Faculty Fellow Muhammad Zaman Named Howard Hughes Professor

Pardee Faculty Fellow Muhammad Zaman was named this week as 1 of 15 educators from across the United States to receive the prestigious Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI) Professorship. The position confers a five year, $1 million grant to be used to advance science learning at undergraduate institutions, and recognizes innovative approaches to teaching that engage students in scientific research.

Professor Zaman is the principal investigator at the Laboratory for Molecular & Cellular Dynamics at Boston University, and plans to use the professorship to advance undergraduate understanding of the context and diversity of global health challenges, including important engineering challenges in resource-limited settings. His research broadly investigates tools and technologies that improve medical care in the developing world, including the recent creation of a detector for counterfeit and defective drugs, which are known to flood medical markets in poorer countries.

Prof. Zaman was named to the position alongside BU Professor David Marchant  (Earth & Environment) who will work with students from different backgrounds to research geologic and climate change phenomenon at BU’s Experimental Permafrost Lab. The two professors are the first from Boston University to be recognized in the HHMI program, and were among 15 applicants chosen from a pool of more than 170.

At the Frederick S. Pardee Center for the Study of the Longer-Range Future, Prof. Zaman has convened the Pardee Center Task for on Higher Education and Innovation in Emerging Economies.