Author: Hla Min (Lifelong Learner)

by Myint Thin & Hla Min

Updated : June 2025

Dr. Tin Win, son of U Kwet Kaw and Daw Hla Yi, was a Maths Gold Medalist in 1958 I.Sc. Exams. He stood first in 1962 batch of B.Sc. Mech. Eng. graduates. After working at Mandalay Brewery and Distillery for a year, he joined RIT as an Assistant Lecturer in Mechanical Engineering Department in 1963. He left for Melbourne University, Australia, in 1966 and obtained the doctorate degree in 1971. In 1972, he was promoted to Lecturer and worked at RIT till 1977 when he left for USA.

After working six months at Gardner Denver in Dallas, Texas, he joined Brown & Root (Halliburton Company) in Houston and became Head of Mechanical and Piping Department in 1988. Since 1992, he has been working as a Project Manager, currently in Subsea Engineering Division of Brown & Root Energy Services Business Unit.

He married Lily (Khin Htar Yee, T72) in 1984, and both of them will be attending the RIT Reunion and Saya Pu Zaw Pwe.

Updates (by Hla Min)

• Saya is Past President of BASES
• Was interviewed by Mandalay Gazette
• Ran the Los Angeles Marathon to raise fund for SPZP-2007
• Core organizer for 2015 RIT Alumni Reunion in Los Angeles
• Ma Rosie, his sister, worked for RIT Chemistry department from 1965 to 1976
• Penny, another sister, is from the class of 70
• Lily was Founding member & Secretary of BEA (in Northern California) before she moved to Texas
• After retirement, he and Lily relocated to Los Angeles (Southern California).
• Lily’s sister is from the class of A73.

• Myint Thin (M71, GBNF) is a multiple RIT Luyechun. He rowed for RIT. He sponsored Sayagyi U Ba Than to SPZP-2007 in Singapore. He worked in Singapore and Malaysia.

by Min Wun

Updated : June 2025

U Min Wun
Professor Emeritus, Civil Engineering, RIT

When I read the article on “Kyaik Hti Yo Development Project” (KHYDP) by Dr. Koung Nyunt, Arch 67 – New Zealand, it brings me lots of fond memories and remind me of the “Good Old Days” of my tenure at the then R.I.T. It urges me to write this supplemental article.

There are many attractive sites in Myanmar for pilgrims, such as

• “Ah Laung Daw Katha Pha” to the west of Monywa,
• “Popa Taung Kalat” and “Mount Popa” north of Kyauk Pa Daung,
• “Pin Da Ya Hlaing Gu” near Nyaung Shwe in Shan State,
• “U Daung Taung” near Inlay Lake in Shan State,
• “Mrauk U” and “Wei Tha Li” in Rakkhine State,
• “Kyaik Hti Yo” in Mon State, … and so on, just to mention a few.

These pilgrimage sites are our “National Wilderness Heritages”. A Wilderness is a place where the imprint of humans is substantially unnoticed, and the changes will occur primarily through natural disturbance, and minimum human influence. This is not the case with Kyaik Hti Yo, and many of the above pilgrimage sites in Myanmar, where human encroachment and activity are becoming noticeable.

On your way up the Kyaik Hti Yo Trek, after the Nga Gar Lain climb, the first sight of the Gilded Stupa-Topped Boulder, resembling a Hermit’s Head, floating on top of a Stone Pillar, appears in vista vision. At that time, a thrilling feeling of achievement and excitement is beyond description and all the physical tiredness seems to have dissolved and melted away in the bodily blood stream. During the Pagoda Festival Season, this scenario was usually hidden from view by a long row of bamboo huts along the last ridge toward the Kyaik Hti Yo Pagoda Plateau. Many smaller boulders along the ridge were painted in white for advertising the vendors.

To the East of the Pagoda Plateau many bamboo huts align the smaller ridges with waterless bathrooms in the back and human wastes are dumped along the slopes, creating ugly and unsanitary sites for parasites, and causing unpleasant smell in the air. Water is a scarce property and it is a luxury to afford a shower.

With the blessing of the venerable “Me Byaw Sayadaw”, the Kyaik Hti Yo Pagoda Trustees (KHYPT), requested me to prepare a Project Report for the development of Kyaik Hti Yo and its Environment. The Project was sponsored by the KHYPT under the auspices of the Kyaik Hto Township Party and Council. The Project Development Team (PDT) was formed with the following volunteer Team Leaders: Dr. Koung Nyunt, ( Dept of Architecture, R.I.T.); Dr. San Lin and U Hla Thein (Electric Power Corporation, E.P.C.); Dr. Kyaw Latt, (National Housing Board, N.H.B.); U Tint Lwin (?), (Dept of Geology, R.A.S.U.); U Aye Win Kyaw, (Dept of Civil Engineering, R.I.T.).

And volunteer members from R.I.T., E.P.C., N.H.B., R.A.S.U., too numerous to mention and I do hope they will excuse me.

Preservation of Wilderness : Dr. Koung Nyunt and his team had prepared many good recommendations to preserve Kyaik Hti Yo and its environment by maintaining the natural landscapes and scenic beauty, and to preserve it as a Wilderness Area. (See Slide #16 of Kyaik Htiyo Album, KHA. Dr. Kyaw Latt is the Second from the Left, looking away from camera.)

Zoning : The team lead by Dr Kyaw Latt had prepared useful Zoning Maps, with guidelines for enforcement, to demarcate Kyaik Hti Yo Plateau for Resting Huts, Food Stalls, Souvenir Boutiques, Photographers, etc.

Hydro-power : The Hydropower Team lead by Dr. San Lin & U Hla Thein made a feasibility study for Micro-hydro Power Project, for lighting, for pumping water to the Pagoda Plateau level for water supply and sanitation purposes. U Hla Thein will design the turbine and manufacture it locally. (See Slide #29 of KHA.)

Geological Survey : U Tint Lwin and his team made a general geological survey of Hyaik Hti Yo Pagoda Site. A detailed study of the Stone Pillar and the Hermit-Head Boulder was conducted. Disposed “Food Offerings” were found at the foot of the Stone Pillar and many “rodent holes” were also observed. These holes became small piping tunnels for runoff water to drain deeper and quicker into the ground, causing erosion and exposing the base of the Stone Pillar. This process was gradually endangering the stability of the Stone Pillar, which is “supposed” to support the 160-ton Hermit-Head Boulder on top of it. A concrete slab was poured around the base of the Stone Pillar and discarding of “Food Offerings” at the base was at once prohibited. Several hairline cracks were observed at the top of the Stone Pillar and “Water Offerings” to the Stupa on top of the Boulder was prohibited temporarily until the hair line cracks were sealed with apoxy resin. (See Slide # 25 of KHA.)

Civil Engineering : U Aye Win Kyaw and his surveying team were very ingenious to determine the volume of the Hermit-Head Boulder and its weight, which was calculated to be approximately 160 tons. The center of gravity of the Boulder was determined to be 6 to 9 inches away from the vertical axis of the “Contact Point” with the Stone Pillar, giving an impression of being on the verge of falling off. The Boulder seems to be afloat and can be rocked back and forth about a shifting “Contact Point” on top of the Stone Pillar. A rope can be pulled through this “Contact Point”, without getting crushed, by rocking the Boulder gently. And it seems to defy the Law of Gravity, thus making it both a terrestrial and a celestial “Wonder”. (See Slides #13, #22, and #24 of KHA.)

Many field trips were organized by each team to do site investigations both during Kyaik Hti Yo Festival Season (beginning at the end of the Buddhist Lent and ending on the Lunar New Year Day) and off the Festival Season. According to an age-old saying, the author should become rich because he had made more than “Three Trips to Kyaik Hti Yo Pagoda”, at least nine trips. The age-old saying is, perhaps, true, because many of the PDT members and volunteers are now abroad living comfortably or enjoying a retirement life.

A feasibility report was submitted to the Kyaik Hti Yo Pagoda Trustees in 1982. Since then I have not been to Kyaik Hti Yo Pagoda Festival. I have learned that there are many improvements to make Kyaik Hti Yo a Tourist Attraction. We should, however, keep in our mind that the “Wilderness” of Kyaik Hti Yo should be protected and valued for its unique ecological, historical, religious, scientific and experiential resources.

Note :

Saya Dr. Koung Nyunt (A67) and Sayagyi U Min Wun are GBNF.

by Hla Min

Updated : June 2025

Terms

• Metallurgy
• Metallurgical Engineering
• Material Science

U Thit (GBNF)

• Was studying Mechanical Engineering when he was offered to study MET at Lehigh University in the US.
• Completed BS & joined Faculty as Assistant Lecturer
• Received MS from Melbourne University
• Became Lecturer & Head of Metallurgy Department
• Taught “Materials and Processes” in our 2nd BE class. He would throw chalk at the noisy student(s).
• Moved to Australia.
• Sent condolences via the RIT Alumni Newsletter when Saya Allen Htay (C58) passed away. He was a bit senior to Saya Allen during their high school in Yegyaw.
• Wrote a brief history of the Metallurgy Department for HMEE project. He suggested other Met sayas to cover more (after he left RIT).
• Attended selected Reunion and PZPs in Yangon.

Dr. Saw Pru (GBNF)

• He succeeded U Thit as Head of Department
• Ko Thein Ngwe (ChE76) posted an article about “လူဝင်စား” It mentioned that Saya chose to be reborn as a son of his nephew Ko Khin Aung Shwe.

U Than Tin

• He studied in US.
• Acting Head of Department
• After teaching for several years, he moved to US.
• I spoke with him briefly before SPZP-2000.
• Dr. Tin Win said that U Than Tin moved from East Coast to Los Angeles

Dr. Khin Maung Win (GBNF)

• B.Sc. from Mandalay University
• Worked at Mandalay U and later at UBARI in Rangoon.
• Went on a government scholarship to USA to get his MS and PhD in Metallurgy.
• Joined RIT Met
• Later became DG of Technological Agricultural and Vocational Education.

U Aung Hla Tun (GBNF)

• Retired as Associate Professor
• Published two books
• Won National Literary Award for his first book.
• Chief Editor of RIT Annual Magazine
• He & his team published the History of Myanmar Engineering Education book in 2012. U Ohn Khine (M70) and I compiled the CD supplement for the book.
• Saya led HMEE-2012 & HMEE-2018 projects.

Some Senior Sayas

• U Pe Win : Professor and Rector
• U Tin Maung Nyunt (Met70) : Retired as Professor. Note that U Tin Maung Nyunt (M60) taught Agricultural Engineering.
• Daw Victoria Simon (Met70) : Retired as Professor. Her father was Workshop Superintendent.
• U Win Kyaw (Met71) : Rowing; Moved to Ministry of Mines in 1982

• U Thein Aung (Met72) : Mr. RIT in 1968; SPZP-2000 (co-emcee, Associate Editor), Lawrence Livermore Lab

• U Nyunt Htay (Met73) : High school Luyechun, Poet, Chief Editor of Mudita Myanmar)

Miscellaneous

• U Win Kyaw, U Thein Aung & U Nyunt Htay had a micro-reunion at 2015 RIT Alumni Reunion in Los Angeles and at the iNapa Winery Lunch & Dinner hosted by Gordon Kaung (M83) and Lillian Kaung (EC83).
• U Nyunt Htay hosted a Dinner for U Win Kyaw, U Ye Myint and me during my visit to Yangon (from Nov 2019 to Jan 2020). He also gave me the Kabyar book (by five RIT sayas / alumni) and the Mudita Sar Saung (which featured the kabyars of him and Saya U Moe Aung).

Younger sayas and sayamas include Dr. Naing Naing Aung (Met91, who organized seminars).