Who Was Bibha Chowdhuri?
Chowdhuri's academic achievements stood out early in her career. When she completed her master's degree in physics at the University of Calcutta in 1936, she was reportedly the only woman among 24 students in her class. Despite the limited opportunities available to women in scientific research at the time, she continued pursuing specialised studies in physics.
According to Down To Earth and the Council of the Cherenkov Telescope Array Observatory, her education was supported by her progressive family. Her father was a doctor, and her family background was associated with the Brahmo Samaj, a reform movement that encouraged education, including for women.
After completing her master's degree, Chowdhuri began research under physicist Debendra Mohan Bose at the Bose Institute. Their work focused on cosmic rays, high-energy particles that travel through space and interact with Earth's atmosphere.
The researchers used photographic emulsions to identify the tracks left by subatomic particles. Between 1938 and the early 1940s, Chowdhuri and Bose published their findings in Nature, one of the world's leading scientific journals. Their research contributed to early investigations into mesons, a family of subatomic particles.
However, their experiments eventually faced a major obstacle during the Second World War, when a shortage of sensitive photographic plates restricted further research. Chowdhuri subsequently travelled to the University of Manchester in Britain, where she pursued a PhD under physicist Patrick Maynard Stuart Blackett, who later received the Nobel Prize in Physics.
Her career continued across several prominent research institutions. In 1949, she became the first woman researcher at the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research (TIFR), founded by Homi Jehangir Bhabha.
Chowdhuri later worked at the Physical Research Laboratory (PRL) in Ahmedabad, where she contributed to cosmic-ray research and investigations involving high-energy particles. Her work formed part of India's early scientific efforts to understand the behaviour of particles that originate in space and interact with matter.
Why Was a Star Named After Bibha Chowdhuri?
Despite her contributions to physics, Chowdhuri received limited recognition during her lifetime. She continued her research until her death on 2 June 1991, leaving behind a body of scientific work that remained largely uncelebrated outside scientific circles.
Recognition came decades later. In 2019, the International Astronomical Union honoured her by naming the star HD 86081 Bibha. The star is located in the constellation Sextans, giving the pioneering Indian physicist a lasting place in the night sky.
The Council of the Cherenkov Telescope Array Observatory has noted that Bibha means “ray of light” in Bengali. The name carries a fitting association with Chowdhuri's scientific career, which focused on investigating cosmic rays and high-energy particles that cannot be studied through ordinary observation alone.
From pursuing physics in a male-dominated academic environment to conducting research at leading institutions in India and Britain, Chowdhuri made contributions that extended beyond her lifetime. The naming of HD 86081 Bibha in 2019 brought renewed attention to a scientist whose work had received limited public recognition, preserving her name as part of the international astronomical record.
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