It is all about woman power! A whole team of scientists from DRDO have worked in the design and development of Agni-V, but the mention of one woman scientist by acclaimed scientists and top notch authorities of missile programmes of India is a matter of great pride. The woman scientist is Dr Tessy Thomas, the programme director for Agni-V at DRDO, who has played a crucial role in developing the technology for Inter-Continental Ballistic Missiles to India and helped in making the launch of Agni-V a grand success.
Dr Tessy is a much acclaimed name in the missile technology research circles for development of the Re-entry Vehicle, made of carbon-carbon composite material that is light and able to sustain high thermal stresses of re-entry, in a variety of trajectories. Dr Tessy Thomas joined DRDO more than 20 years back, soon after she graduated from Thrissur Engineering College in Kerala. She was also the part of the team which was overseeing the test launch of Agni III missile in 2006.