HlaMin

Author: Hla Min (Lifelong Learner)

  • UCC History

    UCC History

    by Hla Min

    Updated : September 2026

    Dr. Chit Swe
    U Soe Paing
    U Myo Min
    U Ko Ko Lay
    U Aung Zaw, U Soe Win, U Tun Aung Gyaw, U Hla Min, U Kyaw Thein visiting Stonehenge

    Introduction

    In the early days, there were no computers in Burma. IBM (International Business Machines) based in the USA and ICL (International Computers Limited) based in the UK had presence in Burma. Both companies were not ready to introduce computers to Burma. They were content with leasing unit-record equipment (calculators, tabulators, …) using punched cards. The managers and their staff were highly paid compared to the Government employees.

    In the early sixties, Burma Railways wanted to upgrade to an ICL computer, but the Coup d’etat in 1962 and subsequent restriction of foreign currency exchange & budget planning rules effectively derailed the project.

    Dr. Chit Swe

    In the mid sixties, Dr. Chit Swe, Head of the Maths Department at the Institute of Economics, proposed the need of a computer for teaching and research to a Dr. Nyi Nyi, Secretary / Deputy Minister of Education. Dr. Nyi Nyi suggested the scope to be extended for a computer to serve the staff and selected students of the Universities and Institutes. Thus, the UCC Project was conceived. It was approved in 1970 with UNDP as the Funding Agency and UNESCO as the Execution Agency.

    Dr. Chit Swe later became Professor at Mathematics at RASU (Rangoon Arts and Science University). He offered space at the Mathematics Department for the early volunteers of the UCC Project. He then obtained permission to use Mandalay Hall for use by the UCC Project before the UCC Building could be completed in Thamaing College Campus.

    UCC Founders

    Dr. Chit Swe, U Soe Paing, U Myo Min and U Ko Ko Lay (GBNF) co-founded UCC.

    Dr. Chit Swe served as the Founder/Director of UCC. He initiated the academic and training programs. He stressed the importance of technology transfer, leapfrogging technology, knowledge sharing (internally and externally), and challenging the staff and students to try their best.

    He requested U Soe Paing (RIT Electrical Engineering) to help design and implement the UCC project. He inquired the mother of Saya U Myo Min (Chartered Accountant working as Systems Analyst at IBM UK) if U Myo Min would be interested to come back to Burma and help with the UCC project. U Soe Paing recruited his friend Saya U Ko Ko Lay (PWD, GBNF) to help with the UCC project in general and with the UCC Building Design and Implementation in particular.

    On April 1, 1971, U Soe Paing transferred to UCC as Manager of Systems Division; U Myo Min joined UCC as Manager of Applications Divison; and U Ko Ko Lay (GBNF) transferred to UCC as Manager of Operations Division,

    I was a member of Generation Zero along with my mentors and U Tun Aung Gyaw (EC69), who was the earliest and longest volunteer of the UCC Project.

    Dr. Chit Swe retired as Rector of RASU. He moved to Bangkok and Sydney. He passed away in 2019.

    U Soe Paing left UCC in the eighties to pursue a career as Technical Adviser and Consultant for the UN projects in several countries.

    U Myo Min migrated to USA. He taught briefly at the Nanyang Technical Institute in Singapore. He retired after serving as a Principal for Seagate Technology and Conner.

    Dr. Tin Maung (GBNF) succeeded Dr. Chit Swe as Director of UCC. During his tenure, the Department of Computer Science (DCS) was established at RASU. U Ko Ko Lay served as Professor and Head of the Department.

    Subsequently, the Institute of Computer Science and Technology (ICST) was established with Dr. Tin Maung as Rector. U Ko Ko Lay served as Professor and Head of Information Technology. U Tun Aung Gyaw served as Associate Professor and Head of Hardware Technology. U Hla Min served as Associate Professor and Head of Software Technology. Some sayas from UCC and RASU taught Computational Mathematics.

    Courses at UCC

    Dr. Chit Swe was Founder/Director of UCC and Professor of Mathematics Department at RASU. He arranged UCC to conduct degree and post-graduate diploma courses under the aegis of the Department of Mathematics, RASU. UCC also conducted training courses for computer users. Dr. Chit Swe was succeeded as Director of UCC by Saya U Tin Maung.

    Several distinguished Professors from US, UK and Europe lectured at UCC.

    The postgraduate degree and diploma courses given under the aegis of Department of Mathematics include M.Sc. (CS) and DAC (Diploma in Automatic Computing).

    UCC Course

    The Courses for computer users include

    • COC (Computer Orientation Course)
    • CPC (Computer Programming Course)
    • Elective for Honors and Post-graduate in other disciplines
    • Intensive training (e.g. for the Population Census Data ProcessinSpecial training (e.g. for those selected as State Scholars)
    • Planning (e.g. for departments intending to purchase computers)

    Teaching & Training

    U Aung Zaw

    Saya U Soe Paing, Saya U Aung Zaw (GBNF) and U Hla Min wrote

    • Introduction to Computers
    • Introduction to Computer Programming
    • Lecture Guides
    • Manuals Books

    UCC Gatherings

    Over the years, I attended several mini-gatherings and gatherings hosted by UCC sayas and alumni.

    Yangon

    Saya U Soe Paing regular hosts gatherings (usually dinner meeting) at his house. Sayagadaw Daw Saw Yu Tint (Alice, T69) was my class mate. She also attended CPC course. U Thein Oo, Daw Than Than Tint, Daw Tin May Lwin and several others help organize the gatherings. U Thein Oo, U Htin Kyaw, U Aung Aung and several others provided us transportation to or from Saya Paing’s house.

    UCC gathering at U Soe Paing’s house

    UCC 40th Anniversary Gathering

    The “40th Anniversary of UCC” was the Reunion of Staff, Teachers (Past and Present) and Students. Saya Dr. Tin Maung (GBNF) was represented by his spouse and daughter.

    There was fun and laughter, music and dances, and good old memories.

    Daw Ngwe Tin, Aye Aye Myint and sisters, Maung Myint, who maintained the UCC building rooms were among the attendees.

    Among those present at the gathering, U Soe Myint, U Aung Myint, Daw Nge Ma Ma Than, Daw Khin Lay Myint and several others are GBNF.

    UCSY Gathering

    In January 14, 2018, I attended the 5th UCSY Acariya Pu Zaw Pwe as “Generation Zero” representative and the “Most Senior” (not by age). Several attendees started their studies and/or careers at UCC.

    Sao Yan Naing, son of Dr. Saw Naing (Wesley, SPHS59), gave me a ride to the Pu Zaw Pwe. He is a nephew of Dr Myo Khin (C70) and a cousin of Soe Lin Maung (UCC).

    Sydney in 2006

    During my visit to Sydney, Australia in 2006, I met several UCC alumni. Saya U Aung Zaw (GBNF) and Ma Kyawt organized a Reunion and mini-PZP for Saya Dr. F Ba Hli (GBNF) and Saya Dr. Chit Swe. They were helped by U Sein Myint Maung, Daw Khin Aye Mu, U Htay Aung (Victor) and Daw Tin Tin Hlaing to name a few. I met Daw Thanda Htwe and “UCC Pha Yaung Daing”.

    U Sein Tin hosted a dinner and also created a short music video.

    USA

    Dr. Raiful Ahad (Fremont, California), U Khin Zaw (Cupertino, California), U Aung Myint Oo (EC84) & Daw Thida Khin (Fremont, California), U Sein Myint (EC76) & Daw Sao Mon Sint (New Jersey), and U Toung (EC69, Connecticut) hosted UCC gatherings (especially to welcome and alumni visiting US).

    U Khin Maung Oo (Ivan Lee, M69) hosts an annual joint gathering for UCC and RIT sayas and alumni at his home in New Jersey.

    Singapore

    U Tin Aung Win (C80), U Zaw Tun and Daw Pale Shein organized buffet gathering. U Aung Aung & Daw Kyin Mya are regulars at the gatherings. U Shein Soe Myint (EC83) is GBNF.

    Some (e.g. U Win Latt, Daw Myint Myint Thein) have relocated.

    Sojourn in Singapore

    Activities

    Table Tennis (Ping Pong)

    U Thein Oo and U Saung Tin (CSO) are excellent players.

    Volleyball

    U Ko Ko Lay (GBNF), U Kyaw Nyein (GBNF) and U Thein Oo are excellent players.
    Rafiul Ahad (who was third in Burma in Hurdles) hurt his knee in a volleyball match.
    Daw Nwe Nwe Win (Judy) is often the sixth member of an all-male team.

    Soccer / Football

    UCC team played ad hoc match against other teams (in and around Hlaing Campus).

    UCC Dobat

    U Win Hlaing played the Dobat. Others (e.g. Maung Myint, U Hla Pe) would play Wah Let Khote (bamboo clapper) and Ya Gwin.

    Donlaba / Yahan Khan

    UCC used to celebrate Thingyan and Su Paung Donlaba.

    Dr. Chit Swe, Win Maung, Hla Min, Tun Aung Gyaw, Soe Myint, Khin Maung Aye, Daw Khin Khin Latt

    UCC had a Su Paung Donlaba for several years at Kaba Aye Sun Lun Gu Kyaung and other monasteries. The Donlaba monks would be offered Soon at the UCC Thingyan. There would also be Water Throwing and occasionally “Ye Pet Khan” to selected mandats.

    Ad Hoc Trips

    U Aung Zaw (GBNF) led some trips (e.g. to Maw Tin Zun).

    Four Decade Old Photo taken at the Convocation Hall

    • Ko Win Hlaing
    • Ko Henry Maung Maung (Census, GBNF)
    • Ma Kyu Kyu Lwin (GBNF)
    • Ma Khin Si Thoung (USA)
    • Ma Khin Khin Win (Five Star Line – USA)
    • Ma Phyu Phyu Win (Singapore)
    • Ma Win May Thaung (GBNF)
    • Ma Tin Tin Yi (Port Authority)
    • Ma Hla Hla Win (GBNF)
    • Ko Aung Myint (GBNF)
    • Ko Soe Myint (Sunlun, M72, GBNF)

    GBNF (Gone But Not Forgotten)

    • Dr. Chit Swe
      Founder/Director of UCC
    • U Ko Ko Lay
      Longest tenured Co-founder of UCC; Professor at DCS and ICST
    • Dr. Tin Maung
      Director of UCC; Rector of ICST
    • Dr. Kyaw Thein
      Rector of ICST
    • U Hla Min (SPHS64, EP70)
      Chief Operator
    • U Maung Maung Gyi (SPHS64, Phy68)
      Chief Operator
    • U Maung Maung Lay (St. Albert’s, Ah Ba)
      Operator
    • U Aung Myint (SPHS64, Phy68)
      Maintenance Engineer, Systems Division
    • U Soe Myint (M72, DAC)
      Pro-Rector, ICST
    • U Shein Soe Myint (EC83, MSc(CS))
      Passed away while doing his doctorate in Singapore
    • U Mya Thein
      Business Applications Manager; Visiting lecturer at ITBMU (International Theravada Buddhist Missionary University)
    • U Soe Thein
      Business Applications Programmer
    • U Kyaw Nyein
      Scientific Applications Programmer; Numerical Methods & Analysis; UNV
    • U Win Naing (Maths73, MSc (CS))
      Science Scholar; Scientific Applications Programmer
    • U Myint Aung
      Superintendent, Admin Department
    • Daw Khin Lay Myint
      Secretary; Branch Clerk, Admin Department
    • U Aung Aung Thein
      He served in various capacities at UCC (Engineering, Teaching)
    • Daw Kyu Kyu Lwin
      Job controller, Operations Division; transferred to SSB (Social Security Board) Computer Section.
    • Daw Win May Thaung
      Offline operator, Operations Division
    • Daw Khin Mya Swe (M.Sc. (CS))
      Programmer; Passed away in Lesotho
    • Daw Khin Toe Nyein (M.Sc. (CS))
      Programmer
    • Daw Thida Aung (M.Sc. (CS))
      Programmer
    • Daw Khin San Hlaing (Cynthia)
      Librarian; attended M.Sc. (CS); worked at or attended AIT; migrated to Australia
    • Daw Nge Ma Ma Than (DAC)
      Taught at UCC, DCS and ICST; Prisoner of Conscience
    • U Khin Maung Aye (M73, M,Sc. (CS))
      Worked for Railways Computer Section
    Htay Lwin Nyo
    • Dr. Htay Lwin Nyo (EP74, M.Sc.(CS))
      Doctorate from Syracuse University; Passed away at SJSU
    • Sai Aung Thurein (EC74, M.Sc.(CS)))
      Worked in Singapore and Australia.

    Updates

    ICST was succeeded by UCSY (University of Computer Studies, Yangon) and COE (Center of Excellence).

    Several articles were published in the Souvenir Magazine for the 30th Anniversary of ICST.

    Saya U Soe Paing’s articles (e.g. “Computer Ah Sa UCC Ga” can be read in SCRIB-D.

    U Hla Min’s “Memories of UCC” can be read in hlamin.com

  • Engineering Library

    Engineering Library

    by Hla Min

    Update : September 2026

    Faculty of Engineering အင်ဂျင်နီယာမဟာဌာန

    Dr. Maung Maung Kha (Interim Dean of Engineering) asked Saya U Ba Than to help with the Engineering Library (e.g ordering of journals and books).

    U Ba Than

    RIT Library ရန်ကုန်စက်မှုတက္ကသိုလ်စာကြည့်တိုက်

    Daw Myint Myint Khin

    Daw Myint Myint Khin was Assistant Librarian at the Faculty of Social Science Library. She became Librarian at the Rangoon Institute of Technology.

    The Library was located on the Ground Floor.

    Several years later, the Library was relocated to a two-storey building near A Block.

    Sadly, it was not maintained well.

    YTU Library

    The YTU Library Upgrading / Modernization Project was initiated as a Requirement for Accreditation of YTU.

    Alumni worldwide donated for the project.

    Daw Myint Myint ဒေါ်မြင့်မြင့်

    • Donated K150 Lakhs
    Daw Myint Myint (C69)

    Dr. Myo Khin & Daw Mya Nwe ဒေါက်တာမျိုးခင် နှင့် ဒေါ်မြနွယ်

    • Donated K100 Lakhs
    Saya Dr. Myo Khin (C) & Daw Mya Nwe

    Training Component စာကြည့်တိုက်မှူးများသင်တန်းတက်ရောက်ရန်

    • Saya George (U Mg Mg) provided $500 as seed money
    • Saya U Myat Thwin, Saya U Tin Maung Nyunt and others donated
    • Total : $3000+
    Saya U Maung Maung (George, ChE)
    Saya U Tin Maung Nyunt (M)

    Other Donations

    • BASES — Members & Friends
    • NorCal RITAA
    • Many individuals
    • Several groups
    • See posts by Wynn Htain Oo & Nan Khin Nwe
  • Typing, Spelling & Processing

    Typing, Spelling & Processing

    by Hla Min

    Updated : September 2026

    Burmese Alphabet

    Typewriters

    Keyboard

    Olympia was commissioned to produce typewriters for Burmese. It was not trivial to type Burmese and Pali characters. The red keys were used to type vowels; the carriage did not go forward. The black keys were used to type consonants. Back-spacing for half a step was necessary on the Standard Edition to type characters such as “tha gyee”. Manual dexterity was needed to type some “pa sint” characters. The Office edition had extra keys (e.g. tha gyee, common pa sint).

    Producing Multiple Copies

    Before the wide spread use of copiers (initiated by Xerox), special care is needed to print multiple copies. We miss the days when we had type perfectly or reasonably well on typewriters using messy carbons. Also, planning to cyclostyle double-sided printing (odd numbered pages first, then repeat with even-numbered pages).

    Selectric

    IBM produced Selectric typewriters. “Golf” ball-like character sets had to be installed/replaced.

    Word Processing

    Wang computers provided word processors for various languages. Ko Htay Aung (Victor, EC80) worked at Wang for a while on the Burmese language project.

    The evolution has seen

    • Type face / font families
    • Keyboard (QWERTY, Dvorak, …)
    • Unicode Support
    • Utilities (Dictionary, Thesaurus, Spelling, Grammar / Usage)

    Chinese characters

    Chinese characters are used by Chinese, Japanese, Korean. To input them to a computer, various techniques were used. They include (1) large tablets containing the most common characters (2) three corner method (based on the horizontal, vertical and diagonal strokes in the character (3) Romaji (mostly used by Japanese (4) human user to select if there are ambiguities (e.g. in the three corner method).

    Transliteration

    Burma Research Society (BRS) used transliteration for its journals. For example, “k-o-l” combination represents “ko”. The scheme was used inputting Burmese on Macintosh.

    Universities’ Computer Center (UCC) had projects to do Burmese word processing. Saya U Myo Min supervised a project for Ma San Yu Hlaing for “collation” (needed for sorting). Saya U Tun Aung Gyaw and his team (Ko Htay Aung, Ko Soe Myint, …) worked on Cromenco System Three for printing and processing. U Soe Win and team worked on Calcomp graph plotter.

    Difficulties imposed by Higher Authorities

    Myanmar Sar Ah Phwe မြန်မာစာအဖွဲ့ Burmese Language Commission) bowed to higher authorities to revise the spelling at least two times.

    Fines were imposed on authors and publishers spelling the established way. (e.g. “Ta” တ) instead of the preferred way (e.g. “Tit” တစ်) despite the scholars pointing out the old inscriptions at “Bo ta htaung ဗိုလ်တထောင်” not “Bo tit htaung” pagoda.

    CTK (Children’s Treasury of Knowledge) project was delayed to correct the spellings.

    It was not easy to write in those days without facing censorship. It was taboo to quote “Dhammata ဓမ္မတာ” poem (by Ananda Thuriya). It was a crime to mention the “setting sun နေ ဝင်”.

  • Farewell to Mom

    Farewell to Mom

    By Thor Aye

    Updated : September 2026

    Dr. Khin Nyo Thet (GBNF) and Family
    Ma Nyo and Thor

    By Thor Win Aye

    We’re coming to the end now. We’ve said our I love you’s and have started saying our goodbyes, or if you like, our farewells and until-next-times.

    But while I have you, let me say thank you for all your love, attention, lessons learned and patience along the way. Thank you for fighting all these long years to stay alive.

    Cancer three times in one life? It just doesn’t seem fair. And well it’s not.

    You’re a good person who has spent her life in the service of others. A caretaker and healer of our youth, as a pediatrician. A dedicated, dutiful daughter who sacrificed to care for her mother, no matter the cost. A leader and the center of our Burmese community, helping recent immigrants find work, help, housing and most importantly a connection to their community. You were the mom on the block that gave all my friends hugs, kisses, meals, rides and love. Everybody loved you. And how could they not? We were so lucky to have you.

    You’re the most important person in my life. I cannot imagine a world, my world without you. But in the same breath, I see how much pain and suffering you’ve already endured. I can see your energy draining and see that the things that once brought you happiness, are now belabored and joyless. I’ll miss your brutally honest feedback, your big warm hugs, your delicious cooking but more than anything, I’ll miss your Unconditional love. No matter what I did, where we were or how long we’d been apart, I knew you’d be thinking about me and missing me too. You’d always support and love me, with no strings attached. I’ve been so blessed to have you in my life.

    But Mom, if you’re ready to go. I’m ready to let you. I’ll miss you every day for the rest of my life. Go in peace and with our love and blessings.

    You’ll always be in my heart. I love you.

    Ma Nyo (Dr. Khin Nyo Thet)

    • Sept. 17, 1946 – May 3, 2021
    • Matriculated from Methodist English High School (MEHS) in 1963
    • MBBS from Institute of Medicine (2) in 1970
    • MD, Pediatrician
    • Hobbies : Tennis, Pickle Ball, Music, Dancing, Bridge, Mah Jong
    • Parents : Professor Dr. Kyaw Thet and Sayama Daw Khin Khin Gyi (Pioneer History Teachers)
    • Siblings : U Lyn Maung Thet (GBNF), Dr. Lyn Aung Thet (Scholar Athlete), Daw Khin Aye Thet (GBNF)
    • Spouse : Dr. “Lyn” Swe Aye (Lynston Than Maung)
      Author, Translator, Editor, Musician, Athlete
    • Co-founder of “Aye Thet Scholarship” with spouse
      Awarded at TBSA “Summer Dhamma School” at Dhammananda Vihara
    • Children :Mimi Thabye Aye, Thor Win Aye
    • Thor Win Aye was an early recipient of the Scholarship / Award. He wrote an article for the Dhammananda Newsletter. He also gave Guest Lectures at the TBSA Summer Dhamma School.

    Messages

    Alice and Ma Nyo

    Dr. Khin Nyo Thet,
    My dear courageous friend who succumbed to cancer, I will miss you .
    You will always be in my prayers.
    I love you tha-nge-gyin.
    May you rest in peace.
    Saw Yu Tint (Alice)

    Our heartfelt condolences for your loss.
    May she Rest In Peace in a higher abode.
    Khin Maung Htay (Tommy Htay), Than Than Htay and family.

    Goodbye Dearest Friend Nyo Nyo,
    So glad to catch up last year.
    As the saying goes ” ​ရှေ့ကသွား​လေ​တော့​နောက်ကလိုက်ခဲ့မယ်”.
    We will be following you, the one who left ahead.
    Love you.
    Desiree

    My dear cousin NyoNyo,
    May you rest in peace .
    My deep and heartfelt condolences to the bereaved family.
    Maureen Khin

    I’m so sad to hear that Nyo has passed away.
    She was so strong and brave right till the end.
    My deepest condolences to Ko Swe Aye and family.
    Rest in Peace, Nyo, you are suffering no more.
    Toni Than

    My beloved sister, you were my hero and my confidant.
    I will miss you so much. I admired you most for your caring nature towards family and friends, your extraordinary energy, amazing courage and strength. You will always be in my heart and my prayers. May you reside in a more peaceful and higher abode.
    Khin Mae Hla

    ချစ်ခင်လေးစားရပါသော အံတီခင်ညိုသက် ဘဝတစ်ပါးသို့
    ပြောင်းလဲသွားတဲ့အတွက် ကျန်ရစ်သူမိသားစုနဲ့ထပ်တူ
    ကြေကွဲ ဝမ်းနည်းရပါတယ်။ အံတီညို ကောင်းရာ သုဂတိ လားပါစေ။
    ဒေါ်ခင်ခင်ကြီး၏ အစ်ကို ဦးကိုကိုကြီး + ဒေါ်ငြိမ်းလှဖြူတို့၏
    သမီး ဒေါ်ခင်စိန်ယဉ် Khin Sein Yin၊
    မြေး ဇော်လင်းဒွေး + ဦးဦးဟန်၊ မြစ် ရဲရင့်လင်းမိသားစု
    Zaw Lynn Dwe

    Condolences also from

    • Alan Tin Win
    • Alvin Oaksoe Kha
    • Arthur Sun Myint
    • Aung Myint
    • Aung Win Chiong
    • Aye Set Kyaw
    • Bo Zaw Win
    • Chit Aung
    • Cynthia Tin
    • David Chee
    • Grace Thuzar
    • Ed A Tut
    • Florence Aung
    • Freddie Swe
    • Htin Myaing
    • Janet Maung
    • Jenny Khine
    • Khin Khine
    • Khin Lay
    • Khin Ma Ma Aye
    • Khin Maung Zaw
    • Khin Myitzu Win
    • Khin Sabai
    • Khine Lwin
    • Khine Khine Min Naing
    • Kyaw Min Thein
    • Kyaw Win
    • Lily Chan
    • Lily Chen
    • Lily Taw
    • May Oo
    • May Thinn Swe Zaw
    • Myitzu Hmwe
    • Myo Kyaw Myint and Ohnmar
    • Ohm Winn
    • Ohnmar Thatun
    • Peggy Nut
    • Rosie Mai Khin Nyunt
    • San San Mya
    • San San Myint
    • Sandy Tin
    • Sherlie Bwa
    • Shin Nyein Mel
    • Sithu Naing
    • Soe Aung
    • Than Than Hman
    • Theingi Lwin
    • Theingi Tingyi
    • Thethtar M Thwe
    • Thuzar Myo Shin
    • Thynn Thynn Khaing
    • Tin Ma Phyu
    • V Nyunt Wai
    • Wai Wai Lwin
    • Win Aung
    • Win Win K Thaung
    • Vicki Sein
    • Victor Sein
    • Ye Hla
    • Yee May Kaung
    • Yi Yi Evans
    • Yi Yi Myint Rossiter
    • Dr. Zaw Min
    • …

    From the Family

    Thank you for all your remembrances and condolences,
    Lyn Swe Aye, Mimi Thabyay and Thor

    • Given current size limitations on gatherings, a family-only service will be held at Skylawn Cemetery in San Mateo.
    • A memorial service may be held at a future date.
    • In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the
      Theravada Buddhist Society of America (Aye-Thet Scholarship Fund),
      17450 S. Cabrillo Hwy. Half Moon Bay, CA 94019      .
  • Simple Joys of Life

    Simple Joys of Life

    by Hla Min

    Updated : September 2026

    Soon Kyway
    • Good Health
      Minimum effect of Jara (Aging) and Byadi
    • Diet
      Balance diet
    • Exercise
      Regular exercise
    • Sleep
      Quality sleep
    • Rest
      Vacation
    • Meditation
      Contemplation
    • Mobility
      No need for walking aid
      Not bed-ridden
    • Vision
      No need for eye glasses
      Correction via simple treatment / surgery
      No reliance on special eye drops, magnifying glasses
    • Hearing
      No need for hearing aids
      Correction via simple treatment /surgery
    • Memory
      Good Long term memory
      Good Short term memory
      No Dementia or Alzheimer’s disease
    • Critical Thinking
      Reasoning
      Decision Making
    • Vitamins
      Reasonable dosage of Classic vitamins
      Vitamin F : Friendship, Fellowship, …
      Vitamin M : Mother, Myee, …
    • Contentment
      Avoid being a Perfectionist
      Not setting unrealistic Goals
      Realist (rather than Optimist or Pessimist)
    • Alobha
      Non-greed
      Sharing of resources / Philanthropy
    • Adosa
      Non-hatred
      Loving Kindness / Unbounded Love
      Compassion / Sympathy / Empathy
      Altruistic Joy
    • Amoha
      Non-delusion
      Data processing
      Information processing
      Knowledge processing
      Cultivate Wisdom

    U Aung Myaing (ChE72) wrote :

    မျက်စိ အရှုံး နားအဆုံး တဲ့။အဓိပ္ပာယ်ကို စူးစမ်းခဲ့တယ်။ အဓိက သံသရာလွတ်ကြောင်းတရားတော်တွေနဲ့ ဒီအဆိုအမိန့် ဆက်စပ်နေပါတယ်။ က်စိမကောင်းလို့ စာမဖတ်နိုင်တော့ရင် စိတ်ရှိတိုင်း မလေ့လာနိုင်တော့တာမို့ ဘဝမှာ “ရှုံး” ပြီလို့ သတ်မှတ်လိုက်တယ်။ ဒါပေမယ့် နားကောင်းသေးတော့ လုံးဝ ဆုံးတာမဟုတ်သေးဘူး။ တရားတော်တွေကို ကြားနာလို့ရသေးလို့။ ဒါပေမယ့် နားလည်းမကြားတော့ဘူးဆိုရင်တော့ တရားတော်တွေကို ဖတ်လို့လည်းမရ။ ကြားနာလို့ မရတော့ ဘဝဆုံးပြီပေါ့။ ကျနော့် ညာဘက်မျက်လုံးက ဆယ်နှစ်ကျော်ကြာ ဆေးထိုးဆေးကုတဲ့ကြားက AMD Age-related Macular Degeneration ဖြစ်သွားတယ်။မှုန်ဝါးဝါးဘဲမြင်ရတယ်။ စာဖတ်မရဘူး။ ဘယ်ဘက်ကို သုံးလတစ်ကြိမ် checkup လုပ်ပြီး ထိန်းသိမ်းနေရတယ်။ စာဖတ်တာ လျှော့လိုက်ရတယ်။ နားကတော့ အလွန်ကောင်း။ တရားတော်တွေကို ကောင်းကောင်းနာကြားနိုင်သေးတယ်။ မရှုံးတရှုံး မဆုံးသေးတဲ့ ဘဝ။

    Notes by Hla Min :

    Most have Cataracts removed from one or both eyes. A few had Full or Partial transplant of the Cornea. Some had Retina Tear repaired. Glaucoma and several other factors can cause impaired Vision.

    Saya U Ba Toke played soccer and was active in the RU Sports Council. In his 70s and early 80s, Saya took weekly walks from his house to the Shwe Dagon pagoda. Aging gradually restricted Saya’s mobility, hearing and eye sight. Saya passed away on December 2, 2020 (the day following the RU Centennial), but a few days short of his Centennial Birthday.

    When Saya U Moe Aung encountered problem with his knee during a trip to Upper Burma to attend Ah Hlu of a Khamee Khamet, he composed a poem on “Stationary & Movement” with philosophical musings about Life, Illness and Death. A surgery relieved Saya from the use of wheel chair, but as a high school goalkeeper he values Mobility, Agility & Strength.

    Sayagadaw appreciated Saya U Moe Aung’s “Poem Gift” on her birthday.

    Bagyee Myat Myo Myint gave “Pon Tu” of the then Marla Hall Thu as a birthday present for his beloved spouse.

    Ko Aung Min (M69) used the term Vitamin F in an invitation to the 69er Annual Dinner and Entertainment.

    Saya U Moe Aung wrote :

    Actually, before suffering from knee pain, I had cataract removed from my left eye some 30 or so years back (couldn’t recall which year) and then from my right eye after a lapse of about 10 years. But, I was lucky, so to speak, that up till the present, haven’t yet encountered any problem whatsoever except the need to change the power lens for a better viewing focus.

    Aung Min

    U Aung Min (M69) wrote :

    I had right eye cornea transplant 19 years ago, but unsuccessful . Again cataract removal on left eye. Part is particularly happy she called her brother It’s OK up to now.

  • Aung Myaing

    Aung Myaing

    by Hla Min

    Updated : September 2026

    U Aung Myaing (ChE72)

    U Aung Myaing
    • Native of Okpo
    • Poet, Blogger and Musical Video Producer
    • Pen name : Okpo Maung Yin Maung
    • Admitted to RIT in 1966
    • Graduated with Chemical Engineering in 1972
    • Joined the ChE Department
    • Received two Masters : one from RIT, another from Melbourne University
    • Spouse : Daw Gyn Yu — Myeik Thu & Culinary Expert
    Ma Gyn Yu
    • Son (Min Yu Aung) & daughter (Hnin Yu Aung) — both successful
    • Taught at Rengsit University
    • Senior manager at a Refinery in Thailand
    • After retirement, spending time with his daughter and grandchildren in California, USA.

    Activities

    • Writes with the pen name “Maung Yin Maung (Okkpo)”. Not sure if the name is inspired by the first Burmese novel.
    • Author & Poet.
    • Wrote about his sayas (High School & Uni)
    • Co-author of the “Collection of Poems” by five RIT poets headed by Saya U Moe Aung (Tekkatho Moe War). One poem is about his beloved sweetheart and later his spouse Ma Gyn Yu (ChE72).
    Book of poems
    Poet
    • Organizer, Poetic Art Series & Musical Video (O Bei Myat Saya)
    • Organizer for book donation to the ChE Library & Training Component of YTU Library Modernization Project.
    • Per U Aung Myaing’s request, Saya U Maung Maung (George, ChE66) organized a fund raiser of US 3000+ for supporting the Training Component of the YTU Modernization Project.
    Library
    • Recorded with the U-70 members at a professional studio. He has posted some of them on Facebook.
    • He & Daw Gyn Yu have provided assistance to sayas and alumni visiting Bangkok especially for medical treatment.
    With Bagyee
    • Provided materials (paint, paper) to Pon Tu expert Bagyee Myat Myo Myint
    • Facilitator, Myanmar Association of Chemical Engineers; Knowlege sharing; Financial aid for needy ChE
  • Thein Aung

    Thein Aung

    by Hla Min

    Updated : September 2026

    U Thein Aung (Met 72)

    Pon Tu by Bagyee Myat Myo Myint
    • Nicknames : Saya Maung (ဆရာမောင်), Ba La Gyi (ဗလကြီး၊ ဗလာကြီး)
    • Mr. RIT (Set Hmu Maung စက်မှုမောင်) in 1968. His mentor was Bohmu Maung Maung (1st Maung Bamar မောင်ဗမာ)
    Hand over Salway to U Wynn Htain Oo (M72)
    • Joined Metallurgical Engineering Department after graduation in 1972
    • Retired from Lawrence Livermore Lab
    • Spouse : Daw San San Nyunt (Sandra, M76) : with help from Mech/Auto Saya
    • Three daughters
    • Four grand children

    Activities

    • Editor, BAPS Newsletter
    • Member, SF Bay Area Alumni Group : Later formed RIT Alumni International
    SF Bay Area Alumni Advisory Group
    • Founding member, RIT Alumni International, which hosted SPZP-2000
    SPZP-2000 Organizers
    • Co-Emcee with U Myat Htoo at SPZP-2000
    • Associate Editor, Commemorative Issue of RIT Alumni Newsletter

    Gatherings

    • SPZP-2012
    SPZP-2012
    • Pu Zaw Pwe
    At Pu Zaw Pwe
    • With Sayadaw U Jotika (EP73)
    With Sayadaw U Jotika (EP73)
    • Welcoming Sayas, e.g U Soe Paing (EE, UCC)
    U Soe Paing
    • With ChE Sayas & Alumni
    Welcoming Saya U Aung Myaing (ChE72) and Daw Gyn Yu (ChE72)

    Metallurgical Engineering Reunion

    • at 2015 RIT Alumni Reunion in LA and iNapa Winery : Saya U Win Kyaw (Met71), Saya U Thein Aung (Met72), Saya U Nyunt Htay (Met73) and Ko Thiri Nyunt (Met)
    Gathering at iNapa Winery 1
    Gathering at iNapa Winery 2
    Gathering at iNapa Winery 3
  • Saw Lin

    Saw Lin

    by Hla Min

    Updated : September 2026

    U Saw Lin (C71, GBNF)

    • Secretary, RIT Civil Engineering Association; Predecessors — U Hla Myint Thein (C69), U Myo Khin (C70); Successor — U Ko Ko Gyi (C72)
    Secretaries, RIT Civil Engineering Association
    • Graduated with Civil Engineering in 1971
    U & Mrs. Saw Lin
    • Retired MD, Kyay Ni project
    U Saw Lin & Dr. San Hla Aung

    SPZP-2012

    SPZP Meeting
    • Logistics
    • Security
    • Publications
    U Moe Aung and U Saw Lin
    • Chief Editor, Swel Daw Yeik Magazine
    Swel Daw Yeik Magazine Committee
    • Reprinted 23 RIT Annual Magazines
    • Hosted tour to selected sayas

    Reunion

    • Sayas
    • Alumni
    Civil Engineering Sayas and Alumni

    MES

    • VP
    • Editor & Publisher, Tech Magazine

    Memories

    • Gave me rides during my visit to Yangon in March & December 2012
    • Gave a welcome dinner at Feel restaurant for me and gave me an autographed copy of RIT Cartoons
    RIT Cartoons
    Welcome dinner

    Attendees : U Hla Min (EC69), U Ohn Khine (M70), Saya U Aung (C70), U Saw Lin (C71), Rosie Mai Khin Nyunt (ChE71), U Khin Maung Myint (ChE71)

    • Took me to SPZP meeting; Gave me dinner on the way back; Learned about his medical conditions & dietary restrictions

    Health

    U Saw Lin, Spouse, Brother, Daughter & Doctor
    • He had operations about a decade ago
    • After SPZP-2012 his health declined.
    • He was admitted to ICU a couple of times.
    • He passed away in 2014
    Obituary

  • U Yu Khin

    U Yu Khin

    by Hla Min

    Update : September 2026

    Dean U Yu Khin and RU Student Athletes

    Highlights

    • Dean
    • Chairman, Sports Promotion Committee
    • Former National Doubles Champion in Badminton
    • Registrar, Rangoon University
      Helped the establishment of RC (Recreation Center)
    • Former Warden, Prome Hall
      known for excellent Soccer teams
    • Later moved to Bagan Road Residence
    • After retirement from RU, he was offered lucrative job as Consultant in several countries. He opted to stay in Burma and found IFL (Institute of Foreign Languages).
    • Spouse : Dr. Daw Phay
      who was close to Dr. Daw Yin May and helped deliver Dr. Thane Oke Kyaw Myint (Johnny Kyaw Myint), U Htin Kyaw (Peter Wun) and several others.
    • Children :
      Dr. Marie Yu Khin (Medical doctor in Australia, GBNF)
      Dr. Richard Yu Khin (Economist in USA, GBNF)

    Dr. Richard Yu Khin

    Highlights

    • Matriculated from MEHS in 1961
    • Also passed GCE
    • Represented Rangoon University & Burma in 1961 SEAP Games held in Rangoon.
      Teamed up with U Maung Maung Lwin (Jamie, Commodore of Rangoon Sailing Club, Olympian weightlifter, Publisher) to win a Gold Medal in Yachting.
    • Left RU before graduation to pursue studies in the USA.
    • Doctorate in Economics from Yale University.
    • Lived in Dallas, Texas.
    • Had two Facebook pages :
      one for Personal,
      another for Sailing
    • Now GBNF

    Contributions

    • Shared a photo of the Rangoon University Athletes who represented Burma in the Second SEAP Games held in Rangoon in December 1961.
    • Commented on my post on Swimming. A Japanese coach trained selected swimmers led by Tin Maung Ni and including Richard Yu Khin.
    • Commented on my post on Matriculates. Provided information about top MEHS matriculates.
    • Posted about former sayas and students of MEHS.
    • Posted a photo of Pagan and Sagaing Road residents.
      Children of U Yu Khin, U Wun (Minthuwun), U Thein Han (Zawgyi) and U Myo Min (English Professor) became Ph.Ds, medical doctors and professors.
    Residents of Pagan and Sagaing Road

    Richard Yu Khin’s Post
    (in 2018)

    If you have spare time visit “Hla Min” Facebook page which provides excellent & amazing historical information of my generation. I have for years been trying to find information about Ko Ba Min who kindly met me at the helicopter landing site when I arrived at Berkeley, California in August 1963. I was trying to decide whether to attend UC-Berkeley or Yale. I stayed a week in Berkeley, 4 days at the International House and 3 days at Ko Ba Min’s apartment because I became home-sick. Every one there told me to choose Yale. Ko Ba Min then was studying for a Master’s degree in Mathematics at UC-Berkeley. I have often wondered what happened to Ko Ba Min. On “Hla Min” website I found out Ko Ba Min returned to Burma to teach Mathematics and Astronomy and then resigned for medical reasons. Thank you for that information. During my teenage years Ko Ba Min and Peter Kyaw Sein would frequently visit Pagan Road to view the belles of our neighborhood.

    ____

    At Berkeley I met Dr. U Myint (later Economic Advisor to President Thein Sein) who was preparing to defend his PhD dissertation and a Burma state scholar studying for PhD in physics or chemistry. Miss Cobb who is a friend of my aunt when she attended UC-Berkeley in 1950 took me on a tour of San Francisco. She told me to visit her cousin who was the Chaplain at Yale University. Reverend Coffin later became leader of the anti-Vietnam War movement in USA.

    Comments

    • Oak Soe Kha wrote :
      Lived at Pagan Road as well, opposite Richard’s house. We are childhood friends, hanging out in the University campus. My father (Dr. Maung Maung Kha) and uncle Yu Khin worked close together. Apart from us, U Aung Khin (Chemistry), U Ba Nyunt (Chit Doke Kha, History) were residents of Pagan Road also. Professor U Myo Min (English) lived on Sagaing Road, as did Dr. Htin Aung (Rector) and not Pagan Road.
    • Ko Ba Min matriculated from St. Paul’s High School in 1956.
      He studied Maths and Astronomy at University of California at Berkeley. After returning from USA, he stayed with his brother in the Port Commissioner Quarters in Windermere Crescent (off Inya Road). Played records (such as Peter, Paul and Mary; Joan Baez) that he brought back from the USA. He taught at Rangoon University and Mandalay University. When he was transferred to Myitkyina College, he resigned citing his health. He ran a shop in Zay Cho. Japanese tourists were surprised and delighted to find out that Ko Ba Min studied with their professor at Berkeley. They took photos of Ko Ba Min to show to their professor.
    • U Kyaw Sein is an early graduate from Rangoon University (in 1928). He served as Chief Engineer of National Housing Board. Children : Peter Kyaw Sein (GBNF), Victor Kyaw Sein, Ruby Kyaw Sein …
  • U Tun Shwe

    U Tun Shwe

    by Hla Min

    Updated : September 2026

    ဆရာ ဦးထွန်းရွှေ (စက်မှု အင်ဂျင်နီယာ 1960)

    U Tun Shwe 1
    • Graduated in 1960 and joined the Faculty.
    • Taught until retirement at the Mechanical Engineering Department at RIT.
    • Patron of several RIT-related organizations and activities.
    • Took care of his mentor Sayagyi U Ba Than during the SPZPs held at Singapore.
    • Looks young and active as ever.
    U Tun Shwe 2

    နာယက Patron

    ကျောင်းသားဟောင်း အသင်း အစည်းအဝေး Alumni Meeting

    မှတ်တမ်း (တချို.) Selected Documents

    ရန်ကုန်တက္ကသိုလ် ဝန်ထမ်း

    နိုဝင်ဘာ 1960

    လက်ထောက် ကထိက Assistant Lecturer

    ဘွဲ့ လက်မှတ် Degree

    ထောက်ခံစာ Testimonial

    2018 All Mechanical Gathering at Dolphin Restaurant

    • with Saya U Tin Htut
    All Mech Gathering

    Meeting

    • With Saya U Myo Kyi
    Sayas U Tun Shwe & U Myo Kyi

    2015

    • He attended 2015 RIT Alumni Reunion in Los Angeles. He was hosted by his cousin
      U Win Htay (Walter, M70).

    2024

    • In 2024, U Wynn Htain Oo (M72) recorded videos of the Sagar Waing စကားဝိုင်း with Saya. It was to help celebrate the 60th Anniversary of RIT.