Month: May 2025

  • Class of 1961

    Thanks to U Aye (M62, HIC/FAO/UN (Retired)) for information and feedback

    Textile

    Saya U Shwe Yi (T61)

    • Retired as Professor.

    Daw Mi Mi Lay (T61)

    • Major (Retired)
    • Director, Myanmar Foodstuff Industry

    Sayama Daw Tin Tin Ohn (Amy Thwin, T61, GBNF)

    • First batch of female engineers in Burma
    • Father : Saya U Thwin (Principal, Government Technical School)
    • Sister : Daw Ni Ni Thwin (Dolly Thwin, ChE64)

    Sayama Dr. Julie Han (T61, GBNF)

    • First batch of female engineers in Burma
    • Attended SPZP-2000
    • Past Vice President, TBSA

    Daw Yin Kyi (T61)

    • First batch of female engineers in Burma
    • Spouse : U Aung Gyi (Simon)

    Chemical

    U Hla Shein (Ch61)

    • SAMB, Rice Bran Oil Dept.(Retired)
    • He was from Pathein
    • We were at the Prome Hall together during 1958-59.

    Pauline Reynolds (ChE61)

    • First batch of female engineers in Burma
    • Moved to Thailand

    Mechanical

    Saya U Maung Maung Win (M61)

    • Retired as Lecturer in Mechanical Engineering
    • He and Saya U Myo Win (M/Ag65, GBNF) managed the RIT Automobile Club.
    • He moved to Australia
    • He wrote a series of articles for RIT Alumni International Newsletter.

    U Hla Mg Aye (M61)

    • AMD (Retired)

    U Sann Lwin (M61)

    • Major DI ( Retired)

    U Taik Yan (M61)

    • HIC/ MPPE (Retired)
    • He was from Myeik.

    U Tun Aye (M61)

    • Burma Railways (Retired)
    • He was from Moulmein

    U San Lwin (M61)

    • Asst. Lecturer 1961-62

    U Paw Shwe (M61)

    • Agricultural Mechanization Dept. (Retired)
    • He was from St.Patrick’s HS, Moulmein

    U Thaung Tun (M61)

    • Agricultural Mechanization Dept.

    U Maung Maung (M61)

    • Agricultural Mechanization Dept. (Retired)
    • He was from Taunggyi.
    • We were together at Prome Hall during 1958-59.

    U Tun Win Batu (M61)

    • AMD (Retired)
    • He is the brother of the late Dr Aung Than Batu.
    • He was a Prome Hall selected footballer. He also played for RU team from time to time. Right winger.

    U Tun Shwe (M61)

    • Major (Retired)
    • Director Admin (HIC) GBNF

    U Than Hla (M61)

    • Fire Dept.

    U Kyaw Myint (M61)

    • ECC ( GBNF)
    • He was from Morton Lane Judson HS, Moulmein

    U Soe Min (GBNF)

    • AMD
    • He was from Morton Lane Judson HS, Moulmein

    U San Myint (M61)

    • Air Force (Retired)
    • He was from Thanlyin and a member of the Prome Hall football team.
    • We were together at Prome Hall in 1958-59.

    U Ngwe San (M61)

    • Water Resources Mgt.(Retired)
    • Worked in UNICEF projects in Nepal and Sri Lanka

    Electrical

    Saya Dr. San Tint (EE61, GBNF)

    • Retired as Professor of Electronics Engineering (formerly called Electrical Communications).
    • He was sponsored by EE Alumni to attend SPZP-2000 and to visit Seattle, Washington and New York.
    • Organized Book Drive with former students in USA and Singapore
    • He served as External Examiner at UCC.
    • Nephew : U Hlaing Myint (ex-UCC)
    Dr. San Tint

    Bo Lwin Swe (EE61)

    • Lt Col. DI (Retired)
    • He is a proud Great Grandfather.

    Civil

    Saya Dr. Aung Soe (C61)

    • Retired as Lecturer in Civil Engineering
    • Moved to USA
    • Attended SPZP-2000
    • Spouse worked as Accounts / Admin Office at RIT

    U Soe Win (C61)

    • Director CC ( Retired)
    • We were together at Prome Hall in 1958-59

    Saya U Myint Lwin (C61)

    • Also known as H Num Pon
    • Rowed for Faculty of Engineering
    • Moved to USA
    • Attended SPZP-2000
    • Brothers: Sayagyi H Num Kok (C), H Num Fatt (EE60)
  • Judson

    Missionary

    Andoniram Judson Jr. (1788 – 1850) was the most significant American Baptist Missionary to Burma.

    His supervisors told him that it would be a tough task.

    There were a few ABMs before him, but they did not stay long.

    Judson and his team (which included some former dhamma teachers) compiled the English-Burmese and Burmese-English Dictionaries.

    Burmese English Dictionary 1
    This image has an empty alt attribute; its file name is bur-eng-dictonary.jpg
    Burmese English Dictionary 2
    English Burmese Dictionary
    • Judson published the Burmese translation of the Bible.
    • He helped found the association for Baptists.
    • He is honored by having a church and a college named after him.
    Judson Church
    Translation of “To the Golden Shore”

    Judson College

    • In 1920, Judson College and Rangoon College became constituent colleges of the newly established University of Rangoon.
    • Two buildings for Judson College were donated by the American Baptists.
    • The Willington Hall was built in memory of two families — the Vintons and the Johnsons — of the Church of Willington for their missionary work in Burma.
      It was later known as Dagon Hall.
    • The Benton Hall was donated by Ms. Benton (Treasurer of the Judson Church and/or Judson College).
      It was later known as Thiri Hall.
    • Depending on the period, a Hall may house classrooms or may be used as a hostel.
      There was also a building named North Hall (which later became Shwebo Hall).
  • Sayas S. Arya and S. Kyaw Aye

    by Saya U Tin Myint (M80)

    အာအိုင်တီ ကျောင်းနေဖက်တွေနဲ့ ဒီနေ့လုပ်ဖြစ်တဲ့ ကုသိုလ်လေးများ

    အသက် ၈၆ နှစ် ရှိနေပြီဖြစ်တဲ့ Mr S Arya ကို အိမ်တိုင်ရာရောက်သွားကန်တော့။

    ဆရာကြီးက home made ginger tea နဲ့ ပါပလာကြော်ရယ် နာမည်မခေါ်တတ်တဲ့ နန်တစ်မျိုးရယ်ကျွေးပါတယ်၊ အဖွဲ့သားများ အားပါးတစ်ရ အားပေးခဲ့ကြပါတယ်။

    ပြီးတော့…

    အသက် ၇၈ နှစ် ရှိနေပြီဖြစ်တဲ့ Mr. S. Kyaw Aye ကို အိမ်တိုင်ရာရောက် သွားကန်တော့။

    ဆရာတစ်ယောက် ၃၅၀,၀၀၀ စီ ကန်တော့နိုင်ပါတယ်။

    Notes

    Dr. Myint Thein (M73) wrote about Saya Arya and his memorable accent.

    Saya S. Kyaw Aye is the brother of our classmate Adbul Raof (EP69).

    Saya Arya passed away on the morning of March 13, 2021.

  • Khin Mg Nyo (EP69)

    EP and EC 69

    U Khin Maung Nyo (EP69), U Moe Hein (Ajala, ChE69) and friends swam in the Irrawaddy after work.

    On one occasion, U Khin Maung Nyo passed away (probably under a barge).

    He was an early member (and possibly the First entry) of the 69er GBNF (Gone But Not Forgotten) list.

    Tin Aung Win (M69) wrote :

    Salutation from his girlfriend to KMN

    သို့ “ဝန်ထောက်အကို ခင်မောင်ညို” on the envelope

  • Alumni

    Latin terms

    There are four terms to describe students

    • alumnus : former male student
    • alumni : former male students
    • alumna : former female student
    • alumnae : former female students

    The students may or may not graduate from the school.

    Current usage

    The term “alumni” covers all former students.

    Most universities have

    • alumni organization
    • alumni building
    • department to support alumni activities
    NorCal RITAA

    NorCal RITAA

    It is an alumni organization based in Northern California. For several years before the pandemic, NorCal RITAA provided scholarship to eligible YTU students.

    RITAA

    It stands for RIT-YIT-YTU Alumni Association.
    It is also known as ARITAA.

    It provided support for Yangon SPZPs and the YTU Library Modernization Project.

    Life membership costs 60,000 Kyats.

  • Benny Tan (M70)

    SF Bay Area Alumni
    Gathering hosted by Steeve
    Benny and selected alumni
    Benny & Angelina
    Benny & Angelina, U & Mrs. Hla Min
    • Benny Tan (Yu Beng, M70) matriculated from Methodist English High School (MEHS) in 1964 and was admitted to Rangoon Institute of Technology (RIT). He graduated with Bachelor of Engineering (Mechanical) in 1970.
    • He joined UTC (University Training Corp) and attended the Camps. He won the Sharpshooter Award at two UTC Camps.
    • He moved to California, USA. He received his Masters degree from the University of California at Berkeley. He worked for the Public Utilities Commission (PUC).
    • He and his spouse Angelina opened their first Gift Shop at the San Francisco Air Port. They opened additional Gift Shops and subsequently sold or franchised some. They established Tan Enterprises.
    • He hosted meetings for the San Francisco Bay Area Alumni Group led by Saya Allen Htay (C58, GBNF). The Group went on to form a non-profit organization named RIT Alumni International.
    • RIT Alumni International hosted the First RIT Alumni Grand Reunion and Saya Pu Zaw Pwe in October 2000. The event is fondly called SPZP-2000.
    • He wore multiple hats for SPZP-2000. He was a Golden Sponsor. He and Maurice Chee (M75) served as Co-chair of the Working Committee. He was Designer of the SPZP Banner, commemorative Mug, Calculator / Clock, and T-shirt.
    • He is a Multiple Golden Sponsor for the SPZPs and for his Class Gatherings along with Steeve Kay (U Thaung Sein, EC70).
    • He wrote “Traveling through the Time Machine” for RIT Alumni Newsletter.
    SPZP-2000 Organizers
    SPZP-2000 Mug
    SPZP-2000 Mug
    SPZP-2000 T-shirt

  • U Zaw Min Nawaday (EP70)

    Brief fBio

    • He matriculated from St. Albert’s High School, Maymyo.
    • He was admitted with Roll Number One to the first ever 1st BE in November 1964.
    • He graduated with Electrical Power in 1970.
    • He worked for HIC briefly and Ceramics Corporation.
    • He moved to USA, did his MS and worked in the Electronics Industry until retirement.

    Activities and Achievements

    • He was selected as RIT Luyechun in the Summer of 1965 to attend Inlay Khaung Daing Camp.
    • He wrote a long article about “RIT Days 1964 – 1970”.
      U Ohn Khine (M70) added details and posted in the Google Group for the 1st BE Intake.
      I added the article and published it in RIT Alumni Newsletter.
    • He hosted Sayagyi U Ba Toke (who was invited to attend SPZP-2000 by his former students) at his new house in Hayward California.
    • He played Soccer for his Block, Class and EE department (mainly as Goalkeeper).
    • He was EC of Hostel Committe, Burmese Association, Maths Association, EE Association, English Association, Track & Field Association, RIT Magazine Committee.

    Notes

    • He made waves when he complained about mismanagement at the Luyechun Camp.
      Later Camp Commandants were sayas (including Sayagyi U Ba Toke).
    • He added Nawaday to his name to minimize name conflicts (which are common for Burmese names).
    • Ko Ye Myint (son of Sayagyi U Ba Toke) and Ko Nyunt Maung San were Best Men at his wedding.
    • Ko Naing Win (GBNF) asked Ko Zaw Min to accompany him to a Cinema with his girlfriend and another (who became Ko ZM’s soul mate).
    • He had a short temper. He was given a stern warning for hitting a student (who instigated him).
      It appeared in a report requested by the father (DIG of Police) of his girlfriend, but …
    • He competed in the English Debate between 1st year and 2nd year classes.
      He won as a 1st year student.
      He lost as a 2nd year student.
    • He was a preliminary selection for the RIT crew at RUBC.
    • He hiked to Rakkhine with Ko Han Tha Myint and Ko Sein Win.
      It was reported in the newspapers.
    • He lived and worked in New York and California.
      After retirement, he moved to Las Vegas.
    • He does not initiate phone calls.
    • He does not use Social Media.
  • U Ohn Khine (M70)

    Brief Bio

    • Matriculated from St. Peter’s High School, Mandalay
    • Admitted to the first ever 1st BE along with 400+ students in November 1964
    • Joined HIC after graduation

    HMEE

    • Member of HMEE-2012 and HMEE-2018 projects
    • Compiled CD Supplement for HMEE book with U Hla Min (EC69)
    • Translated Section 1 of HMEE book
    • Summarized Section 2 of HMEE book

    Activities

    • Moderator of Googlegroup for 1st BE Intake of 1964
    • Co-author of U Zaw Min Nawaday (EP70) for “RIT Days (1964 – 1970)”
    • Organizer, Combined 1st BE Intake of 1964 and 1965
    • Volunteer for SPZP, SDYF and Alumni Association

    Notes

    • Spouse : Sayama Daw Khin Swe Aye (Winnie, ChE70)
    • Daughter : Medical doctor (working in Malaysia)
    • Sister : Sayama Daw Khin Swe Myint (organized Physics Symposium in Mandalay)
    • During my visits to Yangon, he gave me rides to attend SPZP Preparation and HMEE meetings.
    • The Brother at St. Peter’s registered him as “Ohn Gaing”.
      His friends called him “Gaing Gyi”.

    Photos

    • HMEE
      Members
      Meetings
      Book & CD Supplement
    • Gatherings
      Saya U Ba Than’s Soon Kyway
      Welcoming Walter (U Win Htay)
    HMEE-2012 Project members
    HMEE-2012 Meeting
    HMEE book
    CD Supplement for HMEE book
    HMEE-2018 meeting
    HMEE-2018 meeting
    Welcoming Walter (U Win Htay, USA)
    With Walter
    Mechanical Engineering 1970
    With Saya U Ba Than
    With Dr. Win Thein (GBNF)
    Saya U Ba Than’s Soon Kyway
    Birthday Soon Kyway by U Ba Than
  • Civil Engineering

    • Civil Engineering was the first course offered in 1924 at the Engineering Department of Rangoon University
    • The first group of students graduated in 1928.
    • RU later had Civil Engineering Department.

    U Ba Hli

    • First native Dean, Faculty of Engineering, Rangoon University
    • Taught Civil Engineering courses
    • Credited for proposing the “Twinning Program” with prestigious US Universities
    • Formerly Professor of Civil Engineering and Principal at GTI
    • See several posts about Sayagyi

    Dr. Aung Gyi

    Dr. Aung Gyi
    • Early recipient of “Twinning Program”
    • BS and MS from MITPh.D from University of Alberta
    • Succeeded U Mya Han as Head of Civil Engg
    • Served as Professor and Head of Civil Engg before becoming Rector
    • Contributed several articles
    Dr. Aung Gyi (Top left)

    U Min Wun

    • Early recipient of “Twinning Program”
    • BS from MIT
    • MS from Cornell University o
    • Succeeded Dr. Aung Gyi as Professor and Head of Civil Engg
    • Founding member of BARB
    • Member of Myanmar Pyeik Ka Dein Ah Kyan Pay Ah Phwe
    • Contributed several articles
    U Min Wun (Pon Tu)

    Some Memories

    • Saya Allen Htay (C58, GBNF), Founding member and President of RIT Alumni International
      Core Organizer for SPZP-2000
      President, RIT Photography Association
    • Dr. San Lin (C62, part-time saya)
      Retired after working for UN in Thailand
    This image has an empty alt attribute; its file name is allen-3.webp
    • Saya Dr. San Hla Aung (C58)
      Retired Professor, University of New Orleans
      President, RIT Rowing
      President, RIT Swimming & Water Polo
      Line Judge, RUBC Regattas
    • U Nyi Hla Nge (C69)
      Retired Dy. Minister
    • U Saw Linn (C71, GBNF)
      Core Organizer of SPZP-2012
      Managed Logistics, Security;
      Chief Editor, Commemorative Swel Daw Yeik Magazine;
      Reprinted 23 Old RIT Annual Magazines
    This image has an empty alt attribute; its file name is three-civil-alumni.jpg

    Civil 69

    C69 in 2009

    Dr. Htin Aung (SPHS63, C69)

    • Retired Professor and Head of Civil Engg
    • RIT Chinlon Selected
    • Also played Soccer and Badminton
    Dr. Htin Aung (Pon Tu)

    Daw Myint Myint (C69)

    • Major donor of 69er Health Care Fund
    • Donated to YTU Library Modernization
    • Hosted Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner Gatherings
    Daw Myint Myint (C69) : Donor for YTU Library, 69er HCF …

    Civil 71

    Win Myint, Than Aye, Oo Maung, Khin Maung Chit, Maung Wang (Canada), Kyaw Oo, Theik Htun (GBNF)
    • Civil Engineering Discipline / Department
    • Civil Engineering Sayas
      Thet Kyee Sayas
      GBNF Sayas
    • Selected Civil Engineering Alumni
  • Wisdom

    • We are familiar with Conventional Wisdom.
    • Sometimes, it pays to try something unconventional.

    Euclid

    • Euclid proposed five Postulates, which form the foundation of Euclidean Geometry.
    • Some mathematicians questioned whether the Fifth Postulate (aka Parallel Postulate) was needed. It gave birth to Non-Euclidean Geometry (used in Navigation).

    Newton

    • Sir Isaac Newton formulated the Laws of Motion.
    • High school texts describe three Laws of Motion.
    • Some questioned if two laws are sufficient.
      The following is their reasoning:
      Force = Mass x Acceleration
      If there is no Force, there can be no Acceleration.
      It implies that the Velocity remains constant.
      If the initial state is stationary, the object continues to be in that state. If the object is in motion, the object continues to move with that velocity.
    • One law can be deduced (using First Principles) by another law.

    Physics

    • The size and the speed of the object effect the “Laws of Motion”.
    • Classical Physics, which was Conventional Wisdom for its time, gave way to Modern Physics (including Quantum Mechanics).

    Grace Murray Hopper

    • Rear Admiral (One Star General) Grace Murray Hopper is a Pioneer & Prime Mover in Computers and Computing.
    • She won the prestigious ACM Turing Award.
    • ACM also have the Grace Murray Hopper Award for outstanding young computer scientists who had a significant contribution before the age of 30.
    • She is credited with coining the term “Bug” for a computer (hardware or software) failure.
    • She does not like the word, “It’s always been done that way.”
      She has a clock which runs in the reverse direction of conventional clocks.