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Avlin Mary - Saintly scientist
 Ecology was a word nobody knew about till the early '90s. But now, even villagers talk about ecological degradation: there is ample proof of this very near Chennai.
Villagers in the Veeranam Lake and Neyveli area are protesting against pumping
water to Chennai - they are worried about their
groundwater level dipping and incursion of seawater!
This being the general level of awareness, there is a brilliant scientist of Tamil Nadu who has done pioneering work to help ships get rid of parasites without disturbing the environment, and yet nobody recognises her contribution to society.
Avlin Mary began her career as an elementary school teacher, and after graduating from Madurai American College, became a professor in the Tuticorin Thooya Mariannai College.
Apart from working in the college, she started spending her free time at the college lab, concentrating on the subject related to the lives of sea animals.
She did research on the harmful effects of pesticides sprinkled on crops which in turn affected fishes in the ponds, which brought her a doctorate from Marathvada University,
Maharashtra.
The New York Aquarium Research Centre, America, invited her to do research and she surprised them by finding the reason for the faster growth of 'blue sinky' fish compared to other varieties.
She then returned to India, spurning offers of several American
organisations to do research there and concentrated on a peculiar problem that ships and boats faced.
Generally, micro-organisms tend to stick to the bottom of any floating object whether it be a boat, ship or pipe. They continue to multiply and the scientists then call them bowlers. One cannot detach such micro-organisms from the objects easily. Due to this, the balance of the ship gets affected. The added weight reduces the speed by 30 per cent and if the speed is increased, fuel consumption increases.
This was a perennial problem. Shipping companies tried to apply paint which contained poisonous chemicals but this affected the living organisms in the sea and the environment in general. Scientists all over the world were trying to find an alternative solution.
Avlin tried to find a solution for this and involved herself in serious research.
 She tried to do research with the available sources in India but they were not enough. When she went abroad to do her post-doctoral research, she collected the necessary information and details. She returned to Tamil Nadu and concentrated on her research.
In the first stage, she took out the basic matter called 'jeen sella jensia' from the body of a group of coral organisms. She proved that they have the capacity to prevent micro-organisms from sticking to objects. Since it was a natural product, there would be no harmful effect to the environment.
The finding was named 'Jeen selin', a combination of the name of the basic matter of the coral organism and her name.
She feels grateful to the fishermen who helped her by bringing the coral rocks from the bottom of the sea.
She wants her finding to help the fishermen too. Since their sailing boats were also affected by this problem, she wants to make her discovery available to them at a reduced price.
Avlin has been recognised as one of the greatest scientists of the 20th century by the International Biographical Centre of the Cambridge University, England, and was awarded the 'Best Woman' of the American Biographical Institute for 1998.
"Religious service in not doing service to God alone. Working for the uplift of society is also a form of service. That is the reason I am involved in the field of education," says Avlin. The world is praising and applauding her achievements and has recognised her as one among the greatest 2,000 scientists of the 20th century.
A real saint is not one who just preaches but also one who toils for the uplift of mankind. Service through words alone is just a waste, according to her.
But is saddening to see such a scientist, whose work has been appreciated globally, not being given proper recognition in Tamil Nadu. May be if it had been a man, this male-dominated society would have given him due recognition?
Has Avlin been ignored for being just a
woman even though she has a brilliant mind?
Questions, questions....
Maduram
Translated by Radha N
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