Martin Hubert Gerzabek (born June 9, 1961 in Vienna, Austria) is an Austrian ecologist and soil scientist. He is a professor of ecotoxicology and isotope application and was rector of BOKU, the University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences, Vienna[1] from 2010 to 2018.
Gerzabek studied agriculture and plant production at BOKU - University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences Vienna, and graduated as a “Diplom Ingenieur” in 1985. Two years later, having completed his dissertation work titled: Plant Availability of Magnesium (German: Die Pflanzenverfügbarkeit von Magnesium) he graduated as a “Dr. nat. Techn.”, a doctorate in natural and technological sciences, also at the University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences, Vienna. From 1984 to 1993, Gerzabek worked as a research assistant at the Research Center Seibersdorf (now AIT, Austrian Institute of Technology) at their Institute of Agriculture as head of the soil research work group. After completing his habilitation in the field of Soil Sciences based on his work about soil contaminants' behaviour, he was asked to head the agricultural research area at AIT. From 1997 to 2003, he then headed the environmental research department. In 2001, he was appointed to the newly created Chair for Environmental Toxicology and Isotope Application at the Institute for Soil Research, Department of Forest and Soil Science at the University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences, Vienna. From October 2003 to January 2010, Gerzabek served as Vice President for Research at the University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences, Vienna, from January 2009 to January 2010 as Managing Director, and from February 2010 to January 2018 he has been rector of the said university.[2] He is the founding president of the Network of Life Sciences Universities of Central and South Eastern Europe (ICA-CASEE)[3] since 2010 and from 2010 to 2016 he was vice-president of ICA, the European Association of Life Science Universities. In 2011, he was vice-president and in 2012 became president of the Danube Rectors' Conference.[4]
He was a member of the Board of the Euroleague for Life Sciences (ELLS),[5] which he chaired from 2009 to 2010. In 2009, Gerzabek was appointed corresponding member to the mathematics and natural sciences division in the Austrian Academy of Sciences.[6] In addition, he has been vice president of the AAER (Austrian Association for Agricultural Research)[7] from 2009 to 2018.
In June 2017 Hubert Hasenauer was elected next rector of the University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences; he succeeded Martin Gerzabek in February 2018. Today Gerzabek is president of the Christian Doppler Research Association since 2019 <https://www.cdg.ac.at/en/about-us/organisation/cdg-executive-board>. He followed Prof. Reinhard Kögerler in this function.
Martin Gerzabek is the author and co-author of about 510 scientific publications, approx. 260 are articles in peer-reviewed soil and environmental science journals, 58 book contributions, 4 books, and numerous conference proceedings.[8][9]
Examples of recent publications:
In 2015, Gerzabek was awarded the Grand Decoration of Honor in Gold for Services to the Republic of Austria. In 2018, Gerzabek was awarded the Grand Decoration of Honor in Gold for Services to the Federal Republic of Lower Austria <https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liste_von_Tr%C3%A4gern_des_Ehrenzeichens_f%C3%BCr_Verdienste_um_das_Bundesland_Nieder%C3%B6sterreich#Goldenes_Komturkreuz_des_Ehrenzeichens_f%C3%BCr_Verdienste_um_das_Bundesland_Nieder%C3%B6sterreich>.
Gerzabek has received several awards for his scientific work, for example, the "Pro Merito" badge of honour in gold for outstanding achievements regarding radiation protection in 2004. In 2006, he received the honorary membership of the Austrian Soil Science Association[10] for outstanding achievements in soil science in Austria and in 2011, the Emil Ramann Medal of the German Soil Science Society.[11] Furthermore, in 2011, Gerzabek received three honorary doctorates: from the Georgian State Agrarian University in Tbilisi, the Czech University of Life Sciences Prague and the University of Agricultural Sciences and Veterinary Medicine of Cluj-Napoca.
In 2012, he was awarded an honorary doctorate by the Ion Ionescu de la Brad University of Agricultural Sciences and Veterinary Medicine of Iași in Romania. In 2015, he was elected to the Academia Europaea[12] and to the German Academy of Engineering (acatech)[13] and was awarded the Decoration of Honour in Gold for Services to the Republic of Austria by the Federal Republic of Austria.[14] Since 2016, Gerzabek is Honorary Member of the IUSS (International Union of Soil Sciences).[15]
