Academic Biography

Dr. Uttama Barua is currently serving as Assistant Professor in Department of URP, BUET since returning from her study leave on May 2026. She received her Bachelor’s and Master’s degree in Urban and Regional Planning (URP) from BUET in 2014 and 2018, respectively. After completion of her graduation, she started working as a Research Planner in the Bangladesh Network Office for Urban Safety (BNUS), Department of Civil Engineering, BUET. She joined the Department as a Lecturer in 2016 and was promoted to the position of Assistant Professor in 2019.
In 2025, with the prestigious Australian Government Research Training Program (RTP) Scholarship, she earned her PhD from the School of Built Environment, UNSW Sydney, Australia. Her doctoral thesis, titled “Role of Governance in Achieving Proactive ‘Building Fire’ Risk Management: The Case of Dhaka, Bangladesh”, examined the governance mechanisms and institutional arrangements necessary for strengthening proactive fire risk management in rapidly urbanizing contexts.
Her research interest broadly encompasses disaster risk reduction and management (DRRM). She has been involved in research related to natural hazards (earthquake, flood, etc.); fire safety; structural safety; workplace safety; resilient built environment; planning for sustainable development; environmental planning and management; participatory planning; risk-sensitive land use planning; smart city planning, etc.

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