Early Life and Education
Professor Rattan Lal was born in 1944 in Punjab, British India, during the turbulent period of Partition. His family lived as refugees before settling on a small farm, where he experienced firsthand the struggles of degraded soils and food insecurity. These early challenges left a lasting impression and fueled his lifelong dedication to soil health and agricultural sustainability. He went on to earn a B.Sc. from Punjab Agricultural University, an M.Sc. from the Indian Agricultural Research Institute, and a Ph.D. in Soil Science from The Ohio State University in 1968. His journey—from refugee child to globally celebrated scientist—symbolizes perseverance, resilience, and the transformative power of knowledge.
Career and Scientific Contributions
Over five decades, Dr. Lal has emerged as one of the most influential soil scientists in the world. His pioneering research introduced a soil-centric approach that emphasizes the central role of soils in food production, climate change mitigation, and ecological sustainability. He has championed practices such as no-till farming, cover cropping, mulching, compost use, and agroforestry, which have proven effective in restoring degraded soils, enhancing soil organic carbon, and building resilience against droughts and floods. His research has improved the livelihoods of more than 500 million smallholder farmers and contributed to food security for over 2 billion people worldwide.
Nobel Peace Prize Recognition
Dr. Lal’s work has not only shaped agriculture but also global climate policy. In 2007, he was one of the recipients of the Nobel Peace Prize for contributions to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) reports. This global recognition highlighted the vital role of soil management in addressing the climate crisis and affirmed the significance of his scientific contributions on a planetary scale.
The CFAES Rattan Lal Center for Carbon Management & Sequestration
At The Ohio State University, Dr. Rattan Lal founded what began in 1992 as the Carbon Management Program within the College of Food, Agricultural, and Environmental Sciences (CFAES). It became the Carbon Management and Sequestration Center in 1995 and, in recognition of his leadership, was renamed in 2020 as the CFAES Rattan Lal Center for Carbon Management & Sequestration. Today, it stands as a world-leading institution for soil and climate research.
The Center not only provides rigorous, science-based assessments of soil and biological carbon sequestration but also develops strategies for climate-smart agriculture. Its influence extends globally—by December 2024, it had trained 129 graduate students from 26 countries and hosted 176 visiting scholars from 30 countries, with strong representation from Asia and the United States. Between 2018 and 2024, the Center’s faculty and affiliates delivered over 432 presentations across 45 countries, contributing to a total of nearly 887 presentations worldwide since 1974. Through initiatives like the Carbon Academy, the Center emphasizes the central role of carbon in sustaining all life and continues to serve as a global hub for research, education, collaboration, and policy development.
The C-FARM Project
Among the Center’s flagship initiatives is C-FARM (Carbon Farming Project), which evaluates carbon farming practices in real-world field conditions to measure how soils can capture and store atmospheric CO₂. Funded by the USDA Agricultural Research Service and the Foundation for Food & Agriculture Research (FFAR) under Grant No. 22–000279, Enhanced Soil Carbon Farming as a Climate Solution, and administered by The Ohio State University, the project links cutting-edge research directly with farmers, ranchers, and policymakers. While the content of the research is the responsibility of the investigators, the financial support highlights the national and global urgency of developing soil-based climate solutions.
C-FARM is particularly impactful because it functions both as a research platform and a training ground. Many Ph.D. students, postdoctoral fellows, research scientists, and visiting scholars are actively engaged in the project, working on data collection, advanced modeling, soil health assessments, and outreach. For example, Ph.D. students such as Md Nayem Hasan Munna and his peers represent the new generation of soil scientists under Dr. Lal’s mentorship. Along with postdoctoral researchers and international scholars, they are helping expand the Center’s global research footprint, ensuring that C-FARM not only advances soil science but also prepares the next wave of leaders in sustainable agriculture and climate resilience.
The mission of C-FARM is to accelerate the adoption of soil-carbon-enhancing practices by farmers and ranchers. Because much existing knowledge is based on simulation modeling or limited experimental data, C-FARM fills this gap by generating large-scale, on-farm evidence across croplands, grasslands, and rangelands in the United States. Study sites are chosen across Major Land Resource Areas (MLRAs) to reflect diverse farming practices and climate conditions. On-farm evaluations measure how practices such as cover cropping, reduced or no-tillage, diversified crop rotations with legumes and perennials, organic amendments, and improved grazing management influence soil organic carbon (SOC), soil health, crop productivity, and greenhouse gas emissions.
By combining field-based measurements with multi-ensemble process-based models, C-FARM refines, calibrates, and validates predictions of SOC stock changes under varying management and climate scenarios. It also integrates innovative assessment methods, including portable handheld devices and remote sensing, to improve efficiency in SOC monitoring. Beyond the science, C-FARM investigates the socioeconomic and policy factors that shape farmer adoption of carbon-farming practices, and leverages strong Extension and outreach programs to deliver actionable knowledge to farming communities.
C-FARM thrives on broad cooperation across academic, governmental, and industry partners. Key collaborators include the Utah Department of Agriculture and Food, Kansas State University, Michigan State University, Utah State University, USDA Agricultural Research Service, Sandia National Laboratories, the U.S. Geological Survey, and the National Agricultural Research Institute of Uruguay. Industry and funding partners include FFAR, AgMission, Bayer CropScience, Fontagro, The Ohio State University, Microsoft, Cotton Incorporated, Kansas Corn, the Ohio Soybean Council, Ohio Corn & Wheat, and Corteva. This extensive collaboration underscores the project’s scale and its ability to bridge science, practice, and policy.
Prestigious Awards and Global Recognition
Dr. Lal’s exceptional contributions have been recognized through some of the most prestigious awards worldwide. These include the Glinka World Soil Prize (2018), the Japan Prize (2019), the World Food Prize (2020), and India’s Padma Shri Award (2021). In 2024, he received the Plant Science and Agronomy Leader Award and the Gulbenkian Prize for Humanity, honoring his work in climate solutions. Furthermore, Research.com ranked him the most cited scientist in Plant Science and Agronomy in 2024, highlighting his vast scholarly output—over 1,000 peer-reviewed journal articles, 550+ book chapters, and 100+ books.
Academic Leadership and Mentorship
Beyond the institutional impact of the Center, Dr. Rattan Lal is personally celebrated for his academic leadership and mentorship. At Ohio State, he serves as Distinguished University Professor and continues to direct the Carbon Center. Over his career, he has guided over 100 graduate students, supported dozens of postdoctoral researchers, and mentored 176 visiting scholars from around the world. In addition, he has held leadership roles in major scientific organizations, serving as president of the Soil Science Society of America, the International Union of Soil Sciences, and the World Association of Soil and Water Conservation. Through these roles, he has amplified global awareness of soil health and its central role in sustainability.
Legacy and Global Impact
Dr. Rattan Lal’s legacy is profound and far-reaching. He reframed soil as the foundation of human survival—essential for food production, ecosystem health, and climate resilience. His research has proven that healthy soils are the key to sustainable development and peace. Today, his work continues to influence global soil policies, guide sustainable agricultural practices, and inspire the next generation of scientists. By positioning soil at the heart of environmental restoration, food security, and climate action, Dr. Lal has left an indelible mark on science and humanity.