Darshan Ranganathan (1941-2001) was an Indian organic chemist. She is known for her important contributions to “protein folding”. She is also known for her important work in the areas of supramolecular assembly, molecular design, chemical modeling of key biological processes, synthesis of functional hybrid peptides, and synthesis of nanotubes. Darshan Ranganathan died of breast cancer in 2001.
Wiki/Biography
Darshan Ranganathan was born Darshan Markan on Wednesday, June 4, 1941, in New Delhi, British India (now India) (age 60; at time of death). Her zodiac sign is Gemini. She attended Arya Samaj Girls’ Primary School in Delhi from 1946 to 1951 and then Indraprastha High School in Delhi from 1951 to 1958. Darshan received his PhD in Chemistry from Delhi University in 1967 under the supervision of Professor TR Seshadri. While pursuing her PhD, she also taught Chemistry at Miranda College, Delhi University. In 1966, Darshan Ranganathan was awarded the 1851 Royal Exhibition Commission Senior Research Fellowship to work with Professor DHR Barton at Imperial College London.
Young Darshan Ranganathan
appearance
Height (approximately): 5′ 5″
Hair color: black
Eye color: black
family
Parents and siblings
Darshan Ranganathan’s father is Shanti Swarup Markan of Karol Bagh, New Delhi. Her mother’s name is Vidyavati Malkan. Darshan is their third child.
husband and children
Darshan Ranganathan married Subramania Ranganathan (1934-2016). Subramania Ranganathan (known as “Ranga”) is a professor and bioorganic chemist. They met in 1969 and were married on June 4, 1970. Darshan gave birth to his son Anand Ranganathan in 1972. Anand is a scientist, political analyst and author.
Darshan Ranganathan and her husband Subramania Ranganathan
Anand Ranganathan, son of Darshan Ranganathan
Signature/Autograph
Darshan Ranganathan’s signature
Profession
chemist
Darshan Ranganathan started working as a Research Fellow at the Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur on June 16, 1970. She shares resources such as students, equipment, chemicals, and project funding with her husband, Subramania, who is an assistant professor.
Darshan Ranganathan and her students
Darshan and her husband conducted research in different fields and she herself published many research papers. In 1991, she received a scholarship from the Indian Academy of Sciences and became an academician. Darshan did her research at IIT Kanpur using funds she received from scholarships as she was not allowed to join the faculty. This was because her husband already worked at the agency. In 1992, she was employed at the Trivandrum Regional Research Laboratory (now known as the National Institute of Interdisciplinary Science and Technology), where she established a bioorganic research laboratory. In 1998, at the invitation of Dr. Raghavan, Director of the Indian Institute of Chemical Technology, she and her husband moved to Hyderabad to join the Indian Institute of Chemical Technology. She figured out a way to replicate a chemical called imidazole, which is important in medicine, on her own in the lab. She also created a model to mimic how our bodies process urea.
Illustration by organic chemist Darshan Ranganathan
books and journals
Darshan Ranganathan, together with her husband Subramania Ranganathan, edits the journal Current Highlights in Organic Chemistry, which conducts monthly literature analyses. She has also published several papers in scientific journals such as the Journal of the American Chemical Society and the Journal of Organic Chemistry. In fact, before her death, she was writing a review for Chemical Research Reports. Many of her works were also published posthumously. On one of these occasions, her husband Subramania studied and edited a work she had co-authored with Dr. Isabella Karle entitled “Patterns of Supramolecular Design”. This book was published in 2002 by New Age International Publishers, New Delhi. Ranganathan enjoys modeling biochemical processes in her lab. She co-authored with her husband Subramania Ranganathan the books Challenging Issues in Organic Reaction Mechanisms (1972) and The Art of Biosynthesis: Challenges for the Synthetic Chemist (1976).
Cover of the book “Challenging Issues in Organic Reaction Mechanisms” by Darshan and Subramania Ranganathan
Awards and Scholarships
- Darshan Ranganathan was awarded the Royal Commission’s 1851 Exhibition Senior Research Fellowship in 1966.
- Darshan Ranganathan received the Fellowship of the Indian Academy of Sciences in 1991.
- In 1996, Darshan Ranganathan was awarded the title of Fellow of the National Academy of Sciences of India.
- In 1999, Darshan received the Third World Academy of Sciences (TWAS) Prize in Chemistry in Tehran, Iran.
- In 2000, Darshan Ranganathan was awarded the Jawaharlal Nehru Birth Centenary Visiting Fellowship by the Indian National Science Academy (INSA).
- Darshan received the AV Rama Rao Foundation Award from the Jawaharlal Nehru Center for Advanced Scientific Research (JNCASR).
- Darshan Ranganathan has been awarded the Sukh Dev Endowed Lectureship at the National Chemical Laboratory (NCL).
die
Darshan Ranganathan died of breast cancer on June 4, 2001. Darshan Ranganath discovered a lump in her breast and was diagnosed with breast cancer, which she beat after undergoing a mastectomy in 1997-98. She received high-quality medical treatment at Basavatarakam Indo-American Cancer Hospital and Research Institute, Hyderabad. In mid-2000, Darshan discovered metastasis and eventually died of cancer in 2001.
Facts/Trivia
- Darshan Ranganathan was very interested in dance, painting and music as a child.
- Darshan Ranganathan loves origami and painting.
- Darshan Ranganathan passed away on her 60th birthday and 31st wedding anniversary.
- Around the same time, Darshan Ranganathan, whose husband Subramania was suffering from tuberculosis, discovered a small lump in her breast. To avoid causing stress to her family, she hid the fact until the tumor grew.
- Darshan Ranganathan has worked with Dr. Isabella L. Karle of the Naval Research Laboratory in Washington, DC for more than seven years. The two published several papers together but never met.
Dr. Isabella L. Karle, a colleague of Darshan Ranganathan whom she had never met
- When Darshan Ranganathan was in London, she asked her mother to bring dried jackfruit from Delhi because the fruit was not available in London.
- As a tribute to Darshan Ranganathan, the National Academy of Sciences of India holds a lecture every two years to honor “outstanding women scientists” in various fields of science and technology.
- Darshan Ranganathan is famous for wearing silk sarees and large round bindis.
Darshan Ranganathan wears saree on the beach with husband Subramania Ranganathan
- Darshan Ranganathan and Subramania Ranganathan used to invite people to their lab for pizza and ice cream.
Categories: Biography
Source: HIS Education