Conference

It's All About Physics

Rakibul Hasan

On a quest to bring the discoveries and knowledge of physicists from both home and abroad into a single platform, Bangladesh Physical Society organised an international conference entitled 'International Conference on Physics of today' from March 15, 2012 to March 17, 2012. The three day long conference was vibrant with the presence of professors and students from the Department of Physics of different public and private universities, researchers and professionals working on different disciplines or sub-disciplines of Physics.

	Credit: Shabbir A Bashar

The conference included oral and multimedia presentations, talks by the invited speakers and interactive discussions on a wide range of issues related to the world of physics. “It is a great occasion to talk and know about Physics. I wish I could attend all the sessions of the conference as they include discussions by some of the most renowned names in physics in Bangladesh. But couldn't do so as several parallel sessions were going on at the same time,” says Jion, a Masters student from Department of Physics, University of Dhaka. Throughout the conference, veteran as well as young researchers presented their papers and participated in lively discussions with the audience. Shabbir A Bashar, Director, Betelco Power Solutions and an invited speaker at the conference says, “There should be more events in Bangladesh like this one so that the young generation, so to speak the students get to know about the recent developments in physics, and it can also be a platform to discover and discuss solutions to number of problems that Bangladesh is currently suffering from, like, energy and infrastructure.” Shabbir presented a keynote speech on 'Solar energy and Bangladesh' where he reviewed the technology of solar power and argued that this form of energy is inappropriate for mass alternative use in Bangladesh as solar energy involves higher costs in comparison with other energy sources and in Bangladesh, technology is still immature to support the use of solar panels as a cost-effective source of alternative energy. “To be a middle income country, Bangladesh needs more energy. We need to diversify the sources of energy and there should be more investments in energy upgrading and distribution system. While searching for alternative energy sources, rather than sticking to immature technology like solar panels, we need to diversify our focus and should consider other cost-effective sources of energy like hydroelectricity and energy from the wind in the coastal areas of Bangladesh,” opines Shabbir.

“We are very pleased to organise an international conference on physics of this magnitude in Bangladesh. The presence of local and international delegates graced the occasion and the best outcome of the conference was the participation of young students in such a huge number. Previously we had a misconception that students are losing interest in science, but after observing the enthusiasm of students, both as the audience and as contributory speakers, I cannot but feel hopeful about the future of Physics Studies in Bangladesh,” says Dr Dilip Kumar Saha, General Secretary, Bangladesh Physical Society.

The conference concluded with a cultural programme at the central auditorium of the Bangladesh University of Engineering technology.