E. K. Janaki Ammal

E. K. Janaki Ammal studied botany at Presidency College in Madras and earned a doctorate from the University of Michigan in 1931. Her research explored plant cells, genetics and sugarcane breeding. She worked at the Sugarcane Breeding Institute in Coimbatore and later at scientific institutions in Britain, building an international career in a field with few women.

Returning to India in 1951, she helped reorganise the Botanical Survey of India and later led its Central Botanical Laboratory in Allahabad. Her work connected laboratory research with the study of India's flora. The Indian National Science Academy elected her a Fellow in 1957. Her story honours the patient, detailed research behind lasting scientific progress.