Bibha Chowdhuri: A Ray of Light in the Dark
In the early 1900s, the subatomic world was full of mystery, invisible forces, and unanswered questions. Scientists were drawn towards this invisible drama. However, only a few had the courage and determination to explore these unknown worlds and unravel their mysteries for people like us. Bibha Chowdhuri was one such scientist who pioneered the study of cosmic rays, the high-speed space bullets that crash into Earth's atmosphere. Bibha means 'light' in Bengali. In both name and nature, Bibha was a radiant force in Indian science.
Born in Kolkata in 1913 to Banku Bihari Chowdhuri, a doctor, and Urmila Devi, Bibha was the third child in a family of six children. She was encouraged to pursue education at a time when few women entered science. In 1936, she earned her M.Sc. in Physics from the University of Calcutta—the only woman in her batch. Her academic excellence naturally led her to the field of research.
Although she reached the doorstep of research, to acquire a research position, being brilliant wasn't enough for a woman in her time; she also had to be persistent. When she first approached DM Bose, one of the renowned physicists of the time, he quite bluntly refused by saying that he had no job for a woman. But Bibha was not willing to take 'no' for an answer, and finally convinced him to give her a chance. They went on to become remarkable partners, publishing four consecutive papers in 'Nature'.
Their work involved studying cosmic rays. Since modern particle accelerators didn’t exist yet, cosmic rays were nature’s particle experiment, and scientists saw them as a window into the subatomic world. In order to study cosmic rays, however, scientists had to scale physical heights to minimise interference from Earth's atmosphere and improve the chances of detecting high-energy particles before they decay. Bibha and Bose set their experiments at high-altitude locations, like Darjeeling and Sandakphu in the Himalayas. Bibha spent months together in these regions conducting experiments, a challenge she willingly took up, changing the perception of what a woman could or should do.
Their work suggested the presence of heavy particles in cosmic rays, which could potentially be mesons (theoretically hypothesised subatomic particles). They couldn't definitively conclude the particle's identity due to a lack of cutting-edge research material. Their time of research coincided with World War II, and India was still under British rule. Scientific research was underfunded and under-prioritised. Even under such constraints, they had managed to gather valuable data and meaningful insights way ahead of their time and published them in 'Nature'. But the limitations put them behind in the race. In 1947, Cecil Powell discovered the meson, which earned him the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1950. Notably, Powell acknowledged the contributions of Bose and Bibha in his book 'The Study of Elementary Particles by the Photographic Method'.
During a time when credit in science was hard to come by and more so for a woman, Bibha and Bose made a conscious effort to credit the work of Marietta Blau, the Austrian physicist who developed the photographic emulsion technique. A method where cosmic ray particles passing through the photographic emulsion plates ionised atoms along their path, leaving visible trails that could be analysed under a microscope. Important features of these emulsion plates were their portability and the fact that they did not require electricity to be operated, making them convenient for use in the high-altitude regions of the Himalayas. Their acknowledgement of Blau shows their commitment to giving credit where it is due, especially to other women in science.
In 1945, she went on to pursue a Ph.D. at the University of Manchester under Patrick Blackett, who would later win the Nobel Prize himself. Her PhD thesis focused on extensive air showers — a stream of particles triggered by cosmic rays in Earth’s atmosphere. When she returned to India, she made history by becoming the first woman scientist at both the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research(TIFR) and the Physical Research Laboratory(PRL). She was also a key contributor at the Kolar Gold Fields(KGF) experiment, one of the earliest underground studies of atmospheric neutrinos in the world. Her contributions at KGF were largely erased from the official records. Her role was reduced to a footnote or a line of thanks in colleagues’ publications. The reason for this is unknown. One could wonder if it was a systemic undervaluation of Indian women scientists. Thankfully, in recent years, efforts have been made to rediscover her story. The biography 'A Jewel Unearthed: Bibha Chowdhuri – The Story of an Indian Woman Scientist' by Rajinder Singh and Suprakash C. Roy serves as an insight into her life and contributions.
What I find most moving about Bibha’s story is her quiet devotion — not to fame or acknowledgement, but to science itself, as stated in an article in SIF Prima Pagina: "Throughout her life she remained unfazed by all the inattention, immersed in the pursuit of science". She never married, instead plunging herself into research to satisfy the scientific rigour in her. Long after her passing in 2018, the International Astronomical Union named a yellow-white dwarf star in the constellation Sextans, 'Bibha'. A celestial tribute to the first woman particle physicist of India. May the light of her passion continue to shine brightly, guiding generations of curious minds, just like her name, 'Bibha'.
Written by Parvathy Ramachandran and edited by Janaky S. @ThinkHer
References:
1. https://www.primapagina.sif.it/article/1314/remembering-bibha-chowdhuri-the-first-woman-particle-physicist
2. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bibha_Chowdhuri
3. https://sd2.org/bibha-chowdhuri-a-woman-of-firsts-with-no-recognition/
4. https://www.asiaresearchnews.com/content/bibha-chowdhuri
5. https://www.telegraphindia.com/science-tech/the-woman-who-could-have-won-a-nobel/cid/1676488
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