Vanaja Iyengar | |
|---|---|
| Born | Andhra Pradesh, India |
| Died | 2001 (2002) |
| Occupation(s) | Mathematician Educationist |
| Known for | Education |
| Spouse | Mohit Sen |
| Awards | Padma Shri Government of Andhra Pradesh Best Teacher Award Rajiv Gandhi Foundation Fellowship |
Vanaja Iyengar (died 2001) was an Indianmathematician,educationist[1] and the founder vice-chancellor ofSri Padmavati Mahila Visvavidyalayam,Tirupati, in the south Indian state ofAndhra Pradesh.[2] She was one of the founders of theAndhra Mahila Sabha School of Informatics.[3] TheGovernment of India awarded her the fourth highest civilian honour ofPadma Shri in 1987.[4]
Born in the undividedAndhra Pradesh, she completed her early education atHyderabad[5] and obtained higher education in Mathematics fromCambridge University in 1950, after which she visited Yugoslavia, Czechoslovakia and Hungary as a part of student forums.[6] Her career started as a member of faculty atOsmania University and worked in two of the colleges affiliated to the university,University College for Women, Koti (Osmania Women's College) andNizam College.[6]
During her tenure at Osmania, Iyengar secured a doctoral degree in mathematics from theUniversity of Delhi in 1958. She served Osmania University as a reader, professor, head of the department of Mathematics department and the principal of theUniversity College for Women, Koti[5] and held the post of the vice-chancellor for a while.[6] WhenSri Padmavati Mahila Visvavidyalayam, an all women university, was established in 1983, she was appointed as its vice-chancellor and continued at the post till 1986.[7] She was also one of the founder members of the Osmania University Teachers Association.[6] She was a life trustee ofAndhra Mahila Sabha and she served organisation as its vice-president and the president, a post she held since 1994 till her death.[6] She is also credited with articles on the topic of education.[2][8]
In 1987, theGovernment of India awarded Iyengar the civilian honour ofPadma Shri.[4] She received the Best Teacher award from theGovernment of Andhra Pradesh and was a fellow of theRajiv Gandhi Foundation.[6] She died in 2001, survived by her husband,Mohit Sen, a known communist intellectual, who also died two years later.[9]
