Joseph C Coates obtained Diploma of Associateship from the Royal School of Mines, UK. His specialization was in geology and petrology. He was a Member, Geological Staff, Burmah Oil Company (1923-42), Burma; and Senior Geologist in India, Burmah Oil Company (1942-till retirement).

Academic and Research Achievements: Coates spent his early years partly in development of oilfields in Burma (Yenangyaung, Singu and Yenangyat) and partly in geological exploration, mapping in Arakan, Chittagong, Assam, the Punjab, North-West Frontier Province, Baluchistan, Sind and Burma. He specialized in sedimentary petrology, the systematic application, of which, in India, was then in its infancy. Later, he tackled problems of gas conservation and secondary recovery.

Awards and Honours: Coates was a Fellow of Geological Society of London and Institute of Petroleum.