Khandakar Nusrat Islam Wins NPSS Outstanding Student Award

November 1, 2022

Nusrat Islam HeadshotKhandakar Nusrat Islam, a doctoral student in The University of New Mexico Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, has received the 2022 IEEE Nuclear and Plasma Sciences Society Igor Alexeff Award as Outstanding Student in Plasma Science.

Islam is a graduate student working with Distinguished Professor Edl Schamiloglu, associate dean for research and innovation in the School of Engineering.

The Igor Alexeff Award has been awarded since 2009 and recognizes outstanding contributions to the field of plasma science and technology. Winners have been selected from around the world. Islam is the first recipient from UNM.

The award will be presented at the IEEE International Conference on Plasma Science in Seattle in May 2022. She will receive a certificate and cash award.   

Islam was selected for the award “for coming up with a novel, elegant approach to generating multiple electron beams with comparable currents and ~10% energy difference from a single cathode at a single potential to drive a multistream traveling wave tube (TWT),” according to the award website. 

Islam said she thanks her advisor Edl Schamiloglu for being an “incredible mentor and for his constant directions, guidance helping me put things into perspective and preparing me for great things in the future.” 

“I’m honored to receive this award. It makes me feel good and motivates me to keep doing hard work,” she said.

She is originally from Bangladesh and earned her bachelor’s degree in electrical and electronic engineering from Eastern University in Bangladesh in 2010, then earned a master’s in electrical engineering from UNM in 2017. Her dissertation work addresses a new multiple electron beam generation technique with different energies and comparable currents from a single cathode potential for high-power microwave sources.  

Islam said she was attracted to UNM because of its expertise in her research field of high-power microwaves and pulsed power, led by Schamiloglu.

After UNM, she plans to work with Schamiloglu as a postdoctoral researcher and would ultimately like to continue in research in industry or a national laboratory.

(This story was written by Kim Delker)