Asima Chatterjee
An accomplished organic chemist whose research resulted in many anti-epileptic, anti-convulsive, and chemotherapy drugs development while breaking barriers in her time.
Featuring artwork by Arghya Manna & words by Dr. Archana Nagarajan, Sci-Illustrate Stories. Co-edited by Dr. Roopali Chaudhary. Set in motion and edited by Dr. Radhika Patnala.
There are only a few Indian women scientists that have been duly recognized during their lifetime for their brilliance. One of them was Dr. Asima Chatterjee, a renowned Organic Chemist who studied the chemistry of naturally occurring compounds in plants of medicinal value.
Early Life
Asima Chatterjee, nee Mookerjee, was born on the 23rd of September 1917 in a middle-class family in Calcutta (present day Kolkata), India. Her father, Indra Narayan Mookerjee, was a medical doctor and her mother was Kamala Devi. She had one sister and they both were encouraged to get education, which was a rarity at that time. Asima’s father had a great interest in botany and Asima shared his passion for the same.
In an era when the women did not commonly pursue higher education, Asima chose to study Chemistry. She graduated, with honours, from the Scottish Church College, University of Calcutta in 1936. She further pursued Masters in Organic Chemistry from the University of Calcutta and obtained the degree in 1938. She did not stop at this and went on to do her D.Sc. at the University of Calcutta. She was the first woman to receive a doctorate at an Indian University in 1944. As a doctoral student, she worked on the chemistry of plant products and synthetic organic chemistry with the renowned chemist, Prafulla Chandra Ray (known as the father of chemical science in India) and Satyendra Nath Bose, the famous physicist. She went on to work with Lásló Zechmeister at University of Wisconsin and Caltech for her post-doctoral research on biologically active alkaloids. She married Prof. Baradananda Chatterjee, a physical-chemist, in 1945 and had a daughter, Julie, with him. Prof. Chatterjee, himself went on to become the Head of the Department of Chemistry, Geology, Metallurgy and Vice-Principal of Bengal Engineering College, Howrah.
Research Life
Upon her return to India, Asima went on to join Brabourne College, University of Calcutta and founded the Department of Chemistry there. She later joined the University College of Science at the University of Calcutta as a Reader in pure Chemistry. She continued her research on the nature of biologically active compounds found in medicinal plants.
These were very difficult times for science in India. The funding was meager and Dr. Chatterjee had to spend her personal money on sending samples for analysis abroad. There was not enough funding to pay for her students’ salaries and she struggled to get the necessary chemicals and reagents. Moreover, there were no NMR or other advanced spectroscopy techniques to analyze the compounds. Asima and her students relied on old instruments for purifying the minuscule amounts of compounds from the plants. However, Asima Chatterjee and her students were an extremely dedicated lot and worked hard to achieve some wonderful results. It is also worthwhile to mention here that her husband was extremely supportive of Asima’s career and even used to counsel her students, if the need be.
Asima worked for almost 40 years on the chemistry of alkaloid compounds and natural compounds. Her research resulted in many anti-epileptic, anti-convulsive, and chemotherapy drugs. Her work led to the development of a commercial anti-epileptic drug, still in use, called Ayush-56. She also studied vinca alkaloids derived from Madagascar periwinkle plants, which are still used as chemotherapeutic agents. She published extensively (close to 400 publications) in various reputed national and international journals. She was also author of books in English and Bengali. She loved science and continued to work for science education and policy until the very end. She once said, “ I wish to work as long as I live”.
Personal Life
Asima Chatterjee enjoyed spending time with her family. In fact, her child, Julie, accompanied her on many of her foreign trips during her work. Her husband was not only a fellow chemist, but also a great friend to her and supported her in all her endeavours. She also enjoyed cooking for her family and led a very normal family life and achieved a great harmony between her work and private life. This is an inspiration for all of us who are looking to balance our professional career and a family life.
In spite of a huge setback in 1967, when she lost her father and husband within a span of 4 months, Asima Chatterjee came back to science after a few months (she suffered a major health scare herself at the same time). Her co-workers at that time provided her unstinting support and she overcame this trying period and continued her work.
Awards, honours, and accolades
Asima Chatterjee was a brilliant scientist who got due recognition during her lifetime. She was among the minority of women scientists to have achieved this. In 1960, she was elected to the Indian National Science Academy. She was awarded the Shanti Swaroop Bhatnagar Prize in Chemistry in 1961, the first female recipient of the award. She was also the Khaira Professor of Chemistry at the University of Calcutta from 1962–82, a very prestigious position. She also won the prestigious CV Raman Award and PC Ray Award. She was appointed as the coordinator of a special assistance programme in teaching and intensifying research in natural chemistry, by the University Grants Commission. She went on to win one of the highest civilian awards awarded by the Government of India, the Padma Bhushan, in 1975. She was also nominated to the Upper House of Parliament of India, the Rajya Sabha, from 1982–1990 (eminent personalities from varied spheres of life are nominated by the President of India to the Rajya Sabha to be representatives of their field). She represented India in various International organizations and committees like the UNESCO. Thus, she continued to serve in various positions and contributed to policy making in science and education. This was a very rare achievement for an Indian woman during those years.
She passed away peacefully at the age of 90 and passed on the baton of science to her daughter who also became a chemist. Google honoured Asima with a google doodle on her 100th birthday.
Thus, Asima Chatterjee, not only made immense contributions to the field of Chemistry, but also was an inspirational figure who broke major barriers and ceilings of her times to become a world-renowned scientist and earn the respect of her peers and countrymen alike.
Timeline
1917: Born on the 23rd of September in Calcutta, India
1936: Bachelors in Chemistry from University of Calcutta
1938: Masters in Organic Chemistry from the University of Calcutta
1944: D.Sc from University of Calcutta. Studied chemistry of medicinal plant products. First Indian women to receive a doctorate from an Indian University
1945: Married Prof. Baradananda Chaterjee
1946–47: Had a daughter, Julie
1947–48: Went to work with Lásló Zechmeister at University of Wisconsin and Caltech. Worked on the chemistry of biologically active alkaloids
Early 1950s: Joined Brabourne College, University of Calcutta
1954: Joined University College of Science of the University of Calcutta as a Reader in pure Chemistry
1960: Elected Fellow of the Indian National Science Academy, New Delhi
1961: Awarded the S.S. Bhatnagar Award by the Government of India in Chemical Sciences. First female recepient
1962–82: Khaira Professor of Chemistry, University of Calcutta
1975: Received Padma Bhushan, 3rd highest civilian award from the Govt. of India
1982–90: Nominated as a member of Rajya Sabha, Upper House of Indian Parliament
2006: Passed away peacefully at the age of 90
Artist’s Note:
In this artwork, I have used several visual elements to narrate Prof. Asima Chatterjee’s scientific world. The laboratory in the artwork itself is a visual reconstruction of the chemistry lab from Calcutta University during 60s-70s. As references (both for lab and instrument) I have taken references from the article ‘Ek Sabuj Rasayanbider Katha (Tale of a green chemist)’ by Prof. Dhruvajyoti Chattopadhyay, FNASC (VC Amity University), published in the prestigious Bengali magazine ‘Desh’ (17 September 2018). The article includes beautiful photographs which are restored in Anandabazar Patrika archive. The photographs helped me to imagine and reconstruct the lab environment.
At the background, I have tried to create an impression of the Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar award medal (the circular medal hanging on the wall. Prof. Asima Chatterjee was the first Indian woman scientist who received the award.
Prof Chatterjee has done seminal work on extracting active medicinal compounds from various types of Rauwolfia (Sarpagandha). Her most important work was to extract Rauwolscine from Rauwolfia canescence. At the lower-left corner of the image, I have included drawings of Rauwolfia. At the lab wall/wooden rack, the hanging paper with the diagrams of two aromatic compounds is narrating the molecular diagrams of Rauwolscine and Yohimbine. Prof. Chatterjee extracted those compounds and sent to Linus Pauling for crystallographic analysis with diagrams, hand-drawn on the letter. On the table, there are trunks and roots of Rauwolfia, kept in a glass Petri dish.
Prof. Asima Chatterjee’s one of the most significant contribution in the Indian medicinal plant biology was to write and edit six volumes of ‘The treatise on Indian Medicinal Plant’. She co-authored her student and former director of Indian Institute of Chemical Biology (IICB) Dr. Satyesh Chandra Pakrashi. At the background of the figure, one can find the books (margin of the books are visible).
Sources
About the author:
DR. ARCHANA NAGARAJAN
Contributing Writer, Sci-Illustrate Stories
Archana Nagarajan pursued her Ph.D. in Evolutionary Genetics from Jawaharlal Nehru Centre For Advanced Scientific Research, Bangalore, India. Archana moved to Europe more than 9 years ago to pursue post-doctoral research. After moving through Europe (France, UK and Norway) for various post-doctoral stints in ageing biology, she now lives in Hamburg, Germany with her family and works as a freelance Scientific and Medical Writer. She enjoys writing on science and on sustainable living. She is often found curled up with her books and reading to her daughter. She loves travelling to UNESCO world heritage sites.
About the artists:
ARGHYA MANNA
Contributing Artist, Sci-Illustrate stories
Arghya Manna is a comics artist and illustrator. He began his biomedical career as a doctoral student at Bose Institute, India working on Tumor Cell migration in a 3D environment, but soon left wet lab research and his doctoral studies to find refuge in art. Finding himself becoming increasingly passionate about visual science communication through comics, he now is an History of Science enthusiast and showcases his work through his blog “Drawing History of Science”.
Arghya, through his artwork, aspires to engage the readers of history and science with the amalgamation of images and texts.
Co-Editor and Layout:
DR. ROOPALI CHAUDHARY
Content Editor Women in Science, Sci-Illustrate Stories
Dr. Chaudhary has an MSc in Genetics (University of Waterloo, Canada) studying Drosophila embryogenesis (fruit fly embryo development), and a PhD in Cellular & Molecular Biology (McMaster University, Canada) studying intestinal inflammation in a novel mouse model. She furthered her career in a 3-year post-doctoral fellowship studying the immune memory in food allergies (McMaster University, Canada). Dr. Chaudhary’s continually strives to make science accessible, be with through her edible science art (custom cakes), teaching or her outreach activities.
Motion by Dr. Radhika Patnala
About the series:
These are stories I wish I knew when I was growing up.
There are the stories of persistence, ingenuity, calibre, scientific achievement against all odds.
These are the stories of Indian women who were the pioneers of Science in India.
These are stories of lives that must be remembered and cherished.
Sci-Illustrate stories is proud to add a new chapter in our WIS series where through the words of the sci-illustrate team, complimented by the artwork of a very talented Indian artist Arghya Manna, we will be revisiting and highlighting the lives of some incredible Indian women in science.
— Dr. Radhika Patnala, Series Director
