Renowned Bangladeshi physicist M. Zahid Hasan has accepted a visiting professorship at the prestigious Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). Announcing the news on his social media platform, Hasan revealed plans to commence teaching duties at MIT in May, with a focus on quantum matter and quantum topology. This new role at MIT marks a significant transition for Hasan, who has enjoyed a distinguished career at Princeton University, where he currently holds the position of Professor of Physics and has spearheaded groundbreaking research in quantum physics.
Among Hasan's notable achievements is the discovery of the Weyl fermion, a pivotal advancement in physics. The particle, first theorized by German physicist Hermann Weyl in 1929, was experimentally confirmed by Hasan and his team after an 85-year pursuit. This breakthrough earned Hasan the esteemed Ernest Orlando Lawrence Award in 2021, bestowed by the US Department of Energy (DOE) in recognition of his substantial contributions to national, economic, and energy-related matters.
In 2024, Hasan achieved another milestone by observing quantum phenomena utilizing Aronov-Bohm interference at relatively elevated temperatures. This development holds promise for driving advancements in future technologies, including high-speed computing and ultra-secure communication systems.
Hasan's academic journey commenced in Dhaka, Bangladesh, where he attended Dhanmondi Government Boys High School and later Dhaka College, graduating in 1988. He subsequently ventured to the United States to pursue higher education at the University of Texas, where he had the privilege of collaborating with Nobel laureate physicist Stephen Weinberg. Completing his Ph.D. at Stanford University, Hasan pioneered a technique for extracting the four quantum numbers of electrons in solid matter.
In addition to his scholarly pursuits, M. Zahid Hasan has held esteemed positions such as Eugene Higgins Professor of Physics at Princeton University, Robert H. Dick Fellow, Visiting Miller Professor at UC Berkeley, and Visiting Faculty Scientist at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory.
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