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{{Use dmy dates|date=December 2021}}
{{Short description|Indian astronomer and science historian (1963–2021)}}
{{Infobox scientist
| image = Rathnasree Nandivada - Kolkata 2011-09-24 5693.JPG
| caption = Rathnasree in 2011
| birth_date = {{birth-date|26 November 1963}}
| death_date = {{death-date and age|9 May 2021|26 November 1963}}
| birth_place = India
| fields = Astrophysics, science communication
| workplaces = [[Nehru Planetarium]]
| alma_mater = [[Tata Institute of Fundamental Research]]
| academic_advisors = [[Alak Ray]]
}}
'''Nandivada Rathnasree''' (26 November 1963 – 9 May 2021) or '''N. Rathnasree''' was an Indian [[Astrophysics|astrophysicist]], [[Science communication|science communicator]], and [[science historian]], who was the director of India's [[Nehru Planetarium]] for over twenty years. She was responsible for improvements to the planetarium, as well as for researching the use of historical architectural astronomical instruments in India. She is known for her work in [[science communication]].

== Life and education ==
N. Rathnasree spent her childhood in the state of [[Andhra Pradesh]]. She completed her undergraduate education at the [[Osmania University College for Women|University College for Women in Hyderabad]], and completed a master's degree in physics from [[University of Hyderabad|Hyderabad Central University]]. She completed a Ph.D. at the [[Tata Institute of Fundamental Research]] (TIFR), where she was their first doctoral student, studying binary stars in the [[Large Magellanic Cloud]] under the supervision of physicist [[Alak Ray]].<ref>{{Cite web|title=Dr Nandivada Rathnasree; 10 Things To Know About The Well-Known Astronomy Communicator|url=https://www.shethepeople.tv/shestars/dr-nandivada-rathnasree-planetarium/|access-date=1 December 2021|language=en-US|archive-date=1 December 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211201051339/https://www.shethepeople.tv/shestars/dr-nandivada-rathnasree-planetarium/|url-status=live}}</ref> She married fellow physicist Patrick Dasgupta, and they had one son.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web|last1=Sule|first1=Aniket|last2=Ramanujam|first2=Niruj Mohan|date=11 June 2021|title=Remembering Rathnasree Nandivada, Who Brought the Stars To All of Us|url=https://science.thewire.in/the-sciences/rathnasree-nandivada-nehru-planetarium-astronomical-society-of-india/|access-date=1 December 2021|website=The Wire Science|language=en-GB|archive-date=1 December 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211201051336/https://science.thewire.in/the-sciences/rathnasree-nandivada-nehru-planetarium-astronomical-society-of-india/|url-status=live}}</ref>

She died of [[COVID-19]] in May 2021.<ref name=":1">{{Cite web|last=Sharma|first=Pranav|title=Nandivada Rathnasree (1963–2021): Passionate astronomy educator who helped many reach for the stars|url=https://scroll.in/article/994687/nandivada-rathnasree-1963-2021-passionate-astronomy-educator-who-helped-many-reach-for-the-stars|access-date=1 December 2021|website=Scroll.in|date=12 May 2021 |language=en-US|archive-date=1 December 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211201051338/https://scroll.in/article/994687/nandivada-rathnasree-1963-2021-passionate-astronomy-educator-who-helped-many-reach-for-the-stars|url-status=live}}</ref>

== Career ==
N. Rathnasree continued her research into radio observations of [[pulsar]]s at the [[University of Vermont]] between 1992 and 1994, and at the [[Raman Research Institute]] in Bengaluru until 1996. While working in the United States, she was an observer at the [[Arecibo Telescope|Arecibo Radio Telescope]] in Puerto Rico, where she researched the stability of radio emissions from pulsars.<ref name=":0" />

In 1996, she was invited to join the administration at the [[Nehru Planetarium]] in New Delhi and became the director of the planetarium in 1999.<ref name=":2">{{Cite web|date=12 May 2021|title=Nehru Planetarium director Dr Nandivada Rathnasree dies of Covid-19|url=https://www.hindustantimes.com/cities/delhi-news/nehru-planetarium-director-dr-nandivada-rathnasree-dies-of-covid19-101620773018985.html|access-date=1 December 2021|website=Hindustan Times|language=en|archive-date=1 December 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211201051336/https://www.hindustantimes.com/cities/delhi-news/nehru-planetarium-director-dr-nandivada-rathnasree-dies-of-covid19-101620773018985.html|url-status=live}}</ref> She served as the director of the planetarium for a period of 21 years, during which she upgraded the planetarium's mechanisms from an opto-mechanical to a hybrid system, which used digital as well as mechanical projection. In addition, she conducted a number of supervised research and outreach programs aimed at students.<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":1" /> She introduced a number of public watch events to observe astronomical phenomena, as well as to commemorate major scientific researchers.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Bhattacharya|first=Amit|date=12 May 2021|title=Delhi: Scientist who made Nehru Planetarium a city icon dies|url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/delhi/scientist-who-made-nehru-planetarium-a-city-icon-dies/articleshow/82561452.cms|url-status=live|access-date=1 December 2021|website=The Times of India|language=en|archive-date=1 December 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211201051336/https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/delhi/scientist-who-made-nehru-planetarium-a-city-icon-dies/articleshow/82561452.cms}}</ref>
[[file:Jantar_Mantar_Delhi_27-05-2005.jpg|thumb|left|The [[Jantar Mantar]] in Delhi]]
In the early 2000s, she began research into the use of historical architectural structures that were intended to function as astronomical instruments. These structures, known as [[Jantar Mantar]], were established in several locations in India. Rathnasree worked with the stone Jantar Mantars established in [[Delhi]], [[Jaipur]], [[Ujjain]], and [[Varanasi]], teaching students and researchers their uses, and publishing several research papers on their historical use and design.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Rathnasree|first=N.|date=1 November 2004|title=Venus elongation measurement for the Transit of Venus, using the historical Jantar Mantar Observatory|url=https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02834972|journal=Resonance|language=en|volume=9|issue=11|pages=46–55|doi=10.1007/BF02834972|s2cid=123589324|issn=0973-712X|access-date=1 December 2021|archive-date=17 December 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211217144000/https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007%2FBF02834972|url-status=live|url-access=subscription}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Rathnasree|first1=Nandivada|last2=Das Gupta|first2=Patrick|last3=Garg|first3=Anurag|date=1 January 2019|title=A Quantitative Study of Accuracies in Positions of Star Markers on Historical Astrolabes|journal=The Growth and Development of Astronomy and Astrophysics in India and the Asia-Pacific Region|series=Astrophysics and Space Science Proceedings|url=https://ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2019ASSP...54...29R|volume=54|pages=29–56|doi=10.1007/978-981-13-3645-4_3|bibcode=2019ASSP...54...29R|isbn=978-981-13-3644-7|s2cid=198419025|access-date=1 December 2021|archive-date=1 December 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211201051337/https://ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2019ASSP...54...29R|url-status=live}}</ref> Rathnasree proposed that the stone-built Jantar Mantar observatories could be used when teaching astronomy to today's students.<ref name=dyk>{{Cite journal|last=Rathnasree|first=N.|date=1 March 2017|title=Jantar Mantar observatories as teaching laboratories for positional astronomy|url=https://doi.org/10.1007/s12045-017-0453-6|journal=Resonance|language=en|volume=22|issue=3|pages=201–212|doi=10.1007/s12045-017-0453-6|s2cid=53576157|issn=0973-712X|access-date=1 December 2021|archive-date=17 December 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211217144000/https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007%2Fs12045-017-0453-6|url-status=live|url-access=subscription}}</ref> She later worked with the [[Archaeological Survey of India]] on a project to restore the Delhi Jantar Mantar. During the [[International Astronomical Union|International Astronomical Union Symposium]] (IAUS340) on Solar Physics, at Jaipur in 2018, she introduced the Jaipur Jantar Mantar to researchers.<ref name=":0" /><ref>{{Cite web|title=INSAP IX|url=http://sophia-project.net/conferences/insapix/Speakers/nandivadarathnasree.html|access-date=1 December 2021|website=sophia-project.net|archive-date=1 December 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211201051339/http://sophia-project.net/conferences/insapix/Speakers/nandivadarathnasree.html|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=Credits|url=http://www.jantarmantar.org/footer/credits/index.html|access-date=1 December 2021|website=Jantar Mantar|language=en|archive-date=24 November 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211124102140/https://www.jantarmantar.org/footer/credits/index.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

She was a member of the [[Astronomical Society of India]], and in 2014, she was appointed to chair their Public Outreach and Education Committee, where she directed a number of programs aimed at improving the communication of scientific ideas and concepts to laypeople.<ref name=":2" /> In 2019, to commemorate the 150th anniversary of [[Mahatma Gandhi]]'s birth, she compiled a collection of his writing on astronomy and devised a trail that visited locations of astronomical interest that he had visited.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Mahatma Gandhi's little-known love affair with stargazing and astronomy|url=https://www.theweek.in/leisure/society/2018/09/26/mahatma-gandhi-little-known-love-affair-stargazing-astronomy.html|access-date=1 December 2021|website=The Week|language=en|archive-date=1 December 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211201051336/https://www.theweek.in/leisure/society/2018/09/26/mahatma-gandhi-little-known-love-affair-stargazing-astronomy.html|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|date=2 October 2018|title=Gandhi Jayanti: Celebrations to mark Bapu's love for stars and sky gazing start at Yerwada prison in Pune|url=https://indianexpress.com/article/india/gandhi-jayanti-celebrations-to-mark-bapus-love-for-stars-and-sky-gazing-start-at-yerwada-prison-in-pune/|access-date=1 December 2021|website=The Indian Express|language=en|archive-date=1 December 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211201051337/https://indianexpress.com/article/india/gandhi-jayanti-celebrations-to-mark-bapus-love-for-stars-and-sky-gazing-start-at-yerwada-prison-in-pune/|url-status=live}}</ref> She worked with the [[National Council of Science Museums]] as an advisor on astronomy-related communications, and was also the chief editor for science-related publications for the [[National Council of Educational Research and Training]].<ref>{{Cite web|last=Astronomical Society of India|title=Dr. Nandivada Rathnasree, 26 November, 1963 – 09 May, 2021|url=https://www.tifr.res.in/~ipa1970/news/Nandivada%20Rathnasree%20ASI%20Obituary.pdf|url-status=live|website=Tata Institute of Fundamental Research|access-date=1 December 2021|archive-date=1 December 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211201051339/https://www.tifr.res.in/~ipa1970/news/Nandivada%20Rathnasree%20ASI%20Obituary.pdf}}</ref> She was a vocal opponent of [[astrology]], and wrote publicly to criticise a decision by the [[University Grants Commission (India)|Indian University Grants Commission]] to introduce it as a subject to be taught in higher education.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Astrology: An Abuse Of Astronomy|url=https://www.outlookindia.com/website/story/astrology-an-abuse-of-astronomy/212155|url-status=live|access-date=1 December 2021|website=[[Outlook India]]|date=19 June 2001 |language=en|archive-date=1 December 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211201051337/https://www.outlookindia.com/website/story/astrology-an-abuse-of-astronomy/212155}}</ref> She also advocated against [[light pollution]] in India.<ref>{{Cite news|last=Goswami|first=Urmi|title=World Environment Day: Why kids in Delhi are growing up without seeing a starry sky|work=The Economic Times|url=https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/industry/services/education/world-environment-day-why-kids-in-delhi-are-growing-up-without-seeing-a-starry-sky/articleshow/58979971.cms?from=mdr|access-date=1 December 2021|archive-date=1 December 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211201051337/https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/industry/services/education/world-environment-day-why-kids-in-delhi-are-growing-up-without-seeing-a-starry-sky/articleshow/58979971.cms?from=mdr|url-status=live}}</ref>

== References ==

{{reflist}}
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Rathnasree, Nandivada}}
[[Category:1963 births]]
[[Category:2021 deaths]]
[[Category:Indian astrophysicists]]
[[Category:21st-century Indian astronomers]]
[[Category:Tata Institute of Fundamental Research alumni]]
[[Category:Deaths from the COVID-19 pandemic in India]]
[[Category:21st-century Indian physicists]]
[[Category:21st-century Indian women scientists]]
[[Category:Indian women physicists]]

Nandivada Rathnasree - Revision history

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