Obituary

Remembering Dr. Azizur Rahman (1941 - 2018)

Dr. Md. Azizur Rahman passed away on Saturday June 16, 2018, surrounded by family and close friends.The following obituary is reprinted with permission from the web site of the Faculty of Engineering and Applied Science at Memorial University https://www.mun.ca/engineering/about/people/azizurrahman.php Our readers might also be interested in the touching tribute by Dr. Peters, Chair of the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at Memorial University https://www.mun.ca/engineering/news.php?id=10976&type=news

Dr. Md Azizur Rahman joined Memorial University in 1976 and remained with the Faculty of Engineering and Applied Science until his passing. He was a highly respected professor and university research professor (since 1993) and had 50 years of teaching experience.

Dr. Rahman had a very decorated career, having won a number of major professional awards. He was awarded the GE Centennial Invention Disclosure Award in 1978, IEEE Outstanding Students Counselor's Award in 1980, IEEE Notable Service Award for contributions in IEEE and Engineering Professions in 1987 and the IEEE Industry Application Society's Outstanding Achievement Award in 1992. In 1994, Dr. Rahman won the Association of Professional Engineers and Geoscientists of Newfoundland Merit Award, followed by the IEEE Canada Outstanding Engineering Educator's Medal in 1996. He was presented with the IEEE Third Millennium Medal in 2000, the IEEE Cyril Veinott Electromechanical Energy Conversion Award from PES in 2003, the IEEE William E. Newell Power Electronics Award in 2004 and the Khwarizmi International Award in 2005. In 2007 Dr. Rahman was awarded the IEEE Dr. Ing Eugene Mittelmann Outstanding Award from Industrial Electronics Society, along with the IEEE Richard H. Kaufmann Technical Field Award. In 2008 he received the IEEE Power and Energy Society (PES) Distinguished Service Award and the A.D. Dunton Distinguished Alumni Award of Carleton University.

In February 2011, Dr. Rahman was presented with the prestigious Gold Medal by The Institution of Engineers (IEB) in Bangladesh. The IEB Gold Medal was presented to Dr. Rahman.

On March 22, 2012, Dr. Rahman was awarded the Prince Albert II Medal at the seventh Exposition and Conferences Internationales Vehicules Ecologiques and Energies Renouvelables (International Conference and Exhibition on Ecological Vehicles and Renewable Energies) in Monaco.

Dr. Rahman's research interests have been broad throughout his career. In the years leading up to his passing, his research focused on machines, intelligent controls, power systems, digital protection, power electronics, magnetic materials and wireless communication.

Dr. Rahman was born in Santahar, Bangladesh on January 9, 1941. He received the B.Sc. Degree from Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (BUET), Dhaka, the M. A. Sc. from the University of Toronto and the PhD degree from Carleton University in Ottawa, Ontario, all in electrical engineering in 1962, 1965 and 1968, respectively.

In 1962 he joined BUET as a lecturer and was promoted to full professor in 1975. He was a visiting professor and research fellow at the Imperial College in London, Technical University of Eindhoven, University of Manitoba, University of Toronto, Nanyang Technological University, Tokyo Institute of Technology, University of Hong Kong, Tokyo University of Science and University of Malaya.

Dr. Rahman was a registered professional engineer in the Province of Newfoundland and Labrador, a member of the Institution of Electrical Engineers in Japan, a Fellow of the Institution of Engineering and Technology in the United Kingdom, a Fellow of the Engineering Institute of Canada, a Life Fellow of the Institution of Engineers Bangladesh, a Life Fellow of the I.E.E.E., a Fellow of the Canadian Academy of Engineering and a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada.