Prof. Dr. Barbaros Gönençgil was born in İstanbul. In 1987, he graduated from İstanbul University (İ.U.) Department of Geography. He received his master's degree and doctorate on Climatology at the University of İstanbul. In 1993, he started working as an assistant at İstanbul University Geography Department and he is currently the head of Geography Department, the head of Physical Geography Division in Geography Department and Open and Distance Education Faculty Geography Programme of İstanbul University. He is also a member of the Istanbul University Senate. Prof. Gönençgil is also the founder and the head of the Climate Change Division in İstanbul University Social Sciences Institute.

Prof. Dr. Gönençgil’s study areas concentrate on climate and environment. The courses he teaches are also on the same subjects. He has approximately published 90 articles, papers and books and has more than 100 conference, symposium and panel presentations. In addition, he has taken part in about 20 projects as an executive and has published many articles in popular science magazines. He was a visiting professor in Socrates/Erasmus Teaching Staff Mobility Programme in University of Leipzig, Germany in Faculty of Physics and Geosciences, Institute of Geography in 2007. He was also visiting professor at Sorbonne and Paris 8 Universities in 2018 and 2022. He was one of the authors of Discovery Geographical Atlas published in Turkey.

Prof. Dr. Gönençgil is the President of Turkish Geographical Society. At the same time, he is the editor of the Journal of Turkish Geography and Journal of Geography. He has taken part in several trainings for Geography teachers, organized by Turkish Geographical Society. He was head of the Local Organizing Committee of the IGU/IGC 2021 İstanbul. He is also the LOC Chair of the 2026 IGU Istanbul Regional Conference and İgeo 2026 İstanbul. He also been serving as the National Coordinator of the Geography Olympiad since 2024.

Prof. Dr. Gönençgil has volunteered for many years in non-governmental organizations related with the environment. He is one of the founders of the Turkish Foundation for Environmental Education, which is a member of the International Foundation for Environmental Education (FEE). At the same time he has worked for International Eco-Schools Program in Türkiye. He is a volunteer member of another environmental association in Türkiye, namely the Turkish Environmental and Woodlands Protection Society, founded in 1972. He was the chair of this society between the years of 2003 – 2012.

Since 2010, Prof. Dr. Gönençgil has been attending the IGU conferences and congresses.  He is also the member of the local organizing committee in Türkiye for the International Geography Olympiad (iGEO). He attended 2012 and 2014 Geography Olympiads as a team leader. Besides, he is member of Climatology and Mountain Commissions of IGU, and co-organizer of Commission of Mediterranean Basin (COMB) 2016 Annual Meeting in Türkiye.

He served as IGU VP between 2016 -2021, from 2021 he is IGU Secretary General.

Dr. Fahd Rasul is an Associate Professor at the Department of Agronomy, Faculty of Agriculture, University of Agriculture Faisalabad (UAF). With a Ph.D. in Agronomy, he specializes in a wide array of areas including climate-smart agriculture, sustainable farming systems, biochar and soil health management, and the production of hybrid rice and sugarcane. His research interests extend to crop science, crop physiology, and crop management under stressful environments, as well as managing crop nutrition and utilizing biofertilizers for enhanced productivity.
Dr. Rasul has held significant roles throughout his career. He has served as an Adjunct Faculty member at Washington State University, USA, working on the DSSAT program with AgWeatherNet. He also gained valuable experience as a Trainee Officer in Rice Research and Trials with Syngenta Pakistan and as a Rural Finance Officer with Bank Alfalah Limited. In addition to his academic pursuits, Dr. Rasul has been an active consultant and has contributed to rural development through his advisory roles, including working as a member of the AGRIHUNT NGO.
As an expert in agricultural development, Dr. Rasul has organized numerous international workshops and seminars, particularly under the Agricultural Model Intercomparison and Improvement Project (AgMIP), where he served as organizing secretary for four workshops and two international seminars.
Institutional Affiliations: Dr Rasul served as Adjunct Faculty at Washington State University, Prosser, WA, USA. He remained an important part of the Agweathernet program there. He served for Member of the award committee as a member of Agronomy society of America. He is life member of Pakistan society of Agronomy. He is an active member of the British Biochar foundation. Dr rasul is currently working as Team lead of field crop experiments with UKRI and MRC project in collaboration with Earlham Institute, Warwick University, Cranfield University, University college Dublin, Ireland, IDS (Sussex University), NUST-Pakistan. He remained an active member of the AgMIP-Pakistan team to serve as Outreach organizer in a project led by Columbia University Newyork and NASA Goddard Climate research Institute. He executed a British Council sponsored project on Sustainable use of Biochar in Pakistan and UK in collaboration with Climate change Institute, University of Edinburgh, Scotland, UK.
Key Specializations and Research Areas:
• Climate-smart agriculture and sustainable farming
• Biochar and soil health management
• Hybrid rice and sugarcane production
• Crop management in challenging environments
• Seed science and crop nutrition management
• Use of biofertilizers and oilseed crops
Dr. Rasul's broad expertise and practical experience make him a valuable contributor to both academic research and agricultural development efforts, particularly in improving farming systems under climate stress and advancing crop production technologies. He has more than 100 publications to his credit including peer reviewed high impact research publications in top ranked high impact factor journals, More than 16 Book chapters, One book and more than 20 popular articles. He is serving as editorial board member of two journals and reviewer for about 20 journals. Dr Rasul has H index -25 and more than 2500 citations. He has organized 12 International conferences and seminars.
His profile can be accessed from the following links.
https://www.linkedin.com/in/dr-fahd-rasul/
https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=EDDx_AgAAAAJ&hl=en&authuser=1
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7813-2981
https://www.weather.wsu.edu/?p=92750 Fulbright Visiting Scientist Alumni
https://www.fao.org/fsnforum/member/fahd-rasul Global Forum on food security and Nutrition.
https://gfair.network/content/rasul-fahd The Global Forum on Agricultural Research and Innovation

Born in Ünye (Ordu) in 1973 he completed his primary, secondary and high school education in Bursa (Turkiye). He received his B.A in Necatibey Faculty of Education Department of Geography Education in 1996. He completed his M.A in 1999 and received his Ph.D in 2003 in Istanbul University.
He was assigned to Balıkesir University Faculty of Science and Literature, Department of Geography as Assistant Professor in 2004. He worked as Vice Dean in 2005 - 2007.

He received the title of Associate Professor in 2010 and Full Professor in 2015. He worked as Head of Geography Department in 2019 - 2021.

Dr. Cürebal published papers national and international and participated in national and international conferences. The researcher with scientific work in the fields of geomorphology, earth surface processes, and ecology is currently working in BAUN, Faculty Art and Science.

He is married and has a daughter.

I accept this invitation

Prof. Dr. Telat Yanik graduated from Atatürk University, Faculty of Agriculture, Department of Animal Science in 1988. He completed his master's and doctorate in the field of aquaculture in 1996. He received the title of associate professor in 1998. He has been working as a professor at Atatürk University, Faculty of Fisheries since 2004. 

PARKASH MEGHWAR
+923471313023 kparkash707@gmail.com
Google Scholar
Research Interests: Agro-waste valorization, antioxidants, electrolysis technology, food analysis, food composition, protein hydrolysate, product development.
EDUCATION
University of Karachi 2021-2024
M.Phil. Food Science and Technology (GPA: 3.67/4.00)
Thesis topic: Incorporation of watermelon rind flour as a functional ingredient for the development of unleavened flatbread.
Supervisor: Dr. Syed Muhammad Ghufran Saeed
Sindh Agriculture University, Tandojam 2017-2020
B. Sc. (Hons.) Food Sciences and Technology (GPA: 3.95/4.00) Vice Chancellor Gold Medalist
Thesis topic: Development of pomegranate peel and moringa leaves based therapeutic decoction.
Supervisor: Dr. Aasia Akbar Panhwar
EXPERIENCE
Public Analyst Sept. 2024-todate
Sindh Food Authority.
Responsibilities:
Technical assistance to SFA for the functionality of Labs, supervision of food testing, designing SOPs for sample collection, technical guidance to food safety officers, designing formats of lab reports, sample receiving at Lab, inventory record, install equipment/kits.
Food Technologist Aug-September 2024
Sindh Food Authority, Karachi (Head office)
Responsibilities:
Designing SOPs for inspection of Food Business, sample collection, Standards for Food Labelling, Reviewing of Lab reports, technical input for food product registration, participation of technical meetings, and training.
Lab Analyst Oct-2023-Aug 2024
Divisional Food Testing Lab,
Sindh Food Authority.
Responsibilities:
ISO/IEC 17025:2017 Documentation, Development of analytical methods, quality testing of edible oil/fat, milk adulteration, Vitamin A analysis using HPLC.
Principal Consultant July- Nov 2022
Welthungerhilfe (WHH, a German organization) and Sukaar Foundation, Tharparkar, Pakistan.
Responsibilities:
Understanding composition of existing recipes, Assessment of ingredients quality, cooking practices, hygiene parameters and product quality, eating pattern and consumer preferences, Improvement of recipes ingredients to meet RDA, Diet advocacy, WHO guidelines, modified cooking practices with respect to safety and quality, Organized awareness session among different villages of Tharparkar, recorded feedback and suggested healthy diets and Report writing and formatting.
Research Associate March-2021 to March 2022.
Pakistan Council of Scientific and Industrial Research, Labs. Complex, Karachi, Pakistan.

I work as an associate professor at National Institute of Oceanography and Fisheries, Egypt. I got my Ph.D. in science from Ain Shams University, Faculty of Science, zoology department (2015). My Ph.D. is in fish nutrition. I have 24 papers published in high-impact scientific journals. In addition, I have referred articles for several scientific publications. I attended several training courses abroad. I participated in three different projects financed by the PRIMA program, USAID, and STDF.