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{{short description|Indian chemist}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=September 2018}}
{{Use Indian English|date=September 2018}}
{{Infobox scientist
| name = Darshan Ranganathan
| image = Darshan Ranganathan.jpg
| image_size =
| alt =
| caption =
| birth_date = {{Birth date|df=yes|1941|6|4}}
| birth_place =
| death_date = {{Death date and age|df=yes|2001|6|4|1941|6|4}}
| death_place =
| resting_place =
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| residence =
| citizenship =
| nationality = [[Indian people|Indian]]
| fields = [[Organic chemistry]]
| workplaces = [[Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur|IIT Kanpur]]
| alma_mater = [[Delhi University]]
| thesis_title =
| thesis_url =
| thesis_year = 1967
| doctoral_advisor = T.R. Sheshadri
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| notable_students =
| known_for = [[Adenosine triphosphate|ATP]]-[[imidazole]] cycle, [[urea cycle]], designing [[protein tertiary structure]]
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| influences =
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| awards = Fellow of the [[Indian Academy of Sciences]]; [[TWAS Prize]] in Chemistry, 1999;<ref>{{Cite web |title=Recipients of TWAS Awards/Prizes |work=Third World Academy of Sciences Portal |access-date=2012-10-20 |url=http://twas.ictp.it/prog/prizes/recipients-of-twas-awards-prizes |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121018004720/http://twas.ictp.it/prog/prizes/recipients-of-twas-awards-prizes |archive-date=2012-10-18 }}</ref> [[1851 Research Fellowship|Senior Research Scholarship of the Royal Commission for the Exhibition of 1851]], A.V. Rama Rao Foundation Award, Jawaharlal Nehru Birth Centenary Visiting Fellowship, and Sukh Dev Endowment Lectureship.
| signature = 
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| spouse = [[Subramania Ranganathan]]
| children = Anand Ranganathan
}}

'''Darshan Ranganathan''' (4 June 1941 – 4 June 2001) was an [[organic chemistry|organic chemist]] from [[India]] who was known for her work in bio-organic chemistry, including "pioneering work in [[protein folding]]."<ref name = "streeshakti">{{Cite web
| title = StreeShakti - The Parallel Force
| access-date = 2012-10-20
| url = http://www.streeshakti.com/bookD.aspx?author=1
}}</ref> She was also recognized for her work in "supramolecular assemblies, molecular design, chemical simulation of key biological processes, synthesis of functional hybrid peptides and synthesis of nanotubes."<ref name = "sranganathan">{{Cite book
| pages = 27–30
| last = S Ranganathan
| title = Lilavat's daughters
| chapter = She Was a Star
| access-date = 2012-10-19
| chapter-url = http://www.ias.ac.in/womeninscience/LD_essays/27-30.pdf
}}</ref>

==Early life==
Darshan Ranganathan was born as Darshan Markan on 4 June 1941 to Vidyavati Markan and Shanti Swarup in Delhi. She was educated in Delhi and received a Ph.D. in chemistry from [[Delhi University]] in 1967. First hired as a lecturer, she became head of the Chemistry Department at [[Miranda House|Miranda College]], Delhi, and went on to receive an [[1851 Research Fellowship]] from the [[Royal Commission for the Exhibition of 1851]],<ref>1851 Royal Commission Archives {{fcn|date=September 2018}}</ref> to enable her to conduct postdoctoral work at Imperial College London with Professor D.H.R. Barton.<ref name="tribute"/>

==Career==
In 1970, she began research at the [[Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur|Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur]] (IIT Kanpur). In that year, she married [[Subramania Ranganathan]], with whom she would go on to author ''Challenging problems in organic reaction mechanisms'' (1972), ''Art in biosynthesis: the synthetic chemist's challenge'' (1976), and ''Further challenging problems in organic reaction mechanisms'' (1980)—as well as editing an ongoing series titled "Current Organic Chemistry Highlights".<ref name="tribute">{{cite journal|last=Balasubramanian|first=D.|title=Darshan Ranganathan – A tribute|journal=Current Science|date=25 July 2001|volume=81|issue=2|pages=217–219|url=http://www.iisc.ernet.in/currsci/jul252001/217.pdf|access-date=26 October 2012|archive-date=21 August 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190821163217/http://www.iisc.ernet.in/currsci/jul252001/217.pdf|url-status=dead}}</ref>

She continued her research at IIT Kanpur on the basis of fellowships. Unwritten rules prevented her from joining the faculty because her husband was already a member.<ref name=sranganathan /><ref name=tribute /><ref>{{Cite news
| author = Venkatraman, Vijaysree
| title = Book Review : Forgotten daughters
| access-date = 2012-10-20
| url = http://www.hindu.com/lr/2009/04/05/stories/2009040550160400.htm
| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20090415004036/http://www.hindu.com/lr/2009/04/05/stories/2009040550160400.htm
| url-status = dead
| work = [[The Hindu]]
| date = 2009-04-05
| archive-date = 2009-04-15
}}</ref>

She began work at [[National Institute for Interdisciplinary Science and Technology|Regional Research Laboratory, Trivandrum]] in 1993, and at [[Indian Institute of Chemical Technology|IICT]], Hyderabad in 1998.,<ref name = "sranganathan"/> where she became Deputy Director.<ref name = "streeshakti"/> During these years, she conducted ongoing collaborations with [[Isabella Karle]] at the [[United States Naval Research Laboratory|U.S. Naval Research Laboratory]].<ref name=tribute />

Darshan Ranganathan was diagnosed with [[breast cancer]] in 1997, and died on her 60th birthday, in 2001.<ref name="tribute"/>

The biennial "Professor Darshan Ranganathan Memorial Lecture", which is to be "delivered by a woman scientist who has made outstanding contributions in any field of Science and Technology" was established in her memory by her husband, in 2001.<ref>{{Cite web
|title=Academy Awards - Subjectwise Medals / Lectures / Awards
|work=Indian National Science Academy
|access-date=2012-10-20
|url=http://www.insaindia.org/aa3.htm
|archive-url=https://archive.today/20130415041129/http://www.insaindia.org/aa3.htm
|url-status=dead
|archive-date=2013-04-15
}}</ref>

==Notable accomplishments==
She was a Fellow of the National Academy of Sciences. She also won the A.V. Rama Rao Foundation Award, the Jawaharlal Nehru Birth Centenary Visiting Fellowship, Third World Academy of Sciences Award in Chemistry in 1999 for her work in bio-organic chemistry, and the Sukh Dev Endowment Lectureship.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://streeshakti.com/bookD.aspx?author=1|title=StreeShakti - The Parallel Force|website=streeshakti.com|access-date=2018-03-27}}</ref>

At the time of her passing away, she was the most prolific organic chemist in India, having, in the last five years, a dozen publications in The Journal of the American Chemical Society, six in the Journal of Organic Chemistry and dozens in others. Her monumental con- tribution to the Accounts of Chemical Research was published, as well as many other papers, posthumously. She was elected Fellow of the Indian Academy of Sciences, Indian National Science Academy and the recipient of many honors the last of which was The Third World Academy of Sciences Award in chemistry for her outstanding contributions to bio-organic chemistry, particularly supramolecular assemblies, molecular design, chemical simulation of key biological processes, synthesis of functional hybrid peptides and synthesis of nanotubes, in 1999.

==Work==
Ranganathan's special passion was reproducing natural biochemical processes in the laboratory. She created a protocol which achieved the autonomous reproduction of [[imidazole]], an ingredient of [[histadine]] and [[histamine]] with pharmaceutical importance.<ref>{{cite journal|last=Ranganathan|first=Darshan|author2=Rathi, Ramesh|title=Imidazole synthesis on a solid support|journal=Tetrahedron Letters|year=1986|volume=27|issue=22|pages=2491–2492|doi=10.1016/S0040-4039(00)84565-7}}</ref> She also developed a working simulation of the [[urea cycle]]. As her career developed, she became a specialist in designing proteins to hold a wide variety of different [[Protein structure|conformations]] and designing nanostructures using [[self-assembling peptide]]s.<ref name=tribute /><ref>{{cite journal|last=Ranganathan|first=Darshan|title=Design and synthesis of self-assembling peptides|journal=Pure and Applied Chemistry|year=1996|volume=68|issue=3|pages=671–674|url=http://iupac.org/publications/pac/68/3/0671/pdf/|format=PDF|doi=10.1351/pac199668030671|s2cid=93341469 |doi-access=free}}</ref>

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

== External links ==
* [http://academic.research.microsoft.com/Author/27286725/darshan-ranganathan Publications by Darshan Ranganathan] {{Webarchive|url=https://archive.is/20130104011848/http://academic.research.microsoft.com/Author/27286725/darshan-ranganathan |date=4 January 2013 }}, Microsoft Academic Search

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ranganathan, Darshan}}
[[Category:1941 births]]
[[Category:2001 deaths]]
[[Category:Indian biochemists]]
[[Category:Indian organic chemists]]
[[Category:Delhi University alumni]]
[[Category:20th-century Indian chemists]]
[[Category:Place of birth missing]]
[[Category:20th-century Indian women scientists]]
[[Category:Indian women biochemists]]
[[Category:20th-century Indian biologists]]
[[Category:Women scientists from Delhi]]
[[Category:TWAS laureates]]

Darshan Ranganathan - Revision history

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