Bangladeshi scientists decode jute genome

[DHAKA] Bangladeshi scientists have cracked the genome of white jute (Corchorus capsularis), raising hopes that the breakthrough will help improve a natural fibre that is second in importance only to cotton.

The mapping of the genome was described as a "great success for Bangladesh" by Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina Wajed when she officially announced it at a press conference in Dhaka this month (18 August). 

Bangladesh is the world’s second largest producer of jute after India and the world’s biggest exporter of the 'golden fibre'. On average, Bangladesh exports US$ one billion worth of jute and jute products each year.

Research leader Maqsudul Alam tells SciDev.Net that he and his team at the Bangladesh Jute Research Institute are planning to get international certification for their work by having it published in reputed scientific journals.

In 2010, Alam and his team had mapped the genome sequence of the 'tosha' variety of jute (C. olitorius). Last year, the team decoded the genome of a fungus that blights jute and other valuable crops such as rice, cotton, maize and soybean.

Alam, who is director of advanced studies in genomics, proteomics and bioinformatics, College of Natural Sciences, University of Hawaii at Manoa, Honolulu, is also credited with decoding the genome of papaya and rubber plants.
Ashiqur Rahman, assistant professor, department of environmental science and management, North South University, says gene sequencing could help genetic modification to produce jute varieties with desirable attributes." These include varieties with longer fibres, different colours and resistance to salinity and pests."  

A genome consists of the entire genetic material of a plant or organism, and sequencing allows scientists to readily identify genes that are responsible for particular characteristics and also for vital functions such as maintaining life and propagation.  

According to Bhupendra Singh, secretary-general, International Jute Study Group, Dhaka, said the development could help the South Asian jute industry. Singh told SciDev.Net that about 20—30 per cent of jute was damaged by insects and so there was a need to develop pest-resistant varieties.

Rahman said the achievement, apart from its commercial value, could serve as an inspiration to young scientists in Bangladesh to work onresearch projects to improve other important agricultural crops.

Source: http://www.scidev.net/south-asia/agriculture/news/bangladeshi-scientists-crack-jute-genome1.html 

Prof, N. Islam (University of Michigan Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science)

Mohammed N. Islam received the B.S. degree in 1981, the M.S. degree in 1983, and the
Sc.D. degree in 1985, all electrical engineering, from the Massachusetts Institute of
Technology, Cambridge. From 1985-1992 he was a member of the Technical Staff in the
Advanced Photonics Department at AT&T Bell Laboratories, Holmdel, N.J. He joined
the Electrical and Computer Engineering department at the University of Michigan in
Ann Arbor in 1992, where he is currently a Full Tenured Professor. He also has a joint
Full Professor appointment in the University of Michigan Medical School, Department of
Internal Medicine.

Prof. Islam was a Fannie and John Hertz Fellow from 1981-1985, and in 1992 he was
awarded the OSA Adolf Lomb Medal for pioneering contributions to nonlinear optical
phenomena and all-optical switching in optical fibers. He also received the U-M research
excellence award in 1997 and became a Fellow of the Optical Society of America in 1998.
In 2002 he received the Texas eComm Ten Award for being one of the 10 most
influential people in Texas’s digital economy. He became a fellow of the IEEE in 2004.
He is also the first recipient of the prestigious 2007 Distinguished University Innovator
Award for developing and commercializing break-through technology as well as bringing
lessons learned back into the classroom through teaching of entrepreneurship and
intellectual property protection.

Prof. Islam has published over 130 papers in refereed journals and holds over 120 patents 
or patents pending. In addition, he has authored three books and has written several book 
chapters. He has also been an invited speaker at over 70 conferences and symposia, and 
he has served on numerous Conference technical committees, Advisory committees and 
Board of Directors.

His current research interests include mid- and near-infrared laser sources and their
applications in defense and healthcare. On the defense side, applications include infrared
countermeasures, explosives detection, and battlefield communication. On the healthcare
side, his research relates to using fiber lasers in cardiology, endocrinology,
ophthalmology, dermatology, and cancer detection.

Prof. Islam teaches a number of courses including Introduction to Photonics, Fiber Optics:
Internet to Biomedical Applications, High-Tech Entrepreneurship and Patent
Fundamentals for Engineers.

Prof. Islam has Founded and has been Chief Technology Officer for several companies, 
including Xtera Communications, Omni Sciences, Celeste Optics, AccuPhotonics, Omni 
MedSci, and Cheetah Omni. He is also a Registered Patent Agent with the US Patent and
Trademark Office
Website: http://www.eecs.umich.edu/OSL/Islam/

Source: http://www.academicpub.org/joea/file/Mohammed%20N.%20IslamBio.pdf

UMass Dartmouth announced the appointment of Dr. Mohammad A. Karim,as Provost and Executive Vice Chancellor for Academic and Student Affairs.

UMass Dartmouth Chancellor Divina Grossman today announced the appointment of Dr. Mohammad A. Karim, vice president for research at Old Dominion University in Virginia, as Provost and Executive Vice Chancellor for Academic and Student Affairs. 

"We are pleased to welcome an academic leader of Dr. Karim's stature to UMass Dartmouth,'' Chancellor Grossman said. "As we aspire to develop the transformative teaching, research, and engagement activity of our university at a time of rapid change, Dr. Karim's passion for learning and discovery, his administrative experience, and his innovative spirit are sure to be valuable assets in positioning our students and faculty and excel." 

"I want to thank Dr. Alex Fowler, who stepped up to the plate when called upon to serve as interim provost, and has played a critical leadership role as the university confronts the  challenges of an evolving higher education environment,'' Chancellor Grossman said. "Alex has demonstrated a willingness to make tough, transparent, and merit-based decisions that always have the best interests of our learners, teachers, and researchers at heart." 
Dr. Karim's appointment follows a national search and screening process conducted by a 20-member committee of UMass Dartmouth faculty and staff and co-chaired by UMass Lowell Provost Ahmed Abdelal and UMass Dartmouth Professor Sigal Gottlieb, who is director of the Center for Scientific Computing and Visualization Research. 

In a joint statement, Search Committee Chairs Abdelal and Gottlieb, said, "We had the pleasure of serving with a team of committee members who were willing to devote long hours screening and interviewing many stellar candidates to assure that Chancellor Grossman would have several outstanding options. We thank our fellow committee members for their service, commend Chancellor Grossman for her selection, and welcome Dr. Karim to the UMass Dartmouth family. We believe that his outstanding credentials and experience will serve UMass Dartmouth well." 

As Old Dominion's first Vice President for Research, Dr. Karim led efforts to grow the university's research enterprise from $34.8 million to $104.6 million, improving ODU's research rankings across a variety of fields, including oceanography, business, engineering, education and the arts. He oversees a 1,302-person team that includes 216 faculty researchers, 262 non-faculty professionals, 286 graduate research assistants, and 603 others. 

Among his other accomplishments at ODU includes facilitating: 

-- Development of the Virginia Coastal Energy Research Consortium - a partnership with the University of Virginia, Virginia Institute of Marine Sciences, Virginia Tech, James Madison University, Norfolk State University, Virginia Commonwealth University, and Hampton University, and several state agencies. 

-- Securing of federal/state appropriations of more than $60 million for programs in energy, modeling, simulation and visualization, bioelectrics, transportation, oceans studies, robotics and vision. 

-- Development of a research park in Norfolk that resulted in co-location of ten research units and several non-ODU partners. 

-- Establishment of a $13 million, 60,000 sq. ft. research facility to house the Virginia 
Modeling Analysis and Simulation Center and eight start-up companies 

A professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Dr. Karim has developed a national and international reputation in his field. He is author of 19 books, over 365 research papers, and 8 book chapters and has served as guest editor of 33 journal special issues. 

The list of his research sponsors includes the Office of Naval Research, National Science Foundation, US Air Force, Naval Research Laboratory, US Army, NASA, US Department of Education, Ohio Aerospace Institute, US Department of Defense, and Avionics Laboratory of Wright-Patterson Air Force Base. He has served as a research mentor of over 60 MS/PhD students during his career. 

Dr. Karim is Editor of Optics and Laser Technology, an Associate Editor of IEEE Transactions on Education, and a member of the Editorial Boards of Microwave and Optical Technology Letters and World Journal of Modeling and Simulation. Since 2002, Dr. Karim has been chairing the program committee of the International Conference on Computers and Information Technology (ICCIT). 

Dr. Karim is an elected fellow of the Optical Society of America (OSA), the Society of Photo-Instrumentation Engineers (SPIE), the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE), the Institute of Physics (InstP), the Institution of Engineering & Technology (IET), and the Bangladesh Academy of Sciences. 

Prior to joining ODU in July 2004, Dr. Karim served as Dean of Engineering at the City College of New York of the City University of New York. He received his BS Honors degree in physics from the University of Dacca, Bangladesh, in 1976, and MS in physics, MS in electrical engineering, and Ph.D. in electrical engineering degrees from the University of Alabama respectively in 1978, 1979, and 1981.

Source:  Press Release: UMass Dartmouth appoints new provost - UMass Dartmouth

Nanoscientist Ayesha Arefin has heart

Student researcher helps construct bioethical artificial human organs

Although Bangladesh has made strides in recent decades, the war-torn and poverty stricken South Asian nation—with the world’s second lowest percentage of female scientists—provides few opportunities for brilliant women. But in 2011, Los Alamos researcher Chris Detter discovered geneticist Ayesha Arefin’s potential during a visit to her Bangladeshi scientific university.

Detter and colleague Lance Green played a pivotal role in helped Arefin come to Los Alamos to pursue research and a graduate degree—Arefin even lived with the Detters while she became accustomed to American customs and language. She’s now pursuing a doctorate in nanoscience at the University of New Mexico while also continuing research at the Lab.  

Nicknamed Tumpa, Arefin launched her Los Alamos career in the Lab’s biosecurity division. Originally from Bangladesh’s neighboring state of India, renowned toxicologist Rashi Iyer soon recruited Arefin to research optogenics—manipulating genetics and engineering proteins to control neuron activity in living tissue—for prosthetic limb and artificial tissue development.

Nanoparticles, used in products ranging from sunscreens to solar panels, are proliferating so quickly that safety testing for potential health hazards can hardly keep up. Arefin and the rest of Iyer’s team are developing novel methods to improve testing of toxins and diseases and support bioethics, including replacing prevalent animal-testing methods with trials in artificial organs.

The team is creating an artificial human lung to reveal the cellular mechanisms in Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease—America’s third most common cause of death—and support development of therapeutics. Arefin also researches neurological diseases and strokes.

Arefin’s commitment to helping people extends beyond the Lab; back in Bangladesh she volunteered to rehabilitate abused girls. Locally, she volunteers at an AIDS family support center. She someday hopes to establish an egalitarian school in her home country where all children are welcomed and nurtured to learn math and science.

Humbly, she believes fortune and the support of others—not hard work—brought her success.

“I’m so grateful, and so joyous for the Lab; for the people and for the chance to make a difference,” says Arefin, adding that many international researchers at Los Alamos, including Montenegro’s Momo Vuyisich, helped her navigate life in a foreign country.

Source: Nanoscientist Ayesha Arefin has heart