Sonia Binte Murshed | Flood Hazard | Research Excellence Award

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Dr. Sonia Binte Murshed | Flood Hazard | Research Excellence Award

Professor | Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology | Bangladesh

Dr. Sonia Binte Murshed is a distinguished professor at the Institute of Water and Flood Management at Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology, with extensive expertise in hydrology, water resources development, and interdisciplinary field research. Her research spans climate change impacts on water systems, hydro-morphological changes from human and environmental interventions, disaster management including anticipatory and adaptive strategies, gender integration in water resources management, and equitable allocation of freshwater among competing users, with a growing focus on transboundary water management. She has contributed to numerous national and international collaborative projects addressing flood hazards, climate adaptation gaps, livelihood vulnerabilities, and coastal system tipping points, while developing approaches for impact-based forecasting and anticipatory actions. Dr. Murshed has led and co-led projects on sediment dynamics, resilient community planning in riverine and coastal socio-ecological systems, smart peri-urban habitat development, and climate-resilient coastal interventions, collaborating with institutions such as Utrecht University, IHE Delft, and South Carolina University, and funded by organizations including NWO, USAID, NIH, and the Rockefeller Foundation. Her publication record includes high-impact journals covering flood risk, socio-technical water management, climate vulnerability, urban flooding, and interdisciplinary approaches to climate and health research. She has received multiple awards and fellowships recognizing her contributions to water resources policy, research excellence, and capacity building, and has served as a mentor and coordinator for programs aimed at strengthening adaptive delta management and flood resilience in Bangladesh. Her work integrates scientific rigor with practical solutions for sustainable water management and climate adaptation, emphasizing community engagement and policy-relevant insights.

Profiles: Orcid | Google Scholar

Featured Publications

Shad, M. N., Murshed, S. B., Islam, A. K. M. S., Shampa, , Rahman, M. M., & Iqbal, A. (2025). Sedimentation-induced flood risks and food security in Bangladesh’s Haor basin: A geospatial multi-index approach. Geomatics, Natural Hazards and Risk.

Sowmya, S. D., & Murshed, S. B. (2025). Socio-technical and economic analysis of small scale reverse osmosis desalination in coastal Bangladesh: Insights from field audits, water quality assessment, and behavioral modeling. Sustainability, 17(20), 9335.

Iqbal, A., Haque, S., Murshed, S. B., Islam, A. K. M. S., & Hussain, M. A. (2025). Climate vulnerability and risk assessment in low-lying coastal cities of Bangladesh using analytic hierarchy process (AHP) approach. Journal of Water and Climate Change.

Ahmed, S., & Murshed, S. B. (2022). Driving factors of destination choices due to riverbank erosion along the Brahmaputra River. In S. S. [Editor] (Ed.), Book title (pp. 123–135). Springer.

Nahin, K. T. K., Islam, S. B., Ahmed, S., Mondal, M. S., Murshed, S. B., & Nowreen, S. (2022). Voluntary immobility despite hazard: A case of Jamuna floodplain in Bangladesh. GeoJournal.

 

Katayoun Kargar | Urban Drainage Systems | Research Excellence Award

Published on by Popular Scientist

Dr. Katayoun Kargar | Urban Drainage Systems | Research Excellence Award

Toronto Metropolitan University | Canada

Dr. Katayoun Kargar is a civil engineering researcher whose work advances the understanding, modelling, and management of sewer blockages within urban drainage networks, particularly those caused by non-flushable consumer products. Her research integrates hydraulic modelling, data analytics, and infrastructure asset management to address performance deterioration in sewer systems and provide actionable strategies for municipalities. She has contributed original methodologies for analyzing blockage mechanisms using open datasets, quantified the hydraulic impacts of wipe-induced obstructions, and developed simulation frameworks capable of capturing flow alterations and risk conditions in sewer networks. Her work with SWMM includes creating and validating procedures that allow utilities to incorporate blockage dynamics into routine modelling, enabling more accurate capacity evaluations, maintenance prioritization, and system reliability assessments. By translating laboratory insights into practical planning tools, she supports municipalities in enhancing inspection regimes, optimizing rehabilitation strategies, and strengthening long-term infrastructure resilience. Her scholarly contributions include publications indexed in major scientific databases and presentations at leading professional forums, where her work has been recognized through notable awards for research excellence and technical communication. Complementing her academic achievements, she has professional experience in asset management consulting, applying modelling outputs and analytical approaches to assist municipalities in developing asset management plans, capital planning frameworks, and infrastructure lifecycle strategies. Her combined research and practical expertise contribute to advancing municipal wastewater infrastructure management and promoting data-informed decision-making in the engineering of sustainable urban drainage systems.

Profiles: Scopus | Orcid | Google Scholar

Featured Publications

Shamshirband, S., Hashemi, S., Salimi, H., Samadianfard, S., Asadi, E., … (2020). Predicting standardized streamflow index for hydrological drought using machine learning models. Engineering Applications of Computational Fluid Mechanics, 14(1), 339–350.

Samadianfard, S., Hashemi, S., Kargar, K., Izadyar, M., Mostafaeipour, A., … (2020). Wind speed prediction using a hybrid model of the multi-layer perceptron and whale optimization algorithm. Energy Reports, 6, 1147–1159.

Kargar, K., Samadianfard, S., Parsa, J., Nabipour, N., Shamshirband, S., … (2020). Estimating longitudinal dispersion coefficient in natural streams using empirical models and machine learning algorithms. Engineering Applications of Computational Fluid Mechanics, 14(1), 311–322.

Kargar, K., Safari, M. J. S., Mohammadi, M., Samadianfard, S. (2019). Sediment transport modeling in open channels using neuro-fuzzy and gene expression programming techniques. Water Science and Technology, 79(12), 2318–2327.

Safari, M. J. S., Mohammadi, B., Kargar, K. (2020). Invasive weed optimization-based adaptive neuro-fuzzy inference system hybrid model for sediment transport with a bed deposit. Journal of Cleaner Production, 276, 124267.