Professor Dr. G.K.M. Mustafizur Rahman, the esteemed Vice Chancellor of Gazipur Agricultural University (GAU), is a renowned professor of Environmental Soil Science. His remarkable career began on May 30, 2004, when he joined the university, recognized as the “Center of Excellence” for research-based agricultural education in Bangladesh, as an Associate Professor in the Department of Soil Science. He was promoted to full pledged Professor in the same department in August 2008. Prior to his teaching career at GAU, he made significant contributions to modern soil research during his 14-year tenure as a Senior Scientist at the Bangladesh Institute of Nuclear Agriculture (BINA). Throughout his professional journey, he has dedicated himself to teaching and research in fields such as Soil Chemistry & Soil Fertility, Environmental Pollution Chemistry, Biogeochemistry, and Climate Change. Prof. Rahman earned his BSc in Agriculture (Honors) in 1988 and his MSc in Soil Science (Soil Phosphorus Chemistry) in 1993 from Bangladesh Agricultural University (BAU). He was conferred a PhD in Pesticide Toxicology (Soil Pollution Research) in 2000 from the Laboratory of Pesticide Toxicology at Chiba University, Japan.

As a talented scientist of BINA, Dr. Mustafiz was nominated by International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) to attend the comprehensive training program on Acid Soil Management extensive training program on “The Use of Isotope and Radiation Techniques in Studies of Soil/Plant Relationships with Emphasis on Crop Production on Acids Soils” held from March 6 to April 7, 1995, at the Department of Agriculture, Bangkok, Thailand. Additionally, he was nominated by his PhD supervisor at Chiba University to undertake an advanced post-doctoral training program on “Pesticides and Heavy Metals in the Environment,” held from May 16 to 31, 2000, at Japan Analytical Chemistry Consultant Co., Ltd. (JACC) in Japan.

He received two prestigious international fellowships, the first one is the CAS fellowship, honoring his contributions as a progressive researcher in “Environmental Soil Science and Biogeochemistry” field which included a six-month Visiting Professorship at the Institute of Soil Science (ISS) of Chinese Academic of Science (CAS) from November, 2013 to April 2014. And the second one was KACST fellowship, granted for his innovative research in “Biogeochemistry” carried out at King Abdul Aziz City for Science & Technology (KACST), Saudi Arabia, during February 2015 to March 2015. Both fellowships were successfully completed within their designated timeframes, with financial support provided by the host institutions.

He has served as soil health environment and arsenic expert/consultant on part-time basis for several international projects. From January to August 2011, he contributed to the IRRI arsenic project at the IRRI Bangladesh office, funded by IFAD. Additionally, from November 2011 to April 2014, he worked on climate change project titled “Rice production in drought areas of Bangladesh” funded by World Bank, KGF and BARC.

He has actively participated in numerous National and International Symposiums/Conferences in several countries including Bangladesh, Australia, China, India, Japan, Malaysia, Saudi Arabia, Sweden, South Africa, Thailand, USA etc. At these events, he presented research papers on diverse topics such as Environmental Soil Science, Pollution, Biogeochemistry, Climate Change and so on.

With extensive experience as a Project Leader, Principal Investigator, and/or Project Director he has successfully supervised numerous esteemed research projects on Soil Health Management, Industrial Pollution Assessment & Management, Biogeochemistry (arsenic, salinity), Modelling (climate change, salinity) etc., funded by USDA, USAID, DANIDA, TWAS, CIDA, CIMMYT, World Bank-KGF, BENBEIS-MoE of Bangladesh.

He has in his own credit more than hundred papers, with the majority published in the SCI-Indexed Thomson Reuters journals. He has also edited two important books: “Assessment of Traditional and Modern Technologies in Climatically Vulnerable Ecosystem and Development of Strategy for Combating Impact of Climate Change in Bangladesh” published by DANIDA and PSU-PC Bangladesh (2013), and “Lime Technology for the Acid Soil Regions of Bangladesh” published & funded by Food for Progress Program in Bangladesh, supported by USDA, (2014). In addition, he has contributed three book chapters published by Springer, Singapore. 

Dr. Mustafiz is known for his unwavering commitment to challenging his students and setting high academic expectations. He is renounced PhD guide by GAU and other agricultural universities of Bangladesh. Under his supervision, 25 PhD and 39 MS students have been completed their degrees. Of these, 10 PhD students earned their degrees under his direct supervision and major professorship, while 15 completed their dissertation research with him as a co-supervisor. As a distinguished motivational speaker, Dr. Mustafiz has conducted numerous workshops on the topics of Soil Health, Biochar Research, Arsenic and Heavy Metal Pollution Assessment & Mitigation, and Climate change. He also serves as an external thesis examiner internationally for the University of Putra Malaysia (UPM) and nationally for other agricultural universities of Bangladesh. Additionally, he is involved with the editorial board of different important Journals including “Journal of Environmental Sciences & Natural Resources”, “Journal of Environmental Science” and “Annals of Bangladesh Agriculture”. He also contributes to various administrative and research committees of GAU and other agricultural universities and institutes, further demonstrating his dedication to advancing education and research in his field.

Dr. Mustafiz is actively involved with many national and international professional organizations/bodies. He holds memberships or lifetime memberships in esteemed bodies  such as Asia-Pacific Chemical, Biological & Environmental Engineering Society (APCBEES), International Union of Soil Sciences (IUSS), International Conference on the Biogeochemistry of Trace Elements (ICOBTE), Bangladesh Association for the Environmental Development (BAED), Bangladesh Association for the Advancement of Science, Horticulture Society of Bangladesh, Bangladesh Association for Biotechnology, Krishibid Institute of Bangladesh, Japanese Universities Alumni Association in Bangladesh (JUAAB) and Soil Science Society of Bangladesh.