Rate My Professor Zakaria Solaiman

Associate Professor Zakaria Solaiman is an agricultural scientist born in Bangladesh with over 29 years of research and teaching experience in Australia, Bangladesh, and Japan. He earned his BScAg (Honours) 1st Class and MScAg (Soil Science) 1st class from Bangladesh Agricultural University. He completed his PhD in Agriculture from Tokyo University of Agriculture and Technology, Japan, on 13 September 1995, focusing on plant production, soil biology, microbiology, and plant nutrition. Following his PhD, he held several postdoctoral positions in Japan, including Japan Science and Technology Postdoctoral Fellow at National Grassland Research Institute (1995-1999), Japan Society for the Promotion of Science Postdoctoral Fellow at Mie University (1999-2000), and Japan Monbusho PhD scholarship recipient. Prior to his doctoral studies, he served as Lecturer and Assistant Professor in Soil Science at Bangladesh Agricultural University from 1988 to 1996. He joined the University of Western Australia in 2000 as Research Officer in Soil Science and Plant Nutrition, School of Earth and Geographical Sciences, advancing to Research Associate at the University of Adelaide (2003-2006), Research Fellow at UWA (2006-2015), Senior Research Fellow (2015-2024), and currently holds the position of Associate Professor and Principal Research Fellow in the UWA School of Agriculture and Environment.

Solaiman's research centers on antimicrobials use and resistance, soil health, soil carbon sequestration, soil amendments including compost and biochar, controlled-release fertiliser, microbial inoculants, and plant nutrients cycling in agricultural and horticultural farming systems. He collaborates on industry-linked projects advancing sustainable and regenerative farming. He received the 2024 Australia New Zealand Biochar Industry Group Forum Best Research Award for pioneering biochar research that converts waste into resources for sustainable agriculture, soil health improvement, and carbon sequestration. Key publications include 'Soil as a source and sink for antimicrobial resistance' in Advances in Agronomy (2026, co-authored), 'Adsorption of ammonium from anaerobic food waste digestate by pristine and modified eucalyptus biochar for nitrogen fertiliser use' in Journal of Soil Science and Plant Nutrition (2025), 'Unravelling Subsoil Acidification: Mechanisms, Consequences and Remediation' in Soil Use and Management (2026), and 'Advances in understanding the role of soil microbiomes in promoting crop resilient to drought stress' (2025). He has supervised multiple PhD completions, secured 19 research grants, and leads projects on antimicrobial resistance mitigation and regenerative agriculture, contributing to UN Sustainable Development Goals 9 and 17.