16/07/2023
Founder, Department of Zoology, AMU
The Department of Zoology was established as a constituent section of the MAO College in 1906 and subsequently was upgraded as an independent unit, imparting teaching at the undergraduate level in 1922 with Dr. M. Sharif as its first Head. Prof. Mohammad Babar Mirza joined the Department as Head in January 1930 and moulded the destiny of the Department during a long thirty years of his tenure. Through his untiring efforts, he placed the Department on the global map as a well-known Centre for teaching and research in Zoological Sciences. Soon after the commencement of postgraduate teaching in 1930's and shifting of the Department to its present premises, Prof. M.B. Mirza carved out the specialization of Entomology and Helminthology in 1931 and 1932; and later Parasitology and Ichthyology & Fisheries in 1951 and 1956 respectively. He retired from the services in 1961 but had, by then, transformed the Department into a Centre of Excellence in biological sciences. Subsequently, Prof. M.A. Basir took over the Department and established Plant Nematology as a distinct discipline for postgraduate teaching and research. He was succeeded by Prof. Shah Mashhood Alam in October 1966 who served the Department for about 38 years. During this period, the Department acquired particular prominence as a well reputed Centre for research in Entomology. Thereafter, Prof. Nawab Hasan Khan succeeded Prof. S. M. Alam in July 1981 as Chairman (a new nomenclature) of the Department and he provided a boost to Plant Nematology and Genetics as distinct disciplines for postgraduate teaching and research. The period of Prof. Athar H. Siddiqui both as Chairman, Department of Zoology and Dean, Faculty of Life Sciences witnessed the dawn of a new era of modern biology which he nurtured by inducting talented faculty from all across the globe. His great contribution brought the international reckoning to this Department. His successors played their own role and the Department which by then was on extremely sound footing moved on. The contribution made by Prof. M. Hayat and Prof. Absar M. Khan to provide a new infrastructural fillip to the Department during their tenures as Chairman is noteworthy.
Hence, from a small one-room offspring, it has grown into a well developed Centre of teaching and research, with all the essential requisites for the pursuits of advanced biology. Presently, the Department is under the dynamic leadership of Prof. Wasim Ahmad under whose creative guidance the Department is attaining new heights in terms of teaching, infrastructural development in modern/applied research. In the past four years, approximately 267 research papers along with several books, monographs and chapters have been published in reputed national and internal Journals/books. Moreover, the Department has also produced more than 50 Ph.Ds/M.Phils. in the above duration. Besides, the Department is currently running with grants of more than 3.5 crores from various national and international R & D agencies such as UGC, DST (including DST-PURSE), DBT (including DBT Builder Program), CSIR, ICAR, CCRUM, MOEF, CST (UP), ICMR, BBSRC (UK) etc. The strengths of the Department lies in its highly qualified and devoted teaching staff, diverse research interests in basic and applied sciences, modern teaching aids along with dedicated Post-Docs and research students.
