Mehzeb Chowdhury

Mehzeb Chowdhury was born in Dhaka, Bangladesh on 31 January 1987. He is the only son of journalists Matiur Rahman Chowdhury, and Mahbuba Chowdhury.

In 2009, he completed his LLB (Hons) from the University of London. He did his postgraduate diploma in Law (PGDL) from Northumbria University in 2010. He came to the UK to take the bar exam in 2010, and then went back to Bangladesh to work at a law firm for two years. In 2020, he earned a Ph.D. in Applied Social Sciences from Durham University.

Chowdhury was a correspondent for Goal.com from 2007 to 2009. During that period, he also worked as a staff writer for The Daily New Age. He worked for ESPN and served as an editor for Vital Football Newcastle till 2010. Then he was a lecturer at the University of London (External Programmes), a teaching associate at Durham University, senior lecturer at UWE Bristol. He currently works as an assistant professor of Policing at Northumbria University. He is a member of the Bar Council of England and Wales and Bangladesh Bar Council.{{Cite web|title=Mehzeb Chowdhury|url=https://theconversation.com/profiles/mehzeb-chowdhury-172861|access-date=2023-01-25|website=The Conversation|date=31 May 2015 |language=en}}

Chowdhury's research has been published in various countries and languages and has been featured in museum exhibits, including at the National Science and Media Museum in Bradford, and the Museum of Science and Industry in Manchester.{{Cite web|title=Dr Mehzeb Chowdhury|url=https://www.northumbria.ac.uk/about-us/our-staff/c/mehzeb-chowdhury/|access-date=2023-01-25|website=www.northumbria.ac.uk|language=en}}{{Cite web|title=Mehzeb Chowdhury|url=https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=T-kxo6gAAAAJ&hl=en|access-date=2023-01-25|website=scholar.google.com}}{{Cite web|title=Dr. Mehzeb Chowdhury|url=https://www.worldpolicesummit.com/speakers/2022-speakers/dr-mehzeb-chowdhury/|access-date=2023-01-25|website=World Police Summit|language=en}} Chowdhury's published works in crime scene investigation include the definition and roles of scene investigators,{{Cite journal |last=Chowdhury |first=Mehzeb |date=2022-10-01 |title="The house always wins" - empirical reflections on UK Freedom of Information legislation for policing research |url=https://search.informit.org/doi/abs/10.3316/informit.673035887253760 |journal=Salus Journal |volume=10 |issue=2 |pages=51–71 }} examination of crime scene quality control,{{Cite journal |last=Chowdhury |first=Mehzeb |date=2021-09-01 |title=A broken system? Examining the perilous state of quality assurance in crime scene practice |url=https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1355030621000964 |journal=Science & Justice |language=en |volume=61 |issue=5 |pages=564–572 |doi=10.1016/j.scijus.2021.07.001 |pmid=34482936 |issn=1355-0306}} freedom of information and data freedom mechanisms within UK police forces, and extrapolations of the future of police, policing and advanced AI systems.{{Cite book |last1=Johnston |first1=Ed |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ON2PEAAAQBAJ&dq=info:IdDPmq6447oJ:scholar.google.com&pg=PA87 |title=Contemporary Issues in Global Criminal Justice |last2=Marsh |first2=Sophie |date=2022-08-22 |publisher=Rowman & Littlefield |isbn=978-1-7936-3734-5 |language=en}}

In addition to his work in forensic science and crime scene analysis, Chowdhury is also a cinematographer. He worked in this profession for the feature film Redemption in 2017, directed by Edward Collier. His films have screened at over fifty international festivals, and he has been a member of the British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) Crew and Connect programmes since 2018.{{Cite web |date=2019-07-30 |title=Crew Directory 2019-20 |url=https://www.bafta.org/supporting-talent/crew-directory-2019-20 |access-date=2023-01-25 |website=BAFTA |language=en}} Chowdhury is also a Founding Director of the South Asian Film, Television, and Arts Collective (SAFTAC), a community of South Asian talents who help each other.{{citation needed|date=February 2023}} Chowdhury is currently writing the screenplay for his debut feature film.{{Cite news |last=Raisa |first=Antara |date=2023-02-15 |title=Working behind the scenes in Hollywood |url=https://www.thedailystar.net/supplements/32nd-anniversary/where-showbiz-meets-the-internet/news/working-behind-the-scenes-hollywood-3247811 |access-date=2023-02-15 |work=The Daily Star |language=en}} He is also an actor, last appearing in the music video for UK-based rock band Martha.{{Cite web |date=2022-08-16 |title=Martha Share New Song "Baby, Does Your Heart Sink?": Listen |url=https://www.stereogum.com/2196293/martha-baby-does-your-heart-sink-feat-the-futureheads-ross-millard/music/ |access-date=2023-02-23 |website=Stereogum |language=en}} He was a juror at the 2023 British Fantasy Awards.{{Cite web |date=2023-07-25 |title=British Fantasy Award Shortlists – The British Fantasy Society |url=https://britishfantasysociety.org/british-fantasy-award-shortlists/ |access-date=2025-05-09 |language=en-GB}}

Chowdhury was a seminal speaker at the World Police Summit 2022{{Cite web |date=2022-01-11 |title=The World Police Summit speaker line up {{!}} shaping the future of policing - Security On Screen by The Security Industry Group |url=https://securityonscreen.com/the-world-police-summit-speaker-line-up-shaping-the-future-of-policing/ |access-date=2023-02-23 |language=en-GB}} and often a participant in technology conferences and live events in the UK.{{Cite web |title=AI, Technology & Humankind: Aniara |url=https://tynesidecinema.co.uk/event/ai-technology-humankind-aniara/ |access-date=2023-02-23 |website=Tyneside Cinema |language=en-GB}}

Chowdhury's invention of the MABMAT, a Mars rover-like device that aids in crime scene analysis, was developed in 2016 and has been recognized for modernizing the field of forensic science.{{Cite web |date=2016-08-29 |title=Jurors Can Explore VR Crime Scenes Thanks To NASA-Inspired Robot |url=https://www.digitaltrends.com/cool-tech/vr-crime-scene-robot/ |access-date=2023-01-25 |website=Digital Trends |language=en}}{{Cite web |last=Silverberg |first=David |date=2016-11-22 |title=How VR Could Change Courtrooms (And Why There Might Be Resistance) |url=https://uploadvr.com/courtroom-vr/ |website=uploadvr.com |access-date=2023-01-25 |language=en-US}} It has been featured in many major media outlets such as The Atlantic, the Discovery Channel, Business Insider, Huffington Post, Wired, and CNN.{{Cite news |date=2016-12-01 |title=5 Industries Being Transformed By Virtual Reality |url=https://www.huffpost.com/archive/ca/entry/5-industries-virtual-reality_b_13338798 |access-date=2023-01-25 |work=HuffPost |language=en}}{{Cite magazine |title=Crimes of the future will be solved by robo-CSIs, smell and VR |language=en-GB |magazine=Wired UK |url=https://www.wired.co.uk/article/crime-scene-technology |access-date=2023-01-25 |issn=1357-0978}} Despite not having any engineering experience, Chowdhury was inspired by the Mars rover, which he saw on a NASA channel, and was struck by the idea that a similar device could be used in crime scenes. The name MABMAT was created using the acronyms of his parents' initials.

Among Mehzeb Chowdhury's other inventions includes a holographic projection system called Augmented Reality Testimony System for Vulnerable Witnesses (ARTS), which facilitates victims of sexual abuse to remotely appear in the witness box without having to ever enter the courtroom. This technology shields vulnerable witnesses from the stress of giving testimony in person while ensuring that the jury sees the most realistic projection of the testimony.{{Cite news |title=Augmented reality – how the technology behind Pokemon Go could find its way to the courtroom |url=https://uk.news.yahoo.com/augmented-reality-technology-behind-pokemon-150947528.html |access-date=2023-02-23 |work=Yahoo News |date=28 February 2017 |language=en-GB}} He has also theorized use of video game technologies such as Xbox Kinect to scan evidential artefacts and preserve a visual record of objects found at crime scenes.{{Cite web |last=Chowdhury |first=Mehzeb |title=How gaming technology could hack crime scene investigations |url=http://theconversation.com/how-gaming-technology-could-hack-crime-scene-investigations-67080 |access-date=2023-02-23 |website=The Conversation |date=17 October 2016 |language=en}}

Chowdhury has worked on the effects of isolation in space, and the characteristics and challenges of crime scenes on space-bound vessels and orbital crafts.{{Cite news |date=2016-11-17 |title=Space will be a far greater challenge than forensic science on Earth |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/science/why-csi-space-will-be-a-far-greater-challenge-than-forensic-science-on-earth-a7418351.html |access-date=2023-02-23 |work=The Independent |language=en}} His poetry has been published in anthologies in different parts of the world, most recently in Poems of Hope by Jessica Clark and Stephanie Hanson.{{Cite web |title=POEMS OF HOPE by Jessica Clark and Stephanie Hanson |url=https://goodpress.co.uk/products/poems-of-hope-by-jessica-clark-and-stephanie-hanson |access-date=2023-02-23 |website=Good Press — good books & more |language=en}}{{Cite book |last=Stephanie |first=Jess Clark |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=jrVTzQEACAAJ&q=POEMS+OF+HOPE+by+Jessica+Clark+and+Stephanie+Hanson |title=Poems of Hope |date=2019-12-02 |publisher=Blurb, Incorporated |isbn=978-0-464-65690-6 |language=en}}

In 2023, he was appointed as a member of Newcastle United's Independent Advisory Group.{{Cite news |date=2023-07-12 |title=Chowdhury appointed into advisory group of Newcastle Utd |url=https://www.thedailystar.net/sports/football/news/chowdhury-appointed-advisory-group-newcastle-utd-3367306 |access-date=2023-07-12 |work=The Daily Star |language=en}}

Chowdhury formed the rock band Megalithic with long-term collaborator Alex McDonnell in 2014. Megalithic released their first studio album The Unnamed in February 2018.{{Cite news |date=2018-02-20 |title=Megalithic to unearth 'The Unnamed' on February 23 |url=https://archive.dhakatribune.com/showtime/2018/02/20/megalithic-unearth-the-unnamed-february-23 |access-date=2023-02-23 |work=Dhaka Tribune}}{{Cite web |title=In the News |url=https://megalithicband.com/in-the-news/ |access-date=2023-02-23 |website=Megalithic |language=en-US}}

Chowdhury resides in the United Kingdom. He marks Leonardo da Vinci as his inspiration. In an interview with The Daily Star, he stated: "I idolised Leonardo da Vinci, who was an inventor, painter, sculptor, and an engineer. I was fascinated by all his talents, and a few years later, I worked on my repertoire of skills".

{{DEFAULTSORT:Chowdhury, Mehzeb}}

Category:Living people

Category:Place of birth missing (living people)

Category:Nationality missing

Category:Alumni of the University of London

Category:Alumni of Northumbria University

Category:Alumni of Durham University

Category:British sportswriters

Category:Academics of the University of London

Category:Academics of Durham University

Category:Academics of the University of the West of England, Bristol

Category:Academics of Northumbria University

Category:British criminologists

Category:British cinematographers

Category:21st-century British inventors

Category:Bangladeshi cinematographers

Category:1987 births