Professor Mahbub Majumdar becomes first Bangladeshi to receive Spirit of Salam Award
Professor Mahbubul Alam Majumdar, Dean of the School of Data and Sciences and the Department of Computer Science and Engineering at BRAC University, has become the first Bangladeshi to receive the prestigious Spirit of Salam Award.
The International Centre for Theoretical Physics (ICTP) announced his name on Thursday, marking the birth anniversary of Nobel laureate Abdus Salam.
Although the Spirit of Salam Award has been conferred since 2013–14 to honour individuals for outstanding contributions to science-related endeavours, this is the first time the accolade has been awarded to a Bangladeshi.
Professor Mahbubul Alam Majumdar has been recognised primarily for his exceptional contributions to strengthening the foundations of science and education in Bangladesh.
He has worked tirelessly to overcome structural and institutional barriers to research and higher education in the country. Beyond the classroom, he has played an active role in popularising science through regular writing and public lectures.
He currently serves as a member of the advisory board of Biggan Chinta, one of Bangladesh’s leading popular science magazines, and as a coach of the Bangladesh team for the International Mathematical Olympiad.
According to the ICTP, professor Majumdar’s collaboration with its Physics Without Frontiers programme has been particularly noteworthy within the global scientific community. His efforts have facilitated the organisation of international-standard scientific conferences and workshops in Bangladesh.
Reacting to the honour, professor Majumdar told Prothom Alo that the award has created an opportunity to showcase Bangladesh’s science- and mathematics-related initiatives to a global audience.
He added that Bangladeshi students are hardworking, and this recognition highlights their dedication and potential on the world stage.
Mohammad Abdus Salam was a Pakistani theoretical physicist who won the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1979, jointly with Steven Weinberg and Sheldon Glashow, for their contributions to the theory of the unified weak and electromagnetic interaction between elementary particles.
He was the first Muslim to receive a Nobel Prize in science. In 1964, Abdus Salam founded the International Centre for Theoretical Physics, a research institute for physical and mathematical sciences based in Trieste, in Italy’s Friuli–Venezia Giulia region.
The centre operates under a tripartite agreement between the Italian government, UNESCO and the International Atomic Energy Agency.
In addition to professor Majumdar, the ICTP has posthumously awarded this year’s Spirit of Salam Award to Karim Aoudia, former Acting Head of the ICTP’s Earth System Physics Section, in recognition of his selfless service over a long career.
Aoudia mentored countless young scientists from the developing world and passed away in October 2025.
The ICTP Postgraduate Diploma Programme has also been honoured this year, in recognition of its role in preparing more than 1,200 students from 84 countries for advanced research since its inception.