Local teacher from Rangpur builds scientific equipment from scratch

In rural Rangpur, a man embodies the true human drive for innovation. Harunur Rashid, a senior science teacher at Ad-Deen Academy in Paglapir, is an inspiring figure due to his incredible journey of scientific creativity. His story proves our natural urge to explore, invent, and innovate.

Harun has had a knack for innovation since his childhood. In seventh grade, he built some equipment with plastic, but testing it caused fire, which he considers a trial-and-error method of his scientific learning. 

In eleventh grade, he got a chance to study machinery at a university in the Soviet Union but had to refuse it due to familial matters. After graduating in physics from Carmichael College in Rangpur, he entered the world of teaching.

In the classrooms of Ad-Deen Academy, he shares knowledge with the next generation of thinkers and dreamers. But he never stopped his childhood dream of scientific innovation. It was his passion, so he roamed from street to street, from Rangpur to Dhaka, searching for inspiration and materials. 

Most of his innovations are built using scrap metal and plastic, which he collected from scrap shops for free or cheaply.

Harun has built six pieces of scientific equipment so far; some of them are a space telescope, an electron microscope, a compound microscope, and even a film projector. He doesn't earn much as a teacher, but his dedication and love for science led him to build these. He aims to ensure the effective use of his equipment and continue to build new equipment with as little cost as possible. Harun even dreams of building a spacecraft, too.

People generally lose interest in innovating new things as they age, but for Harun, the matter is quite the opposite. In his words, he feels more interested in innovation the older he gets. 

Harunur Rashid's story is a reminder that innovation knows no boundaries. It is not confined to the gleaming laboratories of research institutions or the bustling workshops of multinational corporations. Instead, it lives in the hearts and brains of people like him, who are redefining what it means to innovate by being driven by passion and armed with creativity. 

Even in a humble thatched house in rural Rangpur, creativity is possible. His story shows that even when faced with limitations, people can be inventive, and our ability to innovate is a fundamental part of who we are as a species.

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