Who is Nigar Shaji, alum of BIT Mesra served as project director for Aditya-L1 solar mission
By Campus Varta
Nigar Shaji is the project director behind India's first solar mission Adtiya L-1 which had its successful launch on September 2 from Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota, Andhra Pradesh.
Shaji joined the Indian Space Research Organisation in 1987 after completing her graduation and master's degrees.
Nigar Shaji went to an English medium higher secondary school in Sengottai.
She chose electronics and communication engineering for her Bachelor's degree which she completed at Tirunelveli Government Engineering College.
Shaji later completed her master's degree in electronics and communications from Birla Institute of Technology in Ranchi.
She was also the Associate Project Director of Resourcesat-2A, the Indian Remote Sensing Satellite for National Resource Monitoring and Management.
She worked at the UR Rao Satellite Centre in Bengaluru and held several important roles. She also headed the Satellite telemetry centre at ISRO, Bengaluru.
Nigar Shaji was born in Sengottai town of Tenkasi district of Tamil Nadu. Her father was Sheikh Meeran who was a farmer and her mother Saitoon Biwi was a homemaker.
Nigar Shaji has two children and her husband is also a scientist who works in a Gulf country.