Appllcotloo fot loll 201J Abblsbek looJey

uppsolo uolvetslty

My goals
I am applying to the PhD program in Exploration Seismology at Uppsala University. After considering my aptitude
and the type of work that I enjoy most, I am convinced that I want to take up a career in research in Geophysics. A
PhD is just one step towards realizing this goal.

My preparation for the same
My formal introduction to Geophysics began at Indian School of Mines (ISM), Dhanbad under the guidance of an
excellent faculty resource. I was exposed to the entire spectrum of Geophysics in an environment that is intensely
competitive, and where research goes hand-in-hand with learning. I was also intensely trained in both theory and
research work with implementation in real field projects, thus laying a sound foundation for graduate study. My
academic and co-curricular record has been above average. All through school and college, I have been in the top five
in class. I have listed some of my achievements, in the attached resume. What I would like to stress on most is the fact
that I have a logical approach towards solving problems that has helped me excel at coding
My primary interests
Personally, I enjoy working on problems with considerable visualization and computation. At ISM, this resulted in an
inclination towards seismic imaging and my inclination towards exploration seismology. These are the subjects that I
wish to pursue in my graduate studies. I chose the elective Computer Graphics and a graduate level course Algorithms
and Complexity this semester, in line with these interests. My freshman year project (home paper), under Dr. P. K.
Khan, focuses on Seismic Tomography
My final year Thesis
Lithology identification includes interpretation of many parameters such as resistivity, bulk density,
photoelectric factor and gamma ray. In my study I concern myself with two drilling sites 1039 and 1043
ODP leg 170 near Costa Rica. Of these lithologic units of hole 1039D are established and that of hole 1043
B is not identified owing to incomplete coring. Here a fuzzy inference system is incorporated that uses
geophysical data from hole 1039D to train followed by testing and trained system is utilized in identification
of lithology of 1043B. ANFIS (Adaptive Neural Fuzzy Inference System) which has been chosen as a
method in this case is a new intelligent method in the line of process industry. The proposed scheme is
evaluated in Matlab using Fuzzy Logic and ANFIS programming
Cluster analysis was performed on the data from a hole 1039D and owing to the high quality of data
acquired, correlation between lithologic units by clustering led to categorization of lithology into 7
differentiated clusters. Based on the deviation and variance of data from different kinds of logs, different
fuzzy membership functions for each input were determined and mean and standard deviation were found to
create a rule base. Steps and phases involved were
1. Designing a set of fuzzy rules
2. Choose a fuzzy reasoning system
3. Network learning phase
4. Testing phase, check of verification
5. Utilization phase
6. Feeding checking data
7. Prediction and interpretation

Why Uppsala University?
It would be appropriate to say that all fields in Seismology are highly interlinked. This has been a personal experience
since while working in a field like reflection seismology for exploration, often times I would refer to principles of
earthquake seismology. Hence, the criteria that I considered while selecting a university to pursue my higher
education are that the university must offer me the opportunity to work in different areas of seismology. Uppsala
University provides a perfect fit to my requirements. My final year project guide, Dr. Upendra Kumar Singh strongly
shares my opinion. An added attraction is its esteemed history and contribution in the field of seismology. Another
compelling reason is that in my undergraduate training program I was motivated and intrigued by the seismic data
processing facilities at the Oil and Natural gas Corporation of India, a govt. Company where I received rigorous
training in 3D Seismic data acquisition and Processing. The fact that incredible methodologies are developed in
Appllcotloo fot loll 201J Abblsbek looJey
uppsolo uolvetslty
Uppsala convinced me that Uppsala University is the natural choice in realizing my graduate goals. Subsequently I
corresponded with Dr. Alireza Malehmir and his reply reinforced my decision to apply to Uppsala. It would be a
pleasure to continue my current research focus at Uppsala under his supervision. At the same time, I am sure that
many other problems, which the Uppsala Geophysics department is currently focusing on, would be equally
interesting to work on.

What I plan to do at Uppsala
I plan to carry on advanced study of seismic modelling; not only through coursework but also by participating in one
of the several ongoing projects. This will also give me the opportunity to contribute my bit to the understanding of
earth by the use of seismology, which I am extremely passionate about. . I am sure the output of my PhD (and in fact
any PhD) would well be worth the time and effort spent on it. For the reasons mentioned above, I am sure that
Uppsala University will provide me the right environment for pursuing my career goals.

Financial Aid
I would be fully dependent on aid to finance my graduate studies. If I were granted an assistantship, then given my
long term goals, a research assistantship would be ideal.

In conclusion
I am aware that Uppsala University expects very high standards from its students. On my part, I can assure you of hard
work and full dedication towards my research assignment. I believe that my enthusiasm will enable me to meet those
expectations. My consistency in all previous academic and co-curricular activities is what gives me confidence when I
say this. Eagerly looking forward to a long term association with the Geophysics Department of Uppsala University

References
Prof. Shalivahan, Professor & Head of the Department, Applied Geophysics, Indian School Of Mines
Email : svismagp@yahoo.co.in
Prof. Upendra Kumar Singh, Associate Professor, Applied Geophysics, Indian School of Mines,
Email: upendra_bhu1@rediffmail.com
Prof. V. K. Srivastava Professor Applied Geophysics, Indian School of Mines,
Email: ism_vinay@yahoo.co.in


Abhishek Pandey
M. Sc. Tech. (Applied Geophysics)
Indian School of Mines, Dhanbad, India