K M Shariat Ullah

Who am I?

"I overthink, therefore I am" — Shariat Kant

I chose astronomy as a research field because the underlying philosophy of this discipline is deeply connected with solving two profound mysteries - (i) how this universe came into existence and (ii) how life as we know it emerged in it. During my undergraduate studies at the Shahjalal University of Science and Technology, I defended my thesis on 'Exoplanet Transit Timing Variation Detection Using Artificial Neural Networks'.

I also volunteered in many outreach programs to promote scientific education for marginalized communities in Bangladesh during my time at CAM-SUST and Tachyon. You can also find a talk of mine featured by TEDxTalk.

Research

iSTEME Conference 2025

Presented an extenstion of my thesis work on 'Detecting Exoplanet Transit Timing Variations Using MLP, RNN and CNN' organized by the Huston-Tillotson University at Texas and won the best presenter award.

Three Minute Thesis Competition

Presented my thesis work on 'Exoplanet Transit Timing Variation Detection Using Artificial Neural Networks' at the 3MT competition organized by the North East University Bangladesh and became the champion of the competition.

Mentorship

Antu Roy Uma

Student of Physics, Shahjalal University of Science and Technology, Bangladesh

Used jaxoplanet to fit high-precision and high resolution radial velocity data from ESPRESSO for detecting the Rossiter-McLaughlin effect in exoplanets and thus infering the WASP-106b's migration process. Presented as a final year project.

Kazi Tasmiya Binte Imam Tisha

Student of Mathematics, Shahjalal University of Science and Technology, Bangladesh

Used TESS photometric data for aperture synthesis, Savitzky-Golay filter for lightcurve detrending and box-least square periodogram for predicting the period and mid-transit time of the exoplanet. Using batman package, implemented the Mandel-Agol model to fit the phase folded data. Then performed a Bayesian analysis for parameter estimation

Outreach

I used to tell stories when I was little kid. And people used to praise my storytelling skills. These days, my stories unravel the mysteries of the universe and life itself.

This led me to join as a volunteer at CAM-SUST, a student-led organization at our university that shares astronomy and its philosophical insights to the public. As part of the organization, I authored many pop-science articles on astronomy and astrophysics in native language as well as delivered talks across schools and colleges in Bangladesh. Beyond popular science, we hosted study circles, journal clubs for rigorous study of the field and nationwide workshops on Python Programming and Astronomy Data Analysis. During my service as a president, the members of the organization completed three projects to analyze astronomical data and interpret the results. Each year, members of the organization participates in Citizen Science programs to contribute to the field of astronomy such as hunting asteroids using PanSTARRS telescope.

I also found Tachyon, a non-profit organization to promote science education for marginalized communities in Bangladesh. This team of 30 volunteers has been working for more than five years and have reached more than 10,000 students all across the country. Instead of just writing cautionary tales, we have been trying to reach to the most remote areas of Bangladesh to discuss science and tackle superstitions. Our work has inspired many including the children of the tea workers who live day to day in the tea estates of Sylhet.

One of my thoughts on how astronomy is still relevant to grow curiosity and critical thinking in this era was featured by TEDxTalk. I have also advocated for popularizing science literature in native language as an invited speaker in Bangla Academy.

Contact

• Twitter
• Facebook
• Instagram
• GitHub

Elements

i = 0;

while (!deck.isInOrder()) {
    print 'Iteration ' + i;
    deck.shuffle();
    i++;
}

print 'It took ' + i + ' iterations to sort the deck.';