Noted mathematician and scientist Dr. Mangala Narlikar, wife of renowned astrophysicist Dr. Jayant Narlikar, passed away at her residence in Pune city on Monday after a prolonged illness, aged 80.
She had been battling cancer for more than a year, said family sources.
She is survived by her husband, three daughters and five grandchildren.
Dr. Narlikar completed her graduation and post-graduation from Mumbai University. She was an associate researcher in the Mathematics School of the Institute of Fundamental Research in Mumbai between 1964 to 1966. She married Dr. Jayant Narlikar in 1965.
Between 1967 and 1969, she taught mathematics at Cambridge University in England.
Author of several books in English and Marathi, Dr. Mangala Narlikar was adept at demystifying mathematics to children.
In 1989, she and her husband moved to Pune where she worked in the mathematics department of the University of Pune (now Savitribai Phule Pune University).
The final rites were performed at the city’s Vaikunth crematorium, said family members.