M Amirul Islam (1918-2001) was a Bangladesh academic, researcher, and scientist. He developed the Seven Soil Tracts system, a classification of the soil of Bangladesh, which is the foundation of agriculture and soil management in Bangladesh.

Early life

Islam was born on 1 September 1918 in

Noakhali District Noakhali ( bn, নোয়াখালী, , New canal), historically known as Bhulua ( bn, ভুলুয়া), is a district in southeastern Bangladesh, located in the Chittagong Division. It was established as district in 1821, and offici ...

East Bengal ur, , common_name = East Bengal , status = Province of the Dominion of Pakistan , p1 = Bengal Presidency , flag_p1 = Flag of British Bengal.svg , s1 = East ...

British India The provinces of India, earlier presidencies of British India and still earlier, presidency towns, were the administrative divisions of British governance on the Indian subcontinent. Collectively, they have been called British India. In one ...

. In 1936, he completed his Matriculation and in 1938 his Intermediate examination. He graduated from the

University of Dhaka The University of Dhaka (also known as Dhaka University, or DU) is a public research university located in Dhaka, Bangladesh. It is the oldest university in Bangladesh. The university opened its doors to students on July 1st 1921. Currently i ...

in 1941 with a BSc in chemistry. He was first Muslim student to graduate with honors in chemistry from the University of Dhaka. He completed his MSc next year from the University of Dhaka. He completed his PhD in soil sciences from the

University of California The University of California (UC) is a public land-grant research university system in the U.S. state of California. The system is composed of the campuses at Berkeley, Davis, Irvine, Los Angeles, Merced, Riverside, San Diego, San Francisco, ...

in 1949.

Career

Islam joined the Soil Science Department of the University of Dhaka as senior lecturer after the completion of his PhD. From 1950 to 1961, he worked for the East Pakistan provincial government as a soil scientist. He carried out a number of important research including classifying the soil of Bangladesh into Seven Soil Tracts. The Seven Soil Tracts is considered the foundation of soil classification in Bangladesh. From 1961 to 1966, he served as the Director of Directorate of Soil Survey. In 1966, he was promoted to the post of Director General. He was appointed Director of Agriculture in 1967. He served as the Director of East Pakistan Rice Research Institute till the

Independence of Bangladesh Independence of Bangladesh was declared on 26 March 1971, celebrated as Independence Day, from Pakistan. The Independence Day of Bangladesh is celebrated on 26 March when Sheikh Mujibur Rahman declared the Independence of Bangladesh. The Bangladesh ...

in 1971. From 1973 to 1977, Islam served as the Director of Bangladesh Rice Research Institute. He served as the Executive Vice-Chairman of the

Bangladesh Agricultural Research Council Bangladesh Agricultural Research Council is the body in charge of the National Agricultural Research System and is located in Farmgate, Dhaka, Bangladesh. The institute won the Independence Award in 2021 for its outstanding contribution to resea ...

. He retired in 1979 from government service and started working as a free lance consultant. He worked for Centre on Integrated Rural Development for Asia and the Pacific,

Food and Agriculture Organization The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO)french: link=no, Organisation des Nations unies pour l'alimentation et l'agriculture; it, Organizzazione delle Nazioni Unite per l'Alimentazione e l'Agricoltura is an intern ...

North Carolina State University North Carolina State University (NC State) is a public land-grant research university in Raleigh, North Carolina. Founded in 1887 and part of the University of North Carolina system, it is the largest university in the Carolinas. The universit ...

, and

United Nations Development Programme The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP)french: Programme des Nations unies pour le développement, PNUD is a United Nations agency tasked with helping countries eliminate poverty and achieve sustainable economic growth and human dev ...

. He is a Member of Bangladesh Association for the Advancement of Science and Soil Science Society of Bangladesh. He is a fellow of

Bangladesh Academy of Sciences Bangladesh Academy of Sciences is an academic forum for Bangladeshi scientists and technologists. Established in 1973, it aims to fulfill the role of promoting research and development of sciences in Bangladesh. History After the partition of ...

Death

Islam died on 9 February 2001.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Islam 1918 births 2001 deaths People from Senbagh Upazila University of Dhaka alumni Academic staff of the University of Dhaka Pakistani chemists Bangladeshi soil scientists Bangladeshi chemists Bangladeshi agriculturalists A