Dr. Muhammad Irfan Ashraf

About

Dr. Muhammad Irfan Ashraf is an Associate Professor and Chairman of the Department of Forestry at the University of Sargodha. He brings over two decades of diverse experience in the corporate and government sectors of Canada and Pakistan. A distinguished professional, he holds a Ph.D. in Forestry from the University of New Brunswick, Canada. In addition to conventional forestry expertise, he is proficient in artificial intelligence, forest modeling, and climate risk assessment. He also holds an MS in Total Quality Management from Punjab University, Lahore, Pakistan, and a Postgraduate Diploma in University Teaching from Canada.

Dr. Ashraf’s research focuses on forests and climate change, greenhouse gas emissions from forests, modeling natural systems using artificial intelligence, and utilizing agricultural and forest residues as biofuel. He has supervised 43 postgraduate students (M.Phil. and Ph.D.) and has authored more than 45 research papers published in impact factor journals, as well as four books and book chapters. He also serves as a Section Editor for the renowned research journal PLOS Climate.

In addition to his academic roles, Dr. Ashraf contributes as a technical expert to various organizations, including Allama Iqbal Open University Islamabad, Pakistan Forest Institute Peshawar, Punjab Forest Services Academy Murree, and the Higher Education Commission of Pakistan. He was a member of the National Working Group for the REDD+ Readiness Phase in Pakistan, under the Ministry of Climate Change, Government of Pakistan. He has also collaborated on USAID- and World Bank-funded projects related to Sustainable Land Management and Sustainable Forest Management.

Areas of Expertise