National Professor Dr. Jamilur Reza Choudhury, the country’s iconic and best known civil engineer, passed away of a heart attack around 2am on Tuesday.
He was 77 years old.
Family and medical sources said that Dr. Choudhury suffered a massive heart attack in his sleep at home at Dhanmondi in Dhaka.
He was taken to the Square Hospital around 4am, where doctors declared that he was died.
His body will be buried at the Banani Graveyard but the time is not determined immediately.
Dr. Choudhury was the founding Vice-Chancellor of BRAC University and was working as the VC of the University of Asia Pacific.
He was graduated from Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology as a civil engineer.
Dr. Choudhury was an adviser to the caretaker government.
The government honoured Dr. Jamilur Reza Choudhury as a national professor in 2018.
He was awarded Ekushey Padak by the government in the science and technology category in 2017.
Professor Choudhury was also honoured internationally. He was honoured with the Order of the Rising Sun: Gold Rays with Neck Ribbon — a prestigious honour conferred by Japan.
He was awarded the honorary degree of Doctor of Engineering (Honoris Causa) by Manchester University in 2010.
He chaired the expert panel advising the construction of Bangabandhu Bridge over the river Jamuna which was the first mega project in Bangladesh. He had been leading the international advisory panel for Padma Bridge.
Dr. Choudhury led the panel of experts in many other mega projects, including Dhaka Elevated Expressway, Dhaka Subway, Dhaka-Ashulia Elevated Expressway and Karnaphuli.
He also was the adviser to a number of national and international projects and a key member of the steering committee on the Bangladesh National Building Code (1993).
Dr. Jamilur Reza Choudhury was born in Sylhet on Nov 15, 1943 in Sylhet to Hayatun Nessa Choudhury and Abid Reza Choudhury. He was the third among five siblings.
Dr. Choudhury had his early education in Mymensingh Zilla School and later moved to Dhaka.
He earned his PhD in structural engineering in 1968 from the University of Southampton in the UK.
He started his teaching career by joining BUET as a lecturer after graduation in 1963. He served as the head of Department of Civil Engineering, BUET from 1978-79 and 1981-83.
Professor Choudhury had developed a simplified method for the analysis of shear walls in tall buildings, commonly known as Coull and Choudhury’s Method as a part of his research. It was widely used around the world.
The works and contributions of Choudhury to engineering science and technology are reflected in various publications authored by him, including about 70 papers in international journals and conference proceedings related to low-cost housing, tall buildings, , earthquake resistant design, cyclones and storm surges, IT applications, retrofitting of structures, and policy issues.
Jamilur Reza Choudhury is survived by his wife Selina Choudhury, daughter Charisma Choudhury and son Kaashif Reza Choudhury.
