Category: RIT

In the early days, there were three disciplines : Civil, Mechanical and Electrical. The courses were mainly taught by British and Indian sayas.

Early EE Sayas

Saya U Kyaw Tun (Class of 48) is an early EE saya. He is a saya of our sayas. His students include Saya U Sein Hlaing and Saya U Tin Swe. He served as President of the RIT EE Association and Patron of the Hlyat Sit Sar Saung Committee. “Doctor” Tin Aung Win wrote about Sayagyi for SPZP-2000.

Saya C Ping Lee (who studied in the US) joined Saya U Kyaw Tun. He later headed the Directorate of Technical Education and Vocational Training per H.E. U Than Aung (his teacher at SPHS). Dr. Win Aung (M62, iNEER) wrote about his father in “Count down to the Reunion” for SPZP-2000. He hosted a dinner at the first RIT Reunion in East Coast.

EE Department and Options

The EE department offered two options : EC (Electrical Communications) and EP (Electrical Power). It would take a long time before EC and EP would become separate departments. EC was later also called as EcE and Electronics [Engineering].

Senior EE Sayas

Saya U Sein Hlaing attended RU in 1946 (when it was reopened after three years of closure due to the war). He joined the EE department after graduation in 1952. He received MS from MIT. He taught EC classes. Saya retired as Professor and Head of EE. He passed away a couple of years after retirement.

Saya U Tin Swe joined RU in 1947. He was a member of the Prome Hall soccer team which won consecutive Inter-Hall tournament trophy. He is also a good tennis player. He joined the faculty in 1953. He received MS from the University of Michigan. He was a power user at UCC. He worked on EE programs with U Aung Kyaw Pe (EP69) and Dr. Sann Oo (EP67). He taught EP classes. He retired as Lecturer.

Saya U Sein Win received MS from the University of Michigan. He retired as Professor of EP. He served as Technical Advisor of UCC and Line Judge at RUBC regattas. He was President of RIT Rowing & RIT Swimming Associations. Saya is an absent-minded Professor (see Saya U Sein Win joke).

Saya U Htin Paw (EE58) received two Gold Medals. He received MS from the University of Michigan. He transferred to UBARI (his scholarship sponsor) and retired from Electrical Inspectorate. He served as President of BEA and TBSA.

Saya U Myo Kyi (EE59) and Saya Dr. Ba Lwin (EE59) are the most senior (among sayas that are alive and well).

Saya U Myo Kyi gave me two lists of EE sayas and sayamas : the seniors and the juniors.

Saya U Thein Lwin (GBNF) received MS from Lehigh University. He was President of the RIT Badminton Association. After retirement, he taught at Singapore Polytechnic. Saya and his spouse (Sayama Daw May Than Nwe) passed within a few months of each other.

Saya Dr. San Tint (EE61) retired as Professor of EC. He played on the RIT saya soccer team along with Saya U Soe Paing. He requested former students for a Book Drive.

Saya U Soe Paing received his BS and MS from Stanford University. He co-founded UCC with Sayagyi Dr. Chit Swe, Saya U Myo Min and Saya U Ko Ko Lay (GBNF). He retired from UN. He was my mentor at UCC.

Saya Dr. Win Tin (EE63) served as Associate Dean at Assumption University.

Saya U Soe Min (EE63, GBNF) transferred to DCA.

Saya U Ba Myint (EE63) retired as Pro-Rector.

Saya U Khaing Oo (EE63) studied briefly at UCC before going to Japan on a scholarship.

Saya U Moe Aung (EE63) is a Laureate Poet. I wrote several posts about his literary and social activities (e.g Editor, Publisher, Chair of SPZP-2002 and SPZP-2010, Patron of SDYF and ARITA).

Saya U Sein Maung (EE63) and Saya U Tin Shwe (EP66, Uzin, GBNF) taught at Assumption University.

Miscellaneous

• Saya U Ba Nyunt (EE58, MOC)
• Saya L Tun Htun (Dr. Chris Lee, EE59, NASA, BASES)
• Saya U Nyi Nyi (EE63, UK)
• Sayama Daw Mya Mya Than (EP68, GBNF)
• Saya U Tin Win (EE71, UCC, FRI)
• H.E. U Aye Myint (EP72)
• Saya U Ko Ko Kyi (EC72, Canada)
• Sai Kham Pan (EP69, Badminton)
• U Soe Myint Lwin (EP68, Soccer)
• U Myo Myint (EC67, RUBC Gold in 1962)
• U Thaung Lwin (EC66, Captain and RUBC Gold in 1963)
• U Shwe Win, Mehm Ye Win and U Hla Min served as Secretary of RIT EE Association

Related articles / posts

There are several posts by and/or about EE sayas and alumni in the RIT Alumni International Newsletter, Hlyat Sit Sar Saung, Swel Daw Yeik Sar Saung, my FB pages and my web site hlamin.com

They include

• A sad and short clip : EE sayas
• Saya U Htin Paw (EE58, GBNF)
• Saya U Sein Win (GBNF)
• Saya U Thein Lwin (GBNF)
• Saya U Soe Paing (EE, UCC)
• List of EE sayas (compiled by Saya U Myo Kyi (EE59)
• Saya U Moe Aung (Tekkatho Moe War, EE63)
• Saya U Tin Shwe (EP66, GBNF)
• EE69ers
• We Eleven
• Steeve Kay (U Thaung Sein, EC70)
• U Zaw Min Nawaday (EP70)
• Dr. San Oo (EP67) and Daw Than Yi (EP70)
• U Ko Ko Kyi (EC72)
• Dr. Htay Lwin Nyo (EP74, UCC)
• U Khin Maung Zaw (EC76, UCC)
• U Htay Aung (EC80, UCC)
• …
• Several GBNF lists
• Class Photos
• EC/EP Pu Zaw Pwes

And many weekends spent away from your family as well? If you can then you probably are a member of the RIT Grand Reunion and Saya Pu Zaw Pwe organizing committee.

It all began one day several months ago when we met over lunch at Benny Tan’s home in Hillsborough. Ko Hla Min and Ko Khin Maung Zaw among the lunch party had started the RIT Alumni website and were receiving enthusiastic responses. Hearing that the duo were carrying on the project all by themselves we decided to throw in our moral and financial support to assure its survival, realizing that it was providing a needed service for the RIT alumni to locate and communicate with each other. Every one present, ten of us at that time, took out our checkbooks and wrote out one hundred dollars each, with promises of more as needed. We informally called ourselves the RIT Alumni Bay Area Group. I was asked to be the group leader.

After that fateful event we continue to have regular meetings, hosted in turn at the homes of some among group members: Ko Hla Min, Maurice Chee, Ko Myat Htoo, Ko Thein Aung, and most recently Dr Nyo Win. Did I leave out any one? Ah yes! Ko Myint Swe and San San Swe. All the while the membership continues to grow and our objective keeps on changing from support of the website to some vague dream of a future RIT alumni organization on a global scale and finally settled on a plan for RIT Alumni Grand Reunion at the beginning of the 21st Century. Ko Hla Min broached the idea to include Saya Pu Zaw Pwe as part of the Grand Reunion in keeping with the Myanmar custom of honoring one’s teachers. As our plan jelled we got carried away by our own excitement and started talking about holding the reunion before the end of the Year 2000. After all, ending one millennium successfully augers well for success in the next millennium.

Before we fully realized what we were up to we have found an ideal site, the Embassy Suites Hotel conference hall near the San Francisco International Airport, and found ourselves making a commitment for a definite date, 28 October 2000 and a attendance fee of fifty dollars, a modest amount to encourage maximum number of Alumni to participate. The minimum capacity of the conference hall is 200 seats and we were required to make down payment and sign a rental and service agreement based on 200 seatings. Our most optimistic estimate at the time was 100 attendees. If the attendance is low that means the Bay Area Group, as the Organizing Committee
was not in force at the time, will have to make up the short fall. Which could amount to as much as five thousand dollars, or five hundred dollar from each group member. We hesitated a moment to reflect on what that means to us individually in terms of diminished spending power. But, in the end our attachment to RIT and the engineering profession, our sincere desire to meet the Sayas and class mates from whom we were separated for long over came us. We will accept the risks.

Thus was born the preparations in full swing for the Grand RIT Reunion and Saya Pu Zaw Pwe. Others must tell the rest of the story – of struggles, compromises, and elations along the way and from participants themselves what it means to be present at the defining moment in the history of RIT Alumni.

Allen Htay,
RIT Alumni International – Bay Area Group
RIT Grand Reunion and Saya Pu Zaw Pwe Organizing Committee

Editor’s Note :

Saya Allen is a founding member of RIT Alumni International and served as its President.
In Memory of Saya Allen, Daw Mu Mu Khin has donated Saya’s books to the YTU Library and has sponsored scholarships to eligible YTU students.