Sulochana Gadgil
Sulochana Gadgil | |
|---|---|
 The Chief Minister of Delhi, Smt. Sheila Dikshit giving away the National Award for lifetime contribution in the field of Atmospheric Science & Technology to Prof. Sulochana Gadgil, at the Foundation Day Function of the Ministry of Earth Sciences, in New Delhi on July 27, 2008. | |
| Born | 7 June 1944 Poona, Bombay Province, British India |
| Died | 24 July 2025 (aged 81) Banglore, India |
| Alma mater | Pune University |
| Spouse | Madhav Gadgil |
| Scientific career | |
| Fields | Oceanography, meteorology |
Sulochana Gadgil (7 June 1944 – 24 July 2025) was an Indian meteorologist and climate scientist known for her pioneering work on the monsoon.[1] She served as a professor at the Centre for Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences (CAOS) at the Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore. Gadgil made fundamental contributions to the understanding of monsoon dynamics, especially the sub-seasonal variation of monsoon cloud bands. She also worked on the development of farming strategies that respond to regional rainfall variability and helped model ecological and evolutionary phenomena.
Her research demonstrated that the monsoon is not merely a large-scale land-sea breeze but rather a manifestation of the seasonal migration of a planetary-scale system, which also appears in non-monsoonal regions.[2] She collaborated closely with Indian farmers to tailor cropping strategies based on specific rainfall patterns in different regions.[3]
Early life and education
[edit]Sulochana Gadgil was born on 7 June 1944 in Poona (now Pune), Bombay Province, British India. She came from a distinguished lineage — her great-grandfather was a Minister in the princely state of Tonk, known for his relief efforts during droughts. Her grandfather and father were reputed physicians, and her grandfather was also a freedom fighter who hosted revolutionaries during the independence movement. Her mother was a Marathi-language writer.[4]
She received her early education in Marathi in Pune before attending Rishi Valley School in Andhra Pradesh for high school, where she studied in English. She completed her undergraduate studies at Fergusson College, Pune, majoring in Chemistry, Physics, and Mathematics. During this time, she became engaged to Madhav Gadgil, and the couple later pursued graduate studies at Harvard University, both receiving scholarships.[4]
Career and return to India
[edit]In 1971, Gadgil returned to India with her husband. She began her research career as a CSIR pool officer at the Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology in Pune, working with noted scientists such as R. Ananthakrishnan and D.R. Sikka. Later, she joined the Centre for Theoretical Studies (CTS) in Bangalore, where both she and Madhav Gadgil were recruited. Their work contributed to the foundation of the Centre for Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences (CAOS) at the Indian Institute of Science.[5]
Her contributions to atmospheric science have had a lasting impact on India's monsoon research, agricultural planning, and climate modeling efforts.
Personal life and death
[edit]Gadgil was married to ecologist Madhav Gadgil, and they had a daughter and a son. The couple were widely regarded as one of India’s most prominent scientific duos.
Gadgil died in Banglore on 24 July 2025, at the age of 81.[6][7][8]
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ "Indian Fellow: Sulochana Gadgil". Indian National Science Academy. Archived from the original on 16 March 2014. Retrieved 25 November 2012.
- ^ "Sikka, D., and S. Gadgil, 1980: On the maximum cloud zone and the ITCZ over Indian longitudes during the Southwest Monsoon." Monthly Weather Review, vol.108, 1840–1853". Monthly Weather Review. 108: 1840–1853. 1980. doi:10.1175/1520-0493(1980)108<1840:OTMCZA>2.0.CO;2. ISSN 1520-0493.
- ^ "Sulochana Gadgil: Research Interests". IISc. Retrieved 25 November 2012.
- ^ a b "Interview with Sulochana Gadgil". World Meteorological Organization. Retrieved 9 September 2013.
- ^ Gadgil, Sulochana. "My tryst with the Monsoon" (PDF). Indian Academy of Sciences. Retrieved 25 November 2012.
- ^ Pioneering monsoon scientist Sulochana Gadgil passes away at 81 Hindustan Times
- ^ "പ്രൊഫസർ മാധവ് ഗാഡ്ഗിലിന്റെ ഭാര്യ ഡോ. സുലോചന ഗാഡ്ഗിൽ അന്തരിച്ചു". Asianet News Malayalam (in Malayalam). Retrieved 25 July 2025.
- ^ "Prof Sulochana Gadgil, who knew the 'how' and 'why' of Indian monsoons, passes away at 81". The Indian Express. 25 July 2025. Retrieved 25 July 2025.
External links
[edit]| International | |
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| National | |
| Academics | |
| Other | |
- 1944 births
- 2025 deaths
- Indian oceanographers
- Women meteorologists
- Indian meteorologists
- Women oceanographers
- Indian climatologists
- Harvard University alumni
- Savitribai Phule Pune University alumni
- Scientists from Bengaluru
- Scientists from Maharashtra
- 20th-century Indian women scientists
- 21st-century Indian earth scientists
- Women scientists from Maharashtra
- 20th-century Indian earth scientists
- Indian women earth scientists
- 21st-century Indian women scientists
- Women climatologists