Category: Hla Min

by Hla Min

Update : 19th October 2026

69ers

• 69ers used to have Monthly Breakfast Gathering usually at Royal Rose Restaurant.
• Some gatherings were suspended during the pandemic.

Ko Aung Myaing & Ma Gyn Yu

Soon Kyway

NorCal RITAA

Myees

by Hla Min

Update : 19th October 2026

U Tin U

Memories of U Tin U

U Thein Han

• Former Systems Engineer, IBM Burma
• Passed away in Springfield, Maryland in September 2025
• He celebrated his 96th birthday on March 1, 2025

U San Tun

• M59
• MS from MIT
• Head, Automobile Engineering — subdepartment of Mechanical
• Past President, BEA

Dr. U Win

• Former staff, Geography Department, Rangoon University
• Passed away in Salinas, California, USA on 9th September, 2025

Dhamma Friends

Daw Aye Aye Lyn

U Kyi Toe

• Spouse : Daw Than Nyein
• Children : Su Kyi & Kyi Phyu

Musicians

Victor Khin Nyo

• Played for several bands
• Shades
• LPJ
• Thamankyar
• Playboy

by Hla Min

Update : 19th October 2026

Recent GBNF in 2026

Relatives & Friends

• Daw Khin Khin Htwe / Flora — Maryland; Retd Librarian, US Library of Congress
• Daw Khin Khin Hla (spouse of U Wah Kyu) — California
• U Kyaw Swar Than / Harold Than Pe — California
• U Lin Kyi (C74) — California
• U San Oo (EC85) — Singapore
• Daw May Than Nwe (Geologist) — California

M72 — GBNF

ChE73

Relatives

U Tin U’s Family

• U Tin U — Aug 2025
• Dr. Khin Kyi Nyunt — Nov 2019
• Dr. “Peter “ Khin Tun — Apr 2020
• U Tin Tun — May 2020

U Tin U

U Ba Than’s Family

• U Ba Than
• Daw Mya Mya
• Eldest child — daughter

Dr. Daw Win Hlaing’s Family

• Dr. Daw Win Hlaing / Ruby — 2026
• Dr. Henri B

Daw Myint Thwe’s Family

• Daw Myint Thwe — May 2024
• Dr. Freddie Ba Hli
• Min Thet Tun / Pho Htoo

Dr. Myo Tint’s Family

• Dr. Myo Tint
• စန္ဒီ

RU Staff

Dr. U Win

Geography

Dr. Khin Nwe Soe

Chemistry

Dhamma Friends

Daw Aye Aye Lyn

TBSA

U Kyi Toe

MARB

• Spouse : Daw Than Nyein
• Children : Su Kyi & Kyi Phyu

by Hla Min

Update : 19th October 2026

Frederick Thetgyi (M69) hosted the trip to Philadelphia.

by Hla Min

Update : 18th October 2026

Let Oo Sayas

• My beloved parents

U Tin Gyi’s Family

Old photos processed by Myo Kyawswar

Seven Sisters

• Laura Tin Gyi
• Sarah Tin Gyi
• Nora Tin Gyi
• Icy Tin Gyi
• Margaret Tin Gyi
• Olga Tin Gyi
• Cherry Tin Gyi

Daw Khin Swe Hla (Icy)

• Daw Lay’s Circle, Guardian newspaper
• Editor for Modern Burmese Writings, Working People’s Daily
• Spouse : Col. Myint Han

Dr. Khin Kyi Nyunt (Cherry)

• Youngest of Tin Gyi Siblings
• Spouse : U Tin U
• Eldest son : Dr. Khin Tun / Peter (MRCP, former Dean of Oxford University) succumbed to Covid on April 13, 2020; First NIH doctor in UK to be victim of Covid
• Daughter : Daw Aye Aye Khin — B.Com, CPA
• Younger son : Dr. Ye Myint (UK, Specialist on ER & related areas); Gave lectures & seminars in Myanmar

Win Latt (UCC)

• Author, Win Horo
• Co-founder, SysMagic

Myint Swe (EP74) & San San (EC74)

• Super Chefs
• Gave me rides to gatherings

Saya U Sein Mg & Saya U Moe Aung

• Two EE sayas
• Attended Saya Pu Zaw Pwe

by Hla Min

Update : 18th October 2026

Inaugural Issue in 1969

Second Issue in 1970

Third Issue in 1971

Fourth Issue in 1972

Golden Anniversary Issue

Chief Editors include

• Saya Dr. Aung Gyi
• Saya U Aung Hla Tun
• Saya U Moe Aung

by Hla Min

Update : 18th October 2026

Saya Dr. San Hla Aung

in SF Bay Area

• Saya retired as Professor at Tulane University at the age of 80.
• After retirement, Saya moved to New York to be with his daughter.
• He visited the SF Bay Area to be with his son and to attend RIT gatherings.
• Saya’s children are requesting for old photos of Saya at RU and RIT for compiling a Commemorative Album / Book for Saya.
• Saya posted several articles for RIT Alumni Newsletter.
• Saya served as Line Judge at RUBC Regattas with Saya H Num Kok (GBNF) and Saya U Sein Win (GBNF).
• Saya received a Gold Medal for being Top Graduate of Civil 1958.
• Saya received MS from MIT and Ph.D from Tulane University.

Sophia’s Wedding in LA

• Saya U Tin Htut (M60) — Co-founder and Past President, BASES

• Saya Dr. Tin Win (M62) — Past President, BASES

• U Khin Maung Lay / Henry (T68) — Past President, BASES

Parents of Bride

• U Aye Htoon (C83) — President, BASES
• Daw Violet ခရမ်း — Treasurer, BASES

U Aung Myaing & Daw Gyn Yu

They spend time in Thailand and California, USA.

Soon Kyway

• Saya Dr. San Hla Aung (C68)
• Daw Mu Mu Kin
• Saya U Maung Maung / George (ChE66) & spouse
• U Hla Min (EC69) & spouse
• Saya Ko Thein Aung (Met72) & spouse Ma San San Nyunt (M77)
• Trixie Tan (ChE72)
• Saya Ko Aung Myaing (ChE72) & Ma Gyn Yu (ChE72)
• Ko Kyi Aung / Roland Chen (ChE73)

• Robert Hla Thein (M72)
• Kyaw Kyaw Htet : spouse of Ma Gyn Yu’s niece
• Another young alumnus (forgot his name)

NorCal RITAA Gathering

• ChE sayas and alumni

Myees

• Son & daughter of Min Yu Aung
• Two daughters of Hnin Yu Aung

by Hla Min

Update : 10th October 2026

Interview by HMEE

Several Sayas were interviewed for the HMEE (History of Myanmar Engineering Ecucation) Project.

Saya U Tin U

• U Soe Paing (EE, UCC) interviewed U Tin U (C).
• U Tin U joined RU in 1946 and attended Engineering classes before studying in the USA.
• BS in Civil Engineering from Oregon State University
• MS in Civil Engineering from Yale.
• He taught Part-time at Rangoon University while working for a private Construction Company.
• Treasurer, BSCE (Burma Society of Civil Engineers)
• He is the Most Senior & Oldest Past Captain of RUBC and Past Captain of RGC.

U Khin Aung Kyi (GBNF)

• U Ohn Khine (M70) and team interviewed Saya U Khin Aung Kyi.
• He joined RU in 1949 and attended Engineering classes before studying in the USA.
• BS and MS in Chemical Engineering at MIT.
• He served as Professor and Head of Chemical Engineering, and as Rector of RIT (1977 – 1988).

Interview by Gazettes

• Mandalay Gazette and Myanmar Gazette interviewed selected Sayas and Alumni.
• U Maung Maung Kyi founded Mandalay Gazette.
• Thakin Kai Bhor is Chief Editor and Publisher of Myanmar Gazette. He earlier served as Editor and Technical Advisor for Mandalay Gazette.
• I was interviewed by Mandalay Gazette several years ago.

• Saya U Min Wun and Saya Dr. Tin Win were interviewed by Myanmar Gazette.

Interview by AZMTV

• U Htaik San (Henry Kao, M81) is Past President of Burmese Associations in Southern California.
• He is Past Captain and Gold of RUBC.
• He and his spouse helped run AZMTV. They and their team interviewed selected sayas and alumni who attended 2015 RIT Alumni Reunion in Los Angeles.
• Henry sent me links to the videos (published in You Tube). I have posted the links.

Saya U Min Wun

• He joined RU in 1949 and attended Engineering classes before studying in the USA.
• BS from MIT and MS frim Cornell.
• He served as Professor and Head of Civil Engineering before moving to USA.
• He retired from Caltrans at the age of 80.
• He was a member of Myanmar Pyeik Ka Dein Ah Phwe.
• He wrote articles for RIT Alumni International Newsletter.
• Saya passed away in Southern California.

Saya U Myo Myint Sein (A58)

• He is from the first batch of Architecture graduates.
• He received MS from Michigan.
• He served as Professor and Head of Architecture before moving to USA.
• He served as Consultant / Lecturer and also authored books.
• He wrote for Swel Daw Yeik Magazine and HMEE.
• He played soccer for Engineering and RU.
• He was President of RU ConBro Association.

Life Journey of Saya U Ba Toke

• Tekkatho Maung Thin Char တက္ကသိုလ်မောင်သင်္ချာ Saya (Dr. Khin Maung Swe, GBNF) interviewed Sayagyi U Ba Toke (GBNF).
• The tapes were transcribed by his spouse Sayama Daw Myint Myint Khaing ဒေါ်မြင့်မြင့်ခိုင်daughter of Arzani Mahn Ba Khaing အာဇာနည်မန်းဘခိုင်)
• The book was sponsored by RU Thin Char Ah Thinn ရန်ကုန်တက္ကသိုလ်သင်္ချာမိသားစုas a birthday present for Sayagyi.

Interview by Yangon Media

Saya U Thet Lwin (Maung Ngwe Hlinne)

• He matriculated from St. Paul’s High School.
• He taught Burmese at the Institute of Economics.
• He transferred to RIT as Registrar.
• He retired as Director from DHE.
• He received a Dat Pya and a remuneration of K100 for his song “Mya Kyun Nyo”. The song has been sung at RU Centennial and SPZPs. He played the song for a special TV program.
• Patron of RIT Ah Nu Pyinnya Ah Thinn
• Publisher of RIT Annual Magazine

Saya U Moe Aung (Tekkatho Moe War)

• He matriculated from St. John’s Dio.
• He was Editor of RUESU Annual Magazine and learned first hand about early Printing systems.
• Poet
• Author of five books
• Chief Editor of RIT Annual Magazine, Hlyat Sit Sar Saung, Swel Daw Yeik Sar Saung (for SPZPs in 2002, 2007 and 2010) and Swel Daw Yeik Magazine (for Shwe YaDu 2014 and SPZP-2016).
• He was interviewed for TV and Journals.

by Hla Min

Updated : 10th October 2026

Awards

• I have three Appreciation Award.
• The first was given to me at SPZP-2000 (First RIT Grand Reunion & Saya Pu Zaw) for founding the RIT Alumni Newsletter in 1999, and serving as Content Provider & Editor for ex-rit website and as Core Organizer for SPZP.

• I received the second one at the Birthday Soon Kyway Gathering at Dhammanda Vihara in Half Moon Bay, California in August 2016.

• I received the third one at the Annual Dinner of NorCal RIT Alumni Association.

HMEE

• In 2012, the HMEE (History of Myanmar Engineering Education) team led by Saya U Aung Hla Tun published the HMEE book.

• U Ohn Khine (M70) and I compiled the CD supplement. The books were sold at SPZP-2012 (Sixth RIT Reunion & Saya Pu Zaw Pwe).

• Several copies were donated to Universities’ Central Library and YTU (Yangon Technological University).

SPZP-2016

• Bagyee Myat Myo Myint (U Myo Myint) had an exhibition booth at SPZP-2016. He sold several paintings and donated some earnings to SPZP Organizing Committee.
• U Myo Aung and I took a photo at the booth.

Weekly Routine

• Ride a stationary bike for 30 minutes daily.
• Learn new things.
• Listen to Dhamma CDs, Blinkist, “Word of the Day” from Merriam Webster and selected “Language courses”.
• Write articles for RIT Updates and my Facebook Groups
• Revise old posts on my website hlamin.com

Memory

• Have an excellent Associative Memory.
• Know thousands of names and words.
• Do not use notes to write articles, poems & translations. My readers point out typos, errors & inconsistencies. They provide information and suggestions for improvement.

My Nicknames

• “Jack of all Trades and Master of some”
• “Walking Dictionary”
• “Spelling Checker”
• Mini-Encyclopedia”
• “Pre-Google Search Engine”
• “Tone Kyaw”

History

• A teacher told me, “You cannot make money by studying History”.
• There are Social & Intellectual Currencies.
• Learned interesting stories from a former student leader, Say Saya ဆေးဆရာ (who lost his wife to his Political Boss), elders who experienced WWII, barbers and cab drivers.
• Docent at Computer History Museum for two years
• Member of “History of Myanmar Engineering Education” project. U Ohn Khine (M70) and I compiled the CD Supplement for HMEE book.
• Moderator for Rangoon University Centennial FB Group
• Speaker for “U Thant Centennial” in SF Bay Area.
• I have honored Mentors, Benefactors and Pioneers in my posts.

Utility

• A manager said, “What’s the use of learning about your colleagues’ hobbies?”
• I know only a fraction of sayas & colleagues, but I appreciate their achievements & expertise.

Some Thoughts

• A Veda Saya (who has passed away) predicted that my works will be appreciated.
• Wrote many articles over five decades. 2500+ posts can be read from my website hlamin.com. They might help researchers, educators, folklorists & historians.
• Edited articles and books for selected Sayadaws & friends.
• Translated poems & articles.
• Volunteered as translator / interpreter at Dhamma Lectures & Meditation Retreats.
• Saya Dr. Aung Gyi (former Rector of Rangoon Institute of Technology) said, “I cannot reply to all your mails with links to your posts. I appreciate what you have done for the RIT Community.”
• I have served as volunteer for the RIT Community for 27 years. The smiles of our sayas and colleagues give me Second Wind.
• I still have good physical and mental health.
• 45% of our Class of 69 are GBNF. Several succumbed to Covid. I had six doses of Covid vaccine. I also had RSV.
• U Zaw Min Nawaday (EP70) said, “I hope to die before you, so that our friends can read about me in your posts.” Hope he will live to 100.

Related Posts

• Memories of 69er, PBRS, RUBC, SPHS, UCC
• My Beliefs
• My Dream
• My Passion
• My Writings