A. Q. M. Bazlul Karim

Karim was born on 1 February 1920 in Kalma village in Lohajang Upazila, Munshiganj District, Bengal Presidency, British India.[1] He passed SSC, and HSC in1936 and 1938 respectively.[1] He completed his BSc examinations in 1940.[1] He did his MSc degree in 1942 from Aligarh Muslim University in Chemistry.[1]

In 1945, he started his PhD in agricultural chemistry at Imperial College London and finished in 1948.[1] His thesis was Residual effect of fertilisers on the growth and yield of potatoes.[1]

Karim became a civil servant in Calcutta under the Bengal Ministry of Food.[1] He joined Jadabpur College as a lecturer.[1] He was appointed a gazetted officer in the chemical standardization laboratory of the Bengal Ministry of Food and Drug.[1]

In 1949, Karim joined the Department of Soil Science in University of Dhaka as senior Lecturer.[1] He worked with M Osman Ghani and Abdul Karim. In 1952, he was appointed reader.[1] He joined the Department of Soil Science and Botany in Davis Campus of the University of California, Barkley as a visiting faculty following an offer by American Academy of Sciences.[1]

In 1961, Karim returned from the United States and was appointed head of Soil Science Department of the University of Dhaka.[1] In 1962, he was promoted to Professor. From 1967 to 1969, he worked as Director General Soil Survey of Pakistan project.[1]

Karim was appointed the first chairman of the Bangladesh Public Service Commission after the Independence of Bangladesh in July 1972.[1][2] He served a five year term after which he returned to the University of Dhaka. He retired from the university on 30 June 1982.[1]

• President's Gold Medal (1974)[1]
• Sher-e-Bangla Gold Medal (1982)[1]
• Atish Dipankar Gold Medal (1984)[1]
• Ekushey Padak (1999), posthumously.[1][2]

Karim died on 6 September 1998.[1]