HR: 1340h
AN: U33A-0800 INVITED    [Abstracts]
TI: Geophysics Education and Research in India and Role of International Collaboration
AU: * Rajaram, M
EM: mita@iigs.iigm.res.in
AF: Indian Institute of Geomagnetism, New Panvel (W), Navi Mumbai, 410218, India
AB: Some possible avenues for strengthening Geophysics education in India will be examined and possible ways of making the system more dynamic and responsive to the needs will be suggested. Out of the few hundred Universities in India under the University Grants Commission, only around a dozen offer post-graduate degree courses in Geophysics. Over the last decade the demand for Geophysicists has increased tremendously, with the country having opened its gates to foreign companies to invest in India; as a consequence, Geophysics is soon becoming the favored subject for the best students undertaking Post Graduate Courses in Science. Geophysics as a subject is independent of national and international borders and it would prove very useful for students to have international exposure. We have in India, the example of the internationally renowned, Indian Institute of Technology. These Institutes were started with foreign collaboration that included Professors from the collaborating countries taking up selected under-graduate courses. For Geophysics courses it would prove very helpful if students could spend several months at a participating foreign Institution and undertake a project there, as a part of the Geophysics curriculum. India provides the unique settings of having rock types from the Archean to the Present and should attract Geophysicists globally. On an exchange basis foreign students could visit India for their project work. National Science Departments / Universities / Scientific Societies could help provide financial assistance to facilitate this exchange; existing bilateral cooperation could also be used to finance geophysics education. Also oil companies could sponsor geophysics students. Further, due to the high costs of Geophysics Journal, very few Indian Universities are able to subscribe to them. On the Research Arena, there are several areas that by their very nature invoke global interest; for example Research on Antarctica. Currently several countries including India are undertaking Research in Antarctica. International Geophysical Year was a critical point in the development of Antarctic research and expeditions, and through participation by 80,000 international scientists, led to a major expansion in scientific activity focused on Antarctica. Antarctica plays a key role in the Gondwana break up and a Chapman Conference could bring together not only Scientists from the countries that were part of Gondwanaland but all countries that have a stake in Antarctica so as to exchange information using available data and compliment studies by collaborations. The paper will discuss possible avenues of International collaboration to increase productivity in Research and active involvement of students at the grass root levels.
DE: 0800 EDUCATION
DE: 9320 Asia
SC: Union [U]
MN: 2007 Fall Meeting