Tribute to a scientist and a patriot
Dr. M.A. Wazed Miah
Dr. M. A. Wazed Miah, former chairman of the Bangladesh Atomic Energy Commission, breathed his last on May 9 after a protracted multiple illness, leaving behind the memory of a great fighter who always stood for the fundamental rights of the common man. He was undoubtedly one of the finest products of the Department of Physics, University of Dhaka, whose brilliant alumni had always been at the forefront of all the democratic movements of the people of Bangladesh.
He excelled in his studies, eliciting deep admiration from his teachers and class friends. He was well known in the campus for his unflinching support of the Language Movement as well as the subsequent self-autonomy movement of the people of Bangladesh. As the elected vice-president of the Fazlul Haq Hall Union, he was deeply involved, first in the Six-Point Movement and then in the Eleven Point Movement, which ultimately paved the way towards the independence movement of Bangladesh. During that tumultuous period of our national life, Wazed could be relied upon to guide the student community and take the nation towards the ultimate goal of independence.
Wazed Miah obtained his BSc Honours and MSc degrees in Physics, both in the First Class. It was because of his outstanding academic results that Dr. I. H. Usmani, the then chairman of the Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission, picked him for higher studies in nuclear physics in England. He was sent to the University of Durham to study under the renowned Professor Evan Squires.
His professor gave him a problem on the impact parameter representation of the scattering amplitude, which he successfully completed and obtained a Ph D degree. After that he spent two years at the Imperial College of Science and Technology, where he came in close contact with Professor Abdus Salam, who always had a very high opinion about his abilities and accomplishments.
Coming back to Dhaka, Dr Wazed Miah rose to be the principal scientific officer of the Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission, and subsequently he become a member, and then the chairman, of the Bangladesh Atomic Energy Commission. As a brilliant scientist, Dr Wazed Miah was not only conscious of the current problems in theoretical nuclear physics, he was also deeply involved in welfare and working conditions of the scientists of the BAEC.
He was the president of the Bangladesh Association for the Advancement of Science for a number of years, and it was due to him that the plan for shifting of the Atomic Energy Centre to Savar was ultimately abandoned. He firmly believed that close co-operation between the Atomic Energy Centre and the Physic Department of the University of Dhaka was vital for the continued and sustained growth of the nuclear research facilities of Bangladesh, essential for the eventual establishment of nuclear reactors to solve the energy crisis of the country.
Dr. Wazed Miah wrote two books, one on thermodynamics and another on electromagnetic theory. Lastly, he was involved in writing a book on superconductivity, because he believed that high-temperature superconductivity might play a role in solving our energy problem. Clearly, Dr. Wazed Miah had a very wide vision and wanted his dear Bangladesh to occupy a position of honour and respect amongst the nations of the world, just as his illustrious father-in-law dreamt all his life.
We pray for the peace of his soul, and hope that the example he set as a scientist and patriot, yet a man of profound humility, will inspire the new generation of students of the Physics in Bangladesh.
Comments