100 years of the Devine Teacher - Student relationship among the three Generations of Indian Geoscientists (1920s – 2020s): A remarkable Story of Knowledge transfer from T. N. Muthuswami Iyer “TNM” through A. Parthasarathy to G. Shanmugam and beyond

Abstract

The divine teacher-student relationship that covers 100 years of knowledge transfer is the underpinning of this remarkable personal story. Importantly, this narrative is about an Indian genius and a geologic pioneer, Professor T. N. Muthuswami Iyer, known as TNM. The first generation (1920s-1960s) TNM began his teaching career as a crystallographer and a mineralogist at the University of Madras-Gundy Campus (Chennai) in 1924, and continued at the Presidency College (Madras), Sager University (Madhya Pradesh), and Annamalai University (Tamil Nadu). One of his early students at Presidency was A. Parthasarathy, who later studied at the Imperial College in London (UK) and earned his Ph.D. in Engineering Geology from the London University (UL) in 1954. The second generation (1940s-1980s) Prof. Parthasarathy became the Head of Applied Geology section in the Civil Engineering Department at the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Bombay in 1964. The third generation (1960s-2020s) G. Shanmugam earned his B.Sc. in Geology and Chemistry from Annamalai University with a First Class (1965) and started teaching science in a local high school in his hometown of Sirkazhi, Tamil Nadu. TNM, who was the Head of Geology at Annamalai University in 1965, motivated G. Shanmugam to quit his teaching job and pursue M.Sc. in Applied Geology at IIT Bombay. Shanmugam earned his M.Sc. in Applied Geology at IIT Bombay under the guidance of Prof. Parthasarathy. Education and training at IIT Bombay propelled Shanmugam to receive his second M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in the USA. His Ph.D. research under the guidance of Prof. Kenneth R. Walker at University of Tennessee on Ordovician tectonics and sedimentation in the Southern Appalachians led to securing a research position with Mobil Oil Company in Dallas, Texas in 1978. Because of his global research on multiple domains while at Mobil and as post-retirement consultant since 2000 for oil companies in India and China, Shanmugam has to his credit 382 published works that include three Elsevier books on process sedimentology and petroleum geology, with the first two books were translated into Chinese language. He has authored 6 invited Encyclopedia Chapters for Elsevier and McGraw Hill Book Companies and has delivered 89 lectures worldwide during 1980-2021 period. He won the top "Special Prize" from Springer Journal of Palaeogeography in 2020 for "Excellent Papers" based on Science Citation Index (SCI) of five articles published during 2012-2018. Shanmugam's efforts in knowledge transfer during the COVID-19 global pandemic included giving virtual lectures on Zoom, Google Meet, and WebEx platforms to academia (e.g., Royal Holloway, University of London, IIT Bombay, and Ohio University). Shanmugam organized 23 onsite workshops on "Deep-water sandstone petroleum reservoirs" worldwide, which included (1) the UK Government Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), Edinburgh, UK, (2) Reliance Industries Ltd., Kakinada, India, (3) Hardy Oil, Chennai, India, (4) Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC), Mumbai and Kajuraho, India, (5) Petrobras, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, (6) Research Institute of Petroleum Exploration and Development (RIPED) of PetroChina, Beijing, China, and (7) China University of Petroleum, Qingdao, China. The T. N. Muthuswami - A. Parthasarathy - G. Shanmugam lineage, spanning over 100 years, is unique and phenomenal in knowledge transfer among geoscientists. On the economic front, TNM and his lineages contributed directly to the petroleum, atomic mineral, cement, gemstone, and geothermal energy industries, among many others. The acronym "TNM" for T. N. Muthuswami Iyer is just perfect for a Transformational, Neoteric and a Motivating teacher and a noble soul!