Atomic Energy Centre is the oldest nuclear research centre in Bangladesh and is located in

Dhaka Dhaka ( or ; bn, ঢাকা, Ḍhākā, ), formerly known as Dacca, is the capital and largest city of Bangladesh, as well as the world's largest Bengali-speaking city. It is the eighth largest and sixth most densely populated city ...

Bangladesh Bangladesh (}, ), officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the eighth-most populous country in the world, with a population exceeding 165 million people in an area of . Bangladesh is among the mos ...

. It falls within the campus of University of Dhaka and is under the management of

Bangladesh Atomic Energy Commission Bangladesh Atomic Energy Commission is a scientific research organization and regulatory body of Bangladesh. Its main objective is to promote use of atomic energy for peaceful purposes It was established on 27 February 1973, after the independen ...

History

Atomic Energy Centre was completed in December 1964 and was formally inaugurated on 27 April 1965 by Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission. The facility had a 5000 curie

Cobalt-60 Cobalt-60 (60Co) is a synthetic radioactive isotope of cobalt with a half-life of 5.2713 years. It is produced artificially in nuclear reactors. Deliberate industrial production depends on neutron activation of bulk samples of the monoisoto ...

gamma radiation source, an IBM 1620 computer, and a

Van de Graaff accelerator A Van de Graaff generator is an electrostatic generator which uses a moving belt to accumulate electric charge on a hollow metal globe on the top of an insulated column, creating very high electric potentials. It produces very high voltage direct ...

. On 16 December 1971 Bangladesh Liberation war ended and Bangladesh became an independent country. On 3 March 1972 a scientist was made an Officer on Special Duty in the Ministry of Education and Cultural Affairs in charge of atomic affairs. Through a presidential order on 27 February 1973 Bangladesh Atomic Energy Commission was formed and the centre was placed under it. The centre has developed Iratom-24 and Iratom-38, two high yielding rice variety and one high yield pulse called Hyprosola. The centre researched ways of preserving food through radiation and the sterilisation of medical equipment.

References

Research institutes in Bangladesh Government agencies of Bangladesh 1964 establishments in Pakistan Nuclear technology in Bangladesh Organisations based in Dhaka {{Bangladesh-org-stub