Srinagar: Renowned earth scientist Prof Talat Ahmad took over as Vice Chancellor University of Kashmir on Tuesday. He replaced Prof Khurshid Andrabi.
After being received by several top officers of the university at the Srinagar airport this afternoon, Prof Talat Ahmad was accorded a ceremonial guard of honour by a contingent of police in the campus. The formal handover-takeover took place at the Vice Chancellor’s Secretariat thereafter.
Prof Talat completed his MSc in geology from Aligarh Muslim University in 1977 followed by an M Phil in Ore Petrology from JNU in 1980. He then completed his PhD in Igneous Petrology from JNU in 1985. In 1988-89, Prof. Talat did a Post Doctoral Fellowship with University of Liecester, while in 1997-98, he did he did another Post Doctoral Fellowship with University of Cambridge. In 1999-2000, he did another Post Doctoral Fellowship with Nagota University (Japan).
Prof Talat Ahmad has held several significant assignments including Vice Chancellor, University of Kashmir, from June 2011 to May 2014, and Vice Chancellor, Jamia Millia Islamia, New Delhi from 15th May 2014 onwards (till appointment as Vice Chancellor, University of Kashmir).
He has been a recipient of several prestigious awards and citations, including the National Mineral Award, 1994 from the Government of India. He has also been a fellow of the Indian National Science Academy, New Delhi, Indian Academy of Sciences, Bangalore, fellow of the National Academy of Sciences, Allahabad, J. C. Bose National Fellowship, DST, New Delhi. He has also received Tak Zainagiri Memorial Award 2012 in the field of promotion of academics, S.M. Naqvi Gold Medal 2013, Geological Society of India, Bangaluru, Indian Geophysical Union– Prince Mukarram Jah Endowment Lecture Award and Gold Medal for the year 2015. Prof Talat Ahmad has been conferred with the 7th Bhartiya Manava Adhikar Samman 2017 “Most Eminent Vice-Chancellor Award 2017” along with a Certificate of Excellence by the All India Council of Human Rights, Liberties & Social Justice (AICHLS).
Prof Talat Ahmad has supervised a vast range of MPhil and PhD works over the years and continues to be actively engaged in the cause of promotion of research and academics at various levels and foras. He has also edited volumes of several top journals while his research papers have been published in some of the topnotch journals in the world.
