S.M. Ullah

Shah Mohammad Ullah (Bengali: শাহ মোঃ উললাহ) is a Bangladeshi-Austrian soil scientist and environmentalist, who primarily researches arsenic contamination in the air and water.

S. M. Ullah
Born
East Pakistan
NationalityAustria, Bangladesh
Alma materUniversität für Bodenkultur, Wien
University of Dacca
Known forHeavy metals in Crops
Arsenic Contamination
Scientific career
FieldsAgronomy
Soil Science
Soil contamination
InstitutionsVienna University of Life Sciences
Dhaka University
Doctoral studentsKamrun Nahar

The former chairman of the Department of Soil, Water and Environment at the University of Dhaka,[1] the oldest department in the country, he led projects in the field of heavy metal contamination in crops, in collaboration with the Seibersdorf Research Center, Austria and the Ministry of Science and Technology, Government of Bangladesh.[2]

Background

A full Professor of Dhaka University, Ullah completed his BSc from the University of Dacca, and then his MSc and D.Agri from the University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences, Vienna.[3] He was made chairman before the 60th Anniversary of the Department, predating the country's age.[4] At DU, he was both a colleague and successor of Iajuddin Ahmed. Concerned with the national water situation, Ullah presided over the 2011 World Water Day event in Bangladesh hosting the Health Minister who sought to improve access to safe drinking water.[5]

He predicted that the entry of metals into the food chain through plant uptake might cause health hazards and also environmental problems in 1999.[6] In 2010, Dhaka, the capital of Bangladesh saw a large number of deaths among the trees growing in the city according to The Daily Star. Ullah said that the soil problems or air pollution might be responsible for the deaths of the trees, especially, if the level of metals such as copper, nickel, lead, cadmium and zinc goes up in the soil, he said. Besides, a rise in sulphuric, nitric, hydrochloric and other types of acid in the air could also cause the leaves of trees to decay, thereby killing them. He pointed out that trees grow under these constraint in industrial areas where air remains highly polluted. Furthermore, he added that the soil used for filling up lowlands for the Bashundhara Housing Project should be analysed to find the reasons behind it.[7]

He was also a freedom fighter in 1971's Liberation War against Pakistan.

Selected publications
  • Monira, B.; S.M. Ullah, A. S. Mollah and N. Chowdhury (2005). "137Cs-Uptake into Wheat (Triticum Vulgare) Plants from Five Representative Soils of Bangladesh". Environmental Monitoring and Assessment. 104 (1–3): 59–69. doi:10.1007/s10661-005-1601-0. PMID 15931978.

See also

References
  1. Palash Rahman (23 January 2012). "DU rolling back session jam". The Daily Star. Retrieved 15 February 2012.
  2. Bangladesh Arsenic Mitigation Water Supply Project BAMWSP NAMIC, May 2004 Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology Retrieved 15 February 2012
  3. Profile of Dr. Shah Mohammad Ullah, DEPARTMENT OF SOIL, WATER & ENVIRONMENT at University of Dhaka
  4. Correspondent (July 2011) 60th founding anniversary of DU Soil Science Dept observed Retrieved 15 February 2012
  5. Staff Correspondent (23 March 2011). "World Water Day observed". New Age. Retrieved 15 February 2012.
  6. Kuldeep Singh (1999) Biogeochemistry of trace elements at Chaudhary Charan Singh Haryana Agricultural University
  7. Helemul Alam (12 November 2010). "Trees dying in Dhaka, Experts clueless about reasons". The Daily Star. Retrieved 15 February 2012.
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