BAU’s Physics Department officially moves to Faculty of Engineering after 61 years

The Physics Department of Bangladesh Agricultural University (BAU) has been officially transferred from the Faculty of Agriculture to the Faculty of Agricultural Engineering and Technology after 61 years. The decision, confirmed by Professor Dr Md Khairul Hasan Bhuiyan, Head of the Physics Department, was finalised on Friday.

Professor Khairul Hassan said that physics departments worldwide are typically housed within faculties of engineering. However, due to administrative complexities, BAU’s Physics Department remained under the Faculty of Agriculture since the university's inception in 1964. Despite several attempts to restructure, the process faced delays for decades.

According to university sources, while physics courses were originally offered within the Faculty of Agriculture, structural changes in BAU’s ordinance in 1969 reduced the department's significance there. However, its courses remained compulsory in the Faculty of Agricultural Engineering and Technology.

In 2002, a high-powered committee proposed five key recommendations for BAU’s restructuring, one of which was the transfer of the Physics Department. While four recommendations were implemented, the Physics Department’s relocation remained stalled. Finally, in March 2024, the Faculty of Agriculture, in its 180th meeting, approved the department’s release. Following this, the Dean of the Faculty of Agricultural Engineering and Technology, Professor Dr Md Zainul Abedin, submitted an application to the Registrar, requesting the department’s inclusion in the Faculty of Engineering. After multiple delays in the approval process, the matter was passed in the 210th meeting, leading to the department’s official transfer.

Professor Khairul Hassan emphasised the importance of physics in the era of the 5th Industrial Revolution, which integrates artificial intelligence, robotics, and big data into various industries, including agriculture. He highlighted that physics plays a crucial role in increasing agricultural productivity, optimizing farm management, and promoting sustainable resource use.

The advancements of the 5th Industrial Revolution, he noted, are making agricultural work safer, more efficient, and more profitable.

Professor Khairul Hassan has been serving as the Head of the Department from June 2010 to August 2017 and resumed the position in August 2019, continuing to the present. This landmark decision marks the end of a prolonged debate, finally placing BAU’s Physics Department in alignment with global academic structures.

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