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Department of Geology
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The Department of Geology was established in 1946 with the endowment of a chair called the “J.N.Tata Professor of Geology” and subsequent appointment of Dr L.A.N. Iyer, an eminent geologist from Geological Survey of India, as the founder Head of the department. Dr A. P. Jain was appointed the first lecturer in the department. Dr S. N. Wakhloo took over as the next Head after Dr Iyer’s retirement.
After the enactment of Patna University Act 1951, the Postgraduate Department of Geology was established in its own building on the Patna Science College Campus. Dr S. C. Chatterjee, Head of the Geography department was transferred to the Geology department as its Head in February 1952. Under the able guidance of Prof. Chatterjee, research activities in different branches, specially Petrology, were initiated in the department. He was elected sectional president of Indian Science Congress in 1960 The mid-fifties and early sixties witnessed a remarkable Phase in the growth of the department when many teachers, including Dr.D.N.Ojha (Oxford), Dr V.N.Singh (Germany), Dr.A.K.Prasad (Prague), Shri B.Nath and Shri R.C.Mishra (London) went abroad for higher studies under various Faculty Development Schemes.
Dr R.C. Sinha, D.I.C. ,Ph.D (London), was appointed J.N.Tata Professor of Geology and the Head of the Department in October 1963. Prof. Sinha, who came from Banaras Hindu University, was a pioneer chemist. Besides establishing a full-fledged Geochemical Laboratory in the department he also founded the Geochemical Society of India in 1965. The Society also published Journals and Bulletins for many years. Students from various parts of the country and even abroad were attracted by the research facilities available in the department and joined it for the Ph.D. programme.
Among those who were trained in research in Geochemistry and excelled on the national scene are Dr S.M. Naqvi, a Fellow of the Indian National Science Academy and Dr V. Divakara Rao. Both has from National Geophysical Research Institute A host of Professors and Heads of the department in Earth Sciences are positioned in different universities like Prof. G.S.Roonwal (Delhi), Prof. A.M. Patwardhan (Pune), Prof. A.N.Deshmukh (Nagpur), Prof. Y.P.Gupta (Jammu), Prof. J.C.V.Sastri (Mysore), Prof. A.Surya Prakash Rao (Osmania), and many other Professors in Ranchi and Vinoba Bhave Universities.
During this period an 'All India Geochemical Conference' was organized in 1965 and another symposium on 'Application of Geochemistry in Earth Sciences' was held in 1970. An International Conference on 'Geochemistry and Cosmochemistry' was held in 1973 and attended by a galaxy of stalwarts in Earth Sciences from 22 countries including U.S.A., U.K., U.S.S.R., Japan, Australia, Germany etc.
The department organized a national conference on “Planning and Development of Ground water Resources in India: A perspective for the 21 st Century” in November 1999 which was attended by eminent geoscientists from across the country.
In 2009, the UGC selected the Department under its Special Assistance Programme (SAP) for carrying out research activities in its chosen thrust area, “Integrated Geo-environmental studies of Kosi Basin, Bihar, with special reference to floods. “ The department organized at least half a dozen national seminars and training programmes between 2009 and 2014.
More recently, the Department has made some qualitative improvement in Postgraduate education by providing better library, Museum and Laboratory facilities and more intensive field training programmes. Furthermore, each student at the postgraduate level is encouraged to prepare project report and dissertation which provide them with an opportunity to have a hands-on experience of writing geological reports and giving power point presentations in the relevant areas / topics.
A fully-equipped rock preparation facility, with rock saws, grinding, polishing, crushing, thin section and mineral separation equipment, allows students to prepare their own samples for petrographic and geochemical analysis. The Department has got such sophisticated instruments as XRD, AAS, Advanced Research Microscope, Petrological Microscopes (5 dozens) ; A0 Plotter and Software, including Erdas Imagine.
The library of the department contains more than 6500 books and it is subscribing to more than a dozen important journals of earth science. The library has a spacious centrally located facility with display cupboards and reading table for reference consultation. The library possesses National Information Centre’s (NIC) “e-granthalaya” software which is useful in maintaining online records and cataloguing of the books.
The Department has set up a very purposeful geological museum-cum-auditorium with the funds donated by an alumnus and teacher of the department, Dr Ranjan Prasad Yadav.
There are 1500 minerals on exhibit in 28 hall cases in the museum. The Department welcomes visitors to the museum and arranges special interactive programmes with school and college students to popularize Geology in the society.
The department maintains teaching and research collaborations with the ONGC, Geological Survey of India, Central Ground Water Board, Department of Mines and Geology, Coal India Ltd. and various other organizations. Besides, the Department has also carried out separate research projects on “Ganga River Basin Management Plan (Fluvial geomorphology Group)” and “Ganga Water Quality Monitoring Project” sponsored by the Ministry of Environment and Forests, Govt. of India; “Morphotectonic Evaluation of Kosi River Basin, Bihar, using Remote Sensing Data” by the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), “Artificial Recharge to Groundwater In Patna University Campus” sponsored by the Central Ground Water Board, Ministry of Water Resources, Govt. of India.
Prominent Alumni of Geology Department, PU
Anshu Kumar Sinha, served as the Director of Birbal Sahni Institute of Palaeobotany, Lucknow, and also as a founder member and distinguished senior scientist at the Wadia Institute of Himalayan Geology, Dehradun. Moscow State University awarded him the D Sc Degree for his classical work on the inaccessible higher zones of Central Himalayas behind Nanda Devi mountains. In recognition of his scientific achievements and professional R & D management he was conferred with the National Mineral Award in 1986.
Ranjit Sinha, who did his M.Sc. in Geology from this department in 1971 served as an Indian Police Service officer of the 1974 batch and was the former Director of the Central Bureau of Investigation.
Dr Arabinda Mitra, Adviser & Head of International Bilateral Cooperation Division of the Department of Science & Technology, Government of India, did his M Sc in 1985. In 1988, he was awarded the prestigious Cambridge Nehru Fellowship to pursue PhD in Earth Sciences at Cambridge University, UK. Later, he joined the National Centre for Antarctic & Ocean Research at Goa, in the capacity of Program Manager, Science. He played a seminal role in formulating the long-term science strategy of the Indian Antarctic mission and also established the low temperature ice core and environment study laboratories at NCAOR.
Anil K. Sharan, IFS, served as Ambassador of India to three countries, including the Republic of Cote d’Ivoire. He also served as Consul General of India in South Africa. He did his M Sc in 1977.
Rajni Kant Mishra, who has been recently appointed chief of the Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB) is a 1984 batch Uttar Pradesh cadre IPS officer, had topped the list of successful candidates in M Sc geology examination of Patna University in 1979. Earlier, his father late Prof. R. C. Mishra had also topped in M Sc Geology examination of this university in 1951 and served the department as a faculty and the Head.
Rajiv Sinha, who topped the M.Sc Geology examination of Patna University in 1982 is presently posted as Additional Chief Secretary, Micro Small & Medium Enterprise & Textile Dept, Government of West Bengal. An IAS of 1986 batch he also served as programme manager, UNICEF.
First Head: Prof L. A. N. Iyer
Present Head: Dr. Atul Aditya Pandey
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