23. Tessie Thomas - The Missile Lady (1963-)

 


 

Dr. Tessy Thomas was a disciple of our Honourable President Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam Missileman as he was known and a woman who made a unique contribution to the field of missile manufacturing in India. She is also known as India's first Missile Woman. She became the leader of the project team that developed the Agni-IV missile at the Défense Research and Development Organization and later became the Director of General Aeronautical Systems.

Youth

Tessie Thomas was born in April 1963 in Alappuzha, Kerala. Born into a Syrian Christian family, her parents named her Tessi, a shortened version of Mother Teresa's name. There are two opinions that his father was an Air Force officer and or  a small businessman (Wikipedia). When Tessie was 13, her father suffered a stroke and became bedridden. Her mother, who was a teacher, quit her job and became a full-time housewife. The mother tried her best to provide good education to everyone in the family of four sisters and one brother. Two of Tessie's siblings were engineers and one was an MBA. Growing up watching the backwaters, motor boats and country boats of Kuttanad, she had an interest in rockets taking off from Thumba Rocket Launching Station and airplanes flying in the sky as a child. She gratefully remembers her own mother's contribution to her success in life. It is true that she  struggled to take care of a bedridden husband raise the children. Her mother's strength and determination helped her in her profession.

Education

Her schooling was at St.Michael's Higher Secondary School and St.Joseph's Girls' Higher Secondary School, Alappuzha. She completed her 11th and 12th class with almost 100% marks in mathematics and science subjects and got admission in Government  Engineering College, Thrissur  by taking an educational loan of Rs 100 per month from the State Bank of India. She was  ranked within the top ten among those admitted and won another scholarship to pay her tuition fees. She was not just a bookworm in college and showed her talent in extracurriculars and sports. She was an excellent badminton player. She participated in many competitions outside the college and enhanced the reputation of her institution. After her B.Tech studies, she also completed her M.Tech degree in Guided Missile from Armament Technology Institute, Poona. MBA in Operations Management and PhD in Guided Missile from DRDO.

Professional life

Tessie Thomas joined DRDO in 1988. She first worked on the design of new generation ballistic missiles. Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam, then Chief of DRDO,  appointed Tessy as the head of the project to develop the Agni missile. She also became the Associate Director of the Agni-III long-range  (3000KM) missile project and the Project Director of the Agni-IV project, which was successfully test-fired in 2011. Then in 2009, 5000 km. Rangella Agni – V project also became the director. This missile was also successfully test-fired on 19 April 2012. In 2018, she was appointed Director of Aeronautical Systems under DRDO.

Dr. Tessy Thomas is a Fellow of Indian National Academy of Engineering (INAE), Institution of Engineers (IEI) and Tata Administrative Service (TAS).

Dr. Tessy's husband is Saroj Kumar, a commander in the Indian Navy. They have a son named Tejas.

Awards

 She was awarded the Lal Bahadur Shastri National Award for her efforts to make India self-sufficient in missile technology.

In 2018, she was awarded the Dr. Thomas Kankan Leadership Award from Institute of Rural Management, Jaipur in Management Studies (FMS – IRM).

Publications

Thomas, Tessy (1 July 2005). "Guidance Scheme for Solid Propelled Vehicle During Atmospheric Phase". Défense Science Journal. 55 (3): 253–264. doi:10.14429/dsj.55.1987.

Sudhakar, R.; Venkanna, M.; Rao, B. V. Papa; Thomas, Tessy (2017). "Prediction of Real Gas and Non-Equilibrium Effects in the Gas Dynamics of Canister Launch Missile". 30th International Symposium on Ballistics. 0. doi:10.12783/ballistics2017/16878. ISBN 978-1-60595-419-6

"Online Trajectory Reshaping for a Launch Vehicle to Minimize the Final Error Caused by Navigation and Guidance - ProQuest". search.proquest.com. Retrieved 21 January 2018.

Ghogale, Shrikant; Venkanna, M.; Rao, B. V. Papa; Thomas, Tessy (2017). "Developmental Challenges during Realization of High Progressivity Rocket Motor". 30th International Symposium on Ballistics. 0. doi:10.12783/ballistics2017/16860. ISBN 978-1-60595-419-6.

 

Youtube  Video on Tessy Thomas: https://youtu.be/g_CmB2uZx5w

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