Dr. Selina Ahmed is a Bangladeshi-American and is an internationally recognized food and nutrition expert. An associate professor at the Texas Southern University in Houston, Dr. Ahmed has invested her energy and soul into the study and research of nutrition-related issues for over thirty years. Her PhD in 1973 was on human nutrition and bio-chemistry with special focus on NASA Skylab that studies the nutrition imbalances of astronauts when they are rocket-borne. Dr. Ahmed received four NASA Fellowships in the 1980s and she is still often consulted by NASA whenever the Space agency conducts futuristic space food and nutrition program for trips to Mars and lunar-based colony. She is perhaps the only person of Bangladesh origin who has been invited by NASA to apply to travel to the space for the past twelve years, which she has declined for family commitments.
Dr. Ahmed’s interest in the space was sparked by a strange turn of events more than 35 years ago. In 1969, when Neil Armstrong and his two fellow astronauts traveled to Dhaka as part of their world tour shortly after they set foot on moon, Selina, then a young girl was determined to catch a glimpse of the celebrities and she did.
Selina Ahmed came to the United States in 1971 just before the Liberation War broke out after graduating from the Home Economics College. Her work on dietrics and nutrition has brought her fame and honor across America. She has also earned international recognition and serves on numerous boards and committees not only in Texas but also at federal level such as the Asian-American Coalition and US Agency for International Development. She has also authored many scholarly publications on the subject. In recognition of her work and commitment, the Mayor of her city has recently appointed her as an executive committee member on the Wellness and Physical Fitness Board. It is part of the Mayor's Physical Fitness Challenge Program 2005, designed to turn the "fattest city" into the "fittest city" by the year end..
Despite her heavy preoccupation, Dr. Ahmed, a mother of three grown up children, spends considerable time to the uplift of the local Bengali community. As a founding member of the Bangladesh Association in Houston she and her husband, Aftab Ahmed, a certified accountant, have been instrumental in highlighting the interests of Bangladesh and Bangladeshi-Americans locally.
