Saroj Kumar |
| Children | Tejas |
Tessy Thomas (born in 1963) is an engineer and the Project Director for Agni-IV missile in Defence Research and Development Organisation. She is the first woman engineer to head a missile project in India. She is known as the 'Missile Woman' of India.
Tessy was born in April 1963 in Alappuzha, Kerala, to a small-businessman father and a homemaker mother. She graduated in engineering from Government Engineering College, Thrissur. She grew up near a rocket launching station and says her fascination with rockets and missiles began then. She also has an M.Tech in Guided Missile from the Institute of Armament Technology, Pune (now known as the Defence Institute of Advanced Technology). Her parents from Kerala named her after Mother Teresa.
Tessy was associate project director of the 3,000 km range Agni-III missile project. She was the project director for mission Agni IV which was successfully tested in 2011. Tessy was appointed as the Project Director for 5,000 km range Agni-V in 2009 and is based The missile was successfully tested on 19 April 2012. In January 2012, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh told the Indian Science Congress that Mrs Thomas is an example of a "woman making her mark in a traditionally male bastion and decisively breaking the glass ceiling". The media loves to call her Agniputri, or one born of fire, after the missiles she has helped develop. "We are all proud of our country. Agni-V is one of our greatest achievements," she says.
She is married to Saroj Kumar, now a commander in the Indian Navy and they have a son, Tejas. engineer in Ford Technologies.In a glowing tribute in 2008, The Indian Woman Scientists Association did not forget to mention that "like most women she also does a tight-rope walk between home and career, between being a mother and a scientist who is dedicated to her job. We feel Tessy Thomas serves as a role model and an inspiration for women scientists to achieve their dreams and have their feet planted in both worlds successfully," the group said.
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