Doyens of Geology of Kerala II: Prof.K.K.Menon

This year (2003) is very special to geoscientists (whether they be in academia or in the professional outfits under the union or state), in that it was in 1953 June, a relatively young and US educated (Yale University, New Heaven, Connecticut,USA) Prof. K.K. Menon, enrolled the first batch of B.Sc. students in the erstwhile Maharajas College (now the University College), Trivandrum.

Before coming over to the Geology Dept in the University College, Prof. Menon was the Chief of Division of Mineral Survey and Research of the Central Research Institute of theUniversity of Travancore. Sri (late) CV Paulose, K.P.Ramachandran Nair and Shri K.V.Krishnan Nair also served in the Division of Mineral Survey for varying terms and capacities.

Prof. Menon continued to preside over the Geology Department until June, 1963 and then moved over to the Department of Geology of the University of Kerala, built on the core resources of the Div. of Mineral Survey and Research, which till then had the stewardship of Shri.K. V. Krishnan Nair.

Prof. Menon retired as the founder professor of Geology, in the University of Kerala in Oct. 1979. He was a founder member of the Geological Society of India (Bangalore) and the Mineralogical Society of India (Mysore). In addition, he also served in the various academic bodies of this university and others in the states of Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh Prof. Menon also served as the Dean, Faculty of Science of the University.

During his long tenure as an educator and educationist, several scores of students benefited from his personal disposition, reputation and scholarship; innovative teaching style and unceasing and sincere encouragement he offered to his students. Many of his students have reached the far corners of the world in both hemispheres, as well as in the senior echelons of the professional and administrative pursuits.

Prof. Menon’s primary research interest was focused on the recent and modern sediments of the southern Kerala and parts of Tamil Nadu. Even in the early fifties he had focused on the signatures of paleoclimate from the attributes of sediments, i.e., Teris. His contribution in the area of low temperature Geochemistry of Pyrite as well as stratigraphic relation of the Quilon and Warkalli series, though seminal in character later spawned new ideas like two periods of lateralization.

He was associated with the Geological Society of India and the Mineralogical Society of India (by serving in the executive councils).- the premier professional organizations of geoscientific community in India.

After retirement from the university service in Oct.31, 1979, he followed a lifestyle amply fitting a contented and scholarly person, leaving the geological arena to the younger generation of professional and academics. He passed away after a brief illness in10-6- 1998. He is survived by his wife and two daughters and a son and several grand children..

I am sure that the venture by GOSAN to organize biannual commemoration lectures by eminent geoscientists bears fruit in some moments from now. Our distinguished speaker is a very well know son of India, Prof. T.M.Mahadevan, Director (Rtd.) Atomic Mineral Division, and Government of India.

Prof. K.K. Menon

Born: Sept. 26, 1919

Education:

School: Govt. Model High School, Trivandrum

College : B.Sc. (1941) Presidency College, Madras

: Colorado School of Mines, Boulder, Colorado, 1945

Transferred to Yale University : M.S., (1947) Yale University, New Heaven, Connecticut

Career:

Asst. Geologist, State of Travancore, 1942

Acting Geologist, State of Travancore

Senior Research Assistant, 1947, Travancore Univ.

Assistant Professor (1953), University College, Travancore University.

Reader & Head (1963), Dept. of Geology, Univ. of Kerala, Trivandrum

Professor & Head (1968), Dept. of Geology, Univ. of Kerala, Trivandrum

Served as Dean of faculty,

Retired, 31 Oct. 1979.

(Contributor: thrivikramji@gmail.com)

Posted by Prof.Thrivikramji K.P. at 10:34 AM

DOYENS OF GEOLOGY OF KERALA,I: I.C.Chacko

DOYENS OF GEOLOGY OF KERALA,I: I.C.Chacko

DOYENS OF GEOLOGY OF KERALA, I: Chev. I.C.Chacko, (1876 to May 27, 1966) The State Geologist, Director of Industries & Author (A brief biographic sketch) The need for profiling of mineral resources of Kerala is ancient and classical as the days of sovereign state of Travancore- the present core of Kerala state. A quick scrutiny of the accessible records of the state concretely vouches for the mineral inventorying activities carried out by the state Geologists like Chev. I.C.Chacko (under aegis of the Industries department and in the absence of a separate Department of Mines and Geology). Chev.I.C. Chack was borne in 1876 in Pulinkunnu, Kuttanad and had his early education in Govt. English High School Alappuzha (1887-93), and followed by St. Ephrems High School Mannanam,(1894-95). Immediately after school, he joined “Deepika” as sub-Editor, Deepiksa (1894-95). Later he moved to Trivandrum for studies in the HH the Maharajas University College, Trivandrum (1895-99) where he studied also Sanskrit as one of the language courses. On graduation from the college, Mr. Chacko had a short stint (1899-01) as the Headteacher, Leo XIII High school, Alappuzha, In the following year, quest for higher education took this young man to the Imperial College of Science and Technology, Univ. of London (1901- 1906) and studied Physics as one of the subjects. He also qualified to be an Associate of Royal School of Mines, 1906. On his return to India and Travancore, Mr. Chacko was appointed as the State Geologist, Travancore state (1906-31) and finally elevated to the position of the Director of Industries in 1921, and continued in the position till 1931.

Geological Magazine (Decade VI), Volume 3, Issue 10, October 1916, pp 462-464 a renowned journal carried a research article by Mr. I.C.Chacko On Cordierite from Thiruvalla, which later became a highly researched topic in Kerala Geology. The abstract of this paper is as below. Cordierite was first found in Travancore at Teruwulla (lat. 9° 22′ N. and long. 76° 37′ E.) in a kind of diorite. In the hand-specimen the mineral appears as violet patches and spots. Monazite, magnetite or ilmenite, garnet and biotite with probably a little hornblende, occur in association with it. In the sections the mineral is found to contain numerous globular inclusions which are surrounded by pleochroic halos. The larger of these may be identified as monazite under the microscope. The mineral is itself pleochroic, light vibrating in the direction of the axis of mean velocity (Y) showing a pronounced violet tint. When light vibrates in other directions the plates do not show any distinct colour, but a faint yellow tint may be observed in some plates. When light vibrates in the direction of the Y axis the pleochroic halos round the inclusions disappear and assume the violet tint of the crystal plate. Cordierite is supposed to occur usually in metamorphosed sediments, and the pleochroic halos are regarded as due to the presence of organic impurities. But a sedimentary origin is out of the question in the present case. It is held by some that pleochroic halos are due to the presence of radio-active substances. I kept an Ilford Empress photographic plate exposed in a dark box to a crushed sample of the mineral for more than twelve hours, but on development the plate did not show any indication of having been affected by the mineral. In addition, Chev. I.C. Chacko was a great grammarian and much respected linguist. His 1956 publication “Paniniya Pradyotam (Light on Panini’s grammer) earned him the Sahitya Academy Award. The Kerala Shaithya Academy also had instituted a I.C. Chacko award in his honour to be given away to a creation in Malayalam and falling under interest Mr. Chacko. In the later years of the Travancore state and founding of the University of Travancore (1936?), but in the colonial days, a Division of Mineral Survey & Research wing was founded to further the mapping and research on the geological resources of the state, while the dutuies of exploration and licensing vested with the Department of Industries, which later evolved into the Directorate of Geology – an independent entity under the government. The Division of Mineral survey and research that continued in the University of Kerala (founded in 1957?) by June, 1963, transformed itself to the present Dept. of Geology, University of Kerala. This year, the Department plans to hold a scientific session/s to commemorate one of the early fathers of geological profession in the state:

Labels: Chev. I.C.Chacko

(Compiled by: Dr.Thrivikramji.K.P.)

Doyens of Geology of Kerala- III V.C JACOB

Doyens of Geology of Kerala- III

V.C JACOB

A Hydrogeologist Par excellence

Vadakkethu Chacko Jacob (born on May 12, 1929) of Kuriyannoor, Thiruvalla (Kerala), after completing School education locally, enrolled in the Benares Hindu University to finally earn the degree of M.Sc (in Geology) in 1952.

Subsequently Mr. Jacob, served the Sereguddin & Co as a geologist (from November 1952 to October 1953) in Keongjahar District, Orissa, to help the company in establishing an iron ore mine and also carried out geological field investigations in the adjoining districts for locating commercial iron ore and chromite deposits.

Later, in October 1953, Mr. Jacob joined the Geological Survey of India as a Geological Assistant, and worked initially in the petrological laboratory. As part of the GSI’s exploration work, he assisted his senior colleagues in exploratory drilling operations in the coal fields of Bihar, to locate and assess the underground coal seams.

Mr. Jacob’s promotion in Oct. 1954 as Assistant Geologist and posting in the Ground Water Division of G.S.I to work in Ferozpore District of Punjab (till March 1955), offered an opportunity to take a closer look at the problems of water-logging, caused chiefly by surface water irrigation in the district. In the years that followed (i.e. till 1960), he was associated with the exploratory drilling under Ground Water Exploration Programme in the Narmada and Tapti valley alluvial tracts, as well as in parts of the states of Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Punjab and Haryana.

On promotion as Geologist (May 1960), Mr. Jacob continued to serve in the Ground Water Exploration Programmes of GSI in Saurashtra and Gujarat regions. He also worked in the hot spring areas of Bihar during this period. Till 1962 he was attached to the GSI headquarters in Patna, in the Bihar Circle. Systematic geological mapping of the Bhagalpur District of Bihar was one of his notable contributions during this period.

In November 1962, Mr. Jacob, on promotion as Senior Geologist, was posted in the newly formed Kerala Circle of GSI, at Trivandrum, along with other senior officers, viz., Dr.M. R. Subramanyam, T. M. Mahadevan and K. V. Poulose. During the tenure in the Kerala Circle (1962 to March 1969), he was associated with the systematic geological mapping of Quilon District. Other contributions of V.C Jacob during the period included the geological study of Mica Belt of Punalur, mapping and exploration of graphite resources of Vellanad area of Trivandrum District, and demarcation of semiprecious / gemstone belt occurring in the Taluks of Nedumangad and neighbouring ones in the Trivandrum District. Yet another remarkable contribution of V.C Jacob during this time was the indisputable identification of rock types, referable to the Khondalite Group for the first time in Kerala.

There was a climatic extreme, i.e. a severe drought situation, during April 1969 to August 1969 all over India, and V.C Jacob was called back to the Ground Water Division of GSI. During this time, he carried out the ground water survey of Kasaragod Taluk of Kerala. Soon afterwards, a separate Ground Water Division was established in Kerala and he carried out ground water mapping of the state, along with a couple of officers. Ground water survey of the entire Lakshadweep Group of Islands during 1969-71 was another commendable work of Mr. Jacob.

From March of 1971 till 1975, Mr. Jacob, on deputation to the Kerala State Government service as the Chief Hydrologist and in the newly established Ground Water Department, organized a laboratory, procured drilling equipments for exploratory work, designed a technical program for implementation, and above all recruited and trained a number of junior officers as hydrogelogists. The immediate outcome was exploratory drilling, development and construction of numerous tube wells in state government farms and for farmers, who badly needed to augment their available water resources with ground water.

In 1975, Mr. Jacob assumed charge of the newly formed Kerala unit of CGWB, in Trivandrum. In the same year, on direction from New Delhi, Mr. Jacob went to the Maldives to study and assess the ground water conditions of a number of islands and recommended rainwater harvesting programmers to meet their mounting water requirements. On conclusion of this assignment, he continued to serve in Kerala till 1977, with ground water programmes and training a number of junior officers.

In 1977, Mr. Jacob was deputed to WAPCOS (Water and Power Consultancy Services), Government of India. In April 1977, he was deputed to Nigeria for a period over five months, to carry out ground water investigations in the three states of that African country. He, in that capacity, advised the Nigerian government on the construction of tube wells, as an effective solution to overcome the severe problems associated with drinking water scarcity.

Later, he was posted in Hyderabad, as Regional Director of CGWB (Central Ground Water Board) and during this tenure Mr. Jacob guided and oversaw the departmental activities of CGWB in the four southern Indian states.

In April 1980, Government of India selected Mr. Jacob for an assignment in Philippines, to study the ground water conditions of the Mindanao Island, and make technical recommendations for more scientific groundwater development programmes.

Mr. Jacob came back to Kerala for another term (May 1980 to June 1983), to be in charge of the activities of CGWB and to train a number of new junior officers. Afterwards, he paid an official visit to Sweden, where he held discussions with the professors of Royal Institute of Technology, Stockholm and officers of the Swedish Geological Survey, as well as toured to various places in Sweden to study geology, and various activities connected with the groundwater studies of that country. From November 1983 to June 1988 he was engaged in the study of various aspects of groundwater in the southern half of Kerala State, in collaboration with SIDA (The Swedish International Development Agency), covering exploration, drilling and appraisal of groundwater potentials and aspects of groundwater pollution, etc.

Mr. Jacob also served as a member of Kerala State Committee on Science and Technology from 1982 to 1987. He had helped ISRO in developing their water resources at their different laboratory complexes, like at Valiya Mala, and later at Mahedragiri near Kavalkinaru (in southern Tirunelveli Dist, Tamil Nadu) - a hard rock terrain which now houses the Liquid Propulsion Systems Centre, an integral part of Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO). He undertook the preliminary geological studies of Kudamkulam, in the same district, where the construction of a Nuclear Power Station is nearing completion.

Mr. V.C. Jacob retired from the CGWB in 1989 and presently lives in Trivandrum (Kerala), with his family.

Compiled by Dr.K.P.Thrivikramji and Prof.S.Mohana Kumar