Objectives

With a vision of consolidating the existing efforts and to pay focused attention to the frontier areas of Environmental Science, University has established the School of Environmental Sciences (SES) in 1995 as a center of learning for advanced studies in different branches of environmental science. The major mandate of the school is to develop appropriate technologies and skilled human resources for conservation of nature, sustainable utilization and management of natural resource for development.

Our objectives are :

Human resource development in environmental management through education and research.

Establishment of modern facilities in order to promote research and technology development.

Imparting training to personnel of NGO’s, Industries, Institutions and Public.

Undertakeing consultancy projects in environment management, EIA, RS&GIS etc.

Offering environmental information, education and communication services.

Academic programmes

The school has been established as a centre of learning for advanced studies in the following areas of environmental sciences - Ecology,biodiversity and conservation biology, natural resource management, remote sensing (RS) and geographical information system (GIS), wetland and mountain ecosystem, environmental pollution and waste management, environmental microbiology, environmental toxicology, environmental biotechnology, environment management including policies, environmental auditing, energy auditing, environmental impact assessment (EIA) .

The five divisions of the school are listed below:

1. Environmental Analysis division

2. Ecology, Resource Conservation and Management division

3. Environmental Microbiology and toxicology division

4. Environmental Biotechnology and Waste Management division

5. Remote Sensing and GIS division

The regular courses offered by the school are M.Sc., M.Phil and Ph.D. programmes besides a few short term courses.

Regular courses :

1.M.Sc. Environment Science and Management

Duration : 2 Years ( 4 Semesters)

Seats : 10

Eligibility : B. Sc. Degree in Botany / Zoology / Chemistry / Physics / Geology /Geography/ Life                     Science/Environmental Science /Environment Management / Microbiology / Biotechnology Biochemistry                    / Plant or Animal Science/Agriculture / Industrial fish & Fisheries/ Aquaculture/ Horticulture / Forestry /                     B. Tech. in Civil, Mechanical, Chemical, Environmental or equivalent examination - 55% marks

Semester Fee : Rs. 6,500 + miscellaneous

Selection : Qualifying Marks + Entrance Test + Group Discussion and Interview

2. M. Phil. Environment Management

Duration : 1 Year ( 2 Semesters)

Seats : 8

Eligibility : P.G. Degree in Botany / Zoology / Chemistry / Physics / Life Science / Environmental Science /                  Environment Management / Geology /Geography/ Microbiology / Biotechnology /Biochemistry / Plant or                  Animal Science / Agriculture / Industrial fish & Fisheries/ Aquaculture/Forestry / Engineering / Geology                  /Earth Science

Semester Fee : Rs. 1,750/-,

Selection : Qualifying Marks + Entrance Test + Interview

3. Ph.D. Programme

School offers Ph.D. Programme in : Environmental Stress Studies ,Environmental Biology, Biodiversity and Conservation Biology ,Biodiversity characterization ,Aerobiology and Allergy ,Vegetation analysis through RS and GIS and Wetland biodiversity, Environmental Chemistry, Environmental Biotechnology and Solid Waste Management ,Aquaticmicrobiology, Microbial Toxicology ,Bioremediation and Environmental Impact Assessment

Short-term courses : 1. Geoinformation Science and Technology (Remote Sensing , GIS and GPS), 2. Digital Photogrammetry and Digital Image Processing, 3. Water and wastewater analysis, 4. Air and sound analysis techniques.

Ongoing projects

Facilities

Laboratories

The school has well equipped laboratory and research facilities for water, air, soil and sound pollution analysis, toxicological and waste management studies, biodiversity, wetland and mountain studies. Apart from the infrastructure cited, the school is having a full-fledged computer lab with necessary software packages for ecological and environmental modeling studies.

Information systems

The Centralised Remote Sensing and GIS Facility in SES is the pioneering facility for RS and GIS in a University in Kerala established with technical and financial support from ISRO, Department of Space, Government of India. The facility is equipped with the State-of-the-Art software for GIS, Photogrammetry and Image Processing and equipment and peripherals including the powerful Graphic Workstations, PCs and Servers.

Library

The school has well equipped library which contains various books, journals, theses and dissertations with research information about water, air, soil and sound pollution analysis, toxicological and waste management studies, biodiversity, wetland and mountain studies.

Consultancy services

The school is offering consultancy services in various environment management sectors like analyzing, and monitoring of air, water, soil and sound, environmental impact assessment studies and EMP report preparation, urban forestry and greenbelt development, solid waste management, remote sensing services like satellite and aerial photo-interpretation, digital image processing, GPS surveying and digitization), geo-statistical analysis, surface modeling and analysis, sophisticated geo-processing and raster GIS modeling, customization and software development, among others.

Our faculty members

1. Dr. A.P.Thomas - Professor & Director

2. Dr. R. Satheesh - Reader

3. Dr. E.V.Ramasamy - Lecturer

4. Dr. A.A.M.Hatha - Lecturer

Dr. A.P. Thomas, Professor & Director
M. Sc., Ph. D.
e–mail : ambattu_ktm@sify.com

Research Areas

Environmental stress studies, Stress physiology, Biodiversity studies, Environment management.

Research Grants

1.A study on the effect of artificial fertilizers on the earthworms in paddy fields (UGC)

2.Studies on the neuroendocrine system of Chiroptera – a histological and histochemical approach (UGC)

3.Development of microbial consortium to enhance the survival of the larvae of Macrobrachium rosenbergii in the hatchery and growth in grow–out ponds (UGC).

4.Assessment of the explosive aquatic weed growth, their taxonomy, ecology and impact on the Kuttanad wetland ecosystem, Kerala state (MoEF)

Research Publications: (Selected)

1.Effect of heat stress on certain biochemical parameters of a megachiropteran bat, Cynopterus sphinx (Vahl), with Mathew M. Oommen. J. Zool. Soc. Ker. 3: 24 – 29, 1995.

2.Distribution pattern of myoglobin in certain muscles of a megachiropteran bat, Cynopterus sphinx (Vahl), with K. Abraham Samuel. J. Zoo. Soc. Ker. 4: 67 – 69. 1996.

3.Effect of heat stress and light stress on the glycogen and total lipid levels in the megachiropteran bat, Cynopterus sphinx (Vahl), with Mathew M. Oommen. J. Zoo. Soc. Ker. 9: 81 – 86, 1999.

4.Effect of Environmental and Starter feed microflora on gut microflora of the juvenile freshwater Prawn (Macrobrachium rosenbergii) in nursery pond, with Mujeeb Rahiman, Saleena V.A., Nisha K.S and Mohamed Hatha A. A. Bull. Agri. Sci., 1: 57 – 62. 2004.

5.Microbial ecology of the Natural Environment of Macrobrachium rosenbergii, with Mujeeb Rahiman, P. Manoj, M. Haseeb and A.A.M. Hatha. Applied Fisheries & Aquaculture, IV (1): 12 – 18. 2004.







Dr. R. Satheesh, Reader
M. Sc., Ph. D.
e–mail : drrsatheesh@yahoo.com

Research Areas

Remote Sensing and GIS, Biodiversity, Vegetation and Conservation Biology, Aero biology, Aeroallergens and Allergy, Pollen Biology, Pollination and Reproductive Biology, Genetic Resources Exploration and Biosystematics, Biomonitoring, River Basin Studies.

Research Grants

1. A comprehensive study of the watersheds of Meenachil river through a geo-ecological approach - WGDP project, State Planning Board, Govt. of Kerala.

2. Assessment and mapping of riparian vegetation and its influence on stream forms in the Pamba River Basin - University Grants Commission, New Delhi.

3. Assessment of Explosive Aquatic Weed Growth, their Taxonomy, Ecology and Impact of the Kuttanad Wetland Ecosystem, Kerala - Ministry of Environment and Forests, Govt. of India.

4. Establishment of Centralised Remote sensing and GIS facility in the School of Environmental Sciences, Mahatma Gandhi University, ISRO, Govt. of India.

5. A Study of the Pollination Biology in relation to the Genetic Diversity of Neem (Azadirachta indica. A. Juss.) in South India, sponsored by the DST, Govt. of India.

Research Publications: (Selected)

1. The airborne pollen incidence in relation to season and vegetation at Kodaikanal, with Rao, G. R and Nair, P.K.K. Ind. J. Aerobiol. Sp. Vol. 37- 42. 1992.

2. A study on the incidence of pollen grains in the atmosphere of Tiruchirapalli, Tamil Nadu, with Rao, G.R. and Nair, P.K.K. Acta Botanica Indica. 21 (1): 74 – 77. 1993.

3. Aerial survey of pollen grains at two different altitudinal ecosystems of Tamil Nadu, India - A Comparative study, with Rao, G.R. and Nair, P.K.K. J. Palynol. 29: 11- 27. 1993.

4. Pollen grains - An aeroallergen, with PrakashKumar, R., Mathew, P.M., Thomas John and Ravindran, P. J. Palynol. 29: 69-75 1993.

5. Fugal spore concentrations in the air at Tiruchirapalli (India). 1987-88, with Rao, G.R. Aerobiologia. 10: 71-75, 1994.

Dr. E.V.Ramasamy , Lecturer
M.Tech.(IIT-Kharagpur), Ph.D.
E-mail : ev_ramasamy@yahoo.com

Post Doctoral Research

Centre for Pollution Control & Energy Technology, Pondicherry University, Pondicherry.

Research Areas

Environmental Biotechnology : Anaerobic wastewater treatment technologies

Solid Waste Management : High-solid digestion, Composting, Vermicomposting

Bioremediation : Phytoremediation of domestic wastewater, Soil bioremediation with Earthworms

Research Grants

Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF) funded project ‘ Studies on earthworm species diversity at different forest ecosystems of Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve (NBR)’ .

Research project proposal submitted to UGC under Major Research Projects :’Municipal solid waste management with high - solid digestion technology and vermicomposting’.

Research Publications

Books : 1. Biotechnological methods of pollution control (1999), with Abbasi, S.A.,
                 Publisher : Orient Longman (University Press India Ltd), Hyderabad,168 p.

             2. Solid waste management with earthworms (2000), with Abbasi, S.A.,
                 Publisher : Discovery Publishing House, New Delhi, 178 p.

Research Papers : (Selected)

1. Utilization of biowaste solids by extracting volatile fatty acids with subsequent conversion into methane and manure, with Abbasi, S.A, Journal of Solid Waste Technology and Management, USA, Vol. 26 (3 & 4),pp 133–139,Nov 1999.

2. High-solids anaerobic digestion for the recovery of energy from municipal solid waste (MSW), with Abbasi,S.A., Environmental Technology (UK), Vol. 21, pp 345-349, 2000.

3. Energy recovery from dairy wastewater-impact of biofilm support systems on anaerobic CST reactors, with. Abbasi,S.A., Applied Energy (UK), vol. 65 , pp 91-98, 2000.

4. Feasibility studies on the treatment of dairy wastewaters with upflow anaerobic sludge blanket reactors, with Gajalakshmi,S.,Sanjeevi, R., Jithesh, M.N.,and Abbasi, S.A., Bioresource Technology (UK), vol. 93, pp 209-212, 2004.

5. High-solids anaerobic digestion for the recovery of energy and manure from Taro (Colocasia esculenta), with Bindu,T., Journal of Solid Waste Technology and Management, USA, Vol. 31 (2), pp 69 – 77 , May 2005.