Click for BSc
in Forestry (University of Chittagong)
Click for MSc
in Forest Industries Technology (University of Wales)
Click for PhD in
Chemical Engineering (University of Sydney)
Click for Graduate Certificate in
Educational Studies (Higher Education), University of Sydney
Some of my Gradudate Certificate Work. These reports may be useful to university teachers. Click links below to find about these reports:
(1) Effect of Assessment System on Student Learning (2) Understanding Student Learning (3) Aims and Outcomes of Teaching & Learning (4) Knowledge Construction MY EDUCATION
ABOUT
MY SCHOOL
I was born
little before the liberation war of Bangladesh. I grew up in Karpashdanga
village and got my primary and secondary education from the Karpashdanga Primary
and Secondary School. In Bangladesh, earlier days kids used to start school
at five. However, now they go to Kindergarten even earlier. After ten years
of schooling from five years of my age, I sat for the Secondary School Certificate
(SSC) examination and passed in 1986.
ABOUT
MY COLLEGE
After my
secondary school I left my beloved village for further education. I got admission
in Rajshahi College for my Higher Secondary (HSC) study. Rajshahi College is
one of the oldest and reputed educational institution in Bangladesh, and it
was also very famous in undivided Bengal during British Raj. Those who are familiar
with Rajshahi College campus, can remember that the architecture of those old
buildings are quite attractive. The location is attractive too, especially during
monsoon. The college is situated on the bank of the Padma (the Ganges river).
The Padma looks like the mighty Padma only during rainy season. It was my great
time during study in such a nice institution. During my college, first time
I stayed out of my village and local towns for long time. I loved this place.
Rajshahi city is also great and called the educational city of Bangladesh. I
stayed in Rajshahi from September 1986 to July 1988.
I studied
science in my school. In addition to that I had to take Bengali and English
literature, geography, social science and religious study. These are compulsory
for every student in the school in Bangladesh. Then in the college I studied
science again, more specialized and advanced than the school and also with Bengali
and English literature as compulsory subjects. I was interested to specialize
in the area of biological science for my further study.
MY UNIVERSITY
In Bangladesh,
higher education is very competitive particularly studying medicine, engineering
and other subjects in the universities. It is competitive in the sense that
the number of students (with excellent records during their school and college)
is far more than the number of places available in the universities. It is really
a troublesome job for the students to find a place for higher study after sitting
at admission tests of various stages.
I got an
opportunity among 1500 students (all with excellent SSC and HSC results; minimum
requirements to compete) competed for 30 places at the Institute of Forestry
under the University of Chittagong
to study a four-year professional Bachelor of Science with Honours in Forestry
degree. It was the most competitive subject in that university at that time.
I feel fortunate that I got this opportunity and I did very well. This
degree gave me the opportunity to learn a lot of generic skills required in
everyday life of a forester/professional and the standard of education was excellent.
Basically forestry is a truly multidisciplinary subject and an amalgamation
of basic sciences, arts and commerce. I try to focus forestry as a discipline
now in the following paragraph.
We studied the following
subjects in 8 semester: (Click the Marksheet
to See the Subjects)
Advanced Basic Sciences:
Biology- Botany and Zoology; Physics; Chemistry; Mathematics.
Applied Sciences: Statistics;
Application of Computers in Forestry.
Commerce: Economics; Forest
Economics; Marketing; Accounting.
Social Sciences: Sociology;
Rural and Community Development; Community Organizing; Non governmental Organizations.
Forest Protection: Mycology;
Pathology; Entomology.
Forest Measurement: Forest
Mensuration and Inventory; Aerial Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing.
Forest Engineering:
Social Forestry: Forestry
Extension; Agroforestry; Forest Based Small Scale Industries; Recreational Forestry
and Tourism.
Wood Science and Technology:
Wood Structure and Properties; Sawmilling and Lumber Manufacturing; Wood Seasoning
and Preservation; Wood and Fibre Composite Materials, Adhesives and Finishes;
Pulp and Paper.
Silviculture and Management:
Geology and Soil Science; Forest Ecology; Tree Physiology; Forest Genetics and
Tree Improvement; Forest Management; Parks and Wildlife Management; Non-timber
Forest Products; Environmental Science; Watershed Management; Development Planning;
Policy, Law and Administration; Research Methodology and Research Management;
Preparation of Working/Management Plan in Group for a Forest Division (about
land area of 15000 ha or more) after Four Weeks of Field Survey and Inventory.
Others: Extensive Field
Trips in Every Semester and These Field Tours and Practicals Covered All the
Major Forest Areas (Hill Forests, Sal Forests and the Sundarbans Mangrove Forests)
of Bangladesh.
In the final
year I had to undertake a small research project for BSc dissertation. I studied
the production, management and possibility of genetic improvement of Dalbergia
sissoo (locally known as Sissoo tree) in the north-western Bangladesh. The
work was later published in a Bangladeshi scientific journal.
FORESTRY
EDUCATION IN BANGLADESH
INSTITUTE
OF FORESTRY CHITTAGONG UNIVERSITY
Institute
of Forestry (now renamed as Institute of Forestry and Environmental Sciences)
under Chittagong University (IFESCU) was opened in 1977 to cater the demand
for professional forestry graduates for the government's Forest Department to
manage efficiently the natural resources of Bangladesh. A huge amount of money
(more than US$ 6 million; 2000 value) was channelled for the development
of the IFCU by the United Nations Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO) and
later by the World Bank from 1982-2000 through the Ministry of Forests and Environment
in Bangladesh. There were 6 Expert Visiting Professors from overseas who are
internationally recognized in their respective field, employed in the institute
for about six years to directly teach the students. The medium of instruction
of teaching was chosen as English. The reason partly is for overseas visiting
professors and also due to the lack of books on forestry in Bengali. Even now
this is practised in the university level forestry education in Bangladesh.
A large number of professional forestry graduates work with the Bangladesh Government's
Forest Department as Assistant Conservator of Forests (ACF) or in other higher
executive posts. Some of them also work as academic staff member in the universities,
research scientists in Bangladesh Forest Research Institute (FRI), Space Research
and Remote Sensing Organization (SPARRSO in Dhaka), other Public and Civil Services,
Forestry Program Manager in the Non-governmental Organisations, Assistant Managers
and Managers in the tea gardens etc.
Links for two of my friends:
Click for more
on FORESTRY AND WOOD TECHNOLOGY KHULNA UNIVERSITY
Forestry
and Wood Technology Discipline was opened in Khulna University in 1992 to provide
a 4-year BSc degree in FWT. Recently MSc program has been started in Khulna
University.
Department
of Forestry has also been opened in Sylhet Shahajalal University of Science and
Technology a couple of years ago to provide BSc in Forestry degree.
To see the activities of Forestry Graduates from Bangladesh, please visit ForGradBd group page.
FOREST
SCHOOLS AND ACADEMY
There are
two forestry schools in Rajshahi and Sylhet to provide a 3-year diploma in Forestry
and run under the Forest Department. These schools impart training for the lower
level staffs of Forest Department after recruiting them in service. There is
also a Forest Academy for training the Forestry Officers and Researchers and
under the Ministry of Forests and Environments.
LIFE IN
CHITTAGONG AND STUDY OF FORESTRY
In connection
to my university study I had to spend quite a long period of time in Chittagong.
The location of Chittagong University is probably the most unusual in the country,
little far away from the Port City and in a surroundings of hills and forests.
The location is ideal for forestry study. Among all the university campuses
in Bangladesh, the most natural environment you can find in Chittagong University.
Rajshahi University campus is also beautiful from scenic point of view, however,
artificially developed. I enjoyed the most of my interesting time of my life
in IFCU from early 1989 to mid-1994.
Forestry
is quite an interesting field of study as it covers diverse and a wide range
of subjects of knowledge as you can see from the above information on Forestry.
I always used to feel interest in the subjects related to wood science and technology,
forest products which essentially part or a division of forestry. The choice
of my career path in forestry was in research and/or academic institution if
I was given all these forestry career options.
I also liked
the subjects related to people during my Forestry study. One such interesting
area of forestry is social forestry and rural development, which is essentially
involving common people with forestry practice. We learnt the definition of
social forestry as "the forestry for the people, by the people and of people"
(like Lincoln's definition of democracy). I wanted to know more about the rural
development in Bangladesh. We had quite good interactions with organization
like Bangladesh Academy for Rural Development (BARD) in Comilla and Rural Development
Academy (RDA) in Bogra. We spent some time in RDA, Bogra to visit their social
forestry programs. Works of Akhter Hamid Khan (pioneer of rural development)
in the history of rural development, his biography and motto, history of the
establishment of BARD, Deeder Co-operative, Comilla Model of rural development
etc. all were fascinating to me. I read some of stories of Akhter Hamid Khan
in a book called Dateline Gram Bangla written/compiled (not so sure??) by Hasnat
Abdul Hye and also three volumes of works of Akhter Hamid Khan. It was really
nice to know about the field of rural development.
Click Deforestation in Bangladesh - presentation by Nawshad Haque - 862 KB
HIGHER
STUDY
MSc
I got an
opportunity to do a higher study what I cherished for long time. It was my dream
to pursue higher degrees in overseas universities. It was really nice experience
for me when I first landed at Heathrow Airport for my destination to Bangor,
small country town of North Wales in the UK. From the first impression the country
side of Great Britain, the landscape looked beautiful when I travelled by train
from London Euston station to Bangor during a pre-winter time. I started my
MSc
in Forest Industries Technology at the University
of Wales, Bangor from September 1996. The School of
Agricultural and Forest Sciences (SAFS)
is reputed all over the world for forestry education. It is one of the top five
schools in the world in this particular field. The school has been providing
forestry degrees for more than over 100 years. Forest Industries Technology
program was basically under the Department of Wood Science and this covers all
the areas of wood science and technology.
I was the
only Distinction awarded student in the class. The MSc was 60% course work and
40% research. The following subjects I studied:
Information Skill and
Information Technology: MS Office 95, Electronic Literature Searching Technique,
Use of Library Catalogues, Use of Internet and Email etc.
Advanced Wood Science
and Technology: Wood Structure and Fundamental Properties, Wood Deterioration,
Wood Chemistry, Timber Drying and Preservation, Structural Design using Timbers,
Sawmilling and Composite Wood, Commercial Aspects of Timber Trade.
I undertook
a small laboratory project for my dissertation. I worked hard in the laboratory
for the Distinction grade result, as I required to get both Distinction grades
for the course work component and dissertation component separately. The work
I did in the laboratory and for the dissertation would be more than adequate
for my Distinction result, however, I worked even more with a goal in my mind.
That was to get a publication out of this study. This year, my research paper
is going to be published by a leading journal published by a professional body
(Institute of Wood Science) in the field of wood science. With this publication
my mission to UK was fully successful.
(Also
in my personal life, my wife Abeda accompanied me during my study. My little
daughter Manisha was born in Wales when I stayed there with my family. Overall
my staying in UK was full of happiness to me and my family. The reasons are
pretty clear, I became father- that is the most important event. Also I got
a brilliant result, I got the possibility of a PhD scholarship and I got an
international publication finally). SOME OF MY MSc COURSE WORK
Click links below find about these
reports: RESEARCH
DURING MSc
Title of my dissertation
was "chemical modification of wood with acetic anhydride: reaction kinetics
study". Some information about this research project AND abstract of the
paper are shown below:
CHEMICAL
MODIFICATION OF WOOD
Wood is
one of the most important and widely used natural materials. However, its dimensional
instability to moisture (even after seasoning, particularly for some applications
e.g. parquetry flooring) and its low durability due to biodeterioration are
the two main problems related to wood in service. Chemical modification of wood
is a potential method for improving these properties. Among all the existing
processes, wood modification with acetic anhydride has considerable promise
due to the high anti-shrink or anti-swell efficiency (ASE) attainable without
damaging the wood properties. This reagent is also non-toxic and less costly
compared with other modifying chemicals. The wood hydroxyl (OH) groups are replaced
by acetyl group forming ester bond as shown in the reaction scheme below:
Wood-OH + CH3(CO)-O-(CO)CH3 = Wood-O(CO)CH3
+ CH3COOH
Acetylation
of wood has been slow in commercialization due to few drawbacks of the process.
Acetic acid is produced as by-product after treatment (loss of half of the reagent;
thus increasing the chemical cost). Acetic anhydride being corrosive to iron
and steel requires special reaction equipment. Chemical modification of wood
in forms other than solid wood, i.e. wood chips, fibre, and veneer, has the
greatest potential for three main reasons. Firstly, drying solid wood to a very
low moisture content is expensive prior to modification, but in the case of
panel products, i.e. particleboard, fibreboard, flakeboard and plywood, the
particles are essentially dried before or at the time of resin or glue application.
Secondly, as moisture may easily damage the bonding of reconstituted wood products
in service, there is a demand for modified wood particles. Finally, it is easier
to modify the wood fragments rather than solid wood due to thickness reduction
facilitating access to the reagent. However, interaction or reaction of modifying
chemicals in modified wood with resins or adhesives used for reconstituted products
needs to be studied.
There are
practical difficulties in obtaining reliable information from the investigation
of a complex, non-isotropic variable material like wood. In addition, the heterogeneous
nature of the wood substrate provides additional complexity when trying to understand
how the modifying agent reacts with it. Though, isolated polymer studies may
not necessarily reflect the situation that occurs within a solid heterogeneous
substrate, however, a better understanding of the factors affecting the location
of the modifying agent within the wood is necessary for commercialization of
the process. Some fundamentals of modification process: the reaction and the
reaction rate of wood cell wall polymers with acetic anhydride needs to be investigated.
The reactions of lignin and cellulose with acetic anhydride may be studied in
more detail.
ABSTRACT
OF THE PAPER ON CHEMICAL MODIFICATION
Reactions
were performed upon lignin and cellulose model compounds with acetic anhydride
in pyridine (acting as solvent and catalyst). The reaction rates were monitored
at various temperatures using a titration method. Generally, phenolic compounds
reacted faster than the alcohols. However, 2,6-dimethoxyphenol was less reactive
than guaiacol because of the added steric hindrance afforded by the second methoxyl
group on its phenol ring. The acetylation of wood flour (various size classes)
without a catalyst was monitored at 120oC. Particle geometry was
found to influence the reaction, with smaller particle sizes exhibiting reaction
to a greater degree than larger particles. The reaction kinetics exhibited a
mixture of first-order and diffusion dominated processes. Thermo-mechanical
pulp (TMP) (mixed spruce (Picea spp.) fibre suitable for medium density
fibreboard (MDF) production) was acetylated without catalyst at 120oC
for up to two and a half hours. The acetylation reaction was preceded by a delignification
step using the acid chlorite method. The holocellulose (delignified) fibre showed
nearly 10% greater and 57% faster reactivity than the TMP fibre as derived from
the parameters in the equation, y = A[1-exp(Bt)], where y is a measure of hydroxyl
group substitution, and t is the time. This may be explained by postulating
that during the high temperature refining stage of TMP preparation, the lignin
flowed plastically, coating the fibre surface and presenting a barrier against
reagent penetration. After delignification, the fibre surface was therefore
more readily permeable to the reagent. EXPERIENCES
GAINED DURING MSc
Experience
gained during course work and dissertation preparation: Laboratory analytical
techniques; Fourier Transform Infra-Red (FTIR) Spectroscopic Study of Wood;
13C Cross Polarisation Magic Angle Spinning (CP-MAS) Nuclear Magnetic
Resonance (NMR) Spectra Interpretation of Wood Samples; Scanning Electron Microscopy
(SEM) Study of Wood and Fibre Samples; and Wood-decay Fungus Cellar Culture.
Overall
the course was fantastic and opened my eyes in the exciting area of wood science
and technology. I have seen and got the opportunity to be involved with the
whole lot of interesting events in the Department of Wood Science and in the
famous BioComposite
Centre adjacent to SAFS, University of Wales.
(5) Assessment System (6) Constructive Alingment (7) Teaching International Students (Annotated Bibliography)
Part of
Civil Engineering: Surveying and Drawing; Building Materials and Construction;
Roads and Bridge Construction; Design, Planning and Construction of Forest Bungalows,
Forest Roads and Bridges.
Part of
Mechanical Engineering: Engines; Forest Harvesting Machineries; Forest Harvesting;
Maintenance of Forest Engineering Equipments.
Dr. Mahmudur Rahman, Scientist at SPARRSO
Mr. Tapan Sarker, at the University of Queensland
Wood
Properties. White
Rot Fungal Decay of Wood. Chemical
modification of pine wood. Sissoo
and Keora timber.
Wood
polymer composites. Particle
board.