ThinkHer

In the world of higher education, knowledge is often separated into two approaches: the deep and the broad. The former focuses on a single discipline—often associated with the sciences—while the latter encourages connections across fields, a style more familiar to the arts and humanities. Science, in this model, becomes a specialized, linear pursuit, while the liberal arts embrace breadth and interdisciplinarity. Dr. Purnima Sinha’s life and work defied these binaries. Purnima Sinha with  Prof SN Bose and Prof. PAM Dirac (top right), playing tabla (top left), with students (bottom left), and Dr. Sinha's PhD Thesis (bottom right)  ©  www.peepultree.world Emerging in the early decades of postcolonial India, she worked in X-ray crystallography—a field  of modern physics that analyze the structure of various materials—and became t he first woman from Calcutta University to earn a PhD in Physics. Howe ver,   her understanding of science transcended its disciplinary s...

Before I write about anyone, I tend to look at the quotes and comments attributed to them to see how much of their personality I can connect with. I think of science as a work in progress, a continuous effort to unravel each knot to reveal some mysteries. So, Dorothy Hodgkin’s words, more than those of most scientists, resonate deeply with me whether it is “ The beauty of science lies in the intricate complexities of the natural world ” or “ Mistakes are inherent in scientific research and are valuable learning opportunities ”.  But for me, the quote that captures the essence of both her life and work would be “ Science does not exist in isolation; it is influenced by social, economic, and political factors ”.  Dorothy  was not just a brilliant scientist; she was a woman of vision, deeply aware of the world around her and the role science plays in shaping it. Dorothy Crowfoot Hodgkin with her crystal structures and during the Nobel awarding ceremony Dorothy Mary Crowfoot ...