Dr. Atul Kumar Patidar

Dr. Atul Kumar Patidar

Sr. Associate Professor

Profile Summary

Dr. Atul Kumar Patidar has over 15 years of experience in the Petroleum Exploration industry and academics. He specializes in upstream oil and gas business, particularly basin analysis, 3D seismic interpretation & prospect maturation, and deepwater depositional systems. Dr. Patidar has published 40+ research papers in high-impact prestigious SCI/Scopus-indexed journals and reputed conference proceedings. He actively coordinates the Industry-Academia Collaboration Program (ITAP) to increase faculty/student participation in industry-based R&D projects. Additionally, he has made significant contributions to curriculum designing for new UG/PG programs at the Energy Cluster, School of Engineering (SOE), UPES.

Work Experience

Before joining UPES, Dr. Patidar was Exploration Geoscientist at Reliance Industries Limited (E&P), he accomplished prospective analysis and exploration/appraisal planning for the deep-water Cauvery Basin. Currently, he is enrolled in the Indian HC Appraisal Program (I-HAP) in 2022, a project of the Ministry of Petroleum & Natural Gas (MOPNG), Govt. of India, to reassess the hydrocarbon potential of the country's prolific basins.

Research Interests

Dr. Patidar's research interests include 3D Seismic Interpretation & Prospect Maturation, Basin analysis, Deepwater Geomorphology, Geological sequestration (GCCS), Tectonic Geomorphology, Neotectonics, Paleoseismology, and Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR).

Teaching Philosophy

Dr. Patidar's teaching philosophy centres around nurturing critical thinking in his classroom. He places a strong emphasis on the role of education in society and advocates for outcome-based learning achieved through relevant pedagogical methods. He emphasizes student-centric teaching and utilizes interactive teaching techniques and real-world examples. Dr. Patidar acknowledges the importance of apprenticeship and tailors his pedagogy accordingly. He also identifies varying learning paces among students and implements appropriate remedial strategies to enhance overall learning outcomes.

Drawing from his experience as a field Geologist, he integrates field study-based analogues such as field photographs, videos, rock samples, and models into his classroom instruction. Additionally, he periodically organizes Geology fieldwork experiences, providing students with invaluable insights into the geological evolution of basins.

Courses Taught

Dr. Patidar has taught various courses in different programs of the School of Advanced Engineering, UPES, such as B.Sc Geology (Hons), M.Sc Petroleum Geoscience, and B.Tech Applied Petroleum Engineering programs. He has taught several courses, including Sedimentary and Petroleum Geology, Sedimentology, Well site Geology and Formation Evaluation, Basin analysis, Geomorphology, and Sedimentary & Sequence Stratigraphy.

Awards and Grants

Dr. Patidar received the Junior Research Fellowship (JRF) awarded by a DST-sponsored research project (2003-2007) and the Senior Research Fellowship (SRF) awarded by CSIR for the year 2007-2008. He also won the second prize in "Young Scientist Presentation" during the 17th GMM, and 6th PAC meeting of DST (ESS) held at IIT Bombay, Mumbai (14th November 2005). He was awarded the Foreign Travel Fellowship by DST & CSIR to present two research papers at the 11th International Conference on Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR-2006) held at The Ohio State University, Columbus, USA, from 19-22nd June 2006.

Scholarly Activities

Dr. Patidar is involved in several academic administration committees, including DCC, enrollment support, AMC, and Social Internship. He serves as a faculty co-advisor for the UPES-FIPI student chapter. As a field leader, he organized a field-training workshop for petroleum system studies, "Kachchh onshore Mesozoic field workshop-2020," for national and international level G&G professionals (RIL and British Petroleum, UK), January 24-31st, 2020, sponsored by RIL. He has vast experience in field excursions in the Kachchh Basin, the Himalayas, and the Swiss Alps. He has also acquired Coursera certification (Virtual teacher specialization) for online teaching and learning offered by the University of California Irvine (UCI) & Duke University.