Mahalakshmi Reddy V., who retired last year as the associate dean of the College of Home Science, Professor Jayashankar Telangana State Agricultural University, was recently awarded a patent for her work on ‘floral preservation through freeze-drying technology’. Notably, Mahalaxmi is the first Indian to have won a patent for such a subject.
“My passion for flowers has been there since childhood and I always dreamt of leading a life around it. One day, I presented a bouquet to my mother on Mother’s Day; naturally it faded away after a few days. It was then that I decided to do something to make the flowers to last longer,” she says.