Dr. Mahdy Rahman Chowdhury, Associate Professor, Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, has been awarded the "2023 Galileo Galilei Medal Award" from the International Commission for Optics: “For his outstanding contributions in the areas of optical (main) and quantum mechanical manipulation achieved under comparatively difficult circumstances”.
According to ICO, "The ICO Galileo Galilei Medal contributes to one of the essential missions of the International Commission for Optics: to recognize the promotion of Optics under difficult circumstances. The award was established by the 1993 General Assembly of ICO and has been awarded annually since 1994."
The prize includes:

A silver medal with the portrait of Galileo Galilei donated by the Italian Society of Optics and Photonics, SIOF

A Citation and a cash donation of US$1.000

Assistance in travel to present an invited paper and receive the award at the next ICO Congress or another ICO meeting mutually agreed to by the Bureau and the award winner

Special attention and appropriate measures of ICO to support the future activities of the award winner.

Heartiest congratulations to Professor Chowdhury for his stellar accomplishment.

Dr. Md. Firoz Khan, Associate Professor, Dept. of Environmental Science and Management, is a recipient of the "Dr. M. A. Wazed Miah International Gold Medal Award-2022" in the category of "Scientist". Professor Firoz was duly recognized in a ceremony held at the National Press Club on 03 October 2023. A.K.M. Farhadul Kabir, founder and central president of the Dr. M. A. Wazed Memorial Foundation presided over the event. Congratulations to Professor Khan for this professional recognition.

Ms. Tania Rahman, Senior Lecturer in the Department of English and Modern Languages and Technical Writing Specialist in the Office of Research-NSU, presented a paper entitled, "Agency in the teaching of English language in higher education in Bangladesh: A justification for multilingual TESOL in Bangladeshi higher education," at the AILA 20th World Congress held in Lyon France on 17-21 July 2023. The Congress's theme was "Diversity and social cohesion in a globalized world: moving towards more engaged language studies." Ms. Rahman received one of the AILA Solidarity Awards 2023. Recipients are selected as "scholars whose papers are accepted at the conference, but who are from parts of the world where economies make it difficult, if not prohibitive, for them to travel to the conference." It is the view of the awards committee that, "These individuals are the future of our profession and will be leaders in Applied Linguistics in their countries." Congratulations to Ms. Rahman for this professional recognition.

Dr. Asad Karim Khan Priyo, Associate Professor and Chair of the Department of Economics, having engaged a CTRGC-funded research project (co-investigated with Dr. Ridwan Karim, Assistant Professor, Lazaridis School of Business & Economics, Wilfrid Laurier University, Canada) titled "Experimental evaluation of life-skills curriculum for vulnerable students in Dhaka" (CTRG-20-SBE-18) has shown that the CTRGC "seed grant" indeed can leverage extramural grant support for his research. Professor Priyo has received a prestigious Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC) "Insight Development Grant," funded by the Government of Canada. He reports, "A total of CA$24,170 has been approved for fiscal year 23/24 - 24/25. This fund will certainly go a long way toward improving the quality of our research." Congratulations to Professor Priyo and his research colleagues and best wishes for success with the funded research project.

On 12 April 2023, Dr. Hasan Mahmud Reza, Professor in the Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences and Dean, School of Health and Life Sciences, was notified of his election as a Fellow into the Bangladesh Academy of Sciences (BAS). Professor Reza joined NSU in 2007. BAS aspires in its aims and objectives to be “the leading scientific organization of scientists of eminence in Bangladesh” and “to promote research in pure and applied sciences and their practical applications to problems of national welfare in Bangladesh. BAS recognizes as “Fellows” those “persons eminent for their original contribution to science,” with this category of recognition limited to 100 persons. Each year not more than ten Fellows are elected, up to the stipulated limit. In due course, Professor Reza will deliver an inaugural lecture at the BAS. Congratulations to Prof. Dr. Reza on this national recognition.

Dr. Ishrat Zakia Sultana, Asst. Prof., Dept. of Political Science and Sociology, has successfully concluded a collaborative research agreement with the University of Waterloo on a New Frontiers in Research Fund (NFRFR) for a two year project entitled, “Economic Recovery Policies for Sustainable and Equitable Digital School Teaching and Tutoring in Canada and Bangladesh.” The grant fund allocation for the NSU research component including direct and indirect costs amounts to 174,089 CAD. Congratulations to Dr. Sultana with all best wishes for the successful completion of the research project.

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).

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: BDT 1,500,000.

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.

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.

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, 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.

Dr. Hafiz Abdur Rahman, Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, SEPS, 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."