Indian particle physicist conferred with French Order of Merit

Image Courtesy: Twitter (@iiscbangalore)

Indian particle physicist Rohini Godbole has been conferred with the Ordre National du Merite by the French Government. This is one of the highest honours given by France to the most eminent personalities in the field of STEM. It is to be noted that she has already been awarded the Padma Shri by the Indian Government.

Dr Rohini is a professor at the Centre for High Energy Physics in the Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Bangalore. She has been recognised by the French Government for promoting the visibility of women in science and contributing to collaborations between France and India. She completed her bachelors in the University of Pune and her masters from IIT Bombay. She went on to get her PhD from the Stony Brook University, New York, USA.

“We need more women role models in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) to normalise the concept that one’s career or opportunities do not have anything to do with gender. This message is not just to young women but young men as well. We need to build a world where the society shouldn’t intuitively think that a scientist is a man,” said Godbole, in a telephone conversation from her residence in Bengaluru to The Hindustan Times.

The Ordre national du Mérite is a French order of merit with membership awarded by the President of the French Republic, founded on 3 December 1963 by President Charles de Gaulle.