Bibha Chowdhuri (3 July[5] 1913 – 2 June 1991[6]) was an Indian
particle physicist known for her investigations into cosmic rays. Working with D M Bose, she utilized photographic
nuclear emulsion to become the first to detect and identify
mesons. The
IAU named the star
HD 86081 Bibha, after her.[7]
Early life
Chowdhuri was born in
Kolkata[8] to a family of
Zamindars.[9] Her father, Banku Behari Chowdhuri, was a doctor.[9] Her mother, Urmila Devi, practiced
Brahmo Samaj, which held the belief that young women should be allowed to go to school.[9][10] By marrying Urmila, Banku was converted to Brahmo and outcast from
Hindu circles.[9] Many of the Chowdhuri children (apart from the second daughter who died early on[9]) went on to become highly educated.[10] Chowdhuri was the middle child of her five siblings, with one brother.[10] Her aunt, Nirmala Devi, was married to Sir
Nilratan Sircar.[9] Her sister, Roma Chowdhuri, went on to become a teacher at
Brahmo Balika Shikshalaya.
Education
Bibha studied physics at
Rajabazar Science College of
Calcutta University and was the only woman to complete M.Sc. degree in the year 1936. She joined the
Bose Institute after graduating in 1939 and worked with
Debendra Mohan Bose.[8] Together, they experimentally observed and published on mesotron showers, later called
mesons.[9][11] She studied batches of Ilford half-tone plates that were exposed to cosmic rays at two different altitudes, one in
Darjeeling and a higher one at
Sandakphu.[9][12] The particles had decreased mass at lower altitudes, suggesting that they had decayed over time.[9] She noticed that the decays were curved, likely due to multiple scattering of particles.[9] They could not take the investigation further because there were not more sensitive emulsion plates available.[13] Chowdhuri joined the laboratory of
Patrick Blackett for her doctoral studies, working on cosmic rays at the
University of Manchester.[8] Her
PhD thesis investigated
extensive air showers.[14] Her examiner was
Lajos Jánossy.[15] It is unclear how much her work contributed to Blackett's
Nobel Prize.
Career and research
Chowdhuri demonstrated that the density of penetrating events is proportional to the total particle density of an
extensive air shower.[9] She was interviewed by The Manchester Herald in an article called "Meet India's New Woman Scientist — She has an eye for cosmic rays", saying that "it is a tragedy that we have so few women physicists today."[8]
Chowdhuri at the International Conference in Pisa, Italy in 1955
Her life was described in the books A Jewel Unearthed: Bibha Chowdhuri.[18] and Bibha Chowdhuri, eine indische Hochenergiephysikerin als "Star" am Himmel.[19][20] She was described by The Statesman as a forgotten legend.[21] She continued to publish until she died in 1991.
^Proceedings of the Board of Regents. The University. 1954. [ISBN missing]
^Singh, Rajinder; Roy, Suprakash C. (30 August 2018). A Jewel Unearthed: Bibha Chowdhuri: The Story of an Indian Woman Scientist (1 ed.). Shaker.
ISBN9783844061260.
^Singh, Rajinder; Roy, Suprakash C. (2020). Bibha Chowdhuri, eine indische Hochenergiephysikerin als "Star" am Himmel (in German) (1 ed.). Shaker.
ISBN9783844072969.
^Bhattacharya, Amitabha (23 September 2018).
"A forgotten legend". thestatesman.com. The Statesman. Retrieved 28 November 2018.