Kumari L.A. Meera (1961-1985)

Kumari L.A. Meera, the youngest daughter of Mr. and Mrs. L.K. Ananthakrishnan, was born on June 1st, 1961, in New Delhi. Her academic career was uniformly brilliant, with a distinction at the higher secondary level, and a University rank in the B.Sc. (Honours) examination in Physics, from St. Stephens College, Delhi. After again obtaining a rank in her M.Sc., which was at the Indian Institute of Technology in Madras, she took up a Masters programme in Computer Science at the same institute with a view to preparing herself for the emerging applications of this area to physics.

She was strongly oriented towards research, having attended summer schools at the Indian Institute of Science, and the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research. Her teachers and colleagues recognized her promise and motivation and confidently expected an outstanding career in research. Her personality was warm and friendly, with a strong streak of hard work, determination, and helping others. These characteristics endeared her to those who knew her.

She joined the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia in September 1985 for graduate studies in physics. But in November of the same year, her bright career was tragically cut short by her untimely death.