Sultan Ahmed Ismail (born 9 October 1951) is an Indian soil biologist and

ecologist Ecology () is the study of the relationships between living organisms, including humans, and their physical environment. Ecology considers organisms at the individual, population, community, ecosystem, and biosphere level. Ecology overlaps wi ...

. His work has centred on techniques for recycling

biodegradable waste Biodegradable waste includes any organic matter in waste which can be broken down into carbon dioxide, water, methane or simple organic molecules by micro-organisms and other living things by composting, aerobic digestion, anaerobic digestion ...

into

fertilizer A fertilizer (American English) or fertiliser (British English; see spelling differences) is any material of natural or synthetic origin that is applied to soil or to plant tissues to supply plant nutrients. Fertilizers may be distinct from ...

using local varieties of

earthworm An earthworm is a terrestrial invertebrate that belongs to the phylum Annelida. They exhibit a tube-within-a-tube body plan; they are externally segmented with corresponding internal segmentation; and they usually have setae on all segments. ...

s, and on soil

bioremediation Bioremediation broadly refers to any process wherein a biological system (typically bacteria, microalgae, fungi, and plants), living or dead, is employed for removing environmental pollutants from air, water, soil, flue gasses, industrial effluent ...

. Ismail received a D.Sc. in Zoology from the

University of Madras The University of Madras (informally known as Madras University) is a public state university in Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India. Established in 1857, it is one of the oldest and among the most prestigious universities in India, incorporated by an a ...

in 2001 for his research on the role of earthworms in

soil ecology Soil ecology is the study of the interactions among soil organisms, and between biotic and abiotic aspects of the soil environment. It is particularly concerned with the cycling of nutrients, formation and stabilization of the pore structure, th ...

and

waste management Waste management or waste disposal includes the processes and actions required to manage waste from its inception to its final disposal. This includes the collection, transport, treatment and disposal of waste, together with monitori ...

. He is also the managing director of the Ecoscience Research Foundation. Government of Tamil Nadu appointed him as a member of State Development Policy Council on 06.06.2021.

Vermitech

Ismail works with the

Department of Science and Technology Department of Science and Technology may refer to: *Department of Science and Technology (Australia), an Australian Government department between November 1980 and December 1984 * Department of Science and Technology (India) * Department of Science ...

of the

Government of India The Government of India ( ISO: ; often abbreviated as GoI), known as the Union Government or Central Government but often simply as the Centre, is the national government of the Republic of India, a federal democracy located in South Asia, ...

, in the development of a module on

vermicompost Vermicompost (vermi-compost) is the product of the decomposition process using various species of worms, usually red wigglers, white worms, and other earthworms, to create a mixture of decomposing vegetable or food waste, bedding materials, and ...

ing as a sustainable ecological practice for children. He also conducted a project for the Environment and Forests Department of the

Government of Tamil Nadu Government of Tamil Nadu is the subnational government for the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is seated at Fort St George, Chennai. The legislature of Tamil Nadu was bicameral until 1986, when it was replaced by a unicameral legislature, lik ...

state for implementing vermicomposting in 50 schools in

Chennai Chennai (, ), formerly known as Madras ( the official name until 1996), is the capital city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost Indian state. The largest city of the state in area and population, Chennai is located on the Coromandel Coast of ...

(

Madras Chennai (, ), formerly known as Madras (List of renamed Indian cities and states#Tamil Nadu, the official name until 1996), is the capital city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost states and territories of India, Indian state. The largest city ...

), and delivered several lectures to more than 200 schools in India and abroad on

environmental awareness Environmentalism or environmental rights is a broad philosophy, ideology, and social movement regarding concerns for environmental protection and improvement of the health of the environment, particularly as the measure for this health seek ...

solid waste management Waste management or waste disposal includes the processes and actions required to manage waste from its inception to its final disposal. This includes the collection, transport, treatment and disposal of waste, together with monitorin ...

and vermicomposting. He is currently working with the Consumer Association of Penang (CAP), in an effort to promote awareness of

organic farming Organic farming, also known as ecological farming or biological farming,Labelling, article 30 o''Regulation (EU) 2018/848 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 30 May 2018 on organic production and labelling of organic products and re ...

, vermitech and waste management to educational institutions and organic farmers of

Malaysia Malaysia ( ; ) is a country in Southeast Asia. The federation, federal constitutional monarchy consists of States and federal territories of Malaysia, thirteen states and three federal territories, separated by the South China Sea into two r ...

. His other research interests are on the

anti-inflammatory Anti-inflammatory is the property of a substance or treatment that reduces inflammation or swelling. Anti-inflammatory drugs, also called anti-inflammatories, make up about half of analgesics. These drugs remedy pain by reducing inflammation as ...

properties of earthworms, the

ultrastructure Ultrastructure (or ultra-structure) is the architecture of cells and biomaterials that is visible at higher magnifications than found on a standard optical light microscope. This traditionally meant the resolution and magnification range of a con ...

of the penial setae of earthworms, and the electrical

bioluminescence Bioluminescence is the production and emission of light by living organisms. It is a form of chemiluminescence. Bioluminescence occurs widely in marine vertebrates and invertebrates, as well as in some fungi, microorganisms including some ...

of earthworms.

Books

* Aspects of Behaviour (Ismail, S.A., and Alawdeen, S.S., ed).,

The New College, Chennai The New College ( ta, புதுக்கல்லூரி) is an institution of higher education in Chennai, Tamil Nadu. Established in 1951, the institution is one of the affiliated colleges of the University of Madras, with autonomous statu ...

India India, officially the Republic of India ( Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the ...

. 161 pp. 1987. * Environmental Studies for Class I (Gopalan, R., Sundaram, V., and Ismail, S.A.), Tata McGraw Hill Publishing Company Ltd.,

. 60 pp. 1994. * Environmental Studies for Class II (Gopalan, R., Sundaram, V., and Ismail, S.A.), Tata McGraw Hill Publishing Company Ltd.,

. 59 pp. 1994. * Composting through earthworms (Ismail, S.A., Seshadri, C.V., Jeeji Bai, N., and Suriyakumar, C.R.), M.C.R.C.,

. 38 pp. 1994. * Vermitech (vermicompost and vermiwash) (Ismail, S.A.), Ajju's wormery,

. 10 pp. 1996. * Vermitech (mannpuzhu uram mattrum mannpuzhu serivuttapatta neer) In

Tamil Tamil may refer to: * Tamils, an ethnic group native to India and some other parts of Asia ** Sri Lankan Tamils, Tamil people native to Sri Lanka also called ilankai tamils **Tamil Malaysians, Tamil people native to Malaysia * Tamil language, nati ...

, (Ismail, S.A.), Ajju's wormery, Chennai, India. 11 pp. 1996. * Usar sudhar khetu vermiculture tatha vermiwash ka uthpadhan In Hindi. (Ismail, S.A.). Uttar Pradesh Land Development Corporation,

Lucknow Lucknow (, ) is the capital and the largest city of the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh and it is also the second largest urban agglomeration in Uttar Pradesh. Lucknow is the administrative headquarters of the eponymous district and divisio ...

. 07 pp. 1996. * Vermitech: Worm powered technology (ed Ismail, S.A.),

Council for Advancement of People's Action and Rural Technology A council is a group of people who come together to consult, deliberate, or make decisions. A council may function as a legislature, especially at a town, city or county/shire level, but most legislative bodies at the state/provincial or natio ...

New Delhi New Delhi (, , ''Naī Dillī'') is the Capital city, capital of India and a part of the NCT Delhi, National Capital Territory of Delhi (NCT). New Delhi is the seat of all three branches of the government of India, hosting the Rashtrapati B ...

. 40 pp. 1997. * Vermicology: The Biology of Earthworms, (Ismail, S.A.)

Orient Longman Orient Blackswan Pvt. Ltd. (formerly Orient Longman India, commonly referred to as Orient Longman), is an Indian publishing house headquartered in Hyderabad, Telangana. The company publishes academic, professional and general works as well a ...

. 92pp. 1997. * Mannpuzhu: Valarppum, Tozhilnutpamum, Payankalum (In Tamil) (Ismail, S.A.)

. 115pp. 2001. * The Organic Farming Reader. (Alvares,C., Shiva,V., Ismail, S.A., Vijayalakshmi, K., Mathen, K., and Declercq, B. editors) ARISE and Other India Press,

. 1999. 298 pp. * The Earthworm Book, (Ismail, S.A.,), Other India Press,

Goa Goa () is a state on the southwestern coast of India within the Konkan region, geographically separated from the Deccan highlands by the Western Ghats. It is located between the Indian states of Maharashtra to the north and Karnataka to th ...

. 2005. 101 pp

Awards

Arignar Anna Conjeevaram Natarajan Annadurai (15 September 1909 – 3 February 1969), popularly known as Anna also known as Arignar Anna or Perarignar Anna (''Anna, the scholar'' or ''Elder Brother''), was an Indian Tamil politician who served as the f ...

Award by the Department of Environment,

for environmental education and awareness 2005

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ismail, Sultan Ahmed Scientists from Chennai Indian agronomists 1951 births Living people Indian ecologists