Work apace to develop geophysical map of India

Dr Rai who will turn 56 on March 16, has joined the small community of the J C Bose National Fellows who work typically, for five years on their projects they proposed for the fellowship with government funding. For about 20 years, Dr Rai cultivated and managed the Seismic Tomography projects at NGRI. He heads the ambitious, challenging and technologically frontline research project to investigate earthquake dynamics and evolution of the Himalayas. He was also involved in the development of the curriculum of a unique five year integrated Master's programme in Earth Sciences that is being offered in the newly set up Indian Institute of Scientific Education and Research at Kolkata. He is passionate about overhauling the Indian science education to make it inclusive and diverse in terms of marrying pure sciences with social sciences, democratising teaching methodology to enable students and researchers to be bold in their ideas and work and lastly, to link universities with science labs so that both can learn and gain from each other by 'coupling their strengths'.

Excerpts:

What project have you proposed for the J C Bose Fellowship?

We will be developing for the first time a geophysical map of the entire country. This will form the base map for all future research in earth sciences. Just like we take a CT scan to look right into the brain using special X-ray machines, we will be deploying a network of sensors across India to see what's going on inside the earth. We have done this earlier but in patches in the Himalayas, Andamans and so on. In the first stage we will cover South India. In 4-5 years we should be able to generate the mosaic of the entire country. Like the Genome Map of India was developed for the first time, my project will develop the geophysical image map of the entire country.

Is this what is called seismic tomography?

Yes indeed. We need to study the physical properties of the earth. All that's happening on the earth surface is essentially controlled by processes happening inside. So to understand the phenomena and to predict we need to know what exists  inside and then generate a predictive model.

Such observations are useful only in predicting earthquakes, tsunamis and so on?

Our project embraces much more. It is critical that we know what's happening in the first 100 metres of depth of the earth which essentially provides food and natural resources to us. Changes in the first 100 metres impact such parameters as groundwater, natural resources and environment. Besides, as we need to double our food production in the next 10-15 years, knowing the soil conditions will help. We are focusing on this new area in a big way, in agri-geophysics. We are trying to integrate social sciences, industry and geophysical research. For instance, econo-physics is an area that is drawing the best brains and has big money.

You are also trying to integrate scientific research with universities?

In the developed countries, research is not done in isolation from educational institutions. But in India even the best of our labs does not have an inbuilt education programme. As researchers, we don't interface with students. We need to have close links with at least universities. We have realised the potential of such continuous and constant interaction. For instance, we have Osmania University barely a km away. If NGRI can have interface with OU's Dept of Earth Sciences both would benefit: we can use 'fresh' thinking and ideas of students and they can use our research facilities.

You also believe in giving freedom to young scientists in thought and action?

Any hierarchy kills talent and creativity. Youth should have the freedom to ask and talk anything. You have to believe that there are others better than you… Let me quote Dr Garden West, under whom I worked in the University of Toronto. He would say that every incoming generation is smarter than the outgoing one and that's the only hope that keeps us alive for future generations.

Considering you had to be away from home for long stretches as part of your research, how did you manage to have a harmonious family life?

Unless we have support at home there's no way we can succeed. My wife Asha told me in the beginning itself that you take care of your responsibilities at work and on field. When you are here we take care of the family (of two sons) together. There's nothing unidirectional about life. You achieve with the support of many people and you give back to family, friends and society by succeeding in what you have undertaken.

As a scientist do you feel your loyalty is to the country or science?

Personally I feel science is global. But we are Indians first and as an Indian, I believe Indians should be first.