Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) has appointed Dr Nallathamby Kalaiselvi as the first woman director general (DG). She succeeds Dr Shekhar Mande, who retired from the post in April 2022. Dr Rajesh Gokhale, Secretary, Department of Biotechnology, was given the additional charge after Dr Mande’s exit.

Dr Nallathamby is currently serving as the Director, CSIR-Central Electrochemical Research Institute (CSIR-CECRI), Karaikudi, Tamil Nadu. Her research work of more than 25 years is primarily focused on electrochemical power systems and in particular, development of electrode materials, custom designed synthesis methods, optimization of reaction parameters and electrochemical evaluation of in-house prepared electrode materials for their suitability in energy storage device assembly.  Her research interests include lithium and beyond lithium batteries, supercapacitors and waste-to-wealth driven electrodes and electrolytes for energy storage and electrocatalytic applications.

Dr Nallathamby has more than 125 research papers and 6 patents to her credit. She is a recipient of many prestigious awards including Materials Research Society of India (MRSI) medal, CSIR Raman Research Fellowship, Indian National Science Academy- National Research Foundation (INSA-NRF) Exchange award, Brain Pool Fellowship of Korea and the Most Inspiring Women Scientist award.