Prof. Dr. Bilqis Amin Hoque, the Founder and Executive President of the Environment and Population Research Centre (EPRC), was a distinguished scientist of both national and international repute. She passed away on August 1, 2023, at a hospital in Kansas, USA, where she had been receiving advanced medical treatment. She was laid to eternal rest at Banani Graveyard in Dhaka following two funeral prayers, and was buried in the same grave of her parents.

Born in 1954, Prof. Bilqis completed her Secondary School Certificate (SSC) from Dr. Khastagir Government Girls’ High School in Chittagong and her Higher Secondary Certificate (HSC) from Government Carmichael College in Rangpur. She graduated in Agricultural Engineering from Bangladesh Agricultural University (BAU), Mymensingh, under the Faculty of Agricultural Engineering and Technology, becoming the first woman graduate from that faculty. She later pursued her Master’s degree in the United Kingdom under the prestigious Commonwealth Scholarship and earned her Ph.D. in Environmental Engineering from Oklahoma State University, USA. In recognition of her outstanding doctoral research, she was awarded the Altrusa International Foundation Scholarship in 1983.

Prof. Bilqis began her career as a lecturer at Bangladesh Agricultural University. After completing her higher studies abroad, she returned to Bangladesh and went on to hold several prominent national and international positions. She worked with ICDDR,B and also served the World Bank in Dhaka. She contributed to academia as a faculty member at BRAC University and as Dean of the Faculty of Civil, Environmental and Industrial Engineering at Uttara University. Internationally, she served as a Visiting Professor at the Disaster Prevention Research Institute (DPRI), Kyoto University, Japan, and as an Adjunct Professor of Environmental Health at Emory University, Atlanta, USA, a role she held until her passing.

A leading figure in the Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene (WASH) sector, Prof. Bilqis made significant contributions to research, innovation, and policy development. She was recognized as a “Women and Water Leadership” awardee in 2014. Her research interests spanned environmental engineering, public health, water and sanitation, food security, and disaster risk management, with a strong emphasis on technology development, capacity building, gender inclusion, and monitoring and impact evaluation across rural, urban, and climate-vulnerable contexts.

In 1998, Prof. Bilqis founded the Environment and Population Research Centre (EPRC) and served as its Executive President until her death. Though she is no longer with us, her vision, leadership, and enduring commitment continue to inspire all who had the privilege to work with her.

We remember her with deep respect and heartfelt prayers. May the Almighty grant her eternal peace and a place in Jannah. Her legacy, ideals, and unwavering spirit will continue to guide us in the years to come.