Saluting Graduates: from Curious Kid to Microplastics Pioneer
How Texas A&M Galveston Ph.D. graduate Asif Mortuza turned a globe-trotting upbringing into groundbreaking marine biology research and impactful mentorship.
Asif Mortuza will be amongst the students walking the stage during Texas A&M University at Galveston’s August 2026 commencement. While his globe-spanning educational journey draws to a close with a doctoral degree in Marine Biology, Mortuza looks forward to the next chapter of innovative research and impactful mentorship.
Born in Rajshahi, Bangladesh, Mortuza was always fascinated by science. He fondly remembers being in first grade when his family moved to Japan while his father attained his doctoral degree there. Mortuza credits his father — who also studied biology — for setting the stage for his scientific interest by bringing him into the lab when he was young.
“We were always living near campuses, going to labs, going to museums,” recalled Mortuza. “So, I was always curious and interested in science.”
Considering that Mortuza completed his Ph.D. in his late 20s, it is difficult to believe that there was any hesitation in his path — yet he is the first to admit that he had no clue where he wanted to go to college, nor was he a particularly enthusiastic scholar at the time.
“I was, like, a really stupid kid,” Mortuza reminisced. “My dad comes home one day, and he’s like ‘What are you going to do with your life? You know, you’re going to graduate high school, and then you have to go to college somewhere.’”
By the time conversations about attending college came around, Mortuza’s family had moved to Saudi Arabia for his father’s full-time professor role. Their foreigner status in the country meant that when his father asked him which college he’d attend, the stakes were that much higher: It was either go to college, get a job, or leave the country.
“I remember I had only applied to three places. I had no clue where I wanted to go,” recalled Mortuza. “I applied to Purdue University Fort Wayne because my dad had met a professor at a conference, Dr. Ahmed Mustafa, who had given him a pamphlet. I got in, and just like that, I was off to the Midwest!”
Now stationed in the United States, he got firsthand experience in what would soon blossom into his years-long passion: research. He fondly recalls helping master’s students conduct experiments in the lab as an undergraduate, which led him to stay and pursue his own graduate degree.
A Bachelor of Science and a Master’s degree later, Mortuza’s passion for research soared to even greater heights. With that time and effort, his interest had been honed into one topic — how chemicals affect organisms. He wanted to continue that research for his doctoral degree, yet it couldn’t simply be done at any ordinary university.
As if to answer the call, he got in contact with Dr. David Hala and Dr. Lene Petersen of the Marine Biology Program in the College of Marine Sciences and Maritime Studies at Texas A&M University at Galveston. Dr. Hala’s research on environmental toxicology, coupled with Dr. Petersen’s expertise in fish physiology, allowed for the perfect environment in which aquatic toxicological questions could be answered.
“Dr. Hala, in the middle of our interview, said ‘I actually got funding for this microplastics toxicity project, would you be interested?’” said Mortuza. “After that, I was totally on board.”
Coming to the coastal campus was no small decision either; pursuing his doctorate was a five-year commitment. The years spent in Galveston were marked by innovation, discovery, and personal growth for Mortuza.
Not long after coming to campus, Mortuza found himself conducting research in the lab of Dr. Karl Kaiser, professor of Marine and Coastal Environmental Science in the College of Marine Sciences & Maritime Studies at Texas A&M University at Galveston, where Mortuza joined him and a team of graduate students in developing a cutting-edge technology to detect microplastic pollutants in fish and oyster tissue.
“Analytical chemical methods of measuring plastics in water and sediment existed, but it wasn’t common to do so in tissue. We had to develop a novel method that would work for us,” Mortuza explained. “At the time we started, we were the only lab we knew of that was doing this.”
While he was helping to push the envelope of microplastics science, Mortuza was serving as a teacher and mentor to other students on campus.
“Teaching was a big, big highlight of my time here,” said Mortuza. “I taught Organic Chemistry I and II and General Chemistry Labs during my last two years of grad school under the guidance of Grace Townsend (Instructional Associate Professor, Chemistry Lab Director Foundational Sciences, College of Marine Sciences & Maritime Studies, Texas A&M University). Seeing a student’s interests grow was always a very rewarding experience.”
Furthermore, Mortuza, inspired by the people who helped him acclimate to the college experience in the past, also worked with Research and Graduate Studies at A&M Galveston to welcome incoming graduate students.
“As a graduate ambassador, I helped to give graduate students information, campus tours, and organized various events for them to help them connect,” recalled Mortuza. “When I came to Purdue University Fort Wayne from Bangladesh, I didn’t know anyone. The international office there was enormously helpful. So for me, I think part of that work was contributing to the same resources that I’ve benefited from.”
As he reflects on his time as a teacher, mentor, and graduate at the close of his academic journey, Mortuza has some parting advice for students following in his footsteps:
“My advice for students is to find what you are passionate about, and use that to contribute to society,” said Mortuza. “Be open, ask questions, and talk to people. Don’t hesitate to reach out — because if you don’t, there’s so many pathways that you just shut down because you didn’t even bother opening the door.”
After walking the stage in August, Mortuza looks forward to conducting further microplastics research in the region while aiming to perform experiments both in-field and in the lab. With the noble goals of continuing to teach and mentor future generations while facilitating more research collaboration between universities, Asif Mortuza is striving to build a brighter, safer world as a stellar Sea Aggie Graduate.
