Md Saifuzzaman, PhD Associate Professor, Department of Geography & Environment
PROFILE
SHORT BIOGRAPHY
Saifuzzaman (Saif) was born and raised in rural Bangladesh. He received B.Sc. and MSc. degree from Jahangirnagar University in Bangladesh. He has been teaching at the same University since 2009. After completing seven years of research and field-based professional training with Government agencies and NGOs and their public and private sector projects, he took the permanent faculty position in the Geography and Environment Jahangirnagar University. Since 2008, he was also served as an adjunct faculty member in several public universities in Bangladesh. Before starting his graduate program in Bioresource (Environmental) Engineering at McGill University, Canada, he received his second Masters degree from Queen’s University, Canada. He is now part of the McGill Precision Agriculture and Sensor Systems (PASS) Research Team at McGill and working on high-resolution satellite sensor and high-density proximal soil sensor (PSS) data fusion and developed object-based machine-learning (classification and regression) algorithms. Those approaches and geospatial and geostatistical models could assist soil and agricultural ecosystem monitoring, precision agriculture, and a sustainable environment. He was awarded several prestigious research grants and scholarships for his graduate study and scientific research in Canada, with a total value of $220K.
RESEARCH INTEREST
Remote Sensing and proximal soil sensing, Sensor fusion, and big data mining, Geospatial, and environmental modeling & prediction, and Geostatistical modeling for soil and crop/grassland ecosystems.
JOURNAL PAPER
2021 Kamrunahar, Alam M.S., and Saifuzzaman M. Prediction of Spatial Distribution of Organic Carbon in Lower Brahmaputra Active Floodplain Soils of Bangladesh, The Dhaka University Journal of Earth and Environmental Sciences, 8(2): 33-41.
2021 Saifuzzaman, M., Adamchuk, V., Biswas, A., and Rabe, N. High-density Proximal Soil Sensing Data and Topographic Derivatives to Characterise Field Variability, Biosystems Engineering - Elsevier, 211: 19-34.
2020 Rahman M., Saifuzzaman M. and Shamsuddin S.D. Application of Environmental Remote Sensing for Updating Geo-Archaeological Records. Bangladesh Journal of Environmental Research, 11: 94-110.
2019 Saifuzzaman, M., Adamchuk, V., and Biswas, A., High-density proximal soil sensing and topographic data to characterize field variability. Geoderma 2020, 364: 1-21
2019 Saifuzzaman, M.,......, and Aspinall, D., Clustering Tools for Integration of Satellite Remote Sensing Imagery and Proximal Soil Sensing Data. Remote Sensing 2019, 11 (9), 1036: 1-17.
2015 Talukder B., Saifuzzaman M., and VanLoon G.W. Sustainability of agricultural systems in the coastal zone of Bangladesh, Renewable Agriculture and Food Systems 31(2):1-18.
2013 Rahman M. A. and Saifuzzaman M. Response to Changing Environmental Conditions: A Case Study on Agricultural Systems in the Coastal Region of Bangladesh, Journal of the Bangladesh National Geographical Association 37(1):37-49, ISSN 1028-7530.
2012 Saifuzzaman M, Hoque T.H. and Shamsuddin S D. Use of Remote Sensing and GIS in Selected Archaeological Site Studies in Bangladesh, Journal of the Department of Archaeology, Jahangirnagar University 8:1-8.
2012 Saifuzzaman M., and Sarker M.M.H. Assessing the Impact of Flood in Khulna-Jessore Drainage Rehabilitation Project Area in the South-West Coastal Region of Bangladesh, The Jahangirnagar University Review 24: 151-165., ISSN 1682-7422.
2011 Saifuzzaman M., Alam M. S., and Shamsuddin S. D. Effectiveness of WV2 High Resolution Satellite Imagery (HRSI) For Identification of Land and Water Features in an Archaeological Site in Bangladesh, The Jahangirnagar University Review 22: 275-287.
2010 Saifuzzaman M., and Alam M. S. Environmental Changes in the South Western Coastal Areas of Bangladesh: A River Basin Approach. Khulna University Studies, special issue:1-7, ISSN 1563-0897.
2009 Hossain S., Saifuzzaman M., and Alam M. S. Urban Environmental Change: A Case Studies on Eastern Dhaka City Wetlands Transformation from 1963-2009. Bangladesh Institute of International and Strategic Studies (BIISS) Journal 31(2): 167-189, ISSN 1010-9536.
2004 Saifuzzaman M, Alam M S and Rashid M S. Remote Sensing and GIS Application for Assessing Coastal Geomorphological Changes: A river basin approach. Int. Society for Photogrammetry & Remote Sensing, 35(III): 826-828, (www.isprs.org/proceedings/XXXV/congress/comm3/papers/383.pdf).
2004 Saifuzzaman M., and Alam M. S. Changes in the Turag River Basin: The Environmental Indicators. The Jahangirnagar Review 28: 35-43, ISSN 1682-7422.
2003 Saifuzzaman M. River Erosion Monitoring, Analysis and Prediction using Radarsat-2 Satellite Images. Journal of Geography 22: 97-105, ISSN 1027-8567.
2003 Rashid M. S., Alam M. S., and Saifuzzaman M. Synergistic Use of Passive and Active Remotely Sensed Imagery: Selected examples from Bangladesh. Jahangirnagar University Journal of Science 26: 171-196, ISSN 1022-8594.
2002 Saifuzzaman M., Alam M. S., and Islam A. Z. M. Change Detection in the Shrimp farm under Semi-saline Coastal Areas of Bangladesh: a RS and GIS Integrated Approach. Oriental Geographer 46(1): 19-36, ISSN 0030 5308.
CONFERENCE PAPER
2019 Geospatial Data Modelling by Integrating Sensor-Fused Data in Agricultural Field Management presented at the 13th Pedometrics conference 'Pedometrics 2019, Guelph ON, June 02-06, Canada.
2019 Soil Prediction using High-Density Data for Understanding Field Variability and Crop Management Integration of Proximal Soil Sensing and Remote Sensing Data in Agriculture at the 2019 Annual Meeting of the Association of American Geographers (AAG), Washington DC, April 03-07, USA.
2018 Integration of Proximal Soil Sensing and Remote Sensing Data in Agriculture will be presented at the International Conference on Precision Agriculture, Saskatchewan, June 19-21, Canada.
2018 Developing Data Clustering Tools for Understanding Spatial Heterogeneity in Crop Production by Integrating Proximal Soil Sensing and Remote Sensing Data will be presented at the International Conference on Precision Agriculture, Montreal, June 24-27, Canada.
2017 Geospatial Analysis of Proximal Soil Sensing and Remote Sensing Data in Precision Agriculture presented at the Earth Observation Summit 2017, UQAM Montreal, June 20-22, Canada.
2017 Proximal soil sensing and remote sensing data processing for precision agriculture in Ontario, Canada presented at the 2017 Annual Meeting of the Association of American Geographers (AAG), Boston, MA, April 04-09, USA.
2015 Dynamics of Coastal Landscape in the Ganges Delta region presented at the 2015 Annual Meeting of the Association of American Geographers (AAG), Chicago, IL, April 21-25, USA.
2015 Hydro-dynamics of Coastal Landscape in the South-Western Zone of Bangladesh presented at the Water Resource Centre Graduate Symposium 2015, Queen’s University, Kingston, March 20, Canada.
2014 Assessment of Environmental Degradation Due to Water-logging and Flooding in the Kapatakha River Floodplain of Bangladesh presented at the Water Initiative for the Future (WatIF): Graduate Conference, May 4-6, Queen’s University, Canada.
2013 Changes in Physical Landscape of the South Western Coastal Bangladesh: A River Basin Approach presented at the Bangladesh National Geographical Association (BNGA) Int. conference on ‘Geography and Environment: Challenges in 21st Century’, Jan 4-5, Bangladesh.
2011 Application of Wireless Sensor-based GSM and Satellite Technology for Flood Forecasting and Warning System in Bangladesh presented in the workshop on Applications of wireless sensor networks for environmental monitoring, Feb 28 - Mar 11, ICTP, Italy.
2005 Erosion and Flood Induced Hazard Assessment of the Jamuna River Floodplain: A Disaster Reduction Approach presented in the Bangladesh Geographical Society (BGS) Int. Conference, Dec 9-11, Bangladesh.
2005 Wetlands of Bangladesh: Nature, potential, and Conservation presented at Bangladesh National Geographical (BNGA) conference on ‘Importance of geographical education and knowledge for national development’, Mar 2-5, Bangladesh.
2004 Remote Sensing and GIS Application for Changes in Coastal Geomorphology: a case study on Bangladesh coast presented in Int. Association of Geomorphologists (IAG) Symposium on ‘Geomorphology and Environment’, Calcutta University, Feb 27- 30, India.
2003 Remote Sensing and GIS Application for Inventorying Changes in Land use and Land cover: A Case Study on Turag River, Bangladesh presented in the Institute of Indian Geographers (IIG) on ‘Water Crisis and Sustainable Management’, Banaras Hindu University, Nov 28-30, India.
2003 Changes in the Turag river basin: the environmental indicators presented in the Institute of Indian Geographers (IIG) Int. conference on ‘Mountain Environment & Natural Hazards Management’, Mar 27-29, India.
2002 Environmental Changes in Coastal Wetlands: a river basin approach presented at the Bangladesh National Geographical Conference on ‘Land Environment and Development’, Dec 28-30, Bangladesh.
BOOK
Chapter,2002 Haque M Z and Saifuzzaman M. Social and Environmental effects of Shrimp cultivation in the coastal areas of Bangladesh: Notes on study methods. In: Matiur Rahman (eds.): Globalization, Environmental Crisis and Social Changes in Bangladesh, University Press Ltd., Bangladesh, ISBN 984-05-1665-5, p.361-382.
Teaching
Course Code | Course Title | Semester/Year |
---|---|---|
GEO 110 | Practical Geography | 2023-2024 |
GEO 207 | Mathematics for Geographers | 2022-2023 |
GEO 417 | GIS & Environmental Remote Sensing | 2011 |
GEO 503 | Remote sensing for resource appraisal and floodplain geomorphology | 2010-2013 |
GEO 502 | Research Methodology | 2010-2011 |
Academic Info
Period: 2016-2020
PhD in Bioresource Engineering
Period: 2013-2015
Masters of Environmental Studies (MES)
Period: 1999-2000
M.Sc. (Thesis)
Period: 1994-1998
B.Sc. (honours)
Experience
Position: Postdoctoral Research Associate
Period: 2020 - 2023
Vegetation characteristics, winter survivals, AI-driven/ML modelling for grassland anomalies
Earth Observation and Data Science for soil & vegetation mapping
Position: Research Assistant
Period: 2016-2020
McGill Precision Agriculture & Sensor Systems Research Team
Proximal soil sensing, Remote sensing, high-density data clustering, geospatial and geostatistical models
Position: Teaching
Period: Fall Semester: 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019
GIS for Natural Resource Management
Position: Associate Professor
Period: 2019-
Department of Geography and Environment
Position: Assistant Professor
Period: 2012-2019
Department of Geography and Environment
Position: Lecturer
Period: 2009-2012
Department of Geography and Environment
Position: Remote Sensing & GIS Specialist
Period: 2002-2009
Handled with passive (Landsat 1-7, IRS Pan & LISS, ASTER, SPOT, IKONOS, WorldView) and active (Radarsat-1 & 2) sensors data for environmental analysis in various projects.
Activity
Position: Principal and Associate Investigator
Period: 2001-2023
RESEARCH PROJECT INVOLVEMENT
- 2020-2023: Postdoc Research Associate: AI-driven decision support tools for Alfalfa Winter Survival, funded by the Canadian Grassland Association with McGill University, Canada.
- 2016-2019: Researcher: McGill Precision Agriculture & Sensor Systems Research funded by Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs (OMAFRA), 2016-2018, Canada
- 2012: Principal Investigator: a Research project on Land use Management Issues of the Balu River, funded by the University Grants Commission (UGC), 2011-2012, Government of Bangladesh.
- 2011: Associate Investigator: Research project on Coastal livelihood and resources of Bangladesh, University Grants Commission (UGC), Government of Bangladesh, 2010-2012, funded by the World Bank.
- 2010: Principal Investigator: Research project on A study of channel encroachment of river Buriganga using GIS and remote sensing techniques. The research report was prepared and submitted to the Ministry of Science and Technology, Government of Bangladesh.
- 2009-2011: Principal Investigator: Project on Environmental impact assessment of water-logging and flooding in the Kapatakha river floodplain, University Grants Commission (UGC), Government of Bangladesh.
- 2002-07: Monitoring and data specialist: Project on Flood and Erosion monitoring using Radarsat satellite data in Bangladesh implemented by Centre for Environmental and Geographic Information Services (CEGIS), funded Ministry of Water Resources, Govt. of Bangladesh collaboration with Radarsat International Canada.
- 2001-2002: Associate Investigator: Project on Globalisation, environmental crisis and social change in Bangladesh conducted by the University of Manitoba, funded by International Development Research Centre (IDRC), Canada.
Position: Various
Period: 2004-2018
TRAINING/WORKSHOP ATTENDED
- 2018: Workshop on UAV Operation and Data Analysis for Precision Agriculture Applications, Montreal, June, Canada.
- 2017: Workshop on Precision Agriculture in Ontario, University of Guelph, Ontario, Jul 12, Canada.
- 2014: Workshop on Water Initiative for the Future, Queen's University, Ontario, May 4-6, 2014, Canada.
- 2011: Workshop on Applications of wireless sensor networks for environmental monitoring in developing countries, International centre for theoretical physics (ICTP), Feb 28 - Mar 11, Italy.
- 2011: Workshop on Coastal livelihood and resources of Bangladesh, Jahangirnagar University and University Grants Commission (UGC), Government of Bangladesh, funded by World Bank, Dhaka, Jul 9-15, Bangladesh.
- 2010: Workshop on Integrated Water Resources Management(IWRM), Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (BUET), Dhaka, Bangladesh in collaboration with the Cap-Net, Jul 5-6.
- 2008: Workshop on Proactive Disaster Risk Reduction, Ministry of Water Resources, funded by United Nations Development Program (UNDP), Apr 28, Bangladesh.
- 2005: Workshop on Coastal Land use Zoning in the Southwest, Bangladesh, Ministry of Environment and Forests, funded by UNDP, Dhaka, Jun 8, Bangladesh.
- 2004: Workshop on Landslides in Darjeeling and Sikkim Himalayas, India, International Association of Geomorphologists (IAG) and IIG (Indian Institute of Geomorphologists), Mar 1- 6, India.
Position: Member, Life Member, Executive position
Period: 2005-2023
PROFESSIONAL AFFILIATIONS
- Life Member: Institute of Indian Geographers (IIG), Department of Geography, University of Pune, India. (http://iigeo.org)
- Life Member: Bangladesh Geographical Society, University of Dhaka, Bangladesh.
- Life Member: Bangladesh National Geographical Association (BNGA), Jahangirnagar University, Bangladesh.
- Life Member: Asiatic Society of Bangladesh, Dhaka, Bangladesh. (https://www.asiaticsociety.org.bd)
- Member: Association of American Geographers (AAG), Washington D.C., USA. (http://www.aag.org)
- Member: Canadian Remote Sensing Society (CRSS), Regina, Canada. (https://crss-sct.ca)
- Member: International Society of Precision Agriculture (ISPA), Illinois, USA. (https://www.ispag.org)
- Member: American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers (ASABE), Michigan, USA. (https://www.asabe.org)
EXECUTIVE POSITIONS
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Secretary (IEEE Montreal): Executive Committee, IEEE, Montreal, QC Canada: 2022 - till date.
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President: Executive Committee, McGill APF, Canadian Association of Postdoctoral Administrators (CAPA), Ottawa, ON Canada: 2023 - till date, also 2021-22 (executive committee member).
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Student Director: Executive Committee, Canadian Remote Sensing Society (CRSS), Regina, Canada: 2017-2020.
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Reviewer: Journal name: Remote sensing, Sensors, Agriculture, Agronomy, Soil Science - Multidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute (MDPI)
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Reviewer: Journal name: Remote sensing, Sensors, Agriculture, Agronomy, Soil Science - Multidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute (MDPI)
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Reviewer: Journal name: Canadian Journal of Remote Sensing, Canada
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Reviewer: Journal name: IEEE Transactions on Geoscience and Remote Sensing, USA
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Reviewer: Annual meeting/conference: ICPA Conference paper reviewer, International Society of Precision Agriculture (ISPA), Illinois, USA
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Editorial Board Member: Topic Editor and Advisory Panel Member - Journal name: Remote sensing; Soil Science; Agriculture; Multidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute (MDPI), 2020 to Until now.
Position: AWARD & SCHOLARSHIP
Period: 2000-2023
Scholarship:
- Nature and Technology-FRQNT (Canada) Scholarship: Ph.D. Merit Scholarship, Government of Quebec, 2018-2020.
- McGill University (Canada) Scholarship: Graduate Scholarship, International tuition award, and Research Assistantship, 2016-2019.
- Queen’s University (Canada) Scholarship: Graduate merit scholarship, International tuition award, International Student Bursaries, Teaching, and Research assistantship, 2013-2015.
- Science & Technology research fellowship: Ministry of ICT, Govt. of Bangladesh, 2000-2002.
Award:
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MITACS Postdoctoral Award: McGill University and Canadian Forage Grassland Association collaboration, April 2021 - March 2023.
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MITACS Postdoctoral (Industrial) Award: McGill University and Horoma AI collaboration, July 2020 - February 2021.
- Graduate Research Enhancement and Travel (GREAT) Awards: McGill University, Canada, 2018-2019.
- Graduate Excellence Award (Ph.D.), Canada: Graduate merit award, McGill University, Canada, 2016-2018.
- Queen’s Sustainability Award: Environmental Studies Graduate Sustainability Award, Queen's University, Canada, 2015-2016.
- ICTP Visiting Fellowship/Award: The Abdus Salam International Centre for Theoretical Physics (ICTP), Italy, for attending workshop and training, 2011.
- IAG Award: Young Geomorphologists award by International Association of Geomorphologists (IAG), Italy, 2004.
- Sohel Memorial Award: Merit award, Dept. of Geography and Environment, Jahangirnagar University, 2000.
Contact
Md Saifuzzaman, PhD
Associate Professor
Department of Geography & Environment
Jahangirnagar University, Savar, Dhaka-1342, Bangladesh.
Cell Phone: +8801711237147
Work Phone: +880171237147
Email: msaifuzzaman@juniv.edu
, msaifuzzaman@juniv.edu, md.saifuzzaman@mail.mcgill.ca