Shamim Jairajpuri


Mohammad Shamim Jairajpuri was an Indian zoologist. He served as a professor and Chairman of the Zoology Department and Dean of the Faculty of Life Sciences at Aligarh Muslim University Aligarh before retirement in 2004. He received the first Janaki Ammal National Award bestowed by the Government of India, Ministry of Environment & Forests and Lifetime Achievement Award from the Zoological Society of India for his notable works on taxonomy of nematodes.

Early life and education

Mohammad Shamim Jairajpuri was born in Azamgarh district on 8 April 1942. He received his education at Aligarh Muslim University, completing his B.Sc, M.Sc., and Ph.D. in Zoology in 1964.

Positions

In 1998, he became the first Vice Chancellor of the newly formed Maulana Azad National Urdu University. He was credited by The Milli Gazette as "a leading personality" toward the establishment of the aforementioned university. Earlier he had acted as Coordinator of the Agriculture Center at AMU and became the Founder Director of the Institute of Agriculture in 1993 at AMU.

Research

Jairajpuri researched the taxonomy and biology of the plant and soil nematodes, with the results being published in more than 300 research papers. In addition, he is the author of several books on the subject.

Death

Jairajpuri died in New Delhi on 10 January 2024, at the age of 81.

Honours and awards