Fakhruddin Ahmad obtained his PhD degree (1949) from the Aligarh Muslim University. His area of specialization was Geology including Geotectonics, Gondwana Geology and Expanding Earth Concept. He was Professor & Head, Department of Geology, Aligarh Muslim University (1964-75); Managing Director, J&K Minerals Ltd. (1971-81); and Commissioner, Geology and Mining Department, Government of Jammu and Kashmir (1975-81) and Professor Ahmad made intensive exploration of lead and zinc in Sopore, Kashmir (1975-77), marble deposits in Kupwara, Kashmir (1979-81) Ground Water Division, Geological Survey of India (1954-61), Gypsum deposits in Salt Range (1943) and coal deposits in the Singrauli coal fields, UP and MP (1947-54).

Academic and Research Achievements: Ahmad is well known for his contributions to various aspects of Gondwanaland geology, continental drift, earth expansion and palaeogeographic studies. He published Palaeogeography of the Gondwana Period in Gondwanaland (1961) as a memoir of Geological Survey of India. Ahmad studied the palaeogeography of all the Gondwana land continents during the Permian, Triassic, Jurassic and Cretaceous periods and pointed out that the tectonism of the basins on the opposite land masses matched only as long as they were in a particular alignment, and hence the continents must have drifted apart. Not only that the continents have drifted in the classical sense, that Gondwana land broke up and the continents moved to their present location, but that Gondwana land itself was drifting at the south pole since atleast Devonian to the Triassic, when it started breaking up. This proved to be fundamental contribution. He followed up this study on the age of the Gondwana glaciation, suggesting that the glaciation was not synchronous on various continents and the available evidence indicated these differences in ages. Ahmad's study of the origin of the Rajasthan Desert was unusually interesting. Drawing a comprehensive data from history and Hindu mythology, he placed the beginning of the desert conditions around 1500 BC when the Saraswati river flowing into the gulf of Kutch suddenly disappeared, because its major tributaries-Sutlej and Beas on the west changed their courses and Drishadwati on the east dried up having been captured by Yamuna.

Other Contributions: Ahmad was a Member of INSA Council (1977-80).

Awards and Honours: Dr Ahmad was conferred upon AMN Ghosh Lectureship (1968); Birbal Sahni Memorial Lectureship (1973); and KP Rode Memorial Lectureship (1990). He received Chreitien Gondwanaland Gold Medal (International Award). He was a Fellow of Indian Academy of Sciences, Bangalore and Geological Society of India.