He had training at ICL ETC in UK and worked on the ICL1902S Computer System.
He and his team implemented Burmese characters for the CalComp Graph Plotter.
He also had training at DEC in USA and worked on the PDP11/70 Minicomputer System.
PTC & Post-retirement
He transferred to PTC.
After retirement, he moved to Mawlamyine (Moulmein) where his spouse has a family business.
Siblings
His elder brother U Soe Myint (GBNF, Chief Editor of several newspapers) is the father-in-law of KMZ. I wrote poems and articles for the Guardian during U Soe Myint’s tenure.
His elder sister is a medical doctor. She is GBNF).
His younger brother U Kyaw Zaw (EC72, TTC Luyechun, DCA) is GBNF.
His youngest brother U Khin Zaw (Physics, UCC) worked for Systems Division before moving to Singapore and USA.
Visit to USA
During his visit to U Khin Zaw (UCC) in Cupertino, Northern California there was a mini-gathering of
UCC alumni
RIT alumni
friends of U Khin Zaw and Daw Wai Wai Tun.
Gathering of UCC & RIT alumni
The attendees include
Saya U Myo Min (UCC)
U Hla Min (EC69, UCC) and Daw Sein Yi
U and Mrs. Soe Win (EC70, UCC)
Benny Tan (M70) and Angelina Tan
Charlie Tseng (EC70) and Diana Tseng (ChE71)
U Myint Swe (EP74) and Daw San San (EC74)
U Hla Kyi (EC77, Met/Hydro Computer)
U Aung Zaw Maung (Pet78, UCC)
U Aung Myint Oo (EC84, UCC) and Daw Thida Khin (UCC)
Dr. Rafiul Ahad (UCC) and Frances Ahad
U Khin Zaw (UCC) and Daw Wai Wai Tun (Physics)
Dr. Kyaw Tint (Physics)
U Thein Naing (Patrick, Physics) and Daw Mi Mi Aung (Physics)
Comments
U Khin Zaw and Dr. Rafiul Ahad had hosted several UCC mini-gatherings to welcome UCC sayas (notably U Soe Paing) and alumni from Myanmar & Singapore such as U Aung Myint (GBNF), U Ngwe Soe (Singapore), U Thein Oo (Ace) and U Thaung Tin (KMD).
DEC (Digital Equipment Corporation) produced PDP and VAX.
Khin Maung Zaw wrote :
It’s kind of sad that DEC failed to keep up with their lead beyond PDP.
I don’t know why Ken Olsen was pushed out, my limited understanding was that he was not high on Unix (he had been attributed to calling Unix a ‘snake oil’), for some reason his attempts to push VAX/VMS didn’t take off as he might have liked. I’ve read it somewhere that he didn’t get much support within DEC on the VAX/VMS endeavor.
At the time, there was a talented group of DEC engineers in Seattle area (across the lake from Seattle, matter of fact we here called East Side – Bellevue/Redmond). If I recall correctly, the first Microsoft Data Center at Canyon Park, several miles north of Redmond, was ran by DEC folks in the late 80s, early 90s.
A brilliant OS architect, Dave Cutler, part of a triumvirate led DEC’s Star project, a virtual 32-bit extension on PDP 11/70. Star and its cousin Starlet became precursor to VAX/VMS among others. The triumvirate were working at the DECWEST facilities in Bellevue, next to the city of Redmond.
Around late 1980s, some events – of which I’m no clue whatsoever, Canyon Park Data Center staff as well as many of the DECWEST team became part of Microsoft.
As the saying goes, “The Rest Is History”. Dave Cutler and his team led the development of Windows NT, New Technology” and beyond. Some folks attributed Billg who manged to extract most of the DEC VAX team into MSFT.
[A titbit on VAX and NT] Mark Russinovich, received his PhD from Carnegie Mellon in 1994, wrote series of articles in the Windows magazine, comparing the deep down internals of vms and NT. He even discovered the names of the internal variables have the identical names between them.
He co-founded a company called “Winternals”, developed a set of Windows tools which quickly became a Swiss knifes for every Windows engineers. Needless to say, Microsoft bought his company, the tools became part of Windows. Mark became Technical Fellow, and now he is the CTO of Azure.
He received Sc.D. (Doctor of Science) from MIT (Massachusetts Institute of Technology). At MIT, he helped “fresh” scholars including Saya Dr. Aung Gyi and Saya U Min Wun acclimatize with the environment and studies.
He served as DG (Director General) of UBARI (Union of Burma Applied Research Institute) and Advisor for the Ministry of National Planning. He was a supporter of UCC Project and served as a member of the Board of Directors and as an External Examiner for the Computer Science graduates.
Daw Myint Thwe (Saya’s spouse) is the sister of Saya U Tin U (C), Saya U Ba Than (M, GBNF), Dr. Daw Win Hlaing, Dr. Myo Tint (GBNF), U Tin Htoon (A60), Saya U Myo Min (UCC), Thaung Lwin (EC66) and Daw Cho Cho Hlaing.
Saya’s children Daw Tin Tin Hlaing and U Tha Hlaing (EC83) are UCC Alumni. U Htay Aung (EC80, spouse of Daw Tin Tin Hlaing and nephew of Saya U Sein Hlaing) and team “programmed” a PROM (Programmable Read Only Memory) to print Burmese characters on the Cromemco System Three micro-computer. He worked on Burmese Word Processing for Wang Computers. He migrated to Australia. For the past few years, U Htay Aung came back to Yangon to volunteer as an interpreter for the “10-day Mediation Retreat for Foreign Yogis” at the Mahasi Sasana Yeik Tha.
During my visit to Sydney in 2006, Saya U Aung Zaw hosted a UCC reunion and mini-PZP (Pu Zaw Pwe) for Saya F Ba Hli and Saya Chit.
U Sein Win (GBNF)
U Sein Win
Saya U Sein Win (GBNF) is the younger brother of Dr. Tin U (Medical Superintendent, Rangoon Children’s Hospital) and Dr. Saw Lwin.
Saya served as Technical Advisor for UCC. Saya worked closely with U Win Htein (Purdue University, EE at PWD, GBNF) for the design and maintenance of the Electrical Systems (including Motor Alternator, Diesel Generator, Air conditioning) at UCC.
Saya was a top student at the University of Michigan. His friends jokingly called him “Khone Swa Khone Swa” referring to his brisk walking style.
Saya served as Lecturer in the Department of Electrical Engineering. When the EE Department was formally reorganized into EC (Electrical Communications, also known as EcE and Electronics Engineering) and EP (Electrical Power), Saya U Sein Win served as Professor of EP. Saya Dr. San Tint served as Professor of EC.
Grapevine says that Saya is an absent minded Professor. Saya married late. One day, Saya drove Sayagadaw to Bogyoke Market. He taught (or discussed with) his students for quite some time and almost forgot to pick up Sayagadaw. There are variations on this anecdote regarding the place (e.g. Hledan Zay).
Saya served as Line Judge at the RUBC (Rangoon University Boat Club) Regattas. Saya managed the RIT Swimming and Water Polo team.
Saya stays fit by swimming regularly (even when he was visiting Singapore on a business trip).
Saya has a vast knowledge. Saya Dr. San Hla Aung (C58) remembers Saya U Sein Win discussing about Civil Engineering and other subjects.
U Win Htein (GBNF)
U Win Htein matriculated from SPHS in 1956 with Saya U Soe Paing and Saya U Ko Ko Lay.
They were selected as State Scholars to study in the USA. U Win Htein studied at Purdue University. Saya Paing and Saya Lay studied at Stanford University.
Upon his return, he joined PWD.
He was EE during our UCC days.
For the UCC project, U Win Htein and his team maintained the Electrical Systems (including Motor Alternator, Diesel Generator, Air conditioning) at UCC.
U Win Htein is the elder brother of U Myo Myint (EC67) and Daw Myint Myint Thein (Susan, FERD).
Dr. San Tint (GBNF)
Dr. San Tint
Saya Dr. San Tint (GBNF) graduated in 1961 and joined the EE (Electrical Engineering) Department at RIT. He later served as Professor of EC (Electrical Communications AKA Electronics Engineering).
Saya served as External Examiner at UCC.
He played on the RIT Saya Soccer team with U Soe Paing (EE), Dr. Tin Win (M), Dr. Aung Soe (C), U Aung Soe (Maths), U Tin Maung Nyunt (M) and Des Rodgers (English).
Saya suffered stroke and his right hand was paralyzed. He practiced writing with his left hand hoping that he will recover and continue teaching.
Saya spent four decades teaching and passing the torch to the younger generation.
His nephew U Hlaing Myint (UCC) was with Saya in Saya’s final days.
Grapevine says that U Mya Thein (GBNF) earned the nickname “Bo Shoke” at the Institute of Economics (IE). His first nickname was supposedly “Bo Gyoke” because he had his hair cut like Bogyoke Aung San. He was a brilliant and talented student. He would “explain” the lectures in a room to his fellow students. Grapevine says that the turn out to his “free tuition” was larger than that at the regular classes given by the sayas.
He had a vast array of General Knowledge. He read books on religion, medicine, and engineering. He would get involved in lots of activities thereby earning the name “Bo Shoke” (One who gets his hands wet in things that are of no concern to him).
He joined the Commerce Department at the IE as a tutor. When UCC was formed, it needed people with diverse skills. Bo Shoke, Ah Thay Lay (U Thein Oo), Htaw Kyin (U Htin Kyaw) and Saya Maung (U Tun Shwe) transferred to UCC from IE. The first two majored in Commerce. The last two majored in Statistics. They all became Application Programmers, and went for further studies to the United Kingdom.
Bo Shoke was outspoken. During a visit to UCC, VIPs (ministers and deputy ministers) were standing and waiting for U San Yu. Bo Shoke entered the room and shouted, “Sit down”. All complied. (What a surprise!)
Bo Shoke not only taught at UCC, but he also lectured to the monks at ITBMU (International Theravada Buddhist Missionary University).
Like Father, Like Son
One day Bo Shoke’s father came to UCC. He carried a bunch of bananas to UCC. He asked U Tun Kywe, an army veteran serving as security, the office of Saya Myo (Bo Shoke’s manager). When he found out Saya Myo was not much older than Bo Shoke, he went downstairs and then handed the bunch of bananas to the elderly U Tun Kywe. Like father, like son.
Remarks
I succeeded Saya Myo (U Myo Min) as Business Applications Manager.
Bo Shoke succeeded me.
Fortunately or unfortunately, one who could “contest” Bo Shoke appeared. It was his sister-in-law.
U Thein Oo
U Thein Oo was an entrepreneur in his school days. He supposedly paid his school fees from his winnings from “Ta Chut Hmok” (and similar games). With great control and having excellent strategies, he was never victimized like other over-emotional card players.
He was also good in sports : as a “lifter” in volleyball and as a “smasher” in table tennis.
He joined the Department of Commerce and later transferred to UCC. His mentors include Saya Dr. Khin Mg Kyi (who attended the University as a monk and is known for his debating style). He is equally good as his mentor and may be even better.
He found his soul mate Daw Than Than Tint at UCC. They and their family members (son, daughter-in-law) operate ACE and its subsidiaries.
He co-founded MCI (training and services) company with a fellow alumni/saya U Tin Win Aung from the Institute of Economics.
He has served in various capacities (e.g. President) in MCF and similar organizations.
He is fondly known as “Ah Thay Lay”. He is a nice example of the saying “Great men are short”.
U Soe Thein
U Soe Thein (also known as Joe Thein) had a disability, but that did not prevent him to have a good life and career. He completed training courses from ICL (including COBOL programming).
He joined UCC as an “off-line” operator. He transferred to the Application Division. He became one of the COBOL teachers.
U Aung Hlaing
U Aung Hlaing is fondly known as Japan Sayagyi. His wife worked for the Foreign Ministry and was assigned to Japan. JS accompanied her and worked as a COBOL programmer.
Saya Paing met him during his training (sponsored by JICA [Japan International Cooperating Agency] and implemented by Fujitsu and other Japanese computer companies. Saya Paing asked him if he would like to join UCC upon his return to Burma.
He became one of the COBOL teachers.
Daw Nwe Nwe Win
Daw Nwe Nwe Win is fondly known as Judy.
She was a star athlete at RASU. She also played volley with the males (UCC employees and students).
She used to hang around a lot with Ma Nge (Daw Nge Ma Ma Than).
One day, some one approached Judy and Ma Nge with two envelopes. He said, “It’s for both of you”. Guess what? Inside each envelope was a “Yee Zar Sar”.
They remained “twins” until U Myint Swe managed to get the favor of Ma Nge.
It would take some more time before Judy would tie the knot.
The family of Saya U Aung Zaw (Sydney, Australia) — Daw Kyawt, San Tint Tint Zaw, Ant Bwe Zaw, Nyan Htet Zaw, Grandchildren — thanks all those around the world who sent messages and donations during the recent bereavement.
In Saya Zaw’s memory, the family donated AUD5000 to the Metta Foundation (which provides health care to the elderly and the needy).
The family also offered requisites to the Sangha in Sydney.
The dhamma friends at the Yennora Burmese Monastery helped with the Soon Kwyay.
U Myint Lwin (Charles) coordinated the three Ah Hlu in Thanatpin, Myanmar :
Two nights offering Lights
Two days offering drinking water
Soon Kyway
Daw Pyone Yee (Saya Zaw’s older sister in Myanmar) and family performed dana for Saya Zaw.
U Zaw Tun (UCC), family and friends in Singapore hosted Soon Kyway for Saya Zaw.
U Ngwe Soe (UCC, Singapore) earlier donated Saya Zaw’s books to a library (in a monastery) for public access.
Due to relaxation of Covid-19 restrictions, Saya Zaw’s last journey was allowed 45 minutes (instead of 15 minutes) and 60 attendees.
Saya U Aung Zaw (Aung Daing, Yebaw Gyi, AZ, Saya Zaw) passed away in Sydney, Australia on November 16, 2021.
Three Books
He wrote about his life and philosophy in two books “Dhamma and Bawa” and “Cetana thi thar Kan”.
I had the honor and privilege to edit the books, and to contribute a section “Advice to Grandchildren” (based on his draft writing).
Both books were published by his elder sister Daw Pyone Yee in Yangon. They were mailed to Saya Zaw’s friends, colleagues and former students (in Myanmar, Singapore, USA …) by Saya’s niece Cho Zin Win.
A third book did not get published in time (partly due to pandemic).
Life Long Teacher
Saya Zaw joined the Department of Mathematics at RASU.
He transferred to UCC as Systems Programmer.
He received M.Sc. (Computer Science) from Southampton University.
He also had training at UCSC (University of California at Santa Cruz).
Saya Zaw and his mentor Saya U Soe Paing (UCC co-founder) studied at Southampton University in the UK. The Chair of the Computer Science Department (Professor D. W. Barron) earlier worked at Cambridge University Mathematical Laboratory under Computer Pioneer Maurice V. Wilkes who built EDSAC and also wrote about Microprogramming.
He taught Computer courses at UCC and later at CSO, Assumption University (in Bangkok) and at a University (in Sydney).
Saya U Soe Paing (co-founder of UCC) allowed Saya Zaw and me to co-author User Manuals & Guides and Texts (on Programming and Computers).
Multiple Talents
Saya Zaw wrote Kabyars, articles and Thingyan Sar. A sample of his witty writings can be found in my web site hlamin.com
Saya Zaw completed the Thingyo (Abhidhamma) examination. He organized Dhamma discussions with Saya Chit (Dr. Chit Swe) and selected seniors. Some of the discussions can be found in his book (which was published by his elder sister and mailed to us by his niece).
True Love
True Love Story saw Ma Kywat donating her Kidney to Saya Zaw several years back. The donated kidney was still strong and healthy at the time of demise.
Three Children and Four Grandchildren
Saya Zaw’s children are fondly known as
Mi San (San Tint Tint Zaw)
Ant Bwe Zaw
Nyan Htet Zaw (Steven).
Mi San and her children moved to Saya Zaw’s house.
Ant Bwe moved to Mi San’s former house (adjoining to Saya Zaw’s house).
Nyan Htet and family would occasionally visit the parents and siblings.
Sponsor / Supporter
Saya Zaw was an early sponsor / supporter of
Panditarama Sydney Meditation Center
Yenora Monastery
Metta Foundation
He helped conduct retreats at the monasteries / meditation centers.
The Metta Foundation in Sydney aids needy people with sickness and disabilities. The Foundation also sent volunteers to help Saya Zaw (during his medical treatment).
Saya Zaw also participated in the Community events by Burmese Doctors (e.g Dr. Kyaw Myint Malia), Engineers (MEAA members — mostly RIT Alumni) and Seniors.
UCC Gatherings
He organized several UCC Gatherings at his house with delicious food provided by Ma Kyawt.
In 2006, I attended a gathering (organized by Saya Zaw) to pay respect to Sayagyi Dr. Chit Swe (UCC Founder) and Sayagyi Dr. Freddie Ba Hli (UCC Advisor).
Sad to note that they are GBNF.
Last Journey
Saya Zaw was cool and calm to the very end. He told Mi San not to play dhamma CDs, and that he can concentrate / meditate better with silence.
He wrote his Obituary.
In lieu of wreaths, donations should be made to Organizations offering support to the needy, sick and disabled.
The monasteries / meditation centers plan to perform kusala and share merits for Saya Zaw.
Memories
Visit by Ma Ma Mi and Dr. Kyaw Myint
Ma Ma Mi (Daw Khin Khin Latt, spouse of Sayagyi Dr. Chit Swe) visited Saya Zaw the day before his demise. Dr. Kyaw Myint (one of Saya Zaw’s physicians) was also present at the time.
Obituary
Saya Zaw typed his Obituary and handed it to his family. Mi San posted it in her Facebook Page.
Saya Zaw — Then and Now
Last Journey
Per Saya Zaw’s request, only a short service (about 45 minutes) was held.
There were also restrictions due to the pandemic.
Ma San posted a streaming of the service for those who could not attend the service in person.
Dana in Thanatpin
Soon Kyway
Water Ah Hlu / Dana
Up to date 23 – 11 – 2021ကျောက်ပန်းတောင်းမြို့နယ် သနပ်ပင်ကျေးရွာအများပြည်သူအတွက်သောက်ရေများကို အလှူရှင်များက နေ့စဉ်ပေးလှူလျက်ရှိရာ ယနေ့အတွက်တစ်နေ့တာ သောက်ရေများကို ရတနာမြတ်သုံးပါးကိုဦးထိပ်ထား၍ 2021 ခုှနှစ်၊ November ၊ (16)ရက်နေ့တွင် ကွယ်လွန်သွားသော ဘိုကလေးမြို့ (ဦးလှဖေ + ဒေါ်ခင်စိန်) တုိ့၏သား#ဦးအောင်ဇော် အသက်(၇၅)နှစ်အားရည်စူး၍ ကျန်ရစ်သူ Australia,Sidney နေဇနီး ဒေါ်နန်းကြော့(ခ)ဒေါ်တင့်တင့်ဝေနှင့် မိတ်ဆွေ ဦးထွန်းအောင်ကျော်နှင့် မခင်မော် ၊ CHARLES နှင့် ANN MARIEမိသားစုများ က ရေလှူရသည့်အကျိုးရေအကျိုး (၁၀)ပါး ရရှိပါစေခြင်းအကျိုးငှာ သောက်ရေများ ပေးလှူပါသည်။
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2021 ခုှနှစ်၊ November ၊ (16)ရက်နေ့တွင် ကွယ်လွန်သွားသော
HlaMin 