Rate My Professor Behzad Mortazavi

Prior to joining Syracuse University, Mortazavi was Chair of the Department of Biological Sciences at the University of Alabama from 2018 to 2023, where he oversaw more than 40 faculty members, nearly 1,900 undergraduate students, and over 100 graduate students. During his tenure, he hired 19 faculty members, led a two-year strategic planning process, established a diversity, equity, and inclusivity committee, managed the University of Alabama Arboretum and Tanglewood Biological Field Station, and oversaw a department that generated more than $6 million in sponsored research annually. Mortazavi’s research specializes in hydrology and biogeochemistry, with a focus on biogeochemical cycles in terrestrial and marine ecosystems and the impacts of urbanization and climate change on watersheds. He has authored more than 60 peer-reviewed publications and secured over $2 million in federal research funding. Mortazavi earned his Ph.D. in biological oceanography from Florida State University and holds degrees in biology, marine ecology, and biological oceanography from the Université Pierre-et-Marie-Curie in Paris, France. He previously served as a member of the research faculty at Florida State University and as a program director for the Division of Environmental Biology, Ecosystem Sciences Cluster at the National Science Foundation.