Dr. Tessy Thomas, celebrated across the country as the "Missile Woman of India", was born in April 1963 at Alappuzha, Kerala. Growing up within sight of the rocket launches from the Thumba Equatorial Rocket Launching Station, she was drawn to rocketry and guided missiles very early in life.

She graduated in Electrical Engineering from the Government Engineering College, Thrissur in 1985 and went on to obtain her Master's Degree in Guided Missiles from the Institute of Armament Technology, Pune (now the Defence Institute of Advanced Technology) in 1986. She later obtained an MBA in Operations Management from the Indira Gandhi National Open University, New Delhi, in 2007 and earned her Doctoral Degree (Ph.D.) in Missile Guidance from the Jawaharlal Nehru Technological University, Hyderabad, in 2014.

Dr. Tessy Thomas, celebrated across the country as the "Missile Woman of India", was born in April 1963 at Alappuzha, Kerala. Growing up within sight of the rocket launches from the Thumba Equatorial Rocket Launching Station, she was drawn to rocketry and guided missiles very early in life.

She graduated in Electrical Engineering from the Government Engineering College, Thrissur in 1985 and went on to obtain her Master's Degree in Guided Missiles from the Institute of Armament Technology, Pune (now the Defence Institute of Advanced Technology) in 1986. She later obtained an MBA in Operations Management from the Indira Gandhi National Open University, New Delhi, in 2007 and earned her Doctoral Degree (Ph.D.) in Missile Guidance from the Jawaharlal Nehru Technological University, Hyderabad, in 2014.

She began her professional career in 1986 as a faculty member in Guided Missiles at the Institute of Armament Technology, Pune and joined the Inertial Navigation Group at Hyderabad as Scientist 'B' in 1988. She was inducted into the Agni programme by the former President of India, Dr. A. P. J. Abdul Kalam and has been associated with it right from its developmental flights.


In her career spanning more than three decades, she has contributed across Guidance, Control, Inertial Navigation, Trajectory Simulation and Mission Design.Dr. Tessy Thomas designed the guidance scheme for long-range missile systems that is used in all Agni missiles. An energy management guidance scheme was designed and developed by her, for the first time in the country, for an all-solid-propelled long-range system, an achievement for which she was conferred the Agni Self Reliance Award in 2001.

Her expertise in solid propellant systems was critical to the development of the re-entry system of the missile, which must withstand very high velocities and temperatures of the order of 3,000 degrees Celsius on re-entering the atmosphere. She served as Associate Project Director for the Agni-III project and led the Agni-IV programme as Project Director, a state-of-the-art system carrying many technologies proven in the country for the first time, successfully flight tested under her leadership. In 2009 she was appointed Project Director (Mission) for the long-range Agni-V, India's nuclear-capable intercontinental ballistic missile which was also successfully flight tested and proven. With these appointments she became the first woman scientist in India to head a missile project.

As Director, Advanced Systems Laboratory, DRDO, from 2014 to 2018, she held multi-dimensional roles and responsibilities and led the development of strategic missile systems. She was thereafter appointed Distinguished Scientist and Director General (Aeronautical Systems), DRDO, leading the Aeronautical Systems Cluster of laboratories, a post she held from June 2018 until April 2023. Since March 2024 she has been serving as the Vice Chancellor of NICHE University, Kanyakumari.

Awards and Honours:
• DRDO Agni Award for Excellence in Self-Reliance, 2001
• DRDO Award for Path-breaking Research/Outstanding Technology Development, 2007
• DRDO Scientist of the Year Award, 2008
• India Today Woman of the Year Award, 2009
• Suman Sharma Award by The Institution of Engineers (India), National Design and Research Forum, for Engineering Design, 2009
• Smt. Chandaben Mohanbhai Patel Industrial Research Award for Women Scientists, VASVIK, 2009
• DRDO Performance Excellence Award for Agni-4, 2011
• DRDO Performance Excellence Award for Agni-5, 2012
• Lal Bahadur Shastri National Award for Excellence in Public Administration, Academics and Management, 2012
• CNN-IBN Indian of the Year Award, 2012
• Madam Marie Curie Mahila Vijnana Puraskar, 2012
• Maharana Udai Singh Award by Maharana Mewar Foundation, for contribution in the field of Science and Technology, 2013
• Outstanding Woman Award by National Commission for Women, 2013
• Shree Ratna Award by Kerala Kalakendram, 2014
• Vanita Ratnam Puraskaram, Government of Kerala, Department of Social Justice, 2014
• Dr. Y. Nayudamma Memorial Award for outstanding contributions in the field of Missile Technology, 2014
• Bharat Ratna Sir Mokshagundam Visvesvaraya Award by The Institution of Engineers (India), Telangana State Centre, 2016
• Distinguished Woman Scientist Award by Andhra Pradesh Science Congress and Andhra Pradesh Academy of Sciences, 2016
• Outstanding Woman Achiever in Science and Technology, Women in Science and Engineering (WISE), India
• Woman Pioneer of the Year, ET Prime Women Leadership Awards, 2023
• Laureate, Asian Scientist 100, 2023
• Paulos Mar Gregorios Award for outstanding contributions to Science and Technology, 2025

Fellowships and Memberships :
• Fellow, Indian National Academy of Engineering (FNAE)
• Fellow, Telangana Academy of Sciences (FTAS)
• Fellow, The Institution of Engineers (India) (FIE)
• Senior Member, Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE)
• Life Member, Astronautical Society of India (ASI)
• Life Member, Aeronautical Society of India (AeSI)
• Life Member, Indian National Society for Aerospace and Related Mechanisms (INSARM)
• Life Member, Indian Society for Advancement of Materials and Process Engineering (ISAMPE)
• Life Member, Society for Aerospace Quality and Reliability (SAQR)


Honorary Doctorates
• D.Sc. (Honoris Causa), Kalyani University, West Bengal, 2012
• D.Sc. (Honoris Causa), Mangalayatan University, Aligarh, 2012
• D.Sc. (Honoris Causa), Hindustan University, Chennai, 2014
• D.Sc. (Honoris Causa), Sri Padmavati MahilaVishwavidyalayam, Tirupati, 2015
• D.Litt. (Honoris Causa), ITM University, Gwalior, 2016
• D.Sc. (Honoris Causa), Dr. Bhimrao Ambedkar University, Agra, 2017
• D.Sc. (Honoris Causa), Central University of Karnataka, Kalaburagi, 2018