Jamal Nazrul Islam


Jamal Nazrul Islam was a Bangladeshi mathematical physicist and cosmologist. He was a professor at University of Chittagong, served as a member of the advisory board at Shahjalal University of Science and Technology and member of the syndicate at Chittagong University of Engineering & Technology until his death. He also served as the director of the Research Center for Mathematical and Physical Sciences at the University of Chittagong, Bangladesh. He was awarded Ekushey Padak in 2000 by the Government of Bangladesh.

Early life and education

Islam was born on 24 February 1939 in Jhenaidah, East Bengal. His father, Khan Bahadur Sirajul Islam, was a sub-judge in British India. Because of his father's job, Islam spent his early school years in Calcutta. He studied at Chittagong Collegiate School and College until ninth grade and then he went to Lawrence College, Murree in West Pakistan to pass the Senior Cambridge and Higher Senior Cambridge exams. He received a BSc degree from St. Xavier's College at the University of Calcutta. In 1959, he got his Honors in Functional Mathematics and Theoretical Physics from Cambridge University. He completed his Masters in 1960. As a student of the Trinity College, he finished the Mathematical Tripos. Islam obtained his PhD in applied mathematics and theoretical physics from Trinity College, Cambridge in 1968, followed by a DSc in 1982.

Academic career

Islam worked in the Institute of Theoretical Astronomy from 1967 until 1971. Later he worked as a researcher in California Institute of Technology and University of Washington. During 1973–1974 he served as the faculty of Applied Mathematics of King's College London. In 1978 he then joined the faculty of City University London until he returned to Chittagong in 1984. In 2006, he was made Professor Emeritus at the University of Chittagong.
His research areas include Applied Mathematics, Theoretical Physics, Mathematical Physics, theory of Gravitation, General Relativity, Mathematical Cosmology and Quantum Field Theory. Islam authored/coauthored/edited more than 50 scientific articles, books and some popular articles published in various scientific journals. Besides this he has also written books in Bengali. Particularly noteworthy are Black Hole, published by the Bangla Academy, "The Mother Tongue, Scientific Research and other Articles" and "Art, Literature and Society". The latter two are compilations.
In 1997, Islam was invited to the International Symposium on Mathematical Physics in memory of S. Chandrasekhar with a special session on Abdus Salam arranged by Calcutta Mathematical Society in Kolkata-India. Professor Narayan Chandra Ghosh, a mathematician of India, was director of the noted symposium.

Fellowship

Islam died on 16 March 2013 in Chittagong, Bangladesh.

Award