Category: RIT Saya

by Hla Min

Updated : May 2026

Singapore (SPZP-2007)

Attendees include

• U Maung Maung Win (M61, Australia)
• Dr. Tin Win (M62, USA)
• U Aung Myint (M69, Singapore)
• U Tin Htut (M60, USA)

Sayas in 2009

69ers celebrated 40th Anniversary of graduation with Reunion and Acariya Pu Zaw Pwe.

The sayas include

• U Thein Lwin (E, GBNF)
• Dr. Win Thein (M)
• U Tun Shwe (M)
• U Thit (Met, GBNF)
• U Myo Myint Sein (A)
• U Khin Aung Kyi (Ch, GBNF)
• Dr. Ba Lwin (E)
• Dr. Ba Myint (E)
• U Myo Kyi (E)
• Dr. Pe Win (Met)
• U Han Tun (M, GBNF)
• Daw Tin Tin Myint (Ch)
• U S. Kyaw Aye (M, GBNF)
• U Khine Oo (E)
• U C. Maung (C)
• U Sein Maung (E)
• U Aung Hla Tun (Met, GBNF)
• U Tin Shwe (E, GBNF)
• Dr. Thaung Myint (Math)
• U Soe Paing (E)
• U Moe Aung (E)
• U S. Arya (M, GBNF)
• Dr. Kyaw Win (Pet)
• U Soe Lwin (M, GBNF)
• U Tin Maung (C)
• U Win (M)
• U Phone Myint (M)
• U Ngwe Tun (C, GBNF)

New Jersey (2018)

Ivan Lee (M69) & team hosted the RIT-UCC Gathering in New Jersey in 2018.

The sayas include

• U Aung Myint (M)
• U Htun Aung Kyaw (Ch)
• U Soe Paing (E)
• Dr. Aung Gyi (C, Rector)
• Dr. San Hla Aung (C)
• Dr. Tin Win (M)
• Dr. Ohn Myint (C)

U Ba Toke (GBNF)

Saya is a Phwa Bet Taw of Rangoon University & the First RU Students’ Strike in December 1920.

Memories

• On behalf of the Combined 1st BE Intake of 64 and 65, U Khin Maung Myint (ChE71) offered Garawa money to Sayagyi.

• Pansy Thin provided transportation for Saya U Ba Than, Saya U Tin Htut and me

• Birthday celebration with Six (of Eight) Children. Sayagadaw, son & daughter are GBNF.

Allen Htay (C58, GBNF)

Saya served as President of the RIT Alumni International, which hosted SPZP-2000.

1966 Thingyan

Memories

U Tin Shwe (EP66, GBNF)

• Taught at RIT and Assumption University
• After retirement, Saya became a monk.
• Swel Daw Yeik Foundation provided some financial assistance during his hospitalization.
• Saya U Moe Aung (Tekkatho Moe War) wrote “To the Shwe Duo” in memory of Saya U Tin Shwe and Saya U Hla Shwe (T69).

U Tin Lin (ChE72)

• Taught at RIT and at a Polytechnic in Singapore.
• Organizer, SPZPs in Singapore
• Annotated Pon Tu’s of Sayas (by Bagyee Myat Myo Myint & archived by Saya U Kyaw Sein)
• Donated K2 Lakhs to the YTU Library Modernization Project.

U Tin Htut (M60)

• Captain & Gold of RUBC
• Founder & Past President of BASES
• Financial Controller, 2015 RIT Alumni Reunion in Los Angeles
• Donated K100 Lakhs for the YTU Library Modernization Project
• Donated K10 Lakhs to Swel Daw Yeik Foundation
• Donated to the All-Mechanical Gathering

Memories

U Thet Lwin

• Taught Burmese at the Institute of Economics
• Registrar of RIT
• Retired as Director of DHE
• Pen name : “Tekkatho Maung Ngwe Hlinne”.
• Composed “Mya Kyun Nyo Nyo Kun Yeik Kho”

Memories

Dr. San Hla Aung (C58)

• Taught at RIT and the University of New Orleans.
• Seen with former students : Saya U Nyi Hla Nge (C69) and U Saw Lin (C71, GBNF).

S Kyaw Aye (M63, GBNF)

Elder brother of my classmate Abdul Raof (EP69).

U Thein Lwin (EE, GBNF)

• President, RIT Badminton
• Taught at RIT EE and Singapore Polytechnic

Memories

• With oldies in Singapore

U Soe Paing (EE)

• Taught at RIT EE and UCC
• Co-founder, UCC
• Retiree, UN

Memories

U Shwe Hlaing (Maths)

• Taught Engineering Maths & Computer Programmer
• Helped UCC Project

U Ngwe Tun (C, GBNF)

• Taught at RIT Civil
• Owned bookshop

U Myat Htoo (C68)

• Taught at RIT Civil
• Retired from CalTrans
• Founding member, RIT Alumni International
• Co-emcee, SPZP-2000
• Founding member & BOD Chair, NorCal RITAA

Memories

U Moe Aung (EE)

• See posts : Tekkatho Moe War, EE Sayas, Swel Daw Yeik Magazine, Swel Daw Yeik Sar Saung, Kabyars, Translation

Memories

U Lin (M66)

• Rowing
• Buddhist Association
• SPZP

Memories

U Kyaw Myint (M/Auto64)

• UN projects in Beijing
• Moved to California
• Patron, TDS

U Ba Than (M)

• Several posts : Mech Sayas, HMEE, Dana

Memories

U Ba Myint (EE)

• Retired as Pro-Rector
• Taught at RIT EE

U Aung Khin (M)

• First native Mech Prof
• Moved to Canada
• Wrote articles for RIT Alumni Newsletter, SPZPs & HMEE

Memories

Dr. Tin Win (M62)

• See posts : Class of 62, BASES, Mech Engg, 2015 RIT Alumni Reunion in Los Angeles

Memories

U Tun Shwe (M60)

• Patron, RIT Alumni Association
• Patron, SDYF
• Provided Certificates & IDs from RU
• Sagar Waing (Video to celebrate 60th Anniversary of RIT)

Updates

• Jara, Byadi and Marana have effected Sayas and Sayamas
• U Ba Than hosted the first HMEE meeting. He donated photos to HMEE and MES. He invited former colleagues and students to his Birthday Soon Kyway. He passed away after his 94th birthday.
• Need help to organize my website.

Posts

• Brief Bios
• Engineering Departments
• From BIT to YTU
• HMEE
• SPZP

by Hla Min

Updated : May 2026

Highlights

• Matriculated from SPHS in 1953.

• Won Senior Novices at the RUBC Regatta in 1953.
• Coxed the Old Paulian crew which won Senior Novices at the RUBC Regatta in 1954. The crew members : U Tun Shein (Willie Saing, Stroke), M Hla Min (Moosaji, No. 3), Dr. Than Nyunt (George, No. 2) and Sao Hso Holm (Sawbwa Lay, Box).
  He and three crew members later became RUBC Gold.
• Served as Captain of RUBC.
  Due to heavy involvement in RUBC, he decided to take a sabbatical.

Engineering

• Attended 1st Year Engineering at BOC College in 1955.
• Graduated B.Sc (Mechanical Engineering), University of Rangoon in March 1960.
• Joined the Faculty of Engineering, University of Rangoon (Leik-Khone) as Assistant Lecturer in Mechanical Engineering in May 1960.
• Attended Technische Hochschule Darmstadt, W. Germany in 1961/62 as a state scholar.
• Worked as a Manager in Rangoon Textile Mills Co. Ltd. from 1962 – 65.
• Rejoined the Dept. of Mechanical Engineering, RIT in September 1965.
• Studied Engineering Production at the University of Birmingham, UK in 1968/69.
• On return to RIT, lectured Industrial Management to 5th and Final Year students.

USA

• Immigrated to the USA in May 1978.
• Worked in the Aircraft Division, Northrop Corporation, Hawthorne, CA in August 1978.
• With Leave of Absence from Northrop, worked as UNIDO Project Management Adviser in Khartoum, Sudan in 1981/82.
• Retired early from Northrop in September 1992.

Family

Wife: Irene

Children: Saynne Tin Htut and Aung Aye Htut.

Grand children : Three

Editor’s Notes

His parents were entrepreneurs in the Textile industry (e.g. Khit Ah Kyaik ခေတ်အကြိုက် Nylon), production & distribution of movies (e.g. Ah Myotha Yoke Shin, အမျိုူသားရုပ်ရှင် Carlton Cinema)

Served as Captain of RUBC as a student, and later as a Saya Administrator.

Organizer of RUBC Jubilee and Anniversary regattas.

Despite having a bypass heart surgery, he was actively involved in BASES, which he co-founded with U Tin Htway (M59) and U Tun Tin (David, GBNF).

Member of the Steering Committee for SPZP-2000.

Ccontributed not only to the Saya Pu Zaw Pwe fund, but also to the special fund for inviting Sayagyi U Ba Toke from Myanmar.

Financial Controller for the 2015 RIT Alumni Reunion in Los Angeles

Ma Irene was Maurice’s teacher in Methodist English High School. Saya was Maurice’s lecturer in the 5th B.E. “Industrial Management” course. All the skills learnt were used effectively by Maurice, Financial Controller for the “Reunion & Saya Pu Zaw Pwe” and aPublisher of the “RIT Alumni Newsletter” Special Issue.

Saya’s donations include

• K10 Lakhs to Swel Daw Yeik Foundation
• K100 to YTU Library Project
• All Mechanical Gathering
• RUBC Gathering

by Hla Min

Updated : Apr 2026

Highlights

• Born in Mogok
• Attended I.Sc at Mandalay University

• Graduated with Mechanical Engineering in 1960
• Worked for Joint Venture Corporation (JVC) formed by relatives
• Found an advertisement in a newspaper to apply for a Government Scholarship.
• Selected to study Agricultural Engineering in USA
• Received Masters from Virginia Tech
• Came back to Burma on an Ocean Liner with Saya Allen Htay (GBNF), Saya U Soe Paing, Saya U Ko Ko Lay (GBNF) & U Than Pe. They became close friends on the two-month long journey.

M/Agri Saya at RIT

• Upon his return, he was assigned to Agricultural Institute in Yezin. Before reporting for duty, he visited RIT.
• Sayagyi U Ba Than asked if he would like to join Agri Sub-Department of Mechanical Engineering. Sayagyi said that some students were not at ease following lectures given by visiting Soviet lecturers via interpreters.
• President, RIT Thaing
• Played Defender on RIT Saya Soccer team

Life after RIT

• Worked in Thailand & USA

USA

• Attended RIT Alumni Gatherings

• Donated $500 for the Training Component of YTU Library Modernization project.

• He is a day older than Saya Allen. Their birthdays are December 30 & 31.
• Monthly Breakfast Gathering with Saya Allen, U Ko Ko Aye, Ko Thein Naing (Patrick) and me. Saya Allen & U Ko Ko Aye are now GBNF.

• Saya U Soe Paing visited him in Milpitas, California. We had a lunch gathering at a restaurant.

• He enjoyed Hiking & Tennis, but had to suspend due to Jara and Byadi
• Volunteer for establishing Taungpulu Kaba Aye Monastery in Northern California.

Updates

• He had operations (one quite early and another a few years back).
• He listens to selected Dhamma talks.

Posts

• Books
• Dhamma
• Gatherings
• Mechanical Engineering

by Hla Min

Updated : Apr 2026

Uni Days

• Attended I.Sc at Mandalay University
• Graduated with Civil Engineering in 1968
• Joined Faculty
• Moved to the USA

• Spouse : Daw Hnin Maung Maung / Ma Ku
  

Activities

• Founding member of RIT Alumni International

• Master of Ceremonies for SPZP-2000
• Wrote about the SPZP-2000 experience in the Post Reunion series.

• Founding member of NorCal RITAA.
• Chair of BOD (Board of Directors).
• One of the hosts for NorCal RITAA meetings. He would invite the attendees to take a boat ride on the nearby man-made lake. Would also arrange a karaoke session.

• Past President of Burmese American Democratic Alliance (BADA)
• President of Theravada Buddhist Society of America (TBSA) for a decade. Led the procession for the scattering of ashes of Sayadaw U Silananda into the San Francisco Bay near the Golden Gate Bridge.

Lost Neikan RIT

• Wrote a parody on “Pyauk Sone Nay Thaw Neikban Bon” (the song by Sai Kham Leik and Sai Htee Saing).

• Played the Ukelele and sang the song described above at the 2015 Alumni Reunion in Los Angeles.

Donation

• Donated Life Vests to 20 teachers in the town of Paletwa in Chin Special Division, Myanmar.
• The teachers risked their lives daily crossing Kaladan river to teach children on the other side of the town.
• One teacher was killed in a boat mishap in surging waters during heavy rains. A life jacket would have saved her life.

Golden Jubilee

On May 20, 2018, the BOD (Board of Directors) and EC (Executive Committee) members of NorCal RITAA threw a surprise party to celebrate the Golden Jubilee of U Myat Htoo (C68, Chair of BOD) and Daw Hnin Maung Maung (Ma Ku, “Nyima Lay”).

According to Saya, he was the youngest in his family and wanted a younger sibling (preferably a sister).

He found an innocent 9 year old neighbor (and family friend).

Ten years later, they tied the knot.

Memories

by Hla Min

Updated : Apr 2026

Highlights

• BS from UCB (University of California Berkeley)
• MS from Minnesota School of Mining
• Upon his return from USA, he was assigned to the Department of Mining Engineering at BOC College to teach part-time and to act as Head of the Department.
• He was succeeded by Saya U Soon Sein as full-time saya and Head.
• U Soe Khaw worked at the Ministry of Mines.
• After retirement, he worked for UN assignments overseas.
• He then migrated to the USA.
• He was a Patron of selected monasteries in the San Francisco Bay Area.
• He was healthy even in his early 90s.

Last Journey

Saya U Tin Maung Nyunt (M60) wrote :

U Soe Khaw, (RIT Part-time Lecturer – Mining), passed away peacefully on February 14, 2018 at 4:45 pm per Michael Khaw, his son.

Ph 408-737-0238.
1082 Noriega Ave, Sunnyvale, Ca 94086

Memorial Service

Date : February 24, 2018 (Sunday)
Time : 10:30 AM
Place : Tathagata Meditation Center (TMC)
1215 Lucretia Avenue
San Jose, CA 95122
Contact : 1 (408) 977 0300 or 1(408) 294 4536

Soon offering : 11:15 AM
Lunch for guests : 11:30 AM
Dhamma talk : 12:30 PM