Dr.Aditi Pant is an Oceanographer who was part of the 1983 expedition to Antarctica, becoming the first Indian woman to visit the region. A graduate from the University of Pune, she grew an inclination towards oceanography as a profession when she happened to come across the book, ‘The Open Sea’, by Alister Hardy. Aided by a scholarschip from the US Government, Aditi did an MS in marine sciences in the University of Hawaii. Later on, she went on to pursue a PhD in Westfield college, London University.

Aditi returned to India, after her studies, to join the National Institute of Oceanography in Goa. During the years of 1973-76, she toured the west coastal regions of India, immersing herself in Coastal studies. Eventually, she accompanied a group of scientists to Antarctica on the third Indian expedition with regards to oceanography and geology. The expedition was part of a government program that intended on analyzing Antarctica as a viable location to set up a base camp.

Dr Aditi exclaimed that Antarctica was a dream come true for scientists, stating further that an ice core sample of three metre depth could date back to a million years. However, surviving and carrying forth the expedition is not a trivial task. The entire team had to survive on bland food, harsh weather conditions, and meager water supply.

Perhaps, the most admirable quality in Dr Pant is that she denies having dealt with any gender discrimination at work and states further that she will take a vehement stand on not allowing such behavior, if she was to ever face such a situation. She re-visited Antarctica, on the fifth Indian expedition. Having engraved her name in History, Dr Aditi Pant was honored with the Antarctica award by the Government of India, along with Jaya Naithani and Kanwal Vilku, for her contributions to the Antarctica program.

Blog By Sunandini Raj