Hydrogeology Lab - About PI

PI's Biography

Dr. Prusty is currently working as an Assistant Professor in the Department of Applied Geology at Indian Institute of Technology (Indian School of Mines), Dhanbad. Formerly, he was working as an instructor in Earth and Environmental Sciences in the UG Programme at Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore, and as an Assistant Professor (contract) in the Department of Geology, School of Earth Sciences, Central University of Karnataka, Kalaburagi.

Dr. Prusty completed his Ph.D. in Hydrogeology from the Indian Institute of Technology Bhubaneswar in 2021 under the supervision of Dr. Syed Hilal Farooq. During his Ph.D., he worked on some important aspects of saltwater intrusion problems in coastal regions. For this purpose, he has conducted extensive fieldwork for water and sediment sample collection. He has also simulated the natural coastal aquifer in the laboratory through laboratory-based column experiments. During his master's at IIT Bhubaneswar, he did dissertation work under the guidance of Dr. Syed Hilal Farooq. His master's dissertation work was mainly focused on the seasonal variability in groundwater quality in the populated city of Cuttack, Odisha. He has also attained a two-month summer internship from the Wadia Institute of Himalayan Geology, Dehradun. At WIHG, his mentor was Dr. Koushik Sen, Scientist C in the Structural and Tectonics Group. During this period, he worked on the mineralogical and magneto-mineralogical characteristics of Himalayan granitoids. In addition, he has undergone geological fieldwork during his master's degree under the guidance of Prof. Tapas Kumar Biswal, IIT Bombay.

Working Experience

Department of Applied Geology, Indian Institute of Technology (Indian School of Mines) Dhanbad

Assistant Professor, September 2024 – Present

Earth and Environmental Sciences, Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore

Instructor (UG), August 2022 – September 2024

Department of Geology, Central University of Karnataka, Kalaburagi

Assistant Professor, January 2021 – August 2022

Educational Qualification

Ph.D. (Hydrogeology): Indian Institute of Technology Bhubaneswar, Odisha, India (2015-21)

Supervisor: Dr. Syed Hilal Farooq

Thesis: Effects of saltwater intrusion on coastal groundwater quality and aquifer sediments

M.Sc. (Geology): Indian Institute of Technology Bhubaneswar, Odisha, India (2013-15)

Advisor: Dr. Syed Hilal Farooq

Dissertation: Seasonal Variability in Groundwater Quality of Cuttack City, Odisha, India

B.Sc. (Geology): Ravenshaw University, Cuttack, Odisha, India (2010-13)
Higher Secondary: N.C. Jr. College, Jajpur, Odisha, India (2008-10)
Secondary: Darsan High School, Kundapatana, Jajpur, Odisha, India (2008)

Members in Societies/Journals

Editorial Board Member, Scientific Reports (Springer Nature)
International Association of Hydrological Sciences (IAHS)
European Association of Geochemistry (EAG)

Reviewer in Journals

Scientific Reports (Springer Nature)
Environmental Earth Sciences (Springer)
SN Applied Sciences (Springer)
Environmental Monitoring and Assessment (Springer)
Energies (MDPI)
Sustainability (MDPI)

Funding/Support

International Travel Grant from the European Association of Geochemistry (EAG) for attending the Goldschmidt-2025 conference held in Prague, Czech Republic
Selected as a Volunteer for the 36th International Geological Congress (IGC) held in New Delhi, India
Waived Abstract and Registration Fee by the European Association of Geochemistry (EAG) for the International Conference “Goldschmidt-2020” held in Honolulu, USA (Virtual).
Received a Travel Grant from the European Association of Geochemistry (EAG) for attending the International Conference “Goldschmidt-2019” held in Barcelona, Spain
Received Grant from Wadia Institute of Himalayan Geology (WIHG) for attending 3rd National Geo-Research Scholars Meet (NGRSM-2019) held at WIHG, Dehradun, India
Waived Abstract and Registration Fee by the European Association of Geochemistry (EAG) for the International Conference “Goldschmidt-2018” held in Boston, USA.
Selected as a Summer Intern (2014) with a stipend at Wadia Institute of Himalayan Geology (WIHG), Dehradun, India.

Other Activities

Exam Co-ordinator for UG Programme at IISc, Bangalore for the year 2022-23
UG Co-ordinator for Akansha Programme, a Govt. of Karnataka initiative to promote female education in Science and Technology at IISc, Bangalore
Department Co-ordinator for Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav 2022-23, Central University of Karnataka (Won 1st prize in Solo song, Group song, and Skit competitions)
Department Co-ordinator for the Inter-School Sports competitions 2021-22, Central University of Karnataka (Won overall 1st prize in cultural events)
Co-Faculty for Fieldwork-2022 (1 day in the CUK campus and 1 day in and around Hutti Gold Mines) for MSc Geology 1st year students
Participated in the three-day International Conference on Earth and Environment in Anthropocene (ICEEA-2021) organized by the Central University of Karnataka jointly with the University of Madras held from 29-31 October 2021.
Teaching in rural schools as a part of Unnat Bharat Abhiyan (UBA), a Govt. of India initiative organized by IIT Bhubaneswar
Volunteered in "Soft Computing for Problem Solving (SocProS) 2017", an international conference held at IIT Bhubaneswar during December 23-24, 2017
President of SEG Student Chapter, IIT Bhubaneswar for 2014-15
Participated in the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan organized by IIT Bhubaneswar

Geological Fieldwork

2024: Geological fieldwork around Dhanbad, Jharkhand for the UG Applied Geology students
2024: Geological fieldwork around Chitradurga, Karnataka for the UG Earth and Environmental Sciences students
2023: Geological fieldwork around the Kolar Gold Fields, Karnataka for the UG Earth and Environmental Sciences students
2022: Geological fieldwork in the CUK Campus and in and around Hutti Gold Mines, Karnataka for the MSc 1st year Geology students 2021-23 batch
2022: Fieldwork in and around the Bhosga Lake for the collection of water samples for the UG Project work (IMSc Geology 2019-22 batch)
2019: Cruise to the Bay of Bengal in collaboration with the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) for collection of water and sediment samples
2016-18: Extensive fieldwork for water and sediment sampling from the Chilika Lake, Odisha during Ph.D. at IIT Bhubaneswar
2016-18: Extensive fieldwork for water and sediment sampling along the coastal regions of Puri district, Odisha during Ph.D. at IIT Bhubaneswar
2014-15: Extensive fieldwork for water and sediment sampling in Cuttack city, Odisha for master's dissertation work
2014: Geophysical (Resistivity) survey for groundwater exploration in Argul Campus, IIT Bhubaneswar during M.Sc. at IIT Bhubaneswar
2014: Understanding of topography, structure, and Himalayan tectonics in and around Lower Himalayan region, Uttarakhand during the summer internship at WIHG, Dehradun
2014: Opencast Chromite and Iron mines and their beneficiation plants visit of Odisha Mining Corporation (OMC) during M.Sc. at IIT Bhubaneswar

2013: Geological mapping, Structural study, and Opencast mines visit in and around Ambaji area, Gujarat during M.Sc. at IIT Bhubaneswar
2012: Opencast Chromite and Iron mines visit of Odisha Mining Corporation (OMC) during B.Sc. at Ravenshaw Univerisity

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