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{{Short description|Indian oceanographer}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=January 2020}}
{{Use Indian English|date=September 2018}}
{{Infobox scientist
| name = Aditi Pant
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| birth_place = Nagpur
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| nationality = [[India]]n
| fields = [[Oceanography]]
| workplaces = [[National Institute of Oceanography, India]]
University of Pune Botany Department
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| alma_mater = BSc [[University of Pune]] MSc [[University of Hawaii]] PhD [[Westfield College]] [[National Chemical Laboratory]]
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| known_for = Oceanography
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| awards = SERC Award Antarctica Award
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'''Aditi Pant''' is an Indian [[oceanography|oceanographer]]. She was the first Indian woman to visit Antarctica, alongside geologist [[Sudipta Sengupta]] in 1983 as part of the [[Indian Antarctic Program]].<ref name="sharma">{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=emCd_27imFoC&q=aditi+pant+scientist|title=Breaking the ice in Antarctica: The first Indian wintering in Antarctica|last1=Sharma|first1=Sathya|date=January 2001|publisher=New Age International|isbn=9788122412901|pages=38|accessdate=11 October 2014}}</ref><ref name="lilavati">{{cite web|title=Lilavati's Daughters|url=http://www.ias.ac.in/womeninscience/LD_essays/219-222.pdf|website=www.ias.ac.in|publisher=Indian Academy of Sciences|accessdate=11 October 2014}}</ref><ref name="ias" /><ref name=":1">{{Cite web|url=http://gyanpro.com/blog/aditi-pant-the-first-indian-women-to-reach-antartica-region/|title=ADITI PANT: The First Indian Women to Reach Antartica Region {{!}} GyanPro Science Blog|website=gyanpro.com|access-date=2019-12-08|archive-date=8 September 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190908062745/http://gyanpro.com/blog/aditi-pant-the-first-indian-women-to-reach-antartica-region/|url-status=dead}}</ref> She has held prominent positions at institutions including the [[National Institute of Oceanography, India|National Institute of Oceanography]], [[National Chemical Laboratory]], [[Savitribai Phule Pune University|University of Pune]], and [[Maharashtra Academy of Sciences]].

==Early life and education==
Aditi Pant was born in a [[Marathi language|Marathi]]-speaking [[Deshastha Brahmin]] family<ref>{{cite book|title=Brahmin Women|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=iyraAAAAMAAJ|author1=G. K. Ghosh|author2=Shukla Ghosh|publisher=Firma KLM|year=2003|page=48|isbn = 9788171021079}}</ref> in Nagpur, India.<ref name=":1" /> She began taking an interest in science at a young age.<ref name=":3" /> Her curiosity grew from her exposure to the natural world by her parents, in the form of dinnertime conversation and outdoor activities.<ref name=":3" /> At the time Pant was growing up, it was uncommon for women to obtain advanced degrees. This, along with the poor status of her family, led Pant to believe that a higher education was impossible.<ref name=":4" />

Pant completed her [[Bachelor of Science|BSc]] at [[University of Pune]] (also known as the University of Poona).<ref name=":3">{{Cite web|url=https://www.ias.ac.in/public/Resources/Initiatives/Women_in_Science/Contributors/aditipant.pdf|title=An Oceanographer's Life|last=Pant|first=Aditi|website=ias|url-status=live|archive-url=|archive-date=|access-date=}}</ref><ref name=":5" /> She was inspired to take up oceanography as a profession when she came across the book ''The Open Sea'' by [[Alister Hardy]] from a family friend.<ref name=":3" /> She was happily surprised to be awarded a US government scholarship to take up a [[Master of Science|Master's]] in Marine Sciences in the [[University of Hawaii]].[[Aditi Pant#cite note-interview-3|[3]]] Her academic interest lay in photosynthesis in plankton communities. She wrote her thesis on the effect of tropical light intensities on photosynthesis by natural plankton communities and the nature and amount of reduced carbon flow from phytoplankton to bacteria.<ref name=":3" /> Studying this target organism in the open sea proved to be very problematic and strenuous, and with help from her mentor Dr. M S Doty, Pant decided to focus on a single bacterium model before moving to a larger community.<ref name=":4" />

Pant then went on to pursue a [[Doctor of Philosophy|PhD]] in Physiology in Marine Algae at [[Westfield College]] London University. Her [[thesis]] dealt with the subject matter of the physiology of [[Seaweed|marine algae]]. She went on to earn a SERC award and a stipend for her investigations.<ref name=":3" />

==Career==
Due to financial constraints, her advanced education abroad was not easy to obtain, so it was a joyous event when she got a US Government grant to the University of Hawaii. Her proposition depended on photosynthesis in tiny fish networks as she was first presented to this marine structure in the book "The Open Sea". As she approached the finish of her work for the PhD, she had her sights on two or three labs where she would have wanted to work, however meanwhile she met Professor N K Panikkar, a senior researcher with CSIR, who was the author Director of the National Institute of Oceanography, (NIO) Goa. At NIO between 1973-76 they were bound by the exigencies of our circumstance to beach front investigations and probably secured the entire of the west bank of India from Veraval to Kanyakumari and the Gulf of Mannar. The NIO had a 10-year program in the Antarctic Ocean for studies on topics such as ; The natural way of life, material science, and various other sciences. By 1990, she had moved out of NIO, following 17 years there, to the National Chemical Laboratory in Pune and went through the following 15 years examining enzymology of salt-tolerant and salt-loving organisms engaged in the food chain. After completing her studies, Pant decided not to pursue a [[Academic tenure|tenure]] or [[Postdoctoral researcher|postdoctoral research]] position. Instead, she returned to India to join the [[National Institute of Oceanography, India|National Institute of Oceanography]] (NIO) in [[Goa]], after being inspired by the founder of the institute, [[N. Kesava Panikkar|N. K. Panikkar]].<ref name=":3" />

In 1990, after 17 years of working with the NIO, Pant moved to [[Pune]] to work at the [[National Chemical Laboratory]]. Here, she studied the enzymology of salt-tolerant and salt-loving microbes involved in the food chain.<ref name=":3" />

She was also Professor Emeritus for the University of Pune Botany Department 2003 to 2007.<ref name=":5" />

== Antarctic Expedition ==
Between December 1983 and March 1984, Pant embarked on an expedition to one of the most untouched regions on earth, Antarctica. This was the third in a series of expeditions spearheaded by then Prime Minister [[Indira Gandhi]]. India's signing of the [[Antarctic Treaty System|Antarctic Treaty]] in 1981 began the [[Indian Antarctic Program]] (under the [[National Centre for Antarctic and Ocean Research|National Centre for Polar and Ocean Research]]).<ref name=":4">{{Cite web|url=https://theinterviewportal.com/2017/05/06/the-antartic-oceanographer/|title=The Antarctic Oceanographer Interview|date=6 May 2017|website=Offbeat, unusual, unconventional & interesting career interviews|language=en|access-date=2019-02-16}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.thebetterindia.com/192027/antarctica-india-lab-women-science-research-work-photos/|title=Exclusive: From Physicists to Geologists, Meet 6 Amazing Antarctic Women of India|date=20 August 2019|website=The Better India|language=en-US|access-date=2019-12-17}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.nti.org/learn/treaties-and-regimes/antarctic-treaty/|title=Antarctic Treaty {{!}} Treaties & Regimes {{!}} NTI|website=www.nti.org|access-date=2019-12-17}}</ref> Along with structural geologist [[Sudipta Sengupta]], Aditi Pant was the first Indian woman to set foot on Antarctica.<ref name=":1" /><ref name=":6" /> Pant's expedition was aimed at gathering information related to food chain physics, chemistry, and biology in the Antarctic Ocean.<ref name=":3" /> Under the severe and harsh climate conditions Dr. Aditi Pant studied the mainland for four months and turned out with brilliant disclosures.<ref name=":1" /> During the course of the mission, the team built [[Dakshin Gangotri]], the first Indian scientific research base station of Antarctica (located 2,500 km from the South Pole).<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.thebetterindia.com/58743/india-antarctic-mission-dakshin-gangotri-maitri-bharti/|title=Breaking the Ice: The Story of How India's Antarctic Mission Turned Ambition into Action|date=18 June 2016|website=The Better India|language=en-US|access-date=2019-02-16}}</ref> Pant also participated in the fifth expedition to the Antarctic in 1984, carrying out research in oceanography and geology.<ref name=":6">{{Cite web|url=http://scienceindia.in/home/view_blog/28|title=The first Indian Women who visited Antarctica|website=scienceindia.in|access-date=2019-02-16|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190215181853/http://scienceindia.in/home/view_blog/28|archive-date=15 February 2019|url-status=dead}}</ref>

==Patents and awards==
Pant is the owner of five patents and has over 67 publications in international journals.<ref name=":5">{{Cite web|url=http://www.kirloskarkpcl.com/Pdf/director_profile/Aditi_Pant.pdf|title=Dr. Aditi Pant (Director)|website=|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161215185553/http://www.kirloskarkpcl.com/Pdf/director_profile/Aditi_Pant.pdf|archive-date=15 December 2016|access-date=|url-status=dead}}</ref> She was honored with the Antarctica Award by the Government of India for her contributions to the Indian Antarctic programme. She shared the honor with colleagues [[Sudipta Sengupta]], Jaya Naithani, and Kanwal Vilku.<ref name="ias">{{cite web|last1=Chaturvedi|first1=Arun|title=Indian women in Antarctic expeditions : A historical perspective|url=http://www.ias.ac.in/womeninscience/Antartic.pdf|website=www.ias.ac.in|publisher=Indian Academy of Sciences|accessdate=11 October 2014}}</ref><ref name=":1" /><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://ncsm.gov.in/indian-women-in-science-technology/|title=Indian Women in Science & Technology|language=en-US|access-date=2019-12-17}}</ref> She was a recipient of the SERC award and stipends for her investigations in her field of research.<ref name=":3" />

She is a member of the Maharashtra Society for the Cultivation of Science, General Body of Maharashtra Association for the Cultivation of Science, Biofuel Committee, Department of Biotechnology, CGO Complex, New Delhi. She is also a fellow member of Maharashtra Academy of Science.<ref name=":5" />

==See also==
*[https://www.thebetterindia.com/58743/india-antarctic-mission-dakshin-gangotri-maitri-bharti/ India's Antarctica Expedition]
*[https://www.ias.ac.in/public/Resources/Initiatives/Women_in_Science/Contributors/aditipant.pdf An Oceanographer's Life, by Aditi Pant]
*[[Timeline of women in science]]

==References==
{{reflist}}

== External links ==
* [https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Aditi_Pant Aditi Pant] on [[ResearchGate]]

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Pant, Aditi}}
[[Category:20th-century Indian women scientists]]
[[Category:21st-century Indian earth scientists]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:Savitribai Phule Pune University alumni]]
[[Category:Alumni of Westfield College]]
[[Category:University of Hawaiʻi alumni]]
[[Category:Indian oceanographers]]
[[Category:Women oceanographers]]
[[Category:Indian women earth scientists]]
[[Category:Antarctic scientists]]
[[Category:Women Antarctic scientists]]
[[Category:Scientists from Goa]]
[[Category:Women scientists from Goa]]
[[Category:20th-century Indian earth scientists]]
[[Category:21st-century Indian women scientists]]
[[Category:Year of birth missing (living people)]]

Aditi Pant - Revision history

imported>InternetArchiveBot at 11:28, 30 August 2021