Dr. Mahdy Rahman Chowdhury, an Associate Professor from North South University’s (NSU) Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering (ECE) received the prestigious ICO’s Galileo Galilei Medal at the 26th Congress of the International Commission for Optics (ICO). Dr. Chowdhury was one of the invited plenary speakers among the ten scientists from different countries of the world. Among them were two Nobel Laureates of physics (Prof. Donna Strickland and Prof. Anne l’Huillier) who also presented their work at ICO’s 26th congress. Dr. Chowdhury was the only researcher from the South Asian region among the plenary speakers at this congress. The International Commission for Optics (ICO) was created in 1947, and ICO’s headquarters, Institute d’Optique is situated in France. Its 26th congress took place in Capetown, South Africa, from 21st to 25th October 2024.

Dr. Chowdhury became the first Bangladeshi researcher to win this globally acclaimed international award, placing his name among the esteemed list of the ICO’s Golden Book. This prestigious award has been given to only one scientist over the globe every year since 1994. Among the list of winners of the previous years, some notable globally recognized scientists are Prof. Ajoy Ghatak from India, Prof. Malik Maaza from South Africa, Prof. Victor Balykin from Russia, and so on. Dr. Chowdhury’s success has boosted the reputation of NSU’s ECE dept., and Bangladesh in the world scientific community and serves as a light of inspiration for aspiring Bangladeshi scientists.

Dr. Chowdhury joined ECE, NSU, as an Assistant Professor in 2017. In 2018, he played a crucial part in setting up the NSU Optics Lab, which received grant support from NSU and The World Academy of Sciences (TWAS), advancing cutting-edge research. Under his mentorship, several students and RAs of NSU’s ECE dept., have secured full scholarships for Ph.D. programs at world-renowned universities, including Cornell University, Johns Hopkins University, and California San Diego.