Foreword (for Indian Edition)---

Dr. Bibha Chowdhuri, an accomplished physicist of the twentieth century, remains an unsung hero of Indian science despite having worked with luminaries like Homi Bhabha, Vikram Sarabhai and M.G. K. Menon. She joined TIFR as a Research Fellow in 1949, after getting her Ph. D. from the University of Manchester. Sir P. M. S. Blackett, who had just been awarded the Nobel Prize, had personally recommended her to Dr. Bhabha. Before proceeding to England for her doctoral work, she had worked on cosmic rays at the Bose Institute with Dr. D.M. Bose and together they had published some important results in highly reputed international journal "Nature".. At TIFR, she was attached to the Cloud Chamber group, which was a hub of activities at that time. According to some of senior colleagues, she was involved in building the cloud chamber at Old Yacht Club. She left TIFR in late 1953 to take up a position at the Bengal Engineering College, which had received a grant for carrying out cosmic ray studies. Her interaction with TIFR did not end with her leaving the Institute. She subsequently moved to the Physical Research Laboratory, Ahmedabad and continued with air showers experiments at the Kolar Gold Fields, alongside the TIFR experiment there, which involved many pioneers from TIFR. This provided opportunities for continued interactions with TIFR scientists. She remained a lifelong researcher and had published her last scientific paper in 1990, just one year before she passed away.

Unfortunately, during her life time she had not received accolades such as being elected to the Fellowships of academies or awards in recognition of her pioneering work. In 2019, however, the International Astronomical Union honored her by naming a star in the night sky as "Bibha".

The book "A Jewel Unearthed - Bibha Chowdhury" is a tribute to this daughter of Indian science who had attempted to break the glass ceiling when very few women took to research as a career. Indeed, she is an inspirational role model to the younger generation, particularly to women researchers. We are grateful to Dr. Poonam Chandra, for permitting the use of her portrait "Radiance Unveiled" on the cover of this book. TIFR Alumni Association is proud to be associated in bringing out the Indian edition of this book, as its tribute to one of the early alumna of this Institute.----by Dipan Ghosh, President, TAA ,Jan. 2021