By TwoCircles.net staff reporter
New Delhi : President A.P.J. Abdul Kalam has cleared the name of Professor (Dr.) P.K. Abdul Aziz, Vice-Chancellor Cochin University of Science & Technology, as the next Vice-Chancellor of Aligarh Muslim University Aligarh. Professor Abdul Aziz's was the first name on the panel of three persons recommended by AMU Court for appointment of AMU VC.
Talking to TwoCircles.net on phone while he was travelling Friday, Professor Abdul Aziz said he is expected to join AMU in mid June.
On being asked what he felt on being appointed as Vice-Chancellor of Aligarh Muslim University, Professor Abdul Aziz said it was "national honour for him to be appointed as Vice-Chancellor of this prestigious university, which played an active role in the Freedom Movement."
On making the academic environment of AMU better, he said, "Let me understand the situation prevailing on the campus and see what the student and academic community is doing there. I will try to maintain the unique character of the university."
Presently, Professor Azis is the Vice Chancellor of the Cochin University of Science and Technology (CUSAT) Kochi (Kerala). He is a scientist of international repute. His research work on seawater desalination and power industry has been globally recognized by the desalination industry. He is a leading ecology consultant for urban development projects.
He has authored more than 77 research papers in reputed journals, books and proceedings. He was the Principal Investigator of 16 ICAR projects.
Professor P K Azis has also served as Professor, Research and Development Centre, Saline Water Conversion Corporation (Saudi Arabia).
Professor Azis was associated for 27 years with the Kerala Agricultural University. As an academic, he has been involved in the study of the ecology of different aquatic ecosystems in coastal waters, beaches, estuaries, fresh water lakes, rivers and the impact of river basin projects and other human activities on ecosystems and their sustainability.
The University of Kerala has conferred upon him the most coveted degree of Doctor of Science ( D.Sc.) for his contributions in the field of ecology in 2004.
In an article published in the Outlook the Society for Scientific Value [SSV] alleged that he had ‘fudged details' to get the D.Sc. degree. Another high-profile complaint before the SSV came this year from a former director of an institution under the Cochin University of Science and Technology. He accused P.K. Abdul Aziz of fudging details in his dossier that had earned him D.Sc. in 2004.
Professor Abdul Aziz said the allegation is "totally false". "The University Grants Commission, Chancellor of Universities in Kerala and Government of Kerala, all have accepted my clarifications and rejected the allegation as false."