Faculty Research Highlights | North South University

	Professor Dr. Md. Jakariya, as Principal Investigator, will be participating in a three year research project starting in 2023, entitled "Support for Spatial Surge Forecasting Using Artificial Intelligence and Community Knowledge for Inclusive and Transformative Early Actions (SURF-IT)," funded by the International Development Research Centre in the amount of CAD1.5 million. The project award is made to the collaborating institutions, including North South University, the NGO Uttaran, and the international NGO Action Against Hunger. According to the NSU announcement, "The project aims to create an AI-based flood forecast model for tidal surges which will anticipate the tidal surge level and the time of surge for a few selected tidal inland rivers in three upazilas of the southern belt of Bangladesh. The localized prediction will assist vulnerable coastal communities to have an active role in disaster management, take informed decisions, and minimize loss and damages."
	Twelve faculty from the four schools of NSU--SBE, SEPS, SHLS, SHSS--were recognized for research excellence for the years 2021 and 2022, at an award ceremony organized by the Office of Research-NSU and held in the NSU Main Auditorium on 26 January 2023. Each awardee received a gold, silver, or bronze medal according to merit, a certificate of recognition, and a monetary award as approved by the NSU Board of Trustees. The awardees include Gold Medalists: Dr. Muhammad Sabbir Rahman (SBE); Professor Mohammad Rashedur Rahman (SEPS); Dr. Mohammad Delwer Hossain Hawlader (SHLS); Dr. Hasan Muhammad Baniamin (SHSS). The Silver Medalists include: Dr. Sakib Bin Amin (SBE); Professor Md. Mamun Molla (SEPS); Professor Dipak Kumar Mitra (SHLS); Professor Md. Rizwanul Islam (SHSS). The Bronze Medalists include: Professor Mahmud Akhter Shareef (SBE); Dr. Mahdy Rahman Chowdhury (SEPS); Professor Hasan Mahmud Reza (SHLS); Dr. Mohammad Bulbul Ashraf Siddiqi (SHSS).
	Insurance Sector in Bangladesh: Hindrance and prospect MetLife Bangladesh and the Department of Accounting and Finance (DAF) of the School of Business and Economics (SBE) of North South University (NSU) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) whereby NSU School of Business & Economics (SBE) will conduct a research project on a national scale to investigate the factors influencing insurance purchase intention and purchase behavior. In addition, it also aims to identify the level of insurance literacy in Bangladesh. The research will consider both qualitative and quantitative research methods including survey questionnaires across the country and in-depth interviews with relevant stakeholders. Findings from this research project are expected to help the regulators to design appropriate policies to untap the potential of the insurance sector in Bangladesh. Development of the insurance sector can help achieve at least 4 SDGs and findings from this research are expected to contribute to the development of the insurance sector of Bangladesh. MetLife Bangladesh will fund the entire research project. Grant Amount: 1,500,000 (1.5 million) BDT
	NSU Global Health Institute (NGHI), in partnership with Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University (BSMMU), has been awarded a project grant of BDT 1.6 crore from the Bangladesh Government's AIDS/STD program. The project title is "Mapping Study and Size Estimation of Key Population in Bangladesh for HIV Programs in 2022-23." The collaborating investigators will map key populations (KPs), including different sex workers, members of the hijra/transgender community, and people who inject drugs, to identify high-risk areas/hot spots for further strategic decisions to be taken by the Bangladesh government. Dr. Hasan Mahmud Reza, Dean and Professor, SHLS, and Dr. Ahmed Hossain, Professor of Public Health, will lead the project from NSU.
	Dr. Mohammad Sujauddin, Assistant Professor, Department of Environmental Science & Management, and his team published an article “Environmental externalities of the COVID-19 lockdown: Insights for sustainability planning in the Anthropocene” in one of the most reputed journals in the field of environmental science and management, Science of The Total Environment (IF: 6.551). In this article, they have tried to capture the dynamics of environmental components during this Anthropause. The lessons of this study, pertinent to the dynamic relationship between anthropogenic activities and environmental degradation, amply bring home the need for policy reforms and prioritization of SDGs in the context of planetary boundaries to the environmental sustainability for a new post-pandemic world. Six ESM students working in Dr. Suja's 'Decoupling Lab' contributed to this endeavor - Ayushi Khan, Tashfia Mahiat, Tahana Tasmeea, Afra Bashira Binth Arman, Farzin Fardu and Bidhan Bhuson Roy. This article has been a great collaboration among twelve scholars from eight different institutions from Australia, Bangladesh, Canada and USA.
	Dr. Muhammad Sabbir Rahman, Associate Professor, Department of Marketing and International Business, SBE, is a recipient of a Gold Medal, Monetary Award, and Certificate of Outstanding Research for the period 2018-2020.
	Dr. Mohammad Rashedur Rahman, Professor, Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, SEPS, is a recipient of a Gold Medal, Monetary Award, and Certificate of Outstanding Research for the period 2018-2020.
	Dr. Dipak Kumar Mitra, Professor, Department of Public Health, SHLS, is a recipient of a Gold Medal, Monetary Award, and Certificate of Outstanding Research for the period 2018-2020.
	Dr. Ishtiaque Ahmed, Assistant Professor, Department of Law, SHSS, is a recipient of a Gold Medal, Monetary Award, and Certificate of Outstanding Research for the period 2018-2020.
	Dr. Mahmud Akhter Shareef, Professor, Department of Management, SBE, is a recipient of a Monetary Award and Certificate of Outstanding Research for the period 2018-2020.
	Dr. Jashim Uddin Ahmed, Professor, Department of Management, SBE, is a recipient of a Monetary Award and Certificate of Outstanding Research for the period 2018-2020.
	Dr. Mahdy Rahman Chowdhury, Associate Professor, Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, SEPS, is a recipient of a Monetary Award and Certificate of Outstanding Research for the period 2018-2020.
	Dr. Md. Mamun Molla, Professor, Department of Mathematics and Physics, SEPS, is a recipient of a Monetary Award and Certificate of Outstanding Research for the period 2018-2020.
	Dr. Md. Ashraful Alam, Associate Professor, Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, SHLS, is a recipient of a Monetary Award and Certificate of Outstanding Research for the period 2018-2020.
	Dr. Hasan Mahmud Reza, Acting Dean and Professor, Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, is a recipient of a Monetary Award and Certificate of Outstanding Research for the period 2018-2020.
	Dr. Hasan Muhammad Baniamin, Assistant Professor, Department of Political Science and Sociology, SHSS, is a recipient of a Monetary Award and Certificate of Outstanding Research for the period 2018-2020.
	Dr. Md Rizwanul Islam, Professor, Department of Law, SHSS, is a recipient of a Monetary Award and Certificate of Outstanding Research for the period 2018-2020.
	OR-NSU congratulates Dr. Nova Ahmed, Associate Professor, Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering/SEPS, on her research grant award of US$231,000 on the theme “Research on Intersections of Gender and Technology”. The grant awarded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, is effective for a three-year period from 2020-2022.
	Dr. Muslima Zahan, Assistant Professor, Department of Management, acquired an award for Best Paper, titled “Award on Local versus global brands: The internationalization process in Food and Beverage Industry”, in the “CILN-DIU, 4th International Conference on Globalization, Entrepreneurship and Emerging Economies (ICGEEE)-2019”, which was held 8-9 December 2019 in Dhaka. Zulfa Sultana Zim, Graduate Student, MBA, NSU, also attended the conference with Dr. Zahan.
	Dr. Md Rizwanul Islam On 11 September 2018, Associate Professor Rizwanul Islam, Department of Law, was recognized for his outstanding research contribution in the category of “Arts, Humanities, Law, and Education,” for which the President, People’s Republic of Bangladesh, awarded him the University Grants Commission Gold Medal Award.
	Dr. Sk. Tawfique M. Haque The World Bank, Washington D.C., taking its decision in January 2019, approved a research proposal for a grant award of US$100K, entitled “Explaining Differences in Citizen Attitudes Toward Climate Finance for Reducing Vulnerability in Bangladesh,” as submitted jointly by the NSU South Asian Institute of Policy and Governance (SIPG) and American University, Washington D.C. Research activities begin this calendar year.
	Dr. Mohammad Hossain Shariare Dr. Mohammad Hossain Shariare, Associate Professor, Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, NSU, was one of three recipients of the Samson H. Chowdhury Young Scientist Award for 2019, for developing a nano drug delivery system for poorly soluble and permeable drugs.
	Professor Dr. Hafiz Abdur Rahman, SEPS Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, is the recipient of a research grant in the amount of BDT 23,347,600 from the Energy and Power Research Council (ERPC) of the Government of Bangladesh. The grant is for a research project entitled, "Remotely Accessible Cyber-Physical System Testbed and Open Architecture Synchrophasor Systems for Bangladesh’s National Power Grid’s Cyber Security and Reliability."