Prof. Kalachand Sain

Kalachand Sain obtained his M.Sc. (Tech) in App. Geophysics from IIT-ISM, Dhanbad in 1988, and Ph.D. in ActiveSeismology from CSIR-National Geophysical Research Institute (NGRI), Hyderabad in 1995. He pursued post-doctoral research at Cambridge University (UK) and Rice University (USA), and was a visiting scientist at USGS (USA). Currently, he is JC Bose National Fellow at CSIR-NGRI, honorary Outstanding Professor at AcSIR, Ghaziabad and Advisor of DST Centre of Excellence for Climate Information at IIT Delhi. Earlier, he served as Director of Wadia Institute of Himalayan Geology (WIHG) - DST, Dehradun, held additional charge as Director of Birbal Sahni Institute of Paleo Sciences-DST, Lucknow for a while, and was Chief Scientist and Headof Seismic Group at CSIR-NGRI.

Statement of Work: His expertise includes machine learning, seismic tomography, attribute characterization, rock physics modelling, advanced processing, and development of new tools for geoscientific investigation. He contributed immensely through (i) findings and establishment of gas-hydrates - clean and sustainable major energy resources along the Indian margin; (ii) decoding tectono-stratigraphic controls on petrolem systems in Himalayn foreland - energy security; (iii) advancing ML-enabled automatic delimitation of subsurface geologic features and properties from 3D surface data - advanced interpretation; (iv) assessment of glacial dynamics and other climate-induced geological hazards and their plausible mitigation - disaster risk reduction; (v) comprehending geo-tectonics and basin evolution of Indian provinces - geodynamic and seismotectonic implications; and (vi) building institutional capabilities and human resources  in frontier areas - resources development

He has undertaken several national and international collaborations, delivered more than 150 plenary/invited/keynote talks (many are available in Websites/YouTube), organised international conferences, chaired many sessions at scientific fora, and conducted short courses on advanced methodologies and current topics. He has led projects worth INR 62 crores and procured industry-standard data valued at INR 160 crores. These efforts have yielded 251 SCI articles in peer-reviewed journals having 140 i10-index and 31 papers with more than 50 citations & 92 Non-SCI articles; 29 Book chapters; 12 authored/edited books; 2 Patents and 2 Copyrights; supervision for 16 Ph.D. thesis and 70 Master-dissertations. He was/is in Editorial boards of numrous journals including the 'Encyclopedia of Solid Earth Geophysics' (2011, 2021) by Springer. At present, he is the Subject Editor in Earth Sciences for the Proceedings of Indian National Science Academy by Springer Link.

Recognition: He is a Fellow of all three Indian Science Academies: Indian National Science Academy (Delhi), Indian Academy of Sciences (Bangalore), National Academy of Science in India (Allahabad), and Andhra Pradesh (AP) and Telangana Academies of Sciences (Hyderabad). His other main recognition includes National Merit Scholarship from the Min. of Education (MoE), Raman (CSIR) and BOYSCAST (DST) Fellowships, Distinguished Alumnus Award by IIT-ISM, AP Scientist Award, National Award of Excellence in Geosciences by Min. of Earth Sciences (MoES), National Mineral Award by Min. of Mines, Young Scientist Award by CSIR, Krishnan Gold Medal, Decennial Award and Dr. Hari Narain Lifetime Achievement Award by Indian Geophysical Union. He continues to serve as Secretary General of Federation of Indian Geosciences Association and Chairman/Core Member of several National Committees of DST, ANRF, CSIR, MoES, MoE, MoEF&CC, NITI Aayog, Science Academies, Research Councils, Governing Bodies, Advisory Boards of premier Organizations and Institutes/Universities.

1. 1. Demonstrated subsurface hydrological imbalances as causes of the land subsidence at Joshimath (2023)
2. 2. Identified precursors for 2021 Chamoli ice-rock avalanche that led to developing early warning system
3. 3. Established AI Centre of Excellence (2022) at WIHG-DST, Dehradun for ML applications to geosciences
4. 4. Provided scientific accounts of flash floods/snow avalanches (2022-25) in UK, HP, J&K Himalayas
5. 5. Assessed/Monitoring of Gongotri glacier & Bhilangana lake (2019-) at Bhagirathi basin that pose threat in downstream
6. 6. Prepared landslide risk maps (2022) in Kumaun-Garhwal Himalaya - input for developing green corridor
7. 7. Explained recent seismicity in Delhi-NCR from seismological and Magneto Telluric study (2023)
8. 8. Explored likelihood prediction of light earthquakes without any location 7 to 30 days prior to the event in NW Himalaya 
9. 9. Imaged hydrocarbon leakage from source to surface through minute fractures in Indo-Gangetic basin (2023)
10. 10. Developed ML-enabled novel tools (2022) for automatic delineation of subsurface 3D features from surface data
11. 11. Published a Lead-Authored Book (2022) by AGU-Wiley on ‘Meta-attributes: Artificial Networking’, first of its kind
12. 12. Developed full waveform tomography, first time in India, for delineation of finer details of subsurface earth
13. 13. Published a Lead-Authored Book (2023) by Wiley on ‘Tomography of Wide-angle Seismic Data’, first in India
14. 14. Published a Lead-Edited Vol. (2022) by Geol. Soc. of India on ‘Emerging Energy Resources in India’
15. 15. Published a Lead-Edited Vol. (2025) by Jour. of Earth System Science on ‘AI/ML in Earth Sciences’
16. 16. A Solo-Authored Book (2026, progress) by Wiley on ‘Climate Change & Sustainable Development in Himalaya’
17. 17. A Lead-Authored Book (2026, progress) by Wiley on ‘Analysis and Interpretation of Borehole logs’
18. 18. A Co-Edited Vol. (2026, progress) by Frontiers in Earth Science on ‘Glaciers, Sediment Flux, Hazards in Himalaya’
19. 19. Evaluated geothermal resource potential in the UK Himalaya (2020) that can be harnessed for green electricity
20. 20. Established Gas Hydrate Research Centre (2008) with world-class facilities at CSIR-NGRI-Hyderabad
21. 21. Prepared stability thickness map of gas-hydrates (2010) along the Indian margin for their identification
22. 22. Characterized/assessed gas-hydrates (1998-) in KG, Mahanadi and Andaman basins, proved by drilling/coring
23. 23. Estimated critical parameters (2010-) that are pre-requisite for developing hydrates production technology
24. 24. Co-Edited Two Volumes (2014, 2019) of Mar. & Petrol. Geol. by utilising drilling and coring data of Indian NGHP
25. 25. Co-Edited One Volume (2011) of Mar. & Petrol. Geol. on the occurrences of gas-hydrates in the Asia-Oceania
26. 26. Published a Solo-Authored Booklet on 'Gas-hydrates, clean energy resurces' by ASTC, Hyderabad, p.17
27. 27. Delineated high-resolution crustal structures over Indian onshore, offshore, and the Himalay (2000-)
28. 28. Imaged sub-volcanic Mesozoic sediments in central-western India for hydrocarbon exploration (2000-2018)
29. 29. Imaged fold-thrust belt of NW Himalaya, and provided an explanation for incessant supply of Jwalamukhi gas
30. 30. Led marine cruises for heat flow in western offshore (2007), gas-hydrates in eastern offshore (2010), & imaging subduction plate geometry in Andaman (2017)
31. 31. Study on hydrates kinetics led to developing technology for gas storage & transportation, and desalination of seawater
32. 31. Laboratory experiments for concurrent CO2 seizure, precipitation of CO3 minerals, generation of orange H2