Rattan Lal

Rattan Lal (born Karya, Punjab (then British India), now Pakistan ) is an Indian soil scientist. His work focuses on the potential of soils to help resolve global issues such as climate change, food security and water quality.[1]

Rattan Lal
Born5 September 1944
Karyal, West Punjab, British India (now Pakistan)
CitizenshipUS
Known forsustainable soil management for global food security and mitigation of climate change
AwardsJapan Prize (2019), The World Food Prize (2020)
Scientific career
InstitutionsUniversity of Sydney, Australia 1968-69; International Institute of Tropical Agriculture, Ibadan, Nigeria, 1969-87; The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH, USA 1987-2010.

He was awarded the 2019 Japan Prize 'for the sustainable soil management for global food security and mitigation of climate change.'

On June 11, 2020, Professor Lal was named the recipient of the prestigious World Food Prize-2020. His research diverged from the conventional 1970s soil fertility strategy of heavy reliance on commercial fertilizers. His research led a better understanding of how no-till farming, cover crops, crop residues, mulching, and agroforestry can restore degraded soils, increasing organic matter by sequestering atmospheric carbon in the soil, and help combat rising carbon dioxide levels in the air.[2]

Education

Lal received his B.S. from Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana; M.S. from Indian Agricultural Research Institute, New Delhi and Ph.D. from the Ohio State University.[3]

Career and research

Lal worked as a Senior Research Fellow with the University of Sydney from 1968-69, and then as a Soil Physicist at IITA, Ibadan, Nigeria, from 1970 to 1987. In 1987 he returned to Ohio State University, where as of 2019 he was a Distinguished University Professor of Soil Science and Director of the Carbon Management and Sequestration Center [4]

He was President of the International Union of Soil Science for the 2017-2018 period [5]

Awards and honors

References
  1. "Professor Rattan Lal honoured with Glinka World Soil Prize 2018". Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Retrieved 12 December 2019.
  2. Pitt, David. "Ohio State University soil professor gets World Food Prize". Tulsaworld.com. Tulsa World. Retrieved 13 June 2020.
  3. . National Academy of Agricultural Sciences (India) http://naasindia.org/detail.php?id=265. Retrieved 12 December 2019. Missing or empty |title= (help)
  4. . Ohio State University https://senr.osu.edu/our-people/rattan-lal. Missing or empty |title= (help)
  5. "IUSS - The International Union of Soil Sciences Past officers". IUSS - The International Union of Soil Sciences. Retrieved 17 December 2019.
  6. "IUSS - The International Union of Soil Sciences - Von Liebig award 2006". IUSS - The International Union of Soil Sciences. Retrieved 17 December 2019.
  7. "Glinka 2018". FAO, United Nations. Retrieved 17 December 2019.
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