Noted physicist Rohini Godbole, a staunch advocate for women in science, dies at 71

A much-loved teacher, Godbole, who would have turned 72 on November 12, participated in several panel discussions that focused on opening up the Indian science arena to women and suggested ways to support women, especially those on a career break.

“Pained by the passing away of Rohini Godbole Ji. She was a pioneering scientist and innovator, who also was a strong votary of more women in the world of science. Her academic efforts will continue to guide the coming generations. Condolences to her family and admirers,” Prime Minister Narendra Modi said in a message posted on X.

Godbole often criticised how academic institutional hirings and promotions favoured male candidates, failing to note the qualifications and skills possessed by women scientists. She was also vocal about the alleged disparity in the selection of awards and recognitions, many of which as she would point out were handed to men.

“She was speaking about these issues till the very end,” Dr Ritesh K Singh, an associate professor at IISER, Kolkata, recalled.

“At the convocation of IISER Kolkata earlier this year, Dr Godbole was the chief guest. She spoke about ‘hidden biases’, not just regarding women but also disadvantaged groups. She told the audience ‘I don’t want to blame you and say you are the villain. But we need to address these issues together’,” Singh, who happens to be one of Godbole’s PhD students, said.

“She treated everyone with respect. She believed that the phrase ‘work with’ symbolised a relationship to be cherished. So, she always introduced me by saying, ‘He works with me’ or ‘I work with him’, never as ‘I worked under Rohini Godbole’,” he recalled.

Godbole was among the members who submitted ‘INSA Report: Access of Indian Women to Careers in Science’, a first-of-its-kind document that dealt with issues that Indian women faced while pursuing science in college and as a career.

“The overt problems of women in science started becoming a prominent topic in our discussions around the late nineties, when I became the chairperson of Women’s Cell in Tata Institute of Fundamental Research (TIFR,) and that is when we started discussing and working together on such topics. However, while my interest in gender in science was more as a sideline, Rohini was aggressively ploughing into policies, data and methodologies that pertained to women in science,” said Prof Shobhona Sharma, Chairperson, Inter-Academy Panel of Women in STEM.

“In the late seventies, my husband Dinesh (then a young faculty in Physics) and I were in the Molecular Biology Unit at TIFR. Rohini had joined TIFR as a postdoctoral fellow and would often visit our studio apartment and we discussed every possible topic, as is very common for young academics residing at the institute. One of the questions which perturbed her a lot was regarding the large number of women who dropped out of science, often despite investing several years to obtain a PhD from a reputable institute. A project on this ‘leaky pipe’ was taken up by the Indian Academy of Sciences and was published in 2010. Simultaneously Rohini and Ram Ramaswamy came up with the idea of a book on women scientists in India and ‘Lilavati’s Daughters’ was born (published in 2008),” Prof Sharma said.

Godbole had served as a member of the coordination and steering committee for CERN-India since 2015 and was also a member of the Scientific Advisory Committee of the Union Cabinet in the 2007-2013 period.

She was a recipient of numerous prestigious awards, including the Padma Shri, France’s Ordre national du Mérite, and the Lifetime Achievement award by the Karnataka science and technology department.

Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge described Godbole as a “staunch advocate for equal opportunities for women in science” and “a highly respected teacher”.

“… She made remarkable contributions as a physicist,” Kharge said.

The scientific community mourned the passing of Godbole. Vineeta Bal, emeritus professor at IISER, Pune, said Godbole was very concerned with the sidelining of women scientists, not only in physics, but in all fields of science all over the world.

“We worked together on a few committees and her drive for the cause was commendable,” Dr Bal said.

Prof Shubha Tole, president-elect of the International Brain Research Organisation, remembered her as a leader who did not hold back her opinion. “She was passionate and drove change,” Tole said.