The recipients are Prof Dr Noyeem Chowdhury, chairman, BAEC, Dr Shahidullah Mridha (Posthumously), former principal scientific officer, BAEC, Dr Farid Uddin Ahmed, principal scientific officer and director, BAEC, Dr M Sayedul Islam, principal scientific officer, BAEC Savar office and Sanjeeb Faruque, scientific officer, nuclear treatment and ultrasound centre, Comilla.

They were awarded with gold medals for the year 2000-2001.

BAEC introduced the Zaki Memorial Trust Gold Medal in 1997 with a donation of Tk 5 lakh by late Ruhul Amin, former director of department of livestock and his wife late Ayesha Amin, founder headmistress of Banani Bidya Niketan.

They wished to introduce a memorial trust at BAEC before their death in memory of their only late child Nurul Amin Zaki, a brilliant student of Dhaka University and former scientific officer of BAEC.

Zaki died of a brain blockage on August 27 in 1972 in an airbus at the age of only 26 on way to New York for doing PhD on atomic energy.

The first Zaki Memorial Trust Gold Medal distribution ceremony, held at BAEC's auditorium here, was attended by Minister for Law, Justice and Parliament Affairs Moudud Ahmed as the chief guest.

Chaired by Prof Dr Noyeem Chowdhury, the function was also addressed by Science and Information and Communications Technology Minister Dr Abdul Moyeen Khan, former chairman of BAEC Dr Anwar Hossain, former finance secretary Motiul Islam and the relatives of late Nurul Amin Zaki.

Congratulating the recipients of the gold medal, Moudud said there is no alternative to talent and the country is facing mainly challenges of technology.

Our neighbours have gone ahead for technological developments, he said, adding Bangladesh has also a huge potentiality in this regard.

The law minister hoped that the colleagues of late scientist Nurul Amin Zaki would be able to carry forward the country's march towards technological development.