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Senior scientist Nallathamby Kalaiselvi has been appointed as the first woman Director General of the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), a consortium of 38 research institutes across the country.

She is known for her work on the subject of lithium ion batteries, and sheA is the current director of the CSIR-Central Electrochemical Research Institute (CSIR-CECRI) at Karaikudi, Tamil Nadu.

Her appointment is for a period of two years with the day from the date of assumption of charge or till further orders, whichever is earlier, a personnel ministry order stated on Saturday.

Kalaiselvi broke the glass ceiling by a becoming scientist to head the Central Electrochemical Research Institute (CSIR-CECRI) in February 2019.

She began her profession as an entry-level scientist in the similar institute.

Hailing from Ambasamudhram, a small city in Tirunelveli district of Tamil Nadu, Kalaiselvi went to a Tamil medium school.