Vanaja Iyengar (died 2001) was an Indian mathematician, educationist[1] and the founder vice-chancellor of Sri Padmavati Mahila Visvavidyalayam, Tirupati, in the south Indian state of Andhra Pradesh.[2] She was one of the founders of the Andhra Mahila Sabha School of Informatics.[3] The Government of India awarded her the fourth highest civilian honour of Padma Shri in 1987.[4]

Biography

Born in the undivided Andhra Pradesh, she completed her early education at Hyderabad[5] and obtained higher education in Mathematics from Cambridge University in 1950, after which she visited Yugoslavia, Czechoslovakia and Hungary as a part of student forums.[6] Her career started as a member of faculty at Osmania University and worked in two of the colleges affiliated to the university, University College for Women, Koti (Osmania Women's College) and Nizam College.[6]

During her tenure at Osmania, Iyengar secured a doctoral degree in mathematics from the University of Delhi in 1958. She served Osmania University as a reader, professor, head of the department of Mathematics department and the principal of the University College for Women, Koti[5] and held the post of the vice-chancellor for a while.[6] When Sri Padmavati Mahila Visvavidyalayam, an all women university, was established in 1983, she was appointed as its vice-chancellor and continued at the post till 1986.[7] She was also one of the founder members of the Osmania University Teachers Association.[6] She was a life trustee of Andhra Mahila Sabha and she served organisation as its vice-president and the president, a post she held since 1994 till her death.[6] She is also credited with articles on the topic of education.[2][8]

Awards and recognition

In 1987, the Government of India awarded Iyengar the civilian honour of Padma Shri.[4] She received the Best Teacher award from the Government of Andhra Pradesh and was a fellow of the Rajiv Gandhi Foundation.[6] She died in 2001, survived by her husband, Mohit Sen, a known communist intellectual, who also died two years later.[9]

See also

References

  1. ^ "A man called Mohit Sen". The Hindu. 18 May 2003. Archived from the original on 17 November 2003. Retrieved 20 August 2015.
  2. ^ a b "Kameswaramma Kuppuswamy Memorial Lecture" (PDF). Indian Institute of World Culture. 2015. Retrieved 20 August 2015.
  3. ^ "AMS School of Informatics". AMS School of Informatics. 2015. Retrieved 21 August 2015.
  4. ^ a b "Padma Awards" (PDF). Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India. 2015. Retrieved 21 July 2015.
  5. ^ a b "Vanaja Iyengar" (PDF). INFLIBNET. 2015. Retrieved 21 August 2015.
  6. ^ a b c d e f "Prof (Smt) Vanaja Iyengar –Founder AMSSOI". Bispindia. 2015. Retrieved 21 August 2015.
  7. ^ "Mohit Sen (An Autobiography)". Exotic India. 2015. Retrieved 21 August 2015.
  8. ^ A. Ranganathan; Madhav Pundalik Pandit; Saligrama Krishna Ramachandra Rao; VANAJA IYENGAR (1986). "Sir William Jones: Savant Extraordinary and Cultural Envoy, Issues 64–71". Indian Institute of World Culture. Retrieved 21 August 2015.
  9. ^ "Veteran communist leader Mohit Sen dead". Rediff.com. 4 May 2003. Retrieved 21 August 2015.