The research project on 'Analysis, Design and performance Evaluation of subsurface checkdams', funded by Indian National Committee for Rock mechanics and Tunneling (Rs. 4.00 lakhs) is aiming at developing methods to control the underground flow in rivers by constructing sub-surface checkdams. So far eight research projects have been completed (Rs. 148.00 lakhs) and four are in progress (Rs. 32.00 lakhs) . The faculty of the school have published many research papers in Journals and some were presented to international conferences. So far 27 articles and one book have been published from the School of Engineering.

The Students to M.Tech. part-time courses are all employed engineers from various industries/organizations. One Ph.D. and 238 M. Tech. students have passed out from the School. Presently on the rolls are 6 Ph.D. and 61 M. Tech. students. With the establishment of several new B. Tech. and three new M. Tech. programmes, the later in collaboration with industries, the School of Engineering has entered into a dynamic phase of growth and expansion.

A full time Master's programme in Environmental Studies was initiated in 1986. Ever since its inception, the School has been actively involved in research on various aspects of air and water quality monitoring, eco-toxicology, estuarine productivity, water and waste water treatment, and applied microbiology. The faculty of the School is actively pursuing various research programmes. Seven research schemes (Rs. 14.00 lakhs) have been completed, the major among which are (1) Primary productivity in the Vembanad estuary (funded by UNESCO, Rs. 2.00 lakhs) (2) Hematological Studies on Marine and Fresh Water Mussels (funded by DST, Govt. of India, Rs. 7.33 lakhs), (3) Systematics and pathogenicity of Vibrinaceae associated with the larvae of Macrobrachium rosenbergii (funded by International Foundation for Science, Sweden, Rs. 2.79 lakhs), and (4) Development of Primary Cell Cultures and Cell Lines from Fish and Prawns (Funded by STEC, Govt. of Kerala, Rs. 1.15 lakhs).

Five research schemes Rs. 22.00 lakhs are presently in progress. These include: (1) Coir Retting: Process Upgradation and Pollution Abatement through Environment Biotechnology (funded by Coir Board, Rs. 5.9 lakhs) (2) Development of Bioreactor for Nitrifying Water in closed System Prawn Hatcheries (funded by Department of Biotechnology, Rs. 15.90 lakhs). Four research schemes ( Rs. 16 lakhs) are awaiting approval. These relate to Biomask Conversion, Magnetic Flocculation, Role of Algae in Industrial Effluent Treatment, Development of Bioreactors for Nitrying sewage.

The School has a productive record of interaction with Government agencies and industries. Sponsored research has been undertaken and consultancy services offered by the faculty for agriculture and industries, such as Cochin Refineries Ltd., Coir Board, Eureka Forbes, Hindustan Organic Chemicals Ltd., Indian Aluminium Company, Kerala Water Authority, and National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC). The problems investigated include solid waste disposal, drinking water treatment and disease in aquatic animals.

The postgraduate students are being given training in industries and under agencies such as Kerala State Pollution Control Board and the National Environmental Engineering Research Institute, as part of their dissertation work. This has helped them find placement directly in industries after graduation . The faculty of the school have been actively contributing to publications in reputed journals. So far, about 173 articles and 3 books have been published.

The Department has been actively engaged in research in different areas like ancient and Modern Poetry, Linguistics, Comparative Studies of Language and Literature, Folk Literature, Translation, Computer Aided Language Teaching etc. A computer laboratory is instituted under the Computer Aided Language Translation (CALT) programme with the support of the Department of Electronics(DOE), Government of India.

The Department has produced nearly 100 Ph.D.s so far. At present 30 research scholars(part time and full time) are actively engaged in research. The Department is also bringing out a house journal by name "ANUSEELAN", since 1970. So far 177 articles, two monographs and five books reviews have been published by the Department and its faculty. About sixteen seminars and two Refresher courses were conducted by the Department. The Department has completed three research projects valued at Rs.22.00 lakhs. Two with a total financial outlay of Rs.16.40 lakhs are in progress, another is awaiting approval.

The Department has been granted sanction for starting P.G. Certificate course in Japanese Language during the Academic year 1995-96 apart from re-introduction of the certificate course in French. A proposal to start a six-semester M.A.Degree Course in Translation with German and Russian as core subjects and English as a compulsory subject has been approved by the University.

The Teaching faculty drawn from different Universities in India and abroad with specialization in diverse fields of legal studies contribute to "The Cochin University Law Review" published by the school. The School has conducted several national and international seminars/conferences. The Public Law lecture series, conducted by the School annually by inviting legal luminaries from India and abroad, is one of the most prestigious lecture series on law in the country.

The School has expertise in fishery biology, aquaculture, fishing technology, fish processing, and fisheries economics and management. Members of the faculty have participated in several international symposia and workshops held in Malaysia, SriLanka, Bangladesh, Maldives and Indonesia. The School actively offers consultancy services to private industrialists, Government and International Development agencies. The director of the School is a member of the scientific panel for fisheries of the Indian Council for Agricultural Research (ICAR), Government of India, Fisheries expert in Union Public Service Commission (UPSC), Bangladesh Agricultural University as fisheries Expert, Executive Committee member in the international Fisheries Energy Optimization Group, Canada. Many faculty members have experience in managing and monitoring national and international research projects. One faculty member was associated with the Indo-Dutch co-operation programme as a fishery expert. The faculty of the School have so far published one book, 222 research papers, four monographs and one book review. The School also organized a national level seminar on "Technological Advancements in fisheries and its Impact on Rural Development" during 5-7 December, 1995.

One of the ongoing ICAR sponsors research projects entitled, "Population Characteristics, bionomics and fishery of macrobrachium rosenbergii" aims to find out the ways and means for the restoration of the depleted stock in a wetland ecosystem in Kerala. Another project on post-harvest technology attempts to study the biochemical and spoilage pattern of prawn in marine and brackish waters. A project on the economic aspects of recreation fishing and its influence on the development of tourism is also being carried out in the School. As on date, two projects stand completed (Rs.6.90 lakhs), three are in progress(Rs.5.32 lakhs) and two have been approved (Rs. 0.60 lakhs) for implementation.

Most of the alumni of the School are employed as managers and technocrats in fisheries industry or financial institutions/banks; some have taken to teaching and research. The School maintains close relations with the Indian Seafood Processing Industry and interacts periodically on subjects of mutual interest. The School is also involved in extension activities in various disciplines of fishery sciences.

The School of Marine Sciences is organized into five Departments, the details of which are given below :

Realising the need for advanced manpower development in Meteorology and Atmospheric Sciences in India, the UGC has sanctioned and funded a 3 semester M.Tech. course in Atmospheric Science since 1989 in this University, along with Indian Institute of Science and a few other selected universities. The AICTE has also approved the M.Tech. programme in Atmospheric Science, which has an in-take of 17 students.

Apart from the teaching activities, research in Meteorology/Atmospheric Sciences of this Department is in full swing in the fields of Agriculture Meteorology, Hydro Meteorology, Middle Atmospheric Dynamics, Solar-Terrestrial Physics, Atmospheric Modeling, Environmental meteorology, Air Pollution studies, and Remote Sensing. There are nine full time and three part time research scholars working on various fields in Atmospheric Sciences. All research fellows of the Department are holders of CSIR/UGC Research Fellowship having qualified the NET examination conducted on all India basis. Every year many students of this Department qualify for the NET Award. Both in 1992 and 1994, students from this Department ranked First in the CSIR/UGC examination in the branch of Earth Sciences.

A large number of students passing M.Sc in Meteorology and M.Tech. in Atmospheric Sciences get absorbed in institutions such as the Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology, India Meteorology Department, Indian Air Force, Space Application Centre, National Remote Sensing Agency, Defence Research and Development Organisation, Indian Space Research Organisation, SHAR, National Institute of Oceanography, Tata Institute of Fundamental Research, CMMACS, IISc, etc., and in other universities and R & D institutions. Some of the students have also gone abroad for higher studies and employment in this field.

The Department of Atmospheric Sciences is mainly funded by UGC, MHRD, DST, STEC, ISRO, AICTE etc. through research projects and Department Development Programmes. Most of the faculty members had the benefit of advanced training and research abroad. Prestigious fellowships such as Commission of the European Communities (CEC) , BOYSCAST, etc., are awarded to the faculty of this Department. Ten students have been awarded Ph.D.s during the last decade and about 100 research papers were published in various national and international journals.

The Chemical Oceanography Department has pioneered studies in many an area of vital, national/international significance. The concept of "Mussel Watch" was introduced as early as 1977 almost simultaneously when it was launched in the western world. It was this pioneering study which paved the way for the use of marine organisms in pollution monitoring studies all over India. "Mud banks" are mysterious sea water phenomena exclusive to the Kerala coast. It heralds the onset of shoals of fish in specified regions on the coastline and is the very mysteries of this unique occurrence. The contribution of this Department in areas of nutrient chemistry, phase exchange studies on aquatic pollutants, biogeoorganics, etc have made invaluable inputs into the national data base.

The faculty of the Department have won international academic recognition in the form of the prestigious Alexandar von Humboldt Fellowship and commonwealth Academic Staff Fellowship. All the members of the faculty periodically present the results of their investigations at International Conferences/Symposia. The academic output of the Department during 1984-85 includes around 20 PH.D.s about 75 scientific publications in refereed International journals, and about 45 national/international Seminar presentations.

Job profile of the Alumni: Teaching - 36%, Research - 51% abroad - 7% Others-6%.

Sophisticated Instrumental facilities available for analytical investigations include UV/VIS and IR Spectrophotometers, Atomic absorption Spectrophotometer, AAS-Mercury Hydride System, Fluorescence Spectrophotometer, Gas Chromatograph, CHN-Analyzer, Polarographic equipment etc. The current areas of research are centered around phase exchange studies on various aquatic pollutants(metals, trace organics, pesticides, organometallic compounds etc) analytical studies on humic/fulvic acids, petroleum/polyaromatic hydrocarbons, PCBs, TBTO and other marine organics, dynamics of selected major ions, chemical speciation studies nutrient interaction in estuarine systems, studies on molluscan shells, optical properties of sea water, biogeoorganics in the aquatic environment, marine natural products etc.

The AICTE, New Delhi has sanctioned an amount of Rs.10 lakhs to the Chemical Oceanography Department for modernization of its laboratories (period of implementation: 1995-1997). The Department is also involved in the interdisciplinary research projects of the School of Marine Sciences such as DRS. DSA, (UGC) and is awaiting clearance for a carrying capacity study for Cochin to be funded by the Ministry of Environment and forests, Government of India.

The M.Sc. Hydrochemistry degree course is the first of its kind in the country and it is the hope that successful students would acquire specialized analytical dexterity, that is the very life-line of highly precise and accurate trace/ultra-trace analysis of the aquatic environment and, thus, imbibe scientific acumen that would enable them to find gainful placement in such diverse and highly potential fields as water analysis, pollution monitoring and control, environmental impact assessment, aquaculture and aquatic resource management, coastal zone management etc.

The investigations conducted on the mud banks of Kerala have helped in exploring the fishery potential, biological and ecological significance and commercial relevance of this unique ecosystem. The discovery of vast beds of deep water prawn and lobsters near the 100 fathom line was a significant contribution from this Department. Biological, physiological and fishery aspects of commercially important penaid prawns of the south west coast of India have also been investigated. Several aspects of the biology of marine fouling and boring organisms were also taken up and voluminous data were collected. The effects of petroleum hydrocarbons, commercially important mollusks and crustaceans were studied in details. Studies on the properties os enzymes and their role in the control of metabolic path ways in marine vertebrates and invertebrates have shown that the properties and control mechanism of atleast a few enzymes are considerably different from the well established pattern seen is terrestrial animals. Significant contributions have been made to the information regarding the microbiology of prawn larval rearing system, the microbial soilage of fishes and marine microbial amylase.

The Department has conducted two important national/international seminars/symposia till date. Eight research projects stand completed (Rs.100.05 lakhs) and three are awaiting approval(Rs.84.10 lakhs) So far the faculty of the division have to their credit, 232 articles, 3 books and 7 book reviews in leading national/international journals. About 520 students have passed out of the institution and they are working as Scientist/Teachers in Marine Biology/fisheries Institutes, University departments and colleges or as managers, supervisors or technologists in fish-processing plants, or as farm managers in aquaculture industries.

The Department has placed emphasis on contemporary topics in ocean studies which have been selected as thrust area subjects by national/international agencies. The thrust areas of research include Coastal zone Management, Eyestrain Dynamics and Sedimentation, river Inputs into Ocean systems and Acoustic Oceanography.

The faculty of this Department are currently engaged in projects on topics related to estuarine processes in coastal oceanography. Major publications are mostly in recognized foreign journals, namely Annals of Geophysics, handbook of MAP, Science of the Total Environment, Hydrobiologia, Environmental Geology, Boundary Layer meteorology, and Environmental conservation plus reputed national journals Research publication stand at 216. Four books have been published by the faculty mainly on topics related to monsoons in India. Members of the faculty have been awarded international fellowships to conduct research abroad under projects such as CED, Commonwealth and DAAD.The Department works in collaboration with the satellite Application Centre (SAC), National Informatics Centre (NIC), National Institute of Fundamental Research (NIFR) CSIR, Centre for Mathematical Modelling and computer applications. Centre for Water Resources Development and Management (CWADM), National Institute of Hydrology, Centre for Earth Science Studies (CESS) and the central and State Universities. Several of its alumni have gone abroad for higher studies and research. They have also contributed substantially to the research and development activities of the country and have established a very good reputation in academic as well as scientific circle. As many as 63 students from the Department have qualified themselves in national entrance test (NET) conducted by UGC/CSIR out of about 110 who appeared. The faculty and research fellows have national and international symposia/seminars held in India and abroad. Also some of them have been awarded International fellowships for the conduct of post doctoral research abroad.

The Department of Physical Oceanography has been the forerunner in this country in oceanographic studies and research for the past three decades, By a timely reorientation of the curricula and training methods, the faculty have been able to promote and develop a strong contingent of oceanographers within this country and abroad.

The Department has achieved national status in the field of advanced research in various disciplines of Earth Sciences. As on date, six research projects stand completed (Rs. 4.48 lakhs). These were mainly sponsored by the Central and State Government agencies such UGC, Ministry of Environment & forests, and STEC, Government of Kerala. Data from these projects gave valuable information on coastal marine processes, evolution of major estuaries, and lakes of Kerala, and on mineral deposits of Kerala

Presently, five research projects are in progress in the department collaboration with the Department of Science and technology (DST) Government of India (Rs. 30.67) lakhs. These cover the trust areas in Earth, Atmospheric and Ocean Sciences, which have academic as well as applied significance. Major among these are "sediment dynamics and Hydrodynamics of Mud Banks of Kerala" and "Nature and Evolution of the Precambrian Lower Crystal Segments Associated with the Bavali Lineament and Wynad Schist Belt: A geological cum Geophysical investigation". Several research papers have been published in journals of international repute by the faculty which numbers about 105.

As of today 7 Ph.D. and 160 M.Sc.students have passed out from the Department. Presently on the rolls are 11 Ph.D 19 M.Sc., and 29 M.Sc. (Tech.) students. Students of this Department are absorbed in several central and State Government organizations such as National Institute of Oceanography, Oil and Natural Gas Commission, Geological Survey of India, Centre for Earth Sciences Studies, and various Indian Universities.