A distinguished professor from Dhaka University (DU), Dr. Md. Ahsan Habib, has achieved the notable distinction of becoming the first Bangladeshi to be appointed as an expert environmental chemist to the 21-member Independent Scientific Panel on Effects of Nuclear War (ISPESW) of the United Nations. This appointment was announced today via a press release.
The ISPESW, a New York-based research panel, will operate under the guidance of the United Nations to thoroughly assess and comprehend the real-world implications of nuclear war and post-nuclear accident scenarios. The panel’s mandate, established pursuant to General Assembly resolution 79/238, is to examine “the physical effects and societal consequences” of a nuclear war “on a local, regional and planetary scale, including, inter alia, the climatic, environmental and radiological effects, and their impacts on public health, global socioeconomic systems, agriculture and ecosystems, in the days, weeks and decades following nuclear war.”
As a Bangladeshi environmental chemist on this UN expert panel, Professor Habib will play a crucial role in analyzing the potential adverse effects of nuclear war and nuclear power plant accidents on the environment and biodiversity. His work will also involve developing effective remedial measures to mitigate these impacts, as detailed in the press release.
Professor Ahsan Habib began his tenure at the Chemistry department of Dhaka University as an Assistant Professor in 2005. He holds undergraduate and postgraduate degrees in Chemistry from DU and earned his Ph.D. from Saga University in Japan. His extensive international experience includes serving as a research fellow at several prestigious Japanese universities, such as the University of Tokyo and Yokohama University, as well as at the Chinese Academy of Sciences in China. He also holds visiting professorships at various universities in China and Japan.
Further demonstrating his commitment to the field of nuclear disarmament, since 2024, Professor Habib has been an expert member of ‘The Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW-Network),’ a panel formed for the international treaty on the prohibition of nuclear weapons. His broad research interests encompass fundamental chemistry, environmental chemistry, organic pollution, the effects of heavy metals on living organisms, and particulate matter. He has a prolific publication record, with 81 research articles featured in various national and international journals.
