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Faculty of Science | |||
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Department of Zoology | |||
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Brief History of the Department
The Department of Zoology, University of Lucknow came into existence in 1921, when Canning College, Lucknow, formerly affiliated to Allahabad University, came under Lucknow University and its Department of Biology was split into the Department of Zoology and Department of Botany. (Late) Dr. GS Thaper (Ph.D. London, 1925), who was serving the Canning College, Lucknow as Lecturer since 1918 became the first officiating Head of the Department of Zoology. Late Dr. KN Bahl (D.Sc., D.Phil., Oxford, 1921) took over in 1923, first as Reader and Head of the Department. He was soon elevated to the post of Professor. The name and fame of the Department of Zoology, Lucknow University, spread far and wide under his able guidance. Professor Bahl was succeeded by Professor GS Thaper in 1952. Professor Thaper was one of those leading Zoologists, who laid strong foundations of Helminthology in India. Subsequently, Professor MB Lal brought Physiology and Experimental Zoology to new heights; he later became the Vice-Chancellor of University of Lucknow. The subsequent Heads of the Department, Professors PD Gupta, Ram Rakshpal, BK Tandon, Bhoomittra Dev, KC Pandey, Vinod Gupta, Nirupama Agrawal, Prof. Minakshi Shrivastava and present Head Prof. A. K. Sharma have added new dimensions to the pursuits of Zoology. Many other eminent Zoologists, like Professors ML Bhatia, SM Das, J Dayal, Premvati and SC Baugh have been on the staff of the Department and made valuable contributions in their respective areas of specializations. As a result of their researches, and those of their students, the department has become a leading centre of teaching and research in several fields, particularly in Physiology and Experimental Zoology, Helminthology, Entomology, Ichthyology, Endocrinology and Ornithology, Cellular and Molecular Biology and Genetics. Some of the alumni of the Lucknow School of Zoology who are holding or have held Professorial and other important positions are: Dr. M.L. Roonwal, Ex-Director, Zoological Survey of India; Prof. M.L. Bhatia, Ex-Head, Department of Zoology, Delhi University, Prof. S.M. Das, Ex-Head, Department of Zoology, Kashmir University; Dr.V.G. Jhingran, Prof. S.D. Misra; Prof. B.B. Saxena (U.S.A.); Prof. Satyendra Khera, Prof. M.S. Kanungo; Prof. G.N. Johri; Prof. G.S. Dogra; (Late) Prof. S.K. Moitra; Prof. S.L. Jain; Dr. V. Dhanda ; Dr. A.C. Mathur; Dr. K.C. Sanwal; Prof. S.K. Singh; Prof. N.N. Sharma; Prof. R.A. Agrawal; Prof. K.P. Singh; Prof. G.P. Agrawal; Prof. Rameshwar Singh; Prof. K.C. Pandey, Prof. R.S. Tandon, Prof. B.D. Joshi, Prof. A.K. Chopra, Prof. G.S. Misra, Dr. Manmohan Singh, Prof. H.S. Singh. Other prominent faculties have been prof. S.P. Gupta, Prof. S.C. Nigam, Prof. Padma Saxena, Prof. S.P. Singh, Prof. G.N. Verma, Prof. Pratap Singh, Prof. Sarla Srivastava, Prof. S.K. Saxena, Prof. U.D. Sharma and Dr. M.M. Saxena. In addition to B. Sc. and M. Sc. degrees, the Department has produced more than two hundred Ph. Ds. and 23 D. Scs. The Department has 19 Faculty, 32 Non- teaching Class III and IV Employees and about 950 undergraduate, postgraduate and research students. In 2006, a new course in the emerging field of biological science was started at the undergraduate level viz. Genetics & Genomics. Prof. A. K. Sharma, present Head is in constant pursuit of improving the course and providing better facilities to the students. Introduction of the new course on Genetics and Genomics at the UG level is an attempt to bring the students up-to-date with the concepts and implications of modern biology. This has definitely instilled an urge and encouragement into young minds to explore the beauty and secrets of life. The scope and job opportunities in this modern discipline of biology are immense. In 2011, the M. Sc. Syllabus was revised and modernized with the addition of many important topics and also provision of specializations in Parasitology, Entomology, Fisheries and Endocrinology & Reproductive Physiology. The Department received the DST-FIST grant from Department of Science & Technology, New Delhi in 2006. The Central Instrumentation Facility and the Computer Lab in the department were developed with this grant. Subsequently, the department also received UGC-SAP grant (DRSI). This grant was utilized for the renovation of our PG (M. Sc.) laboratories, Committee Room and set up a 40 KVA Generator in the department. There have been other grants from the University and State Government as well. Department of Zoology, University of Lucknow has been a traditional department and has been famous for classical zoological research like helminth taxonomy, parasitology, entomology and toxicology. With the advent of DST-FIST support in 2006 followed by the development of the Central Instrumentation facility and Computer Laboratory, Faculty and Research students have started venturing into the various fields of modern biology such as Molecular taxonomy, Parasiotology, Fish Genetics, Molecular Endocrinology, Molecular and Human Genetics etc. Apart from the fast growth in research activities in all zoological aspects, DST-FIST facility especially the computer lab has helped our UG and PG students to get full exposure to Internet. Recently department has started the Ph.D course and the Central Facilities are providing a great exposure to all. The museum at the Zoology Department has been named after Dr. S.C. Baugh and has a rich collection of 1,800 specimens from India and other parts of world. These vary from original skeletons of rattle snakes, elephant, tiger and rhino to stuffed pythons, flying lizard, iguanas, , crocodiles, ostrich, gorilla, orangutan, seal, dolphins and penguins that have been preserved in their natural form. The invaluable contributions of the department’s faculty, especially SC Baugh and other teachers have brought this museum to its present glory. It is one of the best museums in any Indian university and is at par with the natural history museums at Chennai and Kolkata. It is a real treasure from microscopic organisms to the giant elephant. It has the rarest indigenous and exotic collection of preserved animals. Arranged beautifully, this museum has specimens of beautiful Venus flower basket and elegant corals. It also has the giant earthworm from Ecuador, which measures about 1.5 ft in length and about 6 cm in thickness. Crabs, prawns, lobsters, insects and spiders decorate the Arthropoda collection, while the molluscans are represented through snails, oysters, shells, octopuses and squids. A clampshell weighing 101 pounds occupies the pride of place in the Mollusca collection. The echinoderms collection has beautiful starfishes, sea feathers and cucumbers. Moving up the evolutionary chain are the early chordates, which are rare additions to the museum’s collection. Also present in the museum are electric rays, deep-water fishes, and various species of shark, flying fishes, climbing perches and many more. A very interesting aspect is the collection of variously modified skulls, beaks and claws of birds.
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