Prof. Malay Mukul’s Interview

The following article stems from an interview with Professor Malay Mukul from the Earth Science department, led by the Freshie Feature Panel 2023-2024. Delving into various topics, Professor Mukul shared his insights on the emerging  field of geology, his perspectives on the education system, and more.

Professor Malay Mukul is a familiar name in geology, particularly in structural geology in India. He has taught for more than 15 years and has published many well-known papers on structural geology. His research fields of interest include fold-thrust belt Structural geology, neotectonics, tectonic geomorphology, continental deformation studies with high-precision GPS, and spatial statistics. He excelled as the gold medalist in Applied Geology at the Indian School of Mines (now IIT, Dhanbad) and topped numerous competitive exams, including GATE and NET.

In this interview with us, Professor Malay Mukul spoke about his perspective on geology, his aspiration for this subject, and more!

Q. Can you introduce yourself and elaborate on your interest in this subject, particularly Structural geology?

I did my schooling at Dr. Graham’s Homes in my hometown, Kalimpong, in Darjeeling. I then did my 11th and 12th from St. Xaviers College, Calcutta, and went to Calcutta University for my graduation in geology. After my 12th, I wanted to prepare for engineering exams. Due to some family issues, I couldn’t prepare for it. Then, someone suggested that I should try geology. I then decided to pursue geology along with my preparations for JEE. As time passed, I became more comfortable in geology and started loving it. Then, I dropped the idea to be an engineer and devoted more time to geology. Then, I pursued my MSc. (Tech) at ISM, Dhanbad, and graduated with the gold medal. I couldn’t go into geophysics because my training was not quantitative enough. I got a job offer through campus recruitment at TCS to develop software for mining exploration. It was the 90s; frankly speaking, I had little idea of computers then.

Due to my research interest, I chose the USA as my destination, where I earned an M.S. in geological sciences and then a Ph.D. with Prof. Gautam Mitra at Rochester. I also served at the Utah Geological Survey as a contract geologist. I returned to India after my Ph.D. and joined the CSIR Centre for Mathematical Modelling and Computer Simulations as a Scientist (Fellow) at CSIR, Bangalore. I joined IITB as an Associate Professor in 2009 and was promoted to Professor in 2014. My interest in structural geology is due to its very nature of needing to be more and more qualitative. I grew up looking at the Majestic Himalayas from my childhood and was curious about the formation of these mountain belts. This was an important factor that pushed me into geology.

Q. What are some of the misconceptions that revolve around geology and geologists? Is there a confusion between geology and geography? Have you ever faced an issue due to these misconceptions?

 As far as I know, people have no severe misconceptions regarding us and our subject. Geography focuses more on surface topographic studies, including other aspects like human geography, physical geography, etc. They are not typically concerned about the processes that form and destroy those landforms. In geology, we specifically deal with this and do a detailed study. Besides, many people confuse “geology” with “zoology.” Sometimes, the field geologists need help doing fieldwork in some areas. I can remember one or two examples. In north-east India, people are concerned about outsiders, and they always fear that we are doing this fieldwork to look for mineral resources to take away from there. This attitude is quite obvious if you look at their history.

Once, I was going to do fieldwork in the North Eastern region, and the local people thought I had an ulterior motive. I had to get local help, and he had to convince the people for 2 hours regarding my work, and then they agreed. I remember another example in Rajasthan where people thought we were looking for gold deposits in that area. I remember some locals telling me not to tell the government about these deposits for some time so that they could acquire the gold as much as possible. The British “Great Trigonometrical Survey” of India and South Africa in the 1800s involved dividing the land into triangles with pillars as markers. Despite many pillars being destroyed, their basal parts remained intact. We found some of them to calculate the net displacement since they were established, but locals removed the brass plates that marked these stations by digging, which destroyed them and prevented future research. These types of things are common, and one of the things that we worry about is the gradual destruction of outcrops and our geological heritage.

Q. You have completed your Ph.D. in the U.S. What is the difference between the curriculum and the teaching style in India and the U.S.? What are some parts we can take away from the USA? Can you propose some ideas?

Let’s start with the bachelor’s degree. In the USA, they get two years to explore different subjects to know their interests. In India, this flexibility is not there. This benefits our students because they study the subject for three years, increasing their knowledge of that subject. The great thing in the USA, which is now being adopted in India, is that in the 4th year, they teach their students how to do research for the entire year. They teach their students via projects. This allows people to generate new knowledge from existing knowledge. Here, new knowledge generation includes the application of a new methodology or applying the old method in a very different part where it has not been used before, etc. This results in people writing good-quality research papers on various topics. They can also analyze the flaws and knowledge gaps in research papers and rectify them. This is slowly being adopted in India today, and we have needed it for several decades. Research in any field requires innovation and out-of-the-box thinking. If you want to excel in research, then “me too” types won’t work.

Here, “me too” means that you did your research merely by agreeing with previous researchers and generating additional data on a topic without unfolding any new aspect. In our time as students, the availability of knowledge was restricted, but now, knowledge is readily available everywhere. If you can’t generate new knowledge in any topic from the existing ones, then your Ph.D. degree is of limited use. The curriculum at IIT is not always up to date. The most challenging part of a curriculum is that you can’t teach students the new dimensions of different topics if you strictly adhere to the syllabus. In IITB, this is not an issue because we have the flexibility to teach the students as per the need and value of different aspects of each topic beyond the syllabus. Through this process, we can teach students about the recent trends that are emerging on a particular topic.

Q. How is the branch related to other branches of engineering?

I realized the application of mechanics in structural geology after my MSc. when I pulled up an international research journal and couldn’t figure out most of the papers in it. Then, I realized that something needed to be improved in my study. This increased my curiosity about what was different in the international curriculum and system, and I landed up in the U.S. While taking mechanical engineering courses during my Ph.D., I realized the importance of those aspects in structural geology. Geology is interconnected to several different branches of engineering, such as civil engineering, metallurgy, etc., and is all about the Earth. Any branch that has something to do with the Earth’s processes qualifies as Earth Science. Besides, we also have a branch of remote sensing that integrates several engineering disciplines, including computer programming. We also have geophysics, which is the application of physics to image the subsurface and provide insights that can be integrated with geological field studies on the surface. These branches are crucial for mineral exploration, seismic studies, natural hazards, etc.

Q. From your teaching experience, can you explain how the students’ approach and mindset towards the subject changed over the years? Has there been any change in teaching patterns over the years?

Due to the heavy influence of social media, students’ attention spans are decreasing. Nowadays, I can notice the blanked-out faces of the students after 1 hour. The students are getting increasingly impatient, which can be a significant barrier to success. In our time, we used to have heavier workloads and exams. At ISM (now IIT-ISM), these workloads have taught us effective time management. One change that we have made to ease the teaching process is that we have moved from purely blackboard-type teaching to hybrid mode, where both blackboard and projectors are being used. You see, in a pure blackboard type of teaching, you can clearly explain one topic, but you can only advance a little. In hybrid mode, the advantage is that you can cover many issues, and you can also use the blackboard where there is a need. This helps me personally to teach my students more than the syllabus.

Q. How can a B.Tech student currently explore the field of geology? Is there a prospect of a B.Tech program being introduced? 

In civil engineering courses, people are studying geology to understand the subject better. We also offer a course for the Civil Engineering department. Besides, students are always welcome if they are interested in this subject. Nowadays, significant research is coming from interdisciplinary fields. Still, the students must remember that they must put extra effort into the coursework they take outside their discipline .Regarding your question for the BTech programme ,Many IITs already have courses in geology, like Kharagpur and Roorkee. It would be a good step if our department offered that course, and steps had already been taken to introduce a bachelor’s program in the department. We hope that bright students will be attracted to this course and bring positive changes in the geology field.

Q. What advice would you give students who are pursuing or may pursue geology in the future?

First, I urge the students pursuing geology to make decisions regarding their future according to their capacity and passion. If you want to get a job in geology or any other field, start working for it from day one. Don’t think of doing part-time research for a safer side. This research will neither work nor add value to your profile. It is because you can’t give proper justice to any of the things by doing so. Similar advice goes for those who want to pursue research as their career. Remember, you will only succeed in those fields that you like, whereas even mundane tasks will give you interest and pleasure. Geology is an exciting field for those who want to pursue geology. Our branch derives its inspiration and principles from nature. We have subjects like paleontology, geophysics, remote sensing, hydrogeology, geochemistry, etc. You will explore the natural beauty of Mother Earth in this subject to a degree that you can’t feel in any other. Above all, your survival depends on your Mother Earth, and you will understand her dynamic processes more than any layman. I hope you enjoy the journey a lot, just like I did.

This article was written as part of Insight’s Freshie Feature program.