Aditi Pant

Aditi Pant (born 5 July 1943 ), is an Indian oceanographer. She was the first Indian woman to visit Antarctica, alongside geologist Sudipta Sengupta in 1983 as part of the Indian Antarctic Program. She has held prominent positions at institutions including the National Institute of Oceanography, National Chemical Laboratory, University of Pune, and Maharashtra Academy of Sciences.

Early life and education Aditi Pant was born in a Marathi-speaking Deshastha Brahmin family in Nagpur, India. Along with structural geologist Sudipta Sengupta, Aditi Pant was the first Indian woman to set foot on Antarctica. Pant also participated in the fifth expedition to the Antarctic in 1984, carrying out research in oceanography and geology.

Patents and awards Pant is the owner of five patents and has over 67 publications in international journals. She was honored with the Antarctica Award by the Government of India for her contributions to the Indian Antarctic programme. She shared the honor with colleagues Sudipta Sengupta, Jaya Naithani, and Kanwal Vilku. She was a recipient of the SERC award and stipends for her investigations in her field of research.

She is a member of the Maharashtra Society for the Cultivation of Science, General Body of Maharashtra Association for the Cultivation of Science, Biofuel Committee, Department of Biotechnology, CGO Complex, New Delhi. She is also a fellow member of Maharashtra Academy of Science.