Reach For the Stars
Photo: courtesy
One of the brightest students of BUET's EEE Department, Lammim has proved herself to be master of many trades. She was the first Bangladeshi woman to participate in the Fourth International Astronomy Olympiad in Beijing. Lammim also co-wrote a book on astronomy with famous astrologist Dr Farshid Mannan Mohammadi. She has been conducting the yearly astronomy conference in Bangladesh for the past three years and also is the sub-editor of the science magazine Zero to Infinity. Recently she was shortlisted in the KougerCrown Rising Star programme which will lead her to a journey in space.
Syeda Lammim Ahad grew a passion for space at a very early age. "Like everyone else's, my mother too used to tell me stories about the old woman who lived on the moon, and how Zeus lives in the stars. Though no child takes these stories seriously, I did. One can say that is where I got my fascination for astronomy," says Lammim. She finally found a platform to pursue her passion by winning the District Astronomical Olympiad in 2007. A couple of years later, she attended the International Astronomy Olympiad in Beijing. "That was a life changing experience for me. I was the only Bangladeshi woman who participated, which meant a lot of pressure from my end," says Lammim. She also adds, "Academically, it was the best experience of my life." In 2014, with 11 other participants from the country, attended the One Young World Summit 2014, held in Dublin.
Lammim's dedication towards astronomy was because of one achievement. She wanted to go to space. This dream has come to a reality when Lammim got shortlisted in the KougerCrown programme. "KougerCrown Corporation and One Young World jointly ventured to pick participants to fly in the next Irish space programme. It was first a shot in the dark, but when I got to know that I was shortlisted, it was as if I was just one step behind from my dream coming true," says Lammim.
She has been quite an inspiration to astronomy enthusiasts around the country. "People don't take it seriously as other academic subjects, but we forget this can be the one element which can take us to the stars," says Lammim.
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