Malaysian scientist S Ravigadevi received the best news of her career yesterday. She is now the first and only Malaysian in history to be elected to the Fellowship of the Royal Society, the United Kingdom’s national academy of sciences.

The Royal Society, said to have started in 1660, only began admitting women in 1945. Ravigadevi will be officially inducted in London on July 11.

“I am 69 now, and I will be inducted...