Syed Mahmood Naqvi
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SYED MAHMOOD NAQVI is
SYED MAHMOOD NAQVI
SYED MAHMOOD NAQVI | |
|---|---|
| Born | August 28, 1941 |
| Nationality | Indian |
| Alma mater | Aligarh Muslim University, India |
| Known for | Development in geochemistry Science in India and Precambrian Geology of South India |
| Scientific career | |
| Fields | Geochemistry and Precambrian Geology |
| Institutions | National Geophysical Research Institute (NGRI) CSIR |
Dr.Syed Mahmood Naqvi (Born-1941) was a Distinguished Earth Scientist of India working as a senior Scientist in geochemistry at the National Geophysical Research Institute. Mahmood Naqvi was vigorously involved with the activities of the Geological Society of India. He was a Fellow of the society and served on its council as the Secretary for ten years before becoming its Vice President. He also served as the Vice President of the Geological Mining and Metallurgical Society of India and the Indian Society of Applied Geochemists (ISAG). In addition, he was Fellow of the Association of Applied Geochemistry, Indian Geophysical Union, Andhra Pradesh Academy of Sciences and Indian National Science Academy.
Education
Born in Amroha, India in 1941, Naqvi received his school and university education in Amroha and Aligarh, and moved to the Hyderabad, India in 1964, when the National Geophysical Reserach Institute appointed him a research scientist. He joined the Geochemistry group, and obtained his Ph.D in 1969 for a thesis entitled “the structure, petrology, geochemistry, gravity field and tectonics of the central part of the Chitradurga Schist Belt, Dharwar Craton”.
PROFESSIONAL CAREER
Having joined NGRI as a JSA on 9th November 1964, Mahmood Naqvi rose steadily through the cadre, retiring as a Scientist G in 2003. He served as the Acting Director of the institute from February to October 2001. He was a ‘100% CSIR man’ and did not leave it even when he was offered a Professorship by his Alma Mater, the AMU.
In 1964, NGRI was mostly engaged in geophysical research, and Mahmood Naqvi was initially assigned to work with a team of geophysists led by the late Dr. M.N. Qureshi that was engaged in preparation of the gravity map of India. However, he soon found his own niche. With the encouragement and support of Dr. Hari Narain, the then Director, NGRI, and Dr. Qureshi, his Head of the Division, Mahmood Naqvi initiated the first systematic geological/geochemical studies at NGRI. As his Ph.D. project he undertook intensive studies of the structure, petrology, geochemistry, gravity field and tectonics of the central part of the Chitradurga Schist Belt, Dharwar Craton; he received the Ph.D. degree from the AMU in 1970. For the next 35 years, he continued to explore the Precambrian Geology of South India by generating and interpreting diverse geochemical data. The NGRI did not have the facilities required for this purpose. He worked tirelessly to build state-of-the-art geochemistry laboratories at the institute that continue to meet analytical needs of a large number of research organizations and universities in the country. He also established linkages with some leading geochemists outside India. Among the many projects he led was an Indo-US collaborative programme with John Rogers of University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, on “'Precambrians of South India”, which was highly successful.
Mahmood Naqvi contributed immensely to human resource development in geochemistry by guiding over two dozen research students for Ph.D., most of whom are presently occupying high positions in academic/research institutions and industry.
After his superannuation in 2001, Mahmood Naqvi continued to work as CSIR Emeritus and INSA Senior Scientist at NGRI. In fact, despite failing health this was scientifically one of the most productive periods of his life during which he wrote several books.
RESEARCH ACHIEVEMENTS
During his research career spanning nearly 45 years, Mahmood Naqvi made many outstanding contributions to earth sciences. These include:
- Recognition and early description of the oldest crustal nucleus in Dharwar Craton around the Holenarsipur schist belt;
- Importance of horizontal and plate tectonics in the Meso- and Neo-Archaean;
- Identification, petrogenetic and tectonic characterization of a variety of rock types from the Archaean greenstone belts of southern India such as ultramafic komatiites, high-Mg basalts, anorthosites, boninites, adakites, Nb-rich basalts, grey-wakes, banded iron and managese formations, the distinct phases and types of the TTG gneisses and granitoides;
- Evidence for Archaean life;
- Studies on Precambrian metallogeny such as gold mineralization in different geological environments within the Kolar, Ramgiri, Hutti and Gadag fields as well as in the banded iron formations at numerous localities both in southern India and Madagascar and the base metal deposits at Ingaldhal and Kalyadi.
Apart from catapulting the Dharwar Craton onto the canvas of global Precambrian terranes, Mahmood Naqvi’s studies contributed new dimensions and leads toward unraveling several basic problems in Precambrian geology especially the relevance of uniformitareanism and paradigms such as plate tectonics to the early geologic history of the earth. He strongly advocated an early beginning of modern-style plate tectonics as far back in time as the Neo-Archean (2700 million years). He strived relentlessly to obtain critical evidences in the rock record of southern India to demonstrate his crust evolution model. His approach in this journey was holistic encompassing a range of earth processes involving interactions among atmosphere, hydrosphere and lithosphere in space and deep time.
AWARDS & HONOURS
- Gold Medal of the Geological Society of India (1978)
- Shanti Swaroop Bhatnagar Prize in Earth Sciences (1983)
- Andhra Pradesh State Council for Science & Technology (APCOST) Award (1986)
- Taqi Hadi Award (1992)
- Amroha Gavrav (1994)
- Decennial Award of the Indian Geophysical Union (2001)
- Role of Honour, Bundelkhand University (2005)
- Excellence Award from the Friendship Forum of India, New Delhi (2005)
- Life Time Achievement – National Mineral Award for Excellence (2006).