AU to start PG course in atmospheric studies

ALLAHABAD UNIVERSITY (AU) has decided to start a two-year Masters Programme in Atmospheric and Ocean Studies from 2007-08.

The syllabus of the four-semester course has been finalised and the varsity has decided that two of its very best centres—K Banerjee Centre of Atmospheric and Ocean Studies and MN Saha Centre of Space Studies— will jointly run the specialised MSc course.

"The plan is to start the course from the next academic session ie 2007-08. We have already been sanctioned seven posts of teachers including one of a Professor, two of Readers and four of Lecturers for the task," informed AU Dean (Science) Prof Hari Prakash.

Prof Prakash said that students having passed their BSc with either Physics, Mathematics, Statistics, Geophysics or Atmospheric Sciences will be eligible to take part in the selection test for the course.

"The initial intake will be of 10 students for the course which will be managed by both K Banerjee Centre of Atmospheric and Ocean Studies and MN Saha Centre of Space Studies," he added.

He informed that the Academic Programme Committee of the centre and Academic Committee of Institute of Inter-Disciplinary Studies (IIDS) as well as the varsity's Academic Council have already given their green signal to the course.

It is believed that the varsity authorities may even present the course before the newly constituted Academic Council of Allahabad Central University for approval, if needed.

A student enrolling for the course can expect to study Dynamics of climate, Atmospheric dynamics, Atmospheric radiation, various processes of climate as well as Ocean-atmosphere interaction, Numerical modelling and dynamics of ocean currents among other things.

"The course has been designed in a way that a student gets a basic yet detailed knowledge of topics and different aspects of Atmospheric and Ocean Studies.

A pass-out will be able to either undertake higher studies and research or go in for a job in one of the many research and development companies or government agencies like the Meteorological department and ONGC," informed Prof IML Das, who was closely associated with the preparation of the syllabus of the course.

Prof Das said that a simulation lab for the MSc students is fully ready and functional while another hardware lab that will be needed will be completed within the next six months.