Indian Institute of Technology (Indian School of Mines) Dhanbad Student Chapter

Introduction

The Society of Exploration Geophysicists IIT (ISM) Student chapter or SEG Indian School of Mines Geophysical Society is an active student chapter located in IIT(ISM), Dhanbad. Since its establishment, the society has worked enthusiastically with the aim to provide the best platform to our students & members to explore the field of Geophysics and to improve in all important aspects which helps them to excel in their career while preparing for a better future.

Our Aim

We stand for:

• Promotion of the science of Applied Geophysics and its understanding among the students by going beyond classroom learning through various activities round the year.
• Development of an atmosphere of active research through our activities.
• Working to enhance networking with the alumni and develop personality traits to promote teamwork and leadership in all walks of life.
• Being updated in our activities such that students always get exposed to the latest technologies and innovations in the field of Applied Geophysics.

Induction Session

For any student chapter to function properly in synchronization with students, it is important to make the students aware of the student chapter, its functionalities & how they can benefit from it. So, to include everyone in our endeavors and also to give our newcomers an insight into our student chapters under Geophysical Society, an induction session was held at the beginning of the 2021-22 session to help our students know about the plethora of opportunities available to them. The Annual Student Chapters' Induction for 2022 was conducted by the Department of Applied Geophysics, IIT (ISM) Dhanbad, on September 2022. A congregation of five distinguished student chapters of reputed global societies, namely SEG (Society of Exploration Geophysicists), EAGE (European Association of Geoscientists and Engineers), SPG (Society of Petroleum Geophysicists), IGU (Indian Geophysical Union), and AEG (Association of Exploration Geophysicists), saw enthusiastic assemble of students for the induction.

These societies boast a fraternity of 50000+ members with 300+ student chapters across 138 countries worldwide. The office-bearers of each of these societies explicated the functionality of these esteemed societies to the young inductees and the prospective opportunities they offer. Women-friendly agendas were also discussed, along with the possibilities of financial aid for students globally. The students' enthusiasm was reflected in a question-answer session that followed, allowing them to interact with the society members. The response of the students was overwhelming. Their enthusiasm paved the way for a fruitful year filled with learning & growth. We also got to know about what they wanted & in what ways they thought we could assist them. This helped us in planning our year. This session led us to incorporate more students into our group. Throughout the year, they benefitted a lot from our activities once they were told about why our existence is important & how it has previously helped the students expand their horizons. Overall, this session marked the beginning of our eventful year & gave us a lot of confidence to carry out our activities with more innovation & relevance.

Guest Lectures and Webinars

Guest Lecture by an Industrial Expert

Industrial expert in the field of ‘Exploration Geophysics’ Dr. Ashok Yadav from R-Exploration and Production Academy (Reliance-University), designated as “Senior Lead Quantitative Interpreter Geophysicist,” gave a talk to undergraduate students on 12 September 2022. Various topics were discussed, including AVO Analysis, seismic attributes showing Fluid, Lithology, Porosity, and OrthoPorosity, along with Rock Physics Modelling, including Depth Trend of porosity & Elastic properties, essential Petrophysical Work required for Rock Physics. Dr. Ashok also briefed on Fluid, Lithology, Porosity substitution, 2D scenario modeling, seismic inversion including model-based, Coloured Inversion, and Post Migration Pre & Post Stack Data Enhancement Seismic Spectral Bluing in the lecture.

J. Singh Memorial Lecture and Workshop 2022

Prof. Jagdeo Singh is the Founder and Head of the Department of Applied Geophysics, Indian School of Mines (ISM, now IIT (ISM), Dhanbad). He obtained his DIC from the Imperial College of London (1946-48) and was a contemporary of Nobel laureate Prof P. M. S. Blackett. In 1957, he led the beginning of two specialized branches exclusively for oil exploration and production, namely Applied Geophysics and Petroleum Technology (Engg.) at ISM. So, to honor the memory of the Late Professor Jagdeo Singh, a lecture series has been commended in the Department of Applied Geophysics, IIT (ISM) Dhanbad under the banner of Geophysical Society and its student chapters. The guest lectures and workshop was on "AI and Automation for Geophysical Exploration and Sustainable Resource Management" in memory of the Late Prof. J. Singh on the 3rd of November 2022 at the Golden Jubilee Lecture Theatre IIT (ISM) Dhanbad. The lectures were delivered by  Prof. J R Kayal, former DDG of the Geological Survey of India, as the Chief Guest, Mr. Samudra Mitra, Former General Manager of Geological Services and Geophysics, MECL, and other industrial experts from Telesto Energy. The lectures were interactive and focused on adopting various measures to use Artificial Intelligence in Geophysical Exploration and ways to implement a Sustainable Resource Management. On November 3rd, 2022, the J Singh Memorial lecture series covered a wide range of subjects, featuring high-profile individuals from the Geophysics Profession. Link:- https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:6993933443868815360

Webinar on Earthquake Ground Motion Prediction

Earthquake Ground Motion Prediction techniques have evolved drastically because of the use of Ground Motion Prediction in seismic design codes and hazardous seismic maps, loss and risk modeling of an earthquake, and a broad spectrum of research. In collaboration with the SEG- Student Chapters of Indian Institute of Technology (Indian School of Mines) Dhanbad, Osmania University, and Kurukshetra University, the SEG-NGRI Student Chapter organized a talk on "Earthquake Ground Motion Prediction" by Jaleena Sunny on 14 December 2022 at 4:00 PM. Currently, she is pursuing Earthquake Engineering at the University of Liverpool, United Kingdom, and has received the opportunity to be a visiting researcher at GFZ, Potsdam, Germany. She has an immense amount of knowledge in the field of geophysics, and she encouraged the students to pursue a career in this field. She discussed the prestigious Marie-Curie Ph.D. Fellowship, shared her valuable experience, and interacted with the attendees at the end of her talk. Link:- https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:7008013276508745728

Exploration Methods and Key Challenges in Indian E&P Industry

Under the aegis of Cairn Connect Program, the SEG-EAGE IIT ISM student chapters and the SPE IIT ISM Dhanbad student chapter collaborated to invite Mr. Biswanath Ghosh, who is the Head of Technical and Exploration at Cairn Oil & Gas. He is an alumni of ISM and he delivered a talk to the cohort of students on the challenges faced by the E&P industry in India. With more than 22 years of practical experience on the field, as a technical officer at Vedanta, as well as Cairn, he gave insights on how to be adept with skills pertaining to exploration methods. With the advent of technology, it is important to be up-to-date with the trends of the future to better the industry and help its growth. Link:- https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:7024310728371167232

Conferences & Events

Geoconfluence’21

Geoconfluence is the annual Geo-technical fest organised by the Department of Applied Geophysics, IIT(ISM) Dhanbad to inculcate a healthy competition and thus evaluate geotechnical mastery of the participants in association with SEG and other Geoscience student chapters. It is a pulse which was initiated 11 years ago and it has been making ripples of change since then. Being one of the premier Geoscience department of the country, this fest holds very high importance. It provides an excellent platform to students to share their research work, learn from lectures by distinguished professors & industry professionals, take part in workshops & seminars and interact with Geoscience experts to enhance their understanding of the subject along with proper guidance. It has been getting bigger & better every year. Geoconfluence aims to provide a forum for students to discuss, deliberate, and investigate geosciences. It also provided the opportunity for students to interact with esteemed subject-matter experts from all over the world. Here is a glimpse of all the events that happened this year:-

• Hackathon:- The first-ever Hackathon in geosciences in India was held in this year’s Geoconfluence. It was sponsored by noted geophysicist Dr. Mrinal Kanti Sen. It revolved around “Quantitative geophysical data analysis using machine learning”. The students were given a problem statement and were asked to develop a deep learning based approach for solving it.
• Post-Earth Presento:- In this team event, participants had to design evocative, self-explanatory posters and presentations representing topics related to geosciences. Participants had to explain and elucidate their presentation in front of a panel of highly qualified judges.
• Geosabha:- A group discussion event on topics strictly from the vast field of Geoscience aimed to provide participants a platform to explore a subject and use their oratory skills to present their point-of-view to the jury panel after being assigned with a group of random participants.
• Geoquest:- It was an online quiz based on various phenomena and topics of geosciences. It was a team event.
• Geomodelling:- This was a group demonstration event using the aid of physical modeling, animation techniques or self-explanatory drawings/posters related to geophysics.

Social Media Activity

Geophysical Society (GS), formerly famous as the Geophysical Student Society (GSS), is the Official Newsletter of the Applied Geophysics Department, IIT (ISM) DHANBAD, which commenced with the idea of expanding knowledge about the incredible phenomena of our mother earth through Geophysics and glorifying the achievements of students and faculties of the department. It is a Non-profitable organization driven by the students of the Applied Geophysics department. Society's social media handles are followed and routinely reviewed by many influencing minds of the world of Geophysics hailing from different parts of the world. The society was initially brought together to guide geophysics enthusiasts into the field's career perspective, accompanied by sharing information regarding past, present, and upcoming geophysical developments. Moreover, this initiative will spread the honor of this prestigious department of IIT (ISM) Dhanbad. In recent years, society has been successfully able to give an insight into the academic life of students and professors of one of the best universities for Earth Sciences in Asia, i.e., IIT(ISM) Dhanbad. Threads like #geointerns #geoachievements are part of the society that incorporates the updates of all students' success stories achieved through their internships, selection of research papers, and placement in popular industries. #geoopportunities was settled to make students aware of all the latest webinars, events, and workshops associated with the field of geosciences worldwide. In addition, the threads like #geonews, #geofacts, #geoevents, respectively equip the readers with current developments, enigmatic facts, and upcoming events in the domain of Applied Sciences and the world of Geophysics, making it an ocean of knowledge for not only geophysicists but also for science enthusiasts. Also, one of the primary motives is to spread the message among the readers to save our earth and its beautiful nature through posts on water day, ocean day, environment day, etc. GSS also establishes a great connecting platform for IIT ISM alumni by organizing interactive guest lectures, talks, counseling sessions, webinars, etc. so that students are always aware of current and future career prospects. Currently, all the posts regarding interns, achievements of professors and students, astronomical and environmental days, events, and all geophysics & geology-related content organized by the society come up on its Facebook and LinkedIn handle. To explore more about the Geophysical Society, connect to its social media handles. Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/gssiitism/, and LinkedIn Page: https://in.linkedin.com/company/iit-ism-geophysical-society

We keep sharing knowledgeable information about our mother Earth through facts, posters, videos, news, etc. Also, we spread awareness about several opportunities and events through our social media handles. Here is a small glimpse of various contents:-

Geofacts:-

1. Gateway to Hell (https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:7021810493514293248)

2. Lake Baikal (https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:6920220000368635904 )

3. Pacific Ring of Fire (https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:6897963149207724032 )

4. Mid Atlantic Ridge (https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=pfbid05U99HeyJoiS6g91iarvFdhYLdR2hTSWJfBHpDzCRor4jBSnc29jj5DEhFQHc1xaVl&id=101533381306024&mibextid=Nif5oz )

GeoNews:-

1. Geomagnetic Storm devastates SpaceX satellites (https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=pfbid035LPGjawtBpwn8bYRgRMrr8EQGTo7FGRxfWjWgocbnwpaSFJ7VRDY36tXJTApti1Gl&id=101533381306024&mibextid=Nif5oz )

2. Tornado Alley (https://www.instagram.com/p/CZXoNBvhuSU/?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y= )

3. Volcanic Eruption in the Pacific (https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:7005778072599736320 )

Field Trips & Industrial Trainings

Geophysical Field Training 2022

The Department of Applied Geophysics, IIT (ISM) Dhanbad organized “Geophysical Winter Field Training 2022” from 14th to 23rd December 2022 for the students of 5-year Integrated M.Tech and 3-year MSc. Tech in Applied Geophysics students. More than 50 students were exposed to hands-on experience in carrying out various geophysical surveys. Ten faculty members and three technical staff imparted the training to the students. Different geophysical surveys, including Gravity, Magnetic, Seismic (Reflection & Refraction), Self Potential, Induced Polarisation, DC Resistivity, Ground Penetrating Radar, HVSR (Passive Seismic), Magnetotelluric, and Electrical Resistivity Tomography, were carried out at Pathuria and Shibpur villages near Gobindpur region of Dhanbad, Jharkhand. Faculties and students also visited the Dhanbad Airport and witnessed the Twin Otter Airborne Survey System (TOASS), which conducts airborne geophysical surveys under the Geological Survey of India(GSI). Its objectives are to augment and improve geological maps and to select areas of the mineral target. Students visited the aircraft and demonstrated its functioning. The field training ended with a wonderful cultural evening, “Campfire,” in which students, faculty, and family members met, interacted, and had dinner. Overall this training proved to be an excellent opportunity for young minds to learn data acquisition using different geophysical instruments, gain field experience, and assimilate interpretation of the results. The scientific curiosity earned under this motivated training students to actively participate in the nation's sustainable growth process, particularly in Geophysical Exploration. The training was held under the banner of the Geophysical Society, including its five student chapters of the Society of Exploration Geophysicists (SEG), the European Association of Geoscientists and Engineers(EAGE), the Society of Petroleum Geophysicists(SPG), Indian Geophysical Union(IGU) and Association of Exploration Geophysicists(AEG).

https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:7021810493514293248

Geological Field Trip 2022

This was done with the support of the Department of Applied Geology of IIT(ISM) Dhanbad, to whom the students are very grateful. Since a good understanding of Geology is essential to a Geophysicist, too, this is a very necessary step. A group of around 60 students was a part of this excursion, which took place in the nearby regions of Dhanbad, including Bhasuriya, Muraidi, Baliapur, Basudevpur, and  Circuit Chowk with a period of 7 days. It included basic geological field training like identification of rocks based on their diagnostic properties, finding strikes and dips of geological beds, identification of lithology, structure, and types of rocks, the study of the coal fire in open cast mine, structural analysis, plotting and manipulating elements on a stereo-net, to find folds and ripple like structures in the region and identifying grain sorting deposition planes. The main attraction was the Basudevpur coal fire which grabbed everyone’s attention and got students more interested in knowing about such phenomena. A coal fire is a natural fire that occurs due to the spontaneous combustion of coal formation due to oxygen, which is due to seepage of drill hole fractures, which should ideally be covered with sand. It turned out to be a great activity as it piqued everyone’s interest.

Industrial 10-day Summer Training at ONGC

ONGC is the top energy company of India and many of our students aspire to work for this company. To make students more knowledgeable about the working of the industry and to enhance their understanding, a 10-day training was organised in collaboration with ONGC at different centres of ONGC. This turned out to be a beneficial activity for our students as it also prepared them for the recruitment drives since they got to clear all their doubts from the officials themselves which enhanced their perspective.