Brief Bio

We are all just stardust and highly caffeinated Pleistocene apes trying to debug our own operating systems. I am a Full Professor of Biology at the Central University of Punjab, but fundamentally, I am a molecular mechanic and a relentless science communicator. My job is to deconstruct the blueprints of existence, figure out how the evolutionary gears turn, and then translate that chaotic beauty for the rest of the species.

I realised early on that nature doesn't care about our egos; it only respects adaptation and generative fitness. Perhaps driven by some hyperactive survival heuristic, I sprinted through my early academics—nabbing a B.Sc. Gold Medal and cracking the CSIR-JRF on my first attempt. That initial momentum propelled me across the globe. I earned my PhD in Marine Biology as a Japanese Government Scholar (MEXT), and spent time exploring the tidal zones as an alumnus of IIT Bombay, the Friday Harbor Labs (USA), and the Marine Biological Association (UK).

I am, at heart, a scout. Whether I’m braving the brutal desiccation of the Antarctic ice sheets as an expedition scientist or combing the Indian coastlines, my goal is to separate the honest signals from the ecological noise. Applying Occam's razor to global biogeography has helped my team discover seven completely novel species, including an extremophile moss (Bryum bharatiense) that survives the Antarctic winter by thriving on penguin guano. It is nature’s ultimate lesson in recycling.

The laboratory is my crucible for First Principles thinking. We have churned out 135 peer-reviewed papers, authored 6 books, and secured ₹2.8 Crores to fund 17 active research projects. But my proudest metric isn't my h-index; it’s my intellectual offspring. I have successfully guided 9 PhD scholars and am currently architecting the minds of 9 more, teaching them that learning from failure is the ultimate kaizen loop.

Apparently, applying radical clarity to science communication occasionally gets you noticed by the "macro-organisms" of human society. I was awarded the “President’s Inspired Teacher” recognition in 2015 and the “Teaching Innovator Award” in 2020. I currently serve as an elected Fellow of the Linnean Society of London, sit on advisory boards for the International Science Council (Paris) and the IUCN (Geneva), and was recently inducted into the UN-SDG-7 Reference Group to help shape international clean energy policy. I treat these not as trophies to polish, but as levers to engineer systemic change.

However, a life spent entirely in the intellect is a maladaptive trait. I strive for eudaimonia—a flourishing life lived according to nature and reason. I am an ardent cyclist, a zero-waste advocate, and a frequent blood donor. And because I believe in taking the concept of a circular economy to its absolute biological conclusion, I have pledged my body and organs for posthumous donation via the Government of India's NOTTO program. After all, once my consciousness logs off, I would rather my hardware be used to train the next generation of curious explorers than simply turn to ash.

BBC Coverage of my Antarctic Discovery: https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-india-57732014

The Guardian (UK) coverage of my Acetabularia discovery: https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2022/oct/31/discovered-in-the-deep-the-mermaids-wineglass-algae-acetabularia-jalakanyakae

BBC Coverage of Acetabularia Discovery https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-india-58240416

Wikipedia article: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Felix_Bast

Full CV

Publications

1. Rehman, W.U, Gupta, K and Bast, F. (2021). Morpho-phylogenetic assessment of a new moss species Bryum bharatiense Sp. Nov. (Bryaceae) from Larsemann Hills, Eastern Antarctica Journal of Asia-Pacific Biodiversity  https://doi.org/10.1016/j.japb.2021.07.001

2. Saini, K.C., Madhu, A., Kohli, R.K., Gupta, K. And Bast, F. (2021) Morpho-molecular assessment of Acetabularia jalakanyakae Sp. Nov. (Dasycladales, Chlorophyta)- a new species from Andaman and Nicobar Islands, India. Indian Journal of Geo-Marine Sciences. 50 (09)  DOI: 10.56042/ijms.v50i09.42756

3. Kundu, P. and Bast, F. (2021). Molecular data reveals two new species of Hypnea (Cystocloniaceae, Rhodophyta) from India: Hypnea indica sp. nov. and Hypnea bullata sp. nov. Botanica Marina 64(2): Accepted. [

4. Bast F, Rani P. (2019) “First report of uniseriate free-living Ulva species, with description of new species Ulva uniseriata sp. nov (Chlorophyta, Ulvales).” Indian Journal of Geo-Marine Sciences 48(11) 1687-1691

5. Bast F, John AA, Bhushan S. (2014) Strong endemism of bloom-forming tubular Ulva in Indian west coast, with description of Ulva paschima Sp. Nov. (Ulvales, Chlorophyta). PLoS ONE 9(10): e109295. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0109295 

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Research Supervision