There are people among people, there are personalities between personalities, but there are also exceptional people who cannot be compared to anyone else, they always delight you with their native talent, with the beauty of their human qualities, with their simplicity and dedication to some fields of research that have consecrated them. One of them is the distinguished American Professor of Soil Sciences Rattan Lal, Director of the Center for Carbon Management and Sequestration at Ohio State University, USA, as well as Adjunct Professor at the University of Iceland (since 2009) and the Agricultural Research Institute of India (IARI) (since 2020). Before introducing the American scientist of Indian origin, we will specify that our relationship with him is one of the soul – two years ago he was elected honorary member of the Academy of Sciences of Moldova following scientific contacts and lectures held online by the scientist at the events initiated by the academic institution.
The Life Sciences Section of the ASM organized on September 5, 2024, in the Small Conference Hall, a teleconference dedicated to paying homage to the honorary member of the ASM, Prof. Rattan Lal on the occasion of the honorable jubilee of 80 years since his birth. At the opening of the event, Acad. Ion Tighineanu mentioned that since the ’60s of the last century, Prof. Lal has developed sustainable soil management systems and educated agronomists globally to ensure food and climate security. His passion for this soil-centric philosophy has had a positive impact on hundreds of millions of agricultural producers, promoting the Concept of Healthy Soils on the six continents of the world – Africa, Europe, Asia, Australia, North, Central and South America.
Healthy soils, supported by the techniques developed by Prof. Lal, bring peace and resilience to communities on Earth by reducing hunger and the number of refugees, improving the quality of life for all citizens, while mitigating changes in our climate and food systems. Researcher Rattan Lal makes a direct connection between soil health and human health, arguing this scientific and philosophical concept.
But let’s go back to the emblematic figure of Rattan Lal, his scientific achievements and his worldwide appreciation. He is a man with an innate, pure talent, perhaps with several, which he has developed thanks to his persevering work in achieving the proposed goals: he is a Laureate of the Nobel Peace Prize (2007), the World Food Prize (2020), the Glinca Prize in Pedology (2018), the Japan Prize (2019), the Indian Prize (2019), of the Global Agricultural Innovation Award (2020), of the Padma Shrial Award of the Government of India (2021) etc. He is a true citizen of the Planet through what he has achieved and the care he takes of it.
In 2022, the remarkable scientist Rattan Lal was appointed by the President of the United States of America, Joe Biden, as a member of the Presidential Advisory Council on International Food and Agricultural Development. At the same time, the Inter-American Institute for Cooperation in Agriculture has nominated Prof. Lal as Chair of Soil Science and Ambassador for Sustainable Development on directing and coordinating the efforts of smallholder landowners and agronomists in some 34 countries in North, Central and South America, and the Caribbean to restore degraded soil and reduce carbon emissions.
At the end of his speech, President Ion Tighineanu warmly congratulated the honorary member of the ASM Rattan Lal on the occasion of the 80th anniversary of his birth, reiterating his invitation to visit our Academy of Sciences and the Republic of Moldova this autumn.
In fact, the scientist has long been established in the Republic of Moldova, thanks to the cooperation and friendly relations that have been established between him and Professor Boris Boincean, former director of the Research Institute for Field Crops “Selection”, head of the Agricultural Systems Laboratory within the National Center for Research and Seed Production, Balti sector. On one of his trips, to a scientific conference in Bulgaria (2005), Mr. Boincean met the distinguished scientist Rattan Lal and they became friends. Natures related to research and, in this case, to the science of the soil and its health, the concern for the destiny of human civilization, the problem of the diet of the population on Earth, the promotion of conservative and ecological agriculture, brought them closer, they became friends who keep in touch all these years.
In his speech, the m.c. of the ASM, Boris Boincean referred to some biographical data and scientific results obtained by his honored friend. Born in India on September 5, 1944, Rattan Lal is a graduate of the Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana, India (1963), he received his master’s degree at the Institute of Agricultural Research in New Delhi, India (1965). Both diplomas received by the young Indian, thirsty for knowledge, were appreciated with gold medals. He comes from a poor family with many children in a rural Indian village. When he came to the city of Ohio in the USA to enroll in the doctorate, the young man was barefoot, hungry and homeless, says Prof. Boris Boincean sadly. But Rattan Lal succeeded, he created himself, benefiting from the possibilities and freedoms of talented and hardworking young people to create successful careers in American realities.
Later, the Moldovan researcher did a long internship in Ohio, USA, and, in this context, he recalls: “I was amazed at his work capacity – he got up at 4:00 in the morning and ended his working day at 10–11 in the evening.”
Rattan Lal received his Ph.D. from Columbus State University, Ohio (1968). He held the position of Senior Research Scientist at the University of Sydney, Australia (1968-1969), was Professor of Soil Physics at the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA) in Ibadan, Nigeria (1970-87), Professor of Pedology at The Ohio State University (1987 – present), Director of the Center for Carbon Management and Sequestration at the University (from 2001 – 2020). Rattan Lal’s scientific interests include soil carbon sequestration for food and climate security, conservation agriculture, soil health, soil erosion control principles and practices, eco-intensification of agroecosystems, soil restoration, sustainable management of global soils, etc.
Our protagonist is the author/co-author of over 2600 articles in reviewed journals and over 600 chapters in books, he has written and edited/co-edited) over 100 books. According to the latest international evaluation in the field of agronomic sciences (from 2023), after the Hersh Index, the number of publications and citations of prof. Rattan Lal ranks 1st in the world of agronomy and agriculture: index D (disciplines H-index) is 174; the number of citations – 128154; the number of publications – 1494.
Prof. Rattan Lal was included in the Thomson Reuters list of the world’s most influential scientific minds (2014-2016) and is among the Clarity Highly Cited in Agriculture researchers (2014-2020). The training of scientific staff is characterized by the following data: our honoree guided 112 graduate students, 55 postdoctoral researchers and 370 researchers from various regions of the world. His name also includes over 600 presentations at various scientific forums.
And a recent achievement (2024). Professor Rattan Lal was awarded the Gulberning Foundation of Humanity Award presented to him by former German Chancellor Angela Merkel for significant contributions to ensuring global food security, climate resilience and protecting ecosystems. The prize of 350,000 US dollars was donated by the scientist to Ohio State University as a sign of gratitude for what he achieved in his professional career. An extraordinary gesture – the Indian has not forgotten where he started from in the miraculous world of science.
The members of the Life Sciences Section of the Academy of Sciences of Moldova wished Professor Rattan Lal a happy birthday at “Happy Birthday!” A true collector’s destiny that deserves all our appreciation and admiration!
The original text in Romanian can be read on https://asm.md/omul-planetei-aplauze-si-la-multi-ani-traiasca-i-au-urat-profesorului-american-de-origine-indiana
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