Rate My Professor Babur Mirza

Mirza's research centers on microbial ecology, including diazotrophs, rhizosphere and phyllosphere microbiomes, bacterial pathogens in watersheds, cyanobacteria diversity and toxigenicity, and plant-microbe interactions for sustainable agriculture. His publications appear in leading journals such as Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Applied and Environmental Microbiology, and Diversity. Key works include 'Conversion of the Amazon rainforest to agriculture results in biotic homogenization of soil bacterial communities' (PNAS, 2013), 'Soybean root nodule and rhizosphere microbiome: Distribution of rhizobial and non-rhizobial endophytes' (Applied and Environmental Microbiology, 2021), 'Microbiome of bacterially impaired watersheds: Distribution of potential bacterial pathogens' (Diversity, 2022), and 'Diazotrophs show signs of restoration in Amazon rain forest soils with ecosystem rehabilitation' (Applied and Environmental Microbiology, 2020). He has obtained grants such as a $67,402 USGS project on cyanobacteria (2020-2021) and a $147,870 Mineral Lease Fund award (2013-2015). Mirza received College of Natural and Applied Sciences awards for Faculty Excellence in Teaching (2021, 2024), Service (2024), and Research (2025), plus a Master Online Course Recognition Award (2022). He chairs hiring committees, coordinates the Master of Natural and Applied Sciences program, reviews grants and manuscripts, and leads outreach like Science Olympiad events and hosting Health Sciences Academy students. His students have won multiple presentation awards at conferences.