Hossain, Anwar
Hossain, Anwar (1931-2007) a nuclear physicist and a columnist, was born in 1931 in Nallapara village of Tangail. His father was Velayet Hossain, a retired judge.
Anwar Hossain completed his MSc in Physics from the University of Dhaka in 1952, securing the first class first position, and PhD from the University of Bristol, UK, in 1955 in Nuclear Physics. He was a Visiting Scientist at CERN (European Nuclear Research Laboratory) from 1960 to 1961 and Guest Scientist at Studsvik (Sweden) from 1967 to 1968. Anwar Hossain started his career in 1960 at the Bangladesh Atomic Energy Commission (BAEC) and became its Chairman in 1976 and continued until his retirement in 1988. Along with his position in BAEC, he also served as the Founder Chairman of the Bangladesh Space Research and Remote Sensing Organization (SPARRSO) since 1980. Anwar Hossain developed the Regional Remote Sensing Programme in Asia during his three month of work in ESCAP (Bangkok) as a UN consultant in 1980. After retirement, he served as a consultant of UNDP/FAO for SPARRSO (1990-1991), Wind Energy for LGED (1999), and World Bank (2000). Anwar Hossain also worked as a National FAO consultant for Bioenergy (2005) and Sustainable Energy Consultant for GTZ (2006).
Anwar Hossain introduced nuclear physics in Bangladesh after returning from England with his PhD. He was Bangladesh's the first trained nuclear physicist degree, who laid the foundation of nuclear physics research in the country. He signed the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty on behalf of the Government of Bangladesh and helped establish the first and only Nuclear Research reactor in Savar. Anwar Hossain published more than 100 scientific articles on energy, remote sensing, ecology, and science policy in national and international journals. Besides, he published three scientific books and participated in many national and international conferences.
Institute of Oriental Philosophy (Japan) awarded him with a Certificate of distinction and a Gold Medal for his scholarly achievement. He was a Fellow of the Bangladesh Academy of Sciences, Chairman Bangladesh Human Ecology Council, and Vice-Chairman of the Commonwealth Human Ecology Council, London.
Anwar Hossain passed away in Dhaka on September 23, 2007 at the age of 76. [Yearul Kabir]
