1. Tessy Thomas was born on April 1963 and is an Indian scientist and former Director General of Aeronautical Systems and the former Project Director for Agni-IV missile in Defence Research and Development Organisation.
22 Facts About Tessy Thomas
1. 2.
Tessy Thomas is the first ever female scientist to head a missile project in India.
3.
Tessy Thomas, famously referred to as "Missile Woman" of India, was born during April 1963 in Kerala's Alappuzha.
4.
Tessy Thomas earned a perfect score in the subject during her pre-degree studies.
5.
Tessy Thomas secured a loan from the State Bank of India to study at the Government Engineering College in Thrissur, where she completed a Bachelor of Technology in Electrical Engineering.
6.
Tessy Thomas later specialized in missile guidance systems by earning a Master of Technology in Guided Missiles from the Institute of Armament Technology in Pune.
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In both school and college Tessy Thomas was involved in extracurricular activities including political issues.
8.
Tessy Thomas excelled in sports especially badminton bringing much recognition to her alma maters.
9.
Dr Tessy Thomas has played such a transformative role in India's defense landscape through all of her innovating work in missile technology.
10.
Tessy Thomas began in her career working upon the Agni missile series, India's premier family of ballistic missiles developed as part of its calculated defense capabilities.
11.
Tessy Thomas initially contributed to both the guidance as well as control systems of the Agni missiles, focusing specifically on inertial navigation systems that ensure accuracy over long distances.
12.
Tessy Thomas's responsibilities increased, and she was named the Associate Project Director of Agni-III, a medium- to long-range ballistic missile able to carry nuclear warheads and having a range exceeding 3,000 kilometers.
13.
Tessy Thomas's most celebrated role perhaps has been as Project Director of Agni-V.
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Tessy Thomas's career is prominent for the meaningful calculated shift she helped usher in within DRDO.
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Tessy Thomas advocated for more strict simulation and modeling techniques.
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Tessy Thomas did this before live tests, thus reducing costs and increasing efficiency.
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Tessy Thomas has been mentoring many young engineers, especially all women, in aerospace and missile development fields, thereby promoting a newer generation of defense scientists.
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Tessy Thomas's work continues to define India's planned defense vision.
19.
Tessy Thomas is married to Saroj Kumar, a commander in the Indian Navy and they have a son, Tejas.
20.
Tessy Thomas received the Lal Bahadur Shastri National Award for her contribution for making India self-reliant in the field of missile technology.
21.
Tessy Thomas was awarded the Lokmanya Tilak National Award in 2022.
22.
Tessy Thomas won 'Woman pioneer of the year' award at ETPrime Women Leadership Awards 2023 which was held at Mumbai.