Category: RIT Saya

  • A Short and Sad Clip : EE Sayas

    A Short and Sad Clip : EE Sayas

    by Hla Min

    Updated : September 2026

    Saya

    • I have not prefixed some names with “Saya”.
    • Saya is implied. Please read “U” as “ Saya U”.
    • Several sayas in the Group Photo are GBNF.
    EE Sayas

    Article

    • I wrote an article for the Commemorative Issue of “Swel Daw Yeik Sar Saung” for SPZP-2010 held in Singapore.
    • Tekkatho Moe War (Saya U Moe Aung) was Chief Editor & Publisher of the Sar Saung. He suggested the title “A Short and Sad Clip : EE Sayas”.

    GBNF

    • In 2010, seven sayas — U Kyaw Tun, U Sein Hlaing, U Tin Swe, U Sein Win, U San Tint, U Soe Min & U Chin Way in the EE Group photo — had passed away.
    • Two more — U Thein Lwin & U Nyi Nyi — are now GBNF.

    Not in picture

    • U Myo Kyi, U Ba Lwin & U Tin Maung Thein were on Deputation
    • U Khine Oo missed the photo shoot
    • U Kyaw Tun graduated in 1948-49 and joined the EE Department. He is the most senior among the EE Sayas.
    • U Kyaw Tun recruited C Ping Lee, father of Dr. Win Aung (M62), to join the EE Department. Per request from H.E. U Than Aung, father of Saya U Aung, C Ping Lee transferred to head the Directorate of Technical Education and Vocational Training.
    • U Sein Hlaing matriculated in 1946 and finished Top in his class of 52. He joined the EE Department as Assistant Lecturer. He studied MS at MIT. Upon his return, he was promoted to Lecturer & Head of the EE Department. He served as Professor until his retirement.
    • U Tin Swe matriculated in 1947. He was a member of the Prome Hall Soccer team which won the Inter-Hall Trophy for three consecutive years. He joined the EE Department in 1953 as Assistant Lecturer. He studied MS at the University of Michigan. Upon his return, he was promoted to Lecturer. He played good tennis. He was an early Power User at the Universities’ Computer Center (UCC).
    • U Sein Win studied his BSEE and MSEE at the University of Michigan. He served as President of RIT Swimming Club, President of RIT Rowing Club, Line Judge at RUBC Regattas, and Technical Advisor for UCC. He retired as Professor of EP Department at YTU.
    • Dr. San Tint joined the EE Faculty in 1961. He played soccer for the RIT Saya team. He served as External Examiner for UCC. Hevretired as Professor of EC Department at YTU. His former students performed Pyinnya Dana in Saya’s memory.
    • U Chin Way was active in SPARK. He migrated to the USA.
    • U Soe Min transferred to DCA.
    • U Thein Lwin retired from Singapore Polytechnic, but he was active helping students desiring to study in Singapore. He was President of the RIT Badminton Club. He managed the RIT team comprising of Sai Kham Pan (EP69), which won the Inter-Institute Trophy. He and Sayagadaw Daw May Than Nwe (RIT Physics) are now GBNF.
    • U Soe Paing was my mentor at RIT & UCC. He retired from UN after managing IT projects at various countries. He wrote about his experiences as a States Scholar, as Systems Manager at UCC and as UN Technical Advisor. He spends his retirement visiting UK and USA, playing golf and practicing vipassana meditation at Kaba Aye Sunlun Gu Kyaung where his younger brother U Wara (U Win Paing, ChE70) is the Sayadaw. Saya had some operations for his heart and his back problems, but he is still active.
    • Dr. Win Tin was active in SPARK and as entrepreneur. He served as Associate Dean of Engineering at Assumption University.
    • Note: Scan of Page 23 is missing in the post.
    • U Ba Myint retired as Pro-Rector of YTU.
    • U Sein Maung taught at Assumption University. He attended SPZP-2000 at the invitation of Daw Lily Win (T72, spouse of Saya Dr. Tin Win M62).
    • U Myo Kyi (EE59) & Dr. Ba Lwin (EE59) are the two most seniors among the EE sayas. I met U Myo Kyi at the meetings (Alumni Association, SPZP, MES). I met Dr. Ba Lwin during his visit to the USA to see his daughter Thiri Lwin.
    • U Moe Aung chaired SPZP-2002 and SPZP-2010. He and his team published the commemorative issue of “Swel Daw Yeik Sar Saung” for SPZP-2002, SPZP-2007 and SPZP-2010. After retirement, hevmoved back to Yangon. He is Patron of SDYF and several RIT-related activities. He is a Laureate Poet. He is active writing poems (often “Let Tann”) and articles (mostly on EE). Hevpublished two books and co-authored several books.
    • U Khine Oo was absent in the group photo taken around mid-1966. He took some computer courses before going abroad as states scholar.
    • U Nyi Nyi moved to UK. He is now GBNF.
    • U Tin Maung Thein was studying in the UK. He later taught in Thailand.
    • U Tin Shwe (EP66) joined EE Department after graduation. He taught and RIT and ABAC. He wrote an article about his final year days in the commemorative issue of “Swel Daw Yeik Sar Saung” for SPZP-2010. He became a monk, and served as Dhamma Librarian. Sady, he passed away.
    • U Moe Aung wrote “To the Shwe Duo” in the memory of U Tin Shwe and U Hla Shwe (T69). I translated the poem and published in my RIT Alumni International Newsletter and Updates.
    • During one of visits to Yangon, U Myo Kyi provided two lists of EE sayas. One lists the senior sayas and the other lists the junior sayas.

    EE 68 – 74

    • Daw Mya Mya Than (EP68) is now GBNF.
    • U Than Lwin (Henry, EC69) was my classmate. He became an EE saya.
    • U Kyaw Naing (EC70, GBNF), U Tin Win (EC71), U Ko Ko Kyi (EC72), Daw Nyunt Nyunt Yee (EP72, GBNF) & Daw Khin Swe Oo (EC74) are some of my juniors. They became EE sayas.

    Posts

    • EE Association
    • EE Sayas
    • Electrical Engineering
    • GBNF
  • Myat Htoo မြတ်ထူး

    Myat Htoo မြတ်ထူး

    by Hla Min

    Updated : September 2026

    University Days

    U Myat Htoo
    • Attended I.Sc at Mandalay University
    • Graduated with Civil Engineering in 1968
    • Joined Faculty
    • Moved to the USA
    • Worked for CalTrans
    • Spouse : Daw Hnin Maung Maung / Ma Ku
    • Children : Three sons, One daughter
    • He is now GBNF

    Activities

    SF Bay Area Alumni Group
    • Founding member of RIT Alumni International
    SPZP-2000
    • Master of Ceremonies for SPZP-2000
    • Wrote about the SPZP-2000 experience in the Post Reunion series.
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    U Myat Htoo (Right)
    NorCal RITAA
    • 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

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    • Wrote a parody on “Pyauk Sone Nay Thaw Neikban Bon” (the song by Sai Kham Leik and Sai Htee Saing).
    LA Reunion
    • Played the Ukelele and sang the song described above at the 2015 Alumni Reunion in Los Angeles.
    Ukelele

    Donation

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    • 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

    This image has an empty alt attribute; its file name is myat-htoo-ma-ku.jpg

    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

    With Saya DAG
    Meeting
    Pon Tu
    Gathering
    Lunch meeting
    Library
  • Pu Zaw Pwe ပူဇော်ပွဲ

    by Hla Min

    Updated : September 2026

    Souvenirs from SPZP
    SPZP-2000 Organizers
    SPZP-2000 Sayas
    SPZP-2000 EE Sayas and Alumni

    PZP ပူဇော်ပွဲ

    Pu Zaw Pwe is a Noble Tradition that is practiced in Burma.

    Thet Kyee PZP is for paying respect to the Elders. The age requirements vary.

    Saya PZP is for paying respect to the sayas and sayamas. Some use the term Acariya PZP.

    Thet Kyee PZP သက်ကြီးပူဇော်ပွဲ

    In some places, a Senior Day is held. Transportation, Food, Entertainment and Photo-shoot are provided for Old people of all races and creeds.

    Thet Kyee PZP may be held in conjunction with a Festival, e.g Thingyan or Thadinkyut. Buddhists may also pay respect physically to the Elders.

    MES organized Thet Kyee PZP for Senior Engineers and Architects.

    The All-Mechanical Gathering also had a program to pay respect to Thet Kyee Mechanical Engineers.

    Acariya PZP အာစရိယပူဇော်ပွဲ

    Examples :

    Combined 1st BE Intake of 64 and 65

    M72 (and some other Disciplines)

    ICST/UCSY

    Saya PZP ဆရာပူဇော်ပွဲ

    RIT Alumni International hosted the First RIT Grand Reunion and SPZP in San Francisco, California in October 2000. The term SPZP was chosen over Saya Ga Dawt Pwe so that Alumni of different Faith can pay back the Metta and Cetana of their mentors. I am honored to be a Core Organizer of SPZP-2000. I wrote the poem “SAYA PU ZAW PWE”. It was published in the RIT website and the Commemorative Issue of the RIT Alumni Newsletter for SPZP-2000.

    Singapore hosted SPZP-2002, SPZP-2007 and SPZP-2010. Saya U Moe Aung (Tekkatho Moe War) and team published Commemorative Issue of Swel Daw Yeik Sar Saung for the SPZPs. My poem was reprinted on the Back Cover of SDYSS-2002. I wrote a poem “SWE DAW YEIK” for SDYSS-2007. I wrote an article “EE Sayas : A Sad and Short Clip” for SDYSS-2010.

    Yangon hosted SPZP-2004, SPZP-2012 and SPZP-2016. Commemorative Issue of Swel Daw Yeik Magazine was published for SPZP-2012 and SPZP-2016. U Saw Lin (GBNF) was Chief Editor of SDYM-2012. Saya U Moe Aung was Chief Editor of SPZP-2016. Several Distinguished Authors (e.g Ma Sandar, Maung Sein Win — Padeegone, N Jar Thaing, Aw Pi Kye) also served as Editors.

    Due to the pandemic, SPZP-2020 was canceled.

    Some of the Organizers and Volunteers of the SPZPs are GBNF. They include Saya Allen Htay, Ko Saw Lin, Ko Aung Moung, Ko Than Sin Myint and Ko Robin.

    Several Sayas are GBNF. They include U Ba Toke, H Num Kok, U Soe Khaw, U Khin Aung Kyi, U Thit, Dr. Mg Mg Win, S Arya, S Kyaw Aye, U Soe Lwin.

    Sayas U Ba Than, U Aung Khin, Dr. Aung Gyi and U Min Win are 90+ years young. Many of our sayas are 80+ years young.

    We hope to see SPZPs in the not so distant future (after the Calamities have ended).

  • Tekkatho Moe War တက္ကသိုလ်မိုးဝါ

    Tekkatho Moe War တက္ကသိုလ်မိုးဝါ

    by Hla Min

    Updated : September 2026

    Brief Bio

    • Matriculated from St. John’s Diocesan Boys High School.
    • Attended Rangoon University.
    • EC member of the Rangoon University Writers Club in 1959 – 60.
    • Editor of the RUESU (Rangoon University Engineering Students Union) Annual Magazine.
    RU Literary Writers
    • Graduated with Electrical Engineering in 1963
    • Joined the Faculty at RIT (Rangoon Institute of Technology).
    • Chief Editor of RIT Annual Magazine
    • Chief Editor of the Hlyat Sit Sar Saung published by the RIT Electrical Engineering Association
    • Wrote poems and articles for various magazines & journals
    • Authored or co-authored five books
    • Worked in Singapore and chaired two Saya Pu Zaw Pwes — SPZP-2002 and SPZP-2010 — in Singapore.
    • He and his team published Commemorative Issues of Swel Daw Yeik Sar Saung for three Saya Pu Zaw Pwes — SPZP-2002, SPZP-2007 and SPZP-2010 — in Singapore.
    • After retirement, moved back to Yangon.
    • Helped published Commemorative Issues of Swel Daw Yeik Magazine for SPZP-2012, Shwe YaDu (in 2014) and SPZP-2016
    • Founding member and Patron of SDYF (Swel Daw Yeik Foundation).
    • Still writes poems and articles.
    U Moe Aung

    Literary Work

    • Pen name : Tekkatho Moe War
    • Mentor : Daung Nwe Swe
    • Composed hundreds of Kabyars (poems). Some (e.g. Shwe YaDu Lann) took four days of contemplation.
      Composed some Kabyars “Let Tann” (extemporaneously)
    • Published several books.
      Some are compilation of articles and poems.
    • Editor for RUESU Magazine
    • Chief Editor of the RIT Annual Magazines, Swel Daw Yeik Sar Saung, Swel Daw Yeik Magazine, Hlyat Sit Sar Saung
    • Columnist for Weekly Eleven Journal
    • I translated some of saya’s poems and articles:
    • Search for beauty
      posted in “Poetic Art Series”
    • Bagan Heritage
      in honor of recognition by UNESCO
    • Shwe YaDu Lann
      for the RIT Golden Jubilee
    • To the Shwe Duo
      in memory of Saya U Tin Shwe (EP66) and Saya U Hla Shwe (T69)
    • Kabyar Let Saung
      A precious gift
    • Computer in my heart
    • …
    • Sea of Men

    Kabyar Let Saung

    by Saya U Moe Aung (Tekkatho Moe War)
    Translated by Hla Min

    String of attachment — then in its infancy
    grew beyond proportion — on her birthday
    to express my deepest feelings — while courting her
    I gave “Sho Whet The Pho” (Mystery/Thriller) Magazine
    as a birthday gift to my beloved.

    We shared our metta
    with true devotion

    I presented a golden ring
    to my yee-sar as a birthday gift.

    Hand in hand we entered the “married” land
    on her birthday past the Honeymoon
    I presented Goya fragrance as a birthday gift

    Traveling together
    Often facing dark nights
    Yonder looked thick and rough

    Goal seemed distant [and not straight]
    [Tired and] weary
    [Often] look but could not see

    Struggle just to keep alive
    Despite the challenges I feel
    I owe my beloved a nice birthday gift

    But …
    Precious jewels are out of reach
    I can only offer a gift from my heart

    Kabyar
    inexpensive — not meaning to underrate her love

    Will she accept as a priceless treasure?

    ___________________________________

    RUESU

    Dear Ko Hla Min,

    Thanks to Saya U Soe Paing for his great endeavour in visiting the UCL (Universities’ Central Library) numerous times [in January 2012] to gather and record invaluable information relating to RIT (and BOC college of Engineering as well). And thanks to you for archiving all through your emails and keeping all RITians gelled together.

    Only when did Saya U Soe Paing mention Engineering Students’ Magazines, that I happen to recall one Engineering Students’ Magazine in which I was part of it. That was in Academic Year 1960-1961. I was still an Electrical Engineering Student at that time (2nd year, or, by the present calling, 4th year). At Rangoon University (Main University) they had a University Students’ Union (in Burmese, Thud Meg-ga is translated as Union), and we had correspondingly an Engineering Students’ Union as well at our Faculty of Engineering at Leik-Khone (Dome), Prome Road.

    At that time I met one Ko Hla Tin (Civil) who was my senior and several years older than me, staying at Prome Hall which was adjacent to Leik Khone, only separated by a fence. He was an avid poet (pen name Kay-tu Win Tint, from Taunggoo) and I used to visit his room at Prome Hall to talk about poems and literature during lunch or break times. I also met one senior (can’t recall his name, I think Ko Sein Hlaing) who was the Secretary of the Students’ Union. After some lively discussions, we decided to issue an Engineering Students’ Union Annual Magazine and they made me the Chief Editor. The Magazine consisted of two sections, Burmese and English, of which Saya U Aung Khin (Mech) was the English Editor.

    I still have the 1960-61 issue neatly tucked in a cupboard in Yangon.

    Now I remember that Ko Sein Hlaing (EE?) is still in Yangon, helping to look after his grand children, but not in good health. Ko Sein Hlaing’s daughter was my daughter’s very close friend since their childhood days. We met once in Singapore about 12 years back.

    Dear Ko Hla Min, this is the time to reminisce and be happy about the good old days and try to fly back with whatever time machine we could get hold of. Time really flies and we should realize that our days are numbered.

    Moe Aung

    ___________________________________

    “ရွှေ နှစ် ရွှေ သို့ “

    ရွှေနှစ်ရွှေ…..

    ဝေတော့လည်း တူ

    ကြွေတော့လည်း အတူတူ

    ငြူစူခြင်း ကင်း

    မျှဉ်းမျှဉ်း အသက်ရှူ

    စိုက်ထူမှတ်တိုင်

    မယိမ်းယိုင်ခဲ့…..

    မနိုင်ဝန် ပိ

    အလှည့်သင့်လာ

    သောအခါ မှာ

    ခန္ဓာအမွေ

    ကြွေသာ ကြွေလည်း

    မသေ ဝိညာဉ် ဝဲပျံနေသေးတကား ….။ ။

    ( ကိုတင်ရွှေ- လျှပ်စစ်စွမ်းအား နှင့် ကိုလှရွှေ- ချည်မျှင် သို့)

    တက္ကသိုလ် မိုးဝါ

    (၂၆ ဇန္နဝါရီ ၂ဝ၁၅ – ည ၉:၅၅ နာရီ)

    To The SHWE Duo

    Poem by Tekkatho Moe War
    Translation by Hla Min

    SHWE duo
    Blossom in unison
    Disappear together
    Free from complaint
    Even with thin breath
    Showed mark [of courage and wisdom]
    Never wavered …
    Pressed by burden
    At the awaited turn [of journey’s end]
    Body — inheritance [from previous lives]
    Succumbs [to failing health]
    Yet, “Wei-nyin” is fresh, alive and hovering.

    Translated by Hla Min

    ___________________________________

    Shwe YaDu Lann

    Shwe YaDu Lann


    Shwe YaDu Lann

    Poem by Tekkatho Moe War
    Translation by Hla Min

    Shwe YaDu Lann
    Let it be rough [but it’s tough]. Flowers are blossoming again.
    Fear not the summer
    Care not the rain [drops]
    or the thick fogs & darkness
    or if winter’s not true to its form

    Shwe YaDu Lann
    Let it be rough. No gentle stream flowing
    Fear not high winds
    Care not dense clouds
    Topsy turvy [come what may]
    Can paddle upstream
    With strong mind & conviction
    Place where heroes [Thu Ye Kaungs] are produced.

    Swel Daw Myaing Dann
    Shwe YaDu Lann
    is a start [of a journey]
    To raise the Banner loftily
    to the skies, to the Zenith
    displaying our thitsar (vow of truth and integrity)

    HLA MIN (Editor, Newsletter Updates, USA)

    ___________________________________

    The (Hidden) Power of Kabyar

    Kabyar is animate
    But [it’s life is] not just a [fleeting] morn

    Kabyar is a weapon
    But not for destroying the world

    Kabyar is key
    For liberation and independence
    But not devoid of principles [and morals]

    Kabyar has power
    Hidden but efficient & effective
    Like sharp-pointed spear-head
    Can thrust into [the heart of] a power-maniac
    Cause trembling, shivering, throbbing & anguished pain

    Poem in Burmese by Tekkatho Moe War (Saya U Moe Aung)
    Translated by Hla Min

    Memories

    Moe 1
    Moe 2
    Moe 3
  • U Soe Khaw

    U Soe Khaw

    by Hla Min

    Updated : September 2026

    Highlights

    Saya U Soe Khaw (Min) and Saya U Tin Maung Nyunt (Mech) at TMC, San Jose, California
    • BS from 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.
    • When his spouse passed away, he offered Soon at TMC. The group photo shows Dhamma friends.
    Soon Kyway for Mrs. Soe Khaw

    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


  • Tin Maung Nyunt တင်မောင်ညွန့်

    Tin Maung Nyunt တင်မောင်ညွန့်

    by Hla Min

    Updated : September 2026

    Highlights

    U Tin Maung Nyunt 1
    • 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.
    U Tin Maung Nyunt’s Donation
    • 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.
    U Tin Maung Nyunt & Saya Allen
    • Saya U Soe Paing visited him in Milpitas, California. We had a lunch gathering at a restaurant.
    U Tin Maung Nyunt 2
    • He enjoyed Hiking & Tennis, but had to suspend due to Jara and Byadi
    • Volunteer for establishing Taungpulu Kaba Aye Monastery in Northern California.

    Update

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

    U Soe Khaw

    by Hla Min

    Updated : September 2025

    Brief Bio

    U Soe Khaw (Left)

    Part-time Lecturer, Mining Engineering

    Education

    • B.S., Mining Engineering, University of California, Berkeley, California, U.S.A. 1950
    • Honors: Tau Beta Pi engineering honor society.
    • M.S., Mining Engineering, Missouri School of Mines, University of Missouri, Rolla, Missouri 1952.

    Experience

    • 1953 – 1964 Service with the Ministry of Mines, Govt of Burma. Entry as Asst. Inspector of Mines, then promoted to Inspector, Chief Inspector, Director of Mines, and Deputy Dir. General PMDC
    • 1954 – 1955 As Visiting Lecturer taught Mining Courses at the BOC Engineering College, Rangoon University
    • 1971 – 1984 Service with United Nations ESCAP in Bangkok as Economic Affairs Officer (P-4) and rising to Chief of Mineral Resources Section (p-5).

    Notes

    • In 1954, BOC Engineering College campus was located south of the Rangoon University estate between Prome Hall and the Teachers Training College on Prome Road. It consisted of modest single storied buildings. In addition to degree courses in Civil, Electrical and Mechanical engineering, Mining courses were offered for the first time during that year.
    • At Dean Sayagyi Tan Ba Hli’s request, Ministry of Mines assigned U Soe Khaw as part time Lecturer to teach Mining Engineering courses.
    • U Soon Sein was later transferred from the Mines Department to the University and taught Mining courses full time.
    • U Soe Khaw retired from UN and moved to USA.
    • He volunteered for selected monasteries.
    • He attended SPZP-2000.
    • U Soe Khaw and U Soon Sein are now GBNF.

    Memories

    Memorial Service for Saya’s Spouse

    • Soon Kyway at Tathagata Meditation Center (TMC)
    • Attended by Dhamma friends
    Dhamma friends

  • Names — Tin Htut တင်ထွဋ်

    Names — Tin Htut တင်ထွဋ်

    by Hla Min

    Updated : September 2026

    U Tin Htut

    U Tin Htut
    • 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.
    RUBC Captain

    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

    Parents

    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)

    Rowing

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

    Organizer of RUBC Jubilee and Anniversary regattas.

    BASES

    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).

    SPZP

    Member of the Steering Committee for SPZP-2000.

    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.

    Alumni Reunion

    Financial Controller for the 2015 RIT Alumni Reunion in Los Angeles

    Maurice Chee

    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.

    Donations

    Donation
    Donation

    Saya’s donations include

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

    Tin Htut (M69)

    • Sea farer

    Tin Htut (Harry, M69)

    • Heartian
    • Author — Mon Yu
    Harry Tin Htut
  • Metallurgy Education in Myanmar

    Metallurgy Education in Myanmar

    By U Thit
    (Melbourne, Australia)

    Updated : September 2026

    U Thit

    The Metallurgy Department was established in 1954 with the assistance of contract staff from India. Mr. H.S. Shastri was the first head of department and Mr. A.C. Agrawal was an assistant lecturer.

    I was awarded a government scholarship to study Metallurgy at Lehigh University in 1954, when I was a second year student of Civil Engineering in Rangoon. (Incidentally, it was at Lehigh that I first met Sayas U Aung Khin and U Pu.), I returned home in 1957 after completing my bachelor’s degree and joined the department as assistant lecturer. Saya U Saw Pru joined the department as an assistant lecturer in 1958.

    I was awarded a Colombo Plan Fellowship in 1959 for further studies at the University or Queensland, Australia, and came back in 1961 after finishing my master’s degree. I was promoted to lectureship in 1962,

    Saya U Than Tin joined the department in 1960 and left for U.S. after a few years. There were visiting lecturers from U.S.S.R., namely, Mr. Charlichev from 1961 to 1963 and Mr. Chalpanov from 1963 to 1965.

    Sayas U Aung Hla Tun, U Pe Win and Dr. Khin Maung Win joined the department in 1965, 1966 and 1967 respectively. There were also part-time teaching staff from time to time from UBARI, such as U Khin Maung and U Nyunt.

    I left the department in 1968 to go to Australia.

    The continuing history of the Metallurgy Department after 1968 can best be written by Saya U Aung Hla Tun,

    Notes (by Hla Min)

    • Saya taught “Materials and Processes” in our 2nd BE class in 1964. He attended some SPZPs & Metallury gatherings in Myanmar. He moved to Melbourne, Australia.
    • Saya’s successors include Dr. Saw Pru (GBNF), U Than Tin & Saya Dr. Khin Maung Win (GBNF).
    Pon Tu of Dr. Khin Maung Win

    Updates (by Hla Min)

    • Saya U Aung Hla Tun (GBNF) was the lead author for HMEE projects.
    U Aung Hla Tun
    • Sayas U Win Kyaw (Met71, RUBC), U Thein Aung (Met72, Mr. RIT68) & U Nyunt Htay (Met73, Poet/Editor) had a micro-reunion in 2015 Alumni Reunion in Los Angeles and at the iNapa Winery in Northern California.
    iNapa Winery
    • Metallurgy is taught as “Materials Science” in the US.

    Posts

    • Education Systems
    • Gatherings
    • HMEE
    • Metallurgical Engineering
    • RIT Sayas
  • October — 2017

    October — 2017

    by Hla Min

    Update : September 2026

    69ers

    The Class of 69 (mostly M69) paid respect to Sayagyi U Ba Than on October 1, 2017. U Aung Min organized the visit.

    Sayagyi’s birthday is October 2.

    U Ba Than

    The group attended the birthday celebration ceremony and received blessing from sayargyi. The group handed over garawa birthday gifts that they had collected before and on the monthly breakfast gathering held earlier that day.

    Sayagyi U Ba Than

    Sayagyi usually performs dana with the Garawa money he received for his birthday and for attending the SPZPs and mini-SPZPs.

    Sayagyi has supported various charitable associations for the needy, the sick, the blind, the deaf and dumb, old people and “Nar Ye” . They include

    • Little Sisters for the Poor
    • U Hla Tun Foundation
    • Jivitadana ဇီဝိတဒါန
    • Hnin Si Gone Bo Bwa Yeik Tha နှင်းဆီကုန်းဘိုးဘွားရိပ်သာ
    • Mary Chapman
    • Kyaw Thu Nar Ye (နာရေး အဖွဲ့)
    • Medical Clinics

    On his Birthday every year, Sayagyi offers “soon kwyay” ဆွမ်းကျွေး at Yaw Sayadaw’s monastery.

    The Soon kwyay held on October 2, 2017 was attended by sayas, alumni, relatives and friends.

    Updates

    • During the pandemic, physical gatherings were put on hold. Celebrations were done virtually, e.g via Zoom
    • U Tin Htoon compiled a Photo Album for Sayagyi’s 90th birthday in 2020.
    U Ba Than
    • Sayagyi passed away peacefully after his 94th birthday.

    Posts

    • B (Names)
    • Dana
    • Engineering Library
    • Garawa
    • HMEE
    • Mechanical Engineering