Sayed Zahoor Qasim (31 December 1926 – 20 October 2015) was an Indian

marine biologist Marine biology is the scientific study of the biology of marine life, organisms in the sea. Given that in biology many scientific classification, phyla, family (biology), families and genera have some species that live in the sea and others th ...

. Qasim helped lead India's exploration to Antarctica and guided the other seven expeditions from 1981 to 1988. He was a Member of the

Planning Commission of India The Planning Commission was an institution in the Government of India, which formulated India's Five-Year Plans, among other functions. In his first Independence Day speech in 2014, Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced his intention to diss ...

from 1991 to 1996. He was the Vice Chancellor of

Jamia Milia Islamia Jamia Millia Islamia () is a central university located in New Delhi, India. Originally established at Aligarh, United Provinces (present-day Uttar Pradesh, India) during the British Raj in 1920, it moved to its current location in Okhla in ...

from 1989 to 1991 and an Honorary Professor of universities including

Aligarh Muslim University Aligarh Muslim University (abbreviated as AMU) is a Public University, public Central University (India), central university in Aligarh, Uttar Pradesh, India, which was originally established by Sir Syed Ahmad Khan as the Muhammadan Anglo-Orie ...

Madurai Kamaraj University Madurai Kamaraj University (MKU) is a public state university located in Madurai city, in southern Tamil Nadu, India, established in 1966. MKU is one of the 15 universities in India with the University with Potential for Excellence status, wh ...

Anna Malai University , logo = CampusmapofAU.jpg , image = Annamalai University logo.png , image_size = 225px , motto = "With Courage and Faith" , established = , type ...

Indian Institute of Technology Madras Indian Institute of Technology Madras (IIT Madras) is a public technical university located in Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India. As one of the Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs), it is recognized as an Institute of National Importance and has be ...

, and

Jamia Millia Islamia Jamia Millia Islamia () is a central university located in New Delhi, India. Originally established at Aligarh, United Provinces (present-day Uttar Pradesh, India) during the British Raj in 1920, it moved to its current location in Okhla in ...

. He was awarded the highest civilian awards

Padma Shri Padma Shri (IAST: ''padma śrī''), also spelled Padma Shree, is the fourth-highest Indian honours system, civilian award of the Republic of India, after the Bharat Ratna, the Padma Vibhushan and the Padma Bhushan. Instituted on 2 January 1954, ...

and

Padma Bhushan The Padma Bhushan is the third-highest civilian award in the Republic of India, preceded by the Bharat Ratna and the Padma Vibhushan and followed by the Padma Shri. Instituted on 2 January 1954, the award is given for "distinguished service ...

by 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, c ...

Early life

Qasim was born in Rakswara Gram Allahabad presently Kaushambi in 1926. His ancestor were rulers of Kaushambi. He began his schooling from Majidiya Islamiya Intermediate College Allahabad, and then moved to

, where he obtained a

B.Sc. A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for programs that generally last three to five years. The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Science was the University of ...

degree in 1949 and a

M.Sc. A Master of Science ( la, Magisterii Scientiae; abbreviated MS, M.S., MSc, M.Sc., SM, S.M., ScM or Sc.M.) is a master's degree in the field of science awarded by universities in many countries or a person holding such a degree. In contrast to ...

degree in Zoology in 1951. He stood first in the order of Merit for which he was awarded the University Gold Medal. For several years, he was a lecturer in the Department of Geography at Aligarh before proceeding to the United Kingdom for higher studies in 1953. In 1956 he completed his

D.Sc. Doctor of Science ( la, links=no, Scientiae Doctor), usually abbreviated Sc.D., D.Sc., S.D., or D.S., is an academic research degree awarded in a number of countries throughout the world. In some countries, "Doctor of Science" is the degree used f ...

and

Ph.D. A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, Ph.D., or DPhil; Latin: or ') is the most common degree at the highest academic level awarded following a course of study. PhDs are awarded for programs across the whole breadth of academic fields. Because it is a ...

degrees from

University College of North Wales , former_names = University College of North Wales (1884–1996) University of Wales, Bangor (1996–2007) , image = File:Arms_of_Bangor_University.svg , image_size = 250px , caption = Arms ...

. He was the Director of Central Marine Fisheries Research Institute, Kochi, Kerala from 1971 to 1974. On 20 October 2015, he died at the age of 88.

Awards and honours

(1974) *

Rafi Ahmed Kidwai Award The Rafi Ahmed Kidwai Award was created in 1956 by the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) in 1956 to recognize Indian researchers in the agricultural field. The award is named after Indian Independence activist Rafi Ahmed Kidwai. Awards ...

(1978) *

Lal Bahadur Shastri national Award The Lal Bahadur Shastri National Award is an annual prestigious award instituted from Lal Bahadur Shastri Institute of Management, Delhi. This consists of a cash award of 5,00,000 rupees plus a citation and a plaque. Background The award w ...

(1988) *

(1982) *

Oceanology International Lifetime Achievement Award Oceanography (), also known as oceanology and ocean science, is the scientific study of the oceans. It is an Earth science Earth science or geoscience includes all fields of natural science related to the planet Earth. This is a branch of sc ...

, UK (1999) *

First National Ocean Science and Technology Award by Government of India First or 1st is the ordinal form of the number one (#1). First or 1st may also refer to: *World record, specifically the first instance of a particular achievement Arts and media Music * 1$T, American rapper, singer-songwriter, DJ, and rec ...

(2003–04) *

Asian Society Gold Medal Asian may refer to: * Items from or related to the continent of Asia: ** Asian people, people in or descending from Asia ** Asian culture, the culture of the people from Asia ** Asian cuisine, food based on the style of food of the people from Asi ...

(2005) * SOFTI Biennial Award (2007) *

Lifetime Achievement Award, Indian Science Congress Lifetime may refer to: * Life expectancy, the length of time a person is expected to remain alive Arts, entertainment, and media Music * Lifetime (band), a rock band from New Jersey * ''Life Time'' (Rollins Band album), by Rollins Band * ...

(2008)

References

*http://eprints.cmfri.org.in/view/creators/Qasim=3AS_Z=3A=3A.html {{DEFAULTSORT:Qasim, Syed Zahoor 1926 births 2015 deaths Recipients of the Padma Bhushan in science & engineering Scientists from Allahabad Aligarh Muslim University alumni Indian Muslims 20th-century Indian biologists Indian oceanographers Indian Antarctic Programme Members of the Planning Commission of India Recipients of the Padma Shri in science & engineering te:ఎస్.జడ్. ఖాసిమ్