17 Facts About Anna Mani

Anna Mani was an Indian physicist and meteorologist.

Anna Mani retired as the deputy director general of the Indian Meteorological Department and served as a visiting professor at the Raman Research Institute.

Anna Modayil Mani was born in 1918 at Peermade, then Travancore, now Kerala, India to a Syrian Christian family.

Anna Mani was the seventh of eight children in her family, and a voracious reader.

However, Anna Mani sought to break the norm and pursue her passion for learning through higher education.

Anna Mani attended the Presidency College, Chennai where she earned a Bachelor of Science degree with honors in physics and chemistry.

Anna Mani worked tirelessly and often sacrificed up to 20 hours in the lab recording and analyzing the luminescence of diamonds.

Between 1942 and 1945, Anna Mani authored five single academic paper on the spectroscopy of rubies and diamonds.

At the Imperial College London, Anna Mani would be introduced to meteorology and various weather instruments.

Anna Mani worked with politician S P Venkiteshwaran, who had a vision of making India self-reliant in the scientific field.

Anna Mani eventually took charge of the division and led 121 men under her.

Anna Mani's team set up a network of monitoring stations across India to harness solar radiation as well as measurement equipment to study wind patterns.

Additionally, Anna Mani was one of the few during her time who saw the potential of the ozone layer and the crucial role it played.

In 1994, Anna Mani suffered a stroke and died on 16 August 2001 in Thiruvananthapuram, at age 82.

Anna Mani retired as the deputy director general of the India Meteorological Department in 1976.

Anna Mani's contributions expanded the exploration of solar energy, wind power, ozone layers, and various weather instruments.

Anna Mani participated in various organizations such as the International Solar Energy Society, Indian National Science Academy, American Meteorological Society, and others.