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

My preparation for the sameMy formal introduction to Geophysics began at Indian School of Mines (ISM), Dhanbad under the guidance of anexcellent faculty resource. I was exposed to the entire spectrum of Geophysics in an environment that is intenselycompetitive, and where research goes hand-in-hand with learning. I was also intensely trained in both theory andresearch work with implementation in real field projects, thus laying a sound foundation for graduate study. Myacademic and co-curricular record has been above average. All through school and college, I have been in the top fivein class. I have listed some of my achievements, in the attached resume. What I would like to stress on most is the factthat I have a logical approach towards solving problems that has helped me excel at coding

My primary interestsPersonally, 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 Iwish to pursue in my graduate studies. I chose the elective Computer Graphics and a graduate level course Algorithmsand 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 1043ODP leg 170 near Costa Rica. Of these lithologic units of hole 1039D are established and that of hole 1043B 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 identificationof lithology of 1043B. ANFIS (Adaptive Neural Fuzzy Inference System) which has been chosen as amethod in this case is a new intelligent method in the line of process industry. The proposed scheme isevaluated in Matlab using Fuzzy Logic and ANFIS programmingCluster analysis was performed on the data from a hole 1039D and owing to the high quality of dataacquired, correlation between lithologic units by clustering led to categorization of lithology into 7differentiated clusters. Based on the deviation and variance of data from different kinds of logs, differentfuzzy membership functions for each input were determined and mean and standard deviation were found tocreate a rule base. Steps and phases involved were

1. Designing a set of fuzzy rules2. Choose a fuzzy reasoning system3. Network learning phase4. Testing phase, check of verification5. Utilization phase6. Feeding checking data7. 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 experiencesince 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 highereducation 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 stronglyshares my opinion. An added attraction is its esteemed history and contribution in the field of seismology. Anothercompelling reason is that in my undergraduate training program I was motivated and intrigued by the seismic dataprocessing facilities at the Oil and Natural gas Corporation of India, a govt. Company where I received rigoroustraining in 3D Seismic data acquisition and Processing. The fact that incredible methodologies are developed in

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Uppsala convinced me that Uppsala University is the natural choice in realizing my graduate goals. Subsequently Icorresponded with Dr. Alireza Malehmir and his reply reinforced my decision to apply to Uppsala. It would be apleasure to continue my current research focus at Uppsala under his supervision. At the same time, I am sure thatmany other problems, which the Uppsala Geophysics department is currently focusing on, would be equallyinteresting to work on.

What I plan to do at UppsalaI plan to carry on advanced study of seismic modelling; not only through coursework but also by participating in oneof 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 factany PhD) would well be worth the time and effort spent on it. For the reasons mentioned above, I am sure thatUppsala University will provide me the right environment for pursuing my career goals.

Financial AidI would be fully dependent on aid to finance my graduate studies. If I were granted an assistantship, then given mylong 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 hardwork and full dedication towards my research assignment. I believe that my enthusiasm will enable me to meet thoseexpectations. My consistency in all previous academic and co-curricular activities is what gives me confidence when Isay this. Eagerly looking forward to a long term association with the Geophysics Department of Uppsala University

ReferencesProf. Shalivahan, Professor & Head of the Department , Applied Geophysics, Indian School Of MinesEmail : 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 PandeyM. Sc. Tech. (Applied Geophysics)Indian School of Mines, Dhanbad, India