Full Time Faculty
Professor
Ph.D. in Atmospheric Science, University of East Anglia, UK
Master in Environmental Studies (M.E.S), University of Newcastle, Australia
M.Sc. in Applied Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, University of Dhaka
Bachelor of Science (B.Sc.) in Applied Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, University of Dhaka
Phone: +880-2-55668200 Ext: 2061
Email: biswas.farhana@northsouth.edu
Office: SAC-701
Dr Biswas Karabi Farhana is a Professor at the Department of Environmental Science and Management. Before she joined NSU in 2010, she had been as Assistant Professor at the University of North Carolina Wilmington in USA. She also served at several other leading academic and research organizations of USA, UK and Bangladesh.
Dr Farhana earned her PhD in Atmospheric Science from the University of East Anglia, UK, Master in Environmental Studies from University of Newcastle, Australia, and MSc and BSc in Applied Chemistry and Chemical Engineering from University of Dhaka. She was awarded the Commonwealth UK Scholarship, Australian Government’s Scholarship and German Government’s Scholarship for higher studies.
Dr Farhana is fond of teaching atmospheric and climate science, environmental chemistry, ecology, environmental pollution control techniques, chemical engineering and chemical technology. Her research interests encompass air pollution in South Asian mega cities and biogeochemical cycling of elements. She extensively traveled different corners of the globe for atmospheric research, including the Antarctic regions and the remote Atlantic Ocean. Her research findings have been published in high impact journals.
Jawaa Z.T., Biswas K.F., Khan M.F. and Moniruzzaman M. (2024) A Multidimensional Study on Airborne Trace Elements in Dhaka City, Heliyon, 10(4), e25420
Md. Alam A.A., Biswas M. K., Mahiat T., Chowdhury R. B., Biswas K. F., Hossain M.M., Sujauddin M. (2023) Taking stock of the share of global environmental burden of knitwear production in Bangladesh: Constructing the life cycle inventory, Journal of Cleaner Production, in press (impact factor: 11.072)
Mahiat T., Md Alam, A.A., Argho M., Corlett J., Chowdhury R.B., Biswas K.F., Hossain M.M., Sujauddin M. (2023) Modeling the environmental and social impacts of the handloom industry in Bangladesh through life cycle assessment, Modeling Earth Systems and Environment, 1-14, (impact factor: 3.90)
Siddique S., Roy B. B., Zaman S., Khan A., Md. Alam A.A., Chowdhury R. B., Biswas K. F., Hossain M.M., Murakami S., Sujauddin M. (2022) Discerning the circularity of the plastic industry in Bangladesh through the lens of material flow analysis, Sustainable Production and Consumption, 33, 700-715 (impact factor: 8.921)
Haque, A. B., D'Costa, N. G., Washim, M., Baroi, A. R., Hossain, N., Hafiz, M., ... & Biswas, K. F. (2021). Fishing and trade of devil rays (Mobula spp.) in the Bay of Bengal, Bangladesh: Insights from fishers’ knowledge. Aquatic Conservation: Marine and Freshwater Ecosystems, 31(6), 1392-1409.
Sourav, M. S. H., Thompson, P. M., & Biswas, K. F. (2018). Population and behavioural ecology of Alexandrine Parakeet Psittacula eupatria in Dhaka city, Bangladesh. Forktail, (34), 22-28.
Avery G.B., Biswas K.F., Mead R., Southwell M., Willey J.D., Kieber R.J., Mullaugh K.M. (2013) Carbon isotopic characterization of hydrophobic dissolved organic carbon in rainwater, Atmospheric Environment, 68, 230-234
Raja S., Biswas K.F., Husain Liaquat, Hopke P.K. (2010) Source apportionment of atmospheric aerosols in Lahore, Pakistan, Water Air and Soil Pollution, 208, 43-57
Biswas K.F. and Jickells T.D. (2009) Aerosol inorganic halogen cycling and aerosol acidity in Britain based on campaigns at four sites, Air Quality and Climate Change, 23(1), 28-34
Biswas K.F., Ghauri B.M. and Husain Liaquat (2008) Gaseous and aerosol pollutants during fog and clear episodes in South Asian urban atmosphere, Atmospheric Environment, 42, 7775-7785
Johnson M.T., Liss P.S., Jickells T.D. Biswas K.F., et al. (2008) Field observations of ocean-atmosphere exchange of ammonia: a comparison of high and low latitudes reveals the fundamental importance of temperature, Global Biogeochemical Cycles, 22, GB1019, doi:10.1029/2007GB003039
Baker A.R., Jickells T. D., Biswas K.F. et al. (2006) Nutrients in atmospheric aerosol particles along the Atlantic Meridional Transect, Deep Sea Research II, 53, 1706-1719
Baker A.R., Kelly S.D., Biswas K.F., Witt M., Jickells T.D. (2003). Atmospheric deposition of nutrients to the Atlantic Ocean, Geophysical Research Letters, 30, 2296
Jickells T.D., Kelly S.D., Baker A.R., Biswas K.F. et al. (2003). Isotopic evidence for a marine ammonia source, Geophysical Research Letters, 30, 1374
Biswas K.F., Howard Bridgman and Gordon McOrist (2001). Trace elements associated with atmospheric particulate matter in the Upper Hunter Valley, NSW, Australia, Analytical Sciences, 17, a391
Hadi D.A., Billah K.M., Biswas K.F. and Islam Rafiqul (1999) A study of chemical composition of atmospheric precipitation at Savar, Joydevpur, Tongi and Narayanganj, Bangladesh. Water, Air and Soil Pollution, 111, 377
Biswas K. F. (2005) Study on inorganic halogens and related ions in the lower atmospheric aerosols. PhD thesis. University of East Anglia, UK
Biswas K. F. (1999) Atmospheric Particulate Concentration and Trace Element Chemistry in Particulate Matter in the Upper Hunter Valley, NSW, Australia. MES thesis. University of Newcastle, Australia
Biswas K. F. (1996) A Study of Chemical Composition of Atmospheric Deposition in and around Dhaka City Bangladesh. MSc thesis. University of Dhaka, Bangladesh
Australia Awards 2015 to represent Bangladesh in the South and West Asia Regional Alumni Workshop on Women in Leadership Network, 12-13 Oct 2015, Colombo, Sri Lanka.
Health Research Inc USA Research Fellowship 2006-2008 for post doctoral research at Wadsworth Centre, NY State Dept of Health
Commonwealth United Kingdom Scholarship 2001-2004 for PhD in Environmental Sciences
Australian Development Scholarship 1998-99 for Master in Environmental Studies
Goethe Institute Germany Scholarship 1990 for Advanced and intensive German language and literature course at Goethe Institute Bremen, Germany
University of Dhaka Scholarship 1990-91 for MSc in Applied Chemistry and Chemical Technology
Bishwa Sahitya Kendra Champion 1988 in Nationwide Intellectual and Comprehensive Reading Contest (Jatiya Ekadosh Srenir Boipora Protijogita)
PhD in Environmental Science, School of Environmental Sciences, University of East Anglia, UK, 2005
Thesis: Biogeochemical cycling of inorganic halogen in the lower atmosphere
Master in Environmental Studies), School of Environmental and Life Sciences, University of
Newcastle, Australia, 1999
Thesis: Trace element chemistry of atmospheric particulate matter in Upper Hunter Valley, NSW,
Australia
MSc, Dept of Applied Chemistry and Chemical Technology, University of Dhaka, Bangladesh, 1996
Thesis: Chemical composition of rainwater in and around Dhaka city
BSc, Dept of Applied Chemistry and Chemical Technology, University of Dhaka, Bangladesh, 1994
4 Feb 2016 to date, Professor, ESM, NSU, Dhaka, Bangladesh
1 May 2022 to 9 October 2024, Director, Office of Graduate Studies, NSU, Dhaka Bangladesh
Feb 2015 to date, Graduate Program Coordinator, Dept of Environmental Science and Management (ESM),
North South University (NSU), Dhaka, Bangladesh
26 Dec 2011 to date, Associate Professor, ESM, NSU, Dhaka, Bangladesh
21 Sep 2010- 25 Dec 2011, Assistant Professor, ESM, NSU, Dhaka, Bangladesh
Aug 2008 – Dec 2009, Research Assistant Professor, Dept of Chemistry and Biochemistry and Centre for
Marine Science, University of North Carolina Wilmington (UNCW), USA.
Feb 2006 – Aug 2008, Research Affiliate, Laboratory of Inorganic & Nuclear Chemistry, Wadsworth
Centre, New York State Department of Health, USA
Feb-Aug 2005, Postgraduate Admissions Assistant, Admission Office, University of East Anglia (UEA), UK
Mar- Sep 2005, Supervisor (BSc Students’ Research Project), School of Environmental Sciences, UEA, UK
As Principle Investigator
1) Project Title: Air Quality and Covid-19: Examining the pollution-pandemic nexus in Dhaka
Name of PI: Biswas Karabi Farhana, Professor, Department of Environmental Science and Management, North South University
Name of CI(s): Dr. Saiful Momen, Assistant Professor, Department of Environmental Science and Management, North South University; Dr. Dipak Kumar Mitra, Professor, Department of Public Health, North South University; Dr. Firoz Khan, Senior Lecturer, University of Malaya, Malaysia
Grant Name/Grant Authority: North South University
Duration: 2020 to date
2) Project Title: 'German-Bangladesh University Cooperation in Textile and Clothing Sector 2018-19' within the framework of 'German-Bangladesh Higher Education Network for Sustainable Textiles [HEST]'
Name of PI: Biswas Karabi Farhana, Professor, Dept of Environmental Science and Management, North South University-Bangladesh, Prof Harald Schoenberger (principal applicant), University of Stuttgart-Germany, Prof Michael Rauch, Hof University of Applied Sciences-Germany, Prof Ummul Khayer Fatema, Bangladesh University of Textiles, Prof Sudip Kumar Pal, Chittagong University of Engineering and Technology-Bangladesh, and Prof Moniruzzaman Mollah, Asian University of Women.
Source of Grant Fund: German Federal Ministry of Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) [co-managed by German Academic Exchange (DAAD), UGC-Bangladesh and GIZ-Bangladesh]
Duration: 2018 to date
As Co-Investigator
1) Project Name/Title: Discerning the environmental impacts of cement and glass industry in Bangladesh using life cycle assessment
Name of PI: Mohammad Sujauddin, Assistant Professor, Department of Environmental Science and Management, North South University
Name of CI(s): Dr. Mohammad Mosharraf Hossain, Professor, University of Chittagong; Dr. Biswas Karabi Farhana, Professor, Department of Environmental Science and Management, North South University; Dr. Rubel Biswas Chowdhury, Deakin University, Austrlia
Grant Name/Grant Authority: North South University
Duration: 2020-2021
2) Project Name/Title: Determining the environmental footprint of knitwear and wovenwear products in Bangladesh through the lens of life cycle assessment
Name of PI: Mohammad Sujauddin, Assistant Professor, Department of Environmental Science and Management, North South University
Name of CI(s): Dr. Mohammad Mosharraf Hossain, Professor, University of Chittagong; Dr. Biswas Karabi Farhana, Professor, Department of Environmental Science and Management, North South University; Dr. Rubel Biswas Chowdhury, Deakin University, Austrlia
Grant Name/Grant Authority: North South University
Duration: 2020-2021
3) Project Name/Title: Material Flow Analysis of Plastic in Bangladesh to Unearth the State of its Circularity
Name of PI: Mohammad Sujauddin, Assistant Professor, Department of Environmental Science and Management, North South University, Dhaka, Bangladesh.
Name of CI(s): Prof. Biswas Karabi Farhana, Department of Environmental Science and Management, North South University, Dhaka, Bangladesh; Prof. Mohammad Mosharraf Hossain, University of Chittagong; Dr. Rubel Biswas Chowdhury, School of Engineering, Deakin University, Victoria, Australia
Grant Name/Grant Authority: North South University
Duration: November 2019~November 2020
Undergraduate courses
Climate Change
Environmental Chemistry
Environmental Pollution Control
Research Methods
General Chemistry
Ecology
Introduction to Environmental Science
Master's courses
Climate Change
Ecological Systems and Biodiversity
Research Methodology
Ecological Principles
Fundamentals of Environmental Science and Management
At Dept of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of North Carolina Wilmington (2008-2009):
Environmental Chemistry
Vice President (January 2024 to date) and Member (March 2014 to date), Bangladesh Association of Commonwealth Scholars and Fellows (BACSAF)
Nominated as Australia Award Ambassador (Feb 2016)
Vice President (2016 to 2018) and Member (2012 to date), Australian Awards Alumni Association of Bangladesh (AAAB)
Vice-President, Ujan (a socio-cultural organization), December 2011 to date
Editor, Bishorgo (a bilingual quarterly in English and Bengali) published by Organisation of Bangladeshi American Community (OBAC), Albany, NY, USA (2008-2010)
Associate Coordinator, ‘Society of Conscious Readers and Critiques’ (Pathok Porishad), ‘Scientific Philosophy Study Club’ (Darshan Chakro) at Biswa Shahitya Kendro and Sanskriti Bikash Kendro, Dhaka (1993-97), and Film Sessions and Retrospectives for the Bangladesh Film Society (1991-1997)
Climate change in South- and East Asia: causes, impact, adaptation and mitigation;
Chemistry of atmospheric pollutants in South Asian mega-cities;
Source, chemistry and impacts of winter fog in the Indo-Gangetic plains;
Biogeochemistry of atmospheric aerosol and precipitation in marine and terrestrial atmosphere
Atmospheric cycling of halogen, iron and carbon