Anna University

HISTORY
Activities of the Department of Geology are spurred by its participation in investigations and research in Applied Geology. Over the past decades, the Department has strived to maintain its multidisciplinary approach towards Earth Sciences by applying the concepts of Geology to solve scientific problems faced by the society. The Department maintains ties with well-known organizations such as the Geological Survey of India, Oil and Natural Gas Corporation, National Geophysical Research Institute, Central Ground Water Board, ISRO, UNESCO, the Directorate of Geology and Mining, and the universities and other research institutions.The aim of the Department is to design and develop scientific tools for studying and monitoring earth processes and geo-resources such as minerals, oil and water, while extending the results of these efforts to the benefits of the students and the community.

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MASTERS PROGRAM IN APPLIED GEOLOGY
The tradition of academic excellence and the educational vigor of a distinguished University creates a stimulating environment for MSc study at the Department of Geology, Anna University. The MSc. Program prepares students for careers in industries that involve independent scientific investigations. Through a combination of core courses, electives and interaction with faculty and research personnel, the students are provided with a compressive education in advanced Applied Geology.

The program is a four-semester course spanning over two academic years. The evaluation is based on the credit system on a scale of 10 points. The student has to receive a minimum of 72 credits for the successful completion of the Degree. The intake of students is fifteen.

The Masters program is a process not only of gaining knowledge but also of becoming a professional. The highlights of the course are the specialized Applied Geology subjects, regular laboratory and field work, seminars and invited lectures, participation in an intensive industrial Training and a research project done as part of MSc Dissertation.

(a) Specialized courses
These include Industrial Geology, Mining Geology, Remote Sensing and GIS, Engineering Geology, Environmental Geology, Petroleum Geology, Quaternary Geology, Nuclear and Isotope Geology, Marine Geology, and Sequence Stratigraphy.

(b) Industrial Training
Students of MSc., Applied Geology undergo one month of field training at an industrial organization. The department thus encourages the students to meet and work with professionals, scientists and agencies. A detailed report is submitted to the department on completion of the training. The organizations that engage the students for training are:

Geological Survey of India, Chennai
Oil and Natural Gas Corporation, Chennai
Bharat Gold Mines Limited, Kolar
Hutti Gold Mines, Hutti
Tamil Nadu Water Supply and Drainage Board
Tamil Nadu Directorate of Geology of Mining
Neyveli Lignite Corporation Ltd

(c) Project work
Project work forms a major part of the fourth and final semester. It provides the student training and experience in defining and investigating a scientific problem and in writing a report of professional quality. The project involves field and/or laboratory work on a selected topic under the supervision of a faculty member. It culminates in a written thesis that must be defended before an external review committee.

The department offers Ph.D programme in frontier areas of geology. A number of research scholars pursue research that is funded by various national agencies

RESEARCH FACILITIES
In addition to the conventional facilities and equipment, the Department has modern research equipment in the laboratory-intensive disciplines of Mineralogy, Petrology, Geophysics, Geochemistry, Hydro geology, Remote Sensing, Photogeology, Sequence Stratigraphy and Quaternary Geology. Noteworthy among the research equipment are Advanced Research Microscope, Flame Photometer, Spectrophotometer, Conductivity-meter, Digital Resistivity meter, Atomic Absorption Spectrometer, Geophysical equipment, Remote Sensing equipments, Computer packages, Field equipment, Audio-Video visual systems, online facilities etc. The Department also has computing facilities with geological software packages in Groundwater ineralis, Remote Sensing and Geographic Information System. The computers of the department are networked and provide round the clock access to the internet.The students and faculty also enjoy the computing facilities of the Ramanujan Computing Centre, which has over 100 terminals in the Local Area Network with UNIX and DOS platforms. The Department library caters to the needs of the students by providing a range of textbooks and a number of current journals

SPONSORED RESEARCH
The department consists of faculty members working on the applied aspects of Environmental Geology, Engineering Geology, Geological Remote Sensing, Hydrogeology, Applied Geomorphology and Sequence Stratigraphy in conjunction with the fundamental subjects such as Petrology, Mineralogy, Stratigraphy, micropaleontology, Economic Geology etc. Some of the important broad areas of research of this department include Micro-boital environment of sedimentary sequences, Environmental Hydrogeology, Paleo-Environment of River Basins, Geological Remote Sensing of Coastal Geomorphology and Micro palaeontology for hydrocarbon exploration. In the recent years the department has completed major research projects funded by the UGC, CSIR, DST, MHRD and AICTE to the tune of more than Rs 1.50 crores.The details are given below.

This Department is involved in rganized conferences on frontier fields of Geology regularly. On a regular basis the department also rganized training and continuing education programmes in the areas of Geo-environment, Hydrogeology, Geological remote sensing, Mineral resources management etc..In the last 5 years about 16 such training programmes have been rganized by this department. The various institutions which has funded these programmes include the World Bank Hydrology Project, UNESCO, UGC, COSTED, AICTE etc.,. These programmes have benefited large number of scientists/engineers working in the frontier areas of applied geology in the Universities/Industries/Research Institutes. The details of conferences/ educational programmes rganized by the department are given below.

The department has the necessary expertise to provide consultancy in geological mapping, lithological logging, mapping for engineering construction projects, petrographic study of rocks and minerals, groundwater modeling and Remote Sensing and GIS. The department is equipped with advanced image enlarger systems and software for subsurface modelling and geological image processing. In the last five years consultancy services were offered by this department to a number of organisations such as Larsen & Toubro Ltd, Nuclear Power Corporation of India Ltd, Hindustan Construction Corporation Ltd., Oil & Natural Gas Corporation Ltd and a number of companies involved in civil engineering construction projects. The details are given below.

COLLABORATING INTERNATIONAL UNIVERSITIES AND RESEARCH OGANISATION
University of Wales, UK
University of Birmingham,UK
University of Arizona, USA
University of Newcastle, UK
University of Colorado, USA.
Moscow University, Russia
Deakin University, Australia
Hungarian Geological Survey
UNESCO
NASDA, JAPAN
NIO, Goa
ISRO, Bangalore

PLACEMENT OF ALUMNI
The students of this department are placed in the following organizations

Geological Survey of India
Oil and Natural Gas Corporation
Schlumberger Limited
Shell Oil Company
Central Groundwater Board
Department of Atomic Energy
Directorate of Geology and Mines
Enterprising Enterprises
Larsen and Toubro Limited
Saint Gobain Glass Industry
Tata Infotech; Pixel Infotek
General Electric
Neyveli Lignite Corporation