Category: UCC

His name literally means “remain on a [fishing] net”.

• Grapevine says that Saya’s mother had a few miscarriages.
• When Saya was conceived, his mother wanted to make sure that the child would be born safe and sound.
• She performed a “Yadaya” (or ritual) requiring someone close to her hold a “net” and “catch” the baby (in her imagination).

• He received his Ph.D from Monash University, Australia.
  The dissertation is based on Stochastic Processes (and related topics).
• For many years, he served as Reviewer for research papers.

• I had the opportunity to audit his course on “Linear Programming” course
  and learn his teaching style.
• I also worked with him and others from the various Mathematics Departments
  (U Tin Hlaing, U Sein Min, U Soe Nyunt, …) on the “new” High School Mathematics Project.

• Saya Pike succeeded Saya Thein (Dr.. Kyaw Thein) as Rector of ICST.

UCC evolved into DCS (Department of Computer Science), iCST (Institute of Computer Science and Tehcnology) and UCSY (University of Computer Studies Yangon).

The photo was taken at the 5th Acariya Pu Zaw Pwe of ICST and UCSY.

Saya Thein succumbed to Covid.

• Parents : U Chan Sein and Daw Cheng Kim
• Spouse : Daw Khin Khin Chit Maung
• Children : Son and Daughter
• Siblings: Saya U Tin U (C, RUBC Captain and Gold), Saya U Ba Than (M, Professor, RUBC Green), Dr. “Ruby” Win Hlaing, Daw Myint Thwe, Dr. Myo Tint (GBNF, 3rd in Burma, RUBC Captain and Gold), U Tin Htoon (A60, ARAE Champion, RUBC Captain and Gold), U Thaung Lwin (EC66, RUBC Captain and Gold), Daw Cho Cho Hlaing
  
• Studied at SPHS, Faculty of Social Science and Lancaster University.
• Matriculated from St. Paul;s High School in 1958.
• Stood first in I.Com in 1960.
• Stood first in B.Com (with Accounting as Specialization) in 1962.
• Awarded Full Green from RUBC
  
• Became a Chartered Account in U.K.
• Worked as Systems Analyst for IBM UK.
• During his stay in UK, his beloved father passed away in Rangoon (in his mid 50s).
• In contrast, his beloved mother loved to 94 years.
  
• Sayagyi Dr. Chit Swe contacted Saya’s mother if Saya would like to help with the UCC project.
  
• Helped Saya Dr. Chit Swe found UCC.
• Served as Applications Manager.
• Managed the Business Applications Division (after the reorganization)
• Helped government departments with computerizing business applications.
• Taught at UCC, Institute of Economics and at several training courses (for Government departments).
• Supervised students (e.g. San Yu Hlaing) for Burmese Word Processing project.

• Received Masters in Systems Engineering from the University of Lancaster in the UK.

• Taught at Nan Yang Institute (later known as NTU) in Singapore.
• Retired after working for high tech companies (Seagate, Connors) in the USA.

• Abhidhamma
• Meditation
• Online courses
• Technology Updates

• Passed the Abhidhamma / Thingyo Examination.

• He was known as “Ah Thay Lay“.
• He is another example of “Great men are short“.
• He is an entrepreneur (since his school days).
• He supposedly paid his school fees from his winnings from “Ta Chut Hmok / Show” (and similar card games).
  With great control and having excellent strategies, he was never victimized by “over-emotional” card players.
• He was also good in sports :
  as a “lifter” in volleyball
  and as a “smasher” in table tennis.

• He received B.Com in 1969
• He joined the Department of Commerce
• He later transferred to UCC as Application Programmer along with Bo Shoke, Ko Htin Kyaw and Ko Tun Shwe.
• His mentors include Saya Dr. Khin Mg Kyi (who attended the University as a monk & is known for his debating style).
  Ko Thein Oo is equally good as his mentor and may be even better.
  
• Saya found his soul mate (Than Than Tint) at UCC.
  Or is it Thant Thant Tin (or the permutations)?
  On their early date, a Sayama from Commerce Department saw them and broke the news to UCC Sayas.
• They and their family members (son, daughter-in-law) operate ACE and its subsidiaries.
  
• Ko Thein Oo and Ko Tin Win Aung co-founded the first “training & services” company.
  
• Ko Thein Oo has served in various capacities (President …) in MCF and similar organizations.
  
• He would entertain (e.g. with Naga Ni song) at the UCC and ICST Gatherings.

• The early Departments and sub-departments at UCC (universities’ Computer Center) are described in this post. Additional information can be found in the subsequent posts.
• Several are GBNF (Gone But Not Forgotten).

Office Of The Director

Director

• Dr. Chit Swe
  Professor of Mathematics at RASU
  Founder Director of UCC
  Alumnus of Manadalay University, Imperial College (London University), Glasgow University and University of Liverpool
  Retired as Rector of RASU
  Continued as Research Advisor in Bangkok and Sydney

• Dr. Tin Maung
  Lecturer of Mathematiccs at RASU
  Succeeded Dr. Chit Swe as Director of UCC
  Alumnus of Rangoon University; Received Doctorate from Queen Mary College
  Retired as Rector of ICST (Institute of Computer Science and Technology)

Services

• The Office is used to hold meetings with Board of Directors & Advisers.
• The Office provided service for the Experts including Professor Harry D. Huskey and Dr. S. I. Saleeb (Project Director) and

Administration

Superintendent

• U Myint Aung (GBNF) was the Superintendent. He was healthy and passed away lately in his eighties.
• He was succeed by U San Win. He unfortunately suffered a stroke.

Secretaries

• U Win Myint (1) later joined Winner Computer Group.
• Daw Khin Khin Su later moved to join Total (Oil Company owned by the French).
• Daw Khin Lay Myint later became Branch Clerk / Admin Officer

Other Admin Staff

• BC — Branch Clerk / Admin Officer
• UDC — Upper Division Clerk(s) & LDC — Lower Division Clerk(s)
  Ko Ba Than Chein, Ko Than Aye, Ko Tun Myint, Ko Khin Maung Lwin, Ma Phyu Phyu Win, Ma Tin Tin Pyone, Ma Kyi Kyi Sein, Ma Kyi Kyi Thin
• Peons
  The four Sayagyis had a Peon each as their PA (Personal Assistant).
  Win Myint Lay, Myo Myint, Tint Lwin, Tha Cho
• Security Personnel
  There were several for the day, evening and night shifts.
  U Tun Kywe, an army Veteran, usually “guards” the entrance to the Computer Room (on the Ground Floor of the UCC Building). He also vets the visitors climbing up the stairs to meet the staff.
  U Khin Maung wrote Kabyars.
• Maintenance Personnel
  Maung Myint, U Hla Pe …
  Daw Ngwe Tin, Aye Aye Myint, Hla Hla Myint, San San Myint …
• Drivers
  Saya Chit’s driver (who moonlighted as a Side Car Operator) was hit by a train at a railroad crossing. Volunteer drivers included U Myint Aung, Ko Win Hlaing, Ko Soe Myint Gyi and Ko Myint Oo.

Systems Division

Systems Division Manager

• U Soe Paing
  Received BSEE and MSEE from Stanford University; Joined RIT Electrical Engineering Department as Assistant Lecturer;
  Co-founder of UCC
  Received MSc. (CS) from Southampton University.
  Later, he also managed the Operations Division.
  He worked on UN projects in various countries.He was succeeded by Saya U Tun Aung Gyaw

Maintenance Engineers

• U Tun Aung Gyaw (EC69)
  He later served as Senior Engineer & Systems Division Manager at UCC, Associate Professor at the Department of Computer Science, and Associate Professor of Hardware Technology at the Institute of Computer Science and Technology.
  Later, he received his Doctorate in Computer Science from UIUC (University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign) with specialization in AI / Expert Systems
• U Hla Min (Systems) (EC69)
  He wrote lecture guides (Introduction to Computer Systems, Introduction to Programming) and manuals with U Soe Paing and U Aung Zaw. He later served as Senior Systems Programmer & Business Applications Manager at UCC, Senior Lecturer at the Department of Computer Science, and Associate of Software Technology at the Institute of Computer Science and Technology.
  Later, he worked for high tech companies in the Silicon Valley.
  He is a Lifelong Learner.
• U Soe Win (EC70)
  He transferred to PTC. After retirement, he helped with his spouse’s family business in Moulmein.
  
• U Tin Win (EC71)
  He transferred from RIT Electrical Engineering Department.
  He later moved to FRI (Forest Reserve Inventory).
• U Aung Myint (Phy68)
  He earlier served as Maintenance Technician in the Systems Division.

Maintenance Technicians

• U Aung Myint (Phy68))
  He earlier served as Lab Technician at RIT Electrical Engineering Department
• U Ngwe Soe (Silver) (AGTI)
  Later completed Japanese Diploma and B.Sc.(Physics)
  Worked with the ICL and PWD teams for the UCC building and equipment
  Moved to Singapore; Became Seimen’s Certified Engineer (for Power Systems); Worked in various projects around the world
• U Myint Soe (Byte) (AGTI)
  Later moved to PTC
• U Kyu Sein
• U Khin Zaw (Phy)
  Later worked in Singapore and USA.

System Programmers

• U Aung Zaw
  Taught at RASU Mathematics Department; Early Saya at UCC; He wrote lecture guides (Introduction to Computer Systems, Introduction to Programming) and manuals with U Soe Paing and U Hla Min.
  Later worked at CSO, Assumption University and a College in Sydney.
  Published two books: “Dhamma and Bawa” and “Cetana Thi Thar Kan”
• U Maung Maung Htay
  Received Doctorate from LSU (Baton Rouge); Professor at VMI; Professor at Radford University;
  Visiting Professor at UCSY
• U Than Lwin
  Moved to CSO,
  Later taught in Singapore; Director of a company
• Rafiul Ahad
  Later moved to Thailand and USA.
  Received doctorate from USC (University of Southern California); Taught at University of Maryland; Worked for several high tech companies in Silicon Valley; Retired Vice President of Oracle USA (Cloud Computing)
• U Soe Myint (KSM)
  Worked for UN; President of MASTAA

Other Systems Division Staff (some as Volunteers)

• U Sein Tin — Moved to Australia
• U Khin Maung Zaw (KMZ) — Moved to Singapore and USA
• U Wynn Myint Aung — Moved to USA
• U Htay Aung — Moved to Australia
• U Maung Maung Tun — Moved to USA
• U Win Maung — Moved to Australia
• U Khin Maung Cho — Moved to USA
• Daw Tin Tin Pyone — Moved to FRI
• Several EC graduates and CS graduate students

Applications Division

Applications Division Manager

• U Myo Min
  Managed Application Programmers & Analysts for business applications, scientific & engineering applications.
  Later, the Applications Division was restructured in Business Applications Division (with Saya U Myo Min as Manager) and Scientific Applications Division (with Saya U Ko Ko Lay as Manager).
  Saya U Soe Paing subsequently managed both Systems Division and Operations Division.

• U Hla Min
  Succeeded U Myo Min as Business Application Manager
  
• U Mya Thein
  Succeeded U Hla Min as Business Application Manager

Application Programmers

• U Mya Thein (Bo Shoke)
  Transferred from Commerece Department, Institute of Economics
  Most vocal among the application programmers;
  Later became Business Application Manager
  Also taught at the Institute of Economics and ITBMU
• U Thein Oo (Ah Thay Lay)
  Transferred from Commerece Department, Institute of Economics
  Entreprenuer; Co-founder of MCI; Founder of Ace; President of Computer Federation
• U Mra Tun (Mra)
  Musician & Leader of TAMPS Band; Moved to USA
• U Kyaw Nyein (Kyein)
  Numerical Methods; UNV
• U Htin Kyaw (Htaw Kyin)
  Transferred from Statistics Department, Institute of Economics
  Worked for HIC and FERD; Helped Daw Khin Kyi Foundation
  Retired President
• U Tun Shwe (Saya Maung)
  Transferred from Statistics Department, Institute of Economics
  Retired UN Personnel
• U Aung Hlaing (Japan Sayagyi)
  Moved to Australia
• U Soe Thein (Joe Thein)
  Joined UCC as off-line operator; Became Business Applications Programmer
• U Soe Than (Joe Than)
  Received Doctorate in CS from University of Kansas; Retired Professor from VMI
• U Myint Oo
• U Win Naing
  Science Scholar for Mathematics
• Daw Tin May Lwin (Ju Ju)
  Retired Professor, ICST
• Daw Thin Thin Aung
• Daw Nwe Nwe Win (Judy)
  Retired CS Professor
• Daw Nge Ma Ma Than (Ma Nge)
  Taught Computers to former POC
• Daw Than Than Tint
  Co-founder of Ace
• Daw Gilmour Hole
• U Boe Ba Shan (Boe)
  Thaing expert; Entrepreneur in Singapore
• Daw Phyu Phyu Win
  Moved to Singapore
• Daw Hpyu Hpyu Aung
  Worked in Singapore and Thailand
• U Sein Myint Maung (Gary)
  UN; Moved to Australia
• Daw Khin Aye Mu (Ma Mu)
  Moved to Australia
• Several CS graduates
  Worked or Volunteered for UCC

Operations Division

Systems Manager for Operations Division

• U Ko Ko Lay
  Originally managed the Operatiosns Division.
  After the restructuring, he managed the Scientific Applications Division.
  The Operations Division was handed over to Saya U Soe Paing

Chief Operator (CO)

• U Hla Min (Pauk Si, GBNF)
  He passed away in his mid-30s.
  
• U Maung Maung Gyi (Thein Tan)
  Succeeded U Hla Min as Chief Operaftor
  

Operators

• U Maung Maung Gyi — later became Chief Operator
• U Kyaw Swar (Ah Leong) — later became Programmer; Moved to USA
• U Win Hlaing — Dobat Sayagyi; Computer Tuition
• U Maung Maung Lay (Patrick Saw, Ah Ba)
• U Soe Myint — later became Pro-Rector of ICST; Sunlun Kappiya
• U Myint Swe — later became Programmer & Lecturer; Co-owned company
• U Hla Aung — later became Programmer & Lecturer; Moved to Directorate
• U Kyi Win
• U Tun Kyi
• U Tin Win
• U Than Tun — Moved to USA
• U Myint Lwin (Charlie) — Burma Judo Champion; German Diploma; Moved to USA
• Some DAC and MS students & graduates

Several later made career changes as Programmers and Teaching Staff. U Soe Myint retired as Pro-Rector.

In the early days, U Maung Maung Gyi, U Win Hlaing and U Kyaw Swar served as Shift Leaders. There were three Shifts. The Morning Shift was run for staff, students and general users. The Evening and Night Shifts were run for selected user departments. The Population Census Data Project had a high priority.

There were several operators for card punch, manual punches, punched card verifier, and sorter.

Some did double duty as Job Controllers. They include Daw Nyunt Nyunt Tin, Daw Thi Thi Aye, Daw Hla Hla Win (GBNF), Daw Win May Thaung (GBNF), Daw Kyu Kyu Lwin (GBNF), Daw Tin Tin Yi (1), Daw Tin Tin Yi (2), Daw Khin Si Thaung, Daw Aye Aye Kyi, Daw Tin Moe Khine. Several later changed their careers or went overseas.

There was also a Librarian in charge of the Magnetic Disks and Magnetic Tapes.

Volunteers

• Kudos to the many unsung heroes who volunteered for gratis or for a per Diem of Three Kyats and Fifteen Pyas.
• They worked for various divisions.
• Some helped as tutors, teaching assistants and lab guides.
• Without them, the introduction of Computer Technology to Burma would not have been smooth and successful.

In the early days, there were no computers in Burma. IBM (International Business Machines) based in the USA and ICL (International Computers Limited) based in the UK had presence in Burma. Both companies were not ready to introduce computers to Burma. They were supposedly content with leasing unit-record equipment (calculators, tabulators, …) using punched cards (which were reused as wrappers of “zee thee htokes”). The companies maintained the machines with their staff. U Aung Khin was the IBM representative in Burma. U Kyaw Tha was the ICL representative in Burma. They were highly paid compared to the Government employees. Due to the policies then in place, IBM might not have incentives to introduce computers and computing technology to Burma.

In the early sixties, Saw McCarthy Gyaw (Burma Railways) wanted to upgrade the unit-record system to an ICL computer, but the Coup d’etat in March 1962 and subsequent restriction of foreign currency exchange (and budget planning rules) effectively derailed the idea of “computerization in Burma”.

In the mid sixties, Saya Chit (Dr. Chit Swe) was Head of the Mathematics Department at the Institute of Economics. He proposed the need of a computer for teaching and research to Dr. Nyi Nyi, then Secretary [Deputy Minister] of Education, Saya Nyi Nyi suggested the scope to be extended for a computer to serve the staff and selected students of the Universities and Institutes. Thus, the UCC Project was born.

Saya later became Professor at Mathematics at RASU. He offered space at the Mathematics Department for the early volunteers of the UCC Project. He later obtained permission to use Mandalay Hall for use by the UCC Project before the UCC Building could be completed in Thamaing College Campus.

Saya served as the Founder/Director of UCC. He initiated the academic and training programs. He stressed the importance of technology transfer, leapfrogging technology, knowledge sharing (internally and externally), and challengingthe staff and students to try their best. Saya Chit requested Saya Paing (U Soe Paing) to help design and implement the UCC project. Saya Chit also inquired the mother of Saya Myo (U Myo Min), who was working at IBM UK after completing his CA (Chartered Accountant) if Saya Myo would be interested to come back to Burma and help with the UCC project. Saya Paing recruited his friend Saya Lay (U Ko Ko Lay) to help with the UCC project in general and with the UCC Building Design and Implementation in particular.

It took a long time for UCC up and running. UNDP would be the Funding Agency. UNESCO would be the Executing Agency.

Note : For several years, Saya Paing tried to recruit his top students — including my cousin U Thaung Lwin (EC66) — to help with the project and become the pioneer computer engineers. U Thaung Lwin, who finished at the Top of his class, received an offer to join IBM Burma. It was Good News and Bad News. He was offered a reasonably high salary (based on the then salary of engineers joining the Government departments), but he would have to maintain the leased Unit Record Machines. It took a long time before an IBM computer was purchased by CSO.

U TAG (Dr. Tun Aung Gyaw, EC69) was the first and longest volunteer for the UCC Project.

Saya Paing transferred from the Department of Electrical Engineering (EE) at RIT to UCC as Manager of the Systems Division. Saya Lay transferred from PWD to UCC. Saya Myo joined UCC. The three served as Managers for Systems, Operations, Applications (Scientific, Business …) .

I was fortunate enough to be a member of Generation Zero along with my mentors and U TAG.

Saya Paing left UCC in the eighties to pursue a career as Technical Adviser and Consultant for the UN projects in several countries. He has documented his experiences from the early States Scholarship in the USA to the UN assignments. His articles can be downloaded from SCRIB-D.
Saya also gave an interview to MASTAA (Myanmar American Science and Technology Alumni Association).

UCC and Successors

• UCC — Universities’ Computer Center
• DCS — Department of Computer Science
• ICST — Institute of Computer Science and Technology
• UCSY — University of Computer Studies Yangon

Paying Back

There are blanks to be filled in the history of UCC, DCS, ICST and UCSY.
Several people asked me to take the challenge or at the very least motivate others to share their experience and journey regarding IT in Burma.

Relying on

• my reasonably good associative memory
• my story telling skills which I inherited from my father, Thin Sayas, Myin Sayas and Kyar Sayas
• my training in “Communication and Leadership” from Toastmasters International to become a DTM (Distinguished Toastmaster)
• my contributions — Docent at the Computer History Museum; Language Expert for the Burma Language Project by National Foreign Language Center at University of Maryland (College Park); Contributor for the Encyclopedia of Asian American Folklore and Folklife; Founder & Chief Editor of RIT Alumni International Newsletter; Member and Contributor of HMEE (History of Myanmar Engineering Education); Editor of High School Mathematics Project; Administrator and/or Moderator of websites and Facebook Groups
• my experience as a writer, editor, translator, interpreter, editor, coach, mentor

I will try my best to repay back to my alma mater and mentors.

I request sayas, alumni and readers to enhance my writings photos, anecdotes and suggestions.

Saya Dr. Chit Swe was a firm believer of

• Technology Transfer
• Leapfrogging Technology
• Lifelong Learning
• Personnel Development

He initiated several programs for Technology Transfer. He had a Component in the UCC Project Plan to have elite Computer Professionals help jump start the Computerization in Burma. The contract for the Component was won by Professor Harry D. Huskey (Computer Pioneer and Past President of ACM). UCC was privileged to have Lectures and Seminars by Experts (Theory and Practice of Computing, Computer Science, Computer Technology, Computer Applications, Computer History …).

Academic courses given under the aegis of Department of Mathematics include :

• M.Sc. (Computer Science)
• DAC — Diploma in Automatic Computing

Courses for computer users include :

• Computer Orientation Course (COC)
• Computer Programming Course (CPC)
• Elective for Honors and Post-graduate in other disciplines
• Intensive training (e.g. for Population Census Data Processing)
• Special training (e.g. for State Scholars)
• Planning (e.g. for departments intending to purchase computers)

တက္ကသိုလ်များကွန်ပျူတာဌာန မိသားစု

Founders

Dr Chit Swe / Dr ချစ်ဆွေ (ကွယ်လွန်)

Photo – with UCC Alumni in Sydney, Australia

• Founder & Director, UCC
• Professor, Mathematics Department, RASU
• RASU ပါချုပ် ငြိမ်း
• Alumnus of Mandalay University, Imperial College (London University), University of Glasgow, Liverpool University
• Supervised students in Burma, Bangkok and Sydney
• Passed away in Sydney, Australia

U Soe Paing ဦးစိုးပိုင်

Photo — UCC gathering at MICT Park

Photo — with U Hla Min

• Co-founder, UCC
• Systems Manager, Systems Division
• After reorg, Systems Manager for Systems Division and Operations Division
• BSEE and MSEE from Stanford University
• M.Sc. (Computer Science) from Southampton Univeristy
• RIT EE, UCC, UN ငြိမ်း
• Articles can be read from SCRIB-D

U Myo Min ဦးမျိုးမင်း

Photo — with U Hla Min

Photo — with spouse

• Co-founder, UCC
• Systems Manager, Applications Division
• After reorg, Systems Manager for Business Applications Division
• Gold Medalist for I,Com and B.Com (Accounting)
• Chartered Accountant, UK
• Masters in Systems Engineering, Lancaster University
• IBM UK, UCC, NTI/NTU Seagate, Connors ငြိမ်း

Ko Ko Lay ဦးကိုကိုလေး (ကွယ်လွန်)

Photo — UCC Thingyan

• Co-founder, UCC
• BSCE and MSCE from Stanford University
• Masters in Systems Engineering, Lancaster University
• PWD, UCC, DCS, ICST ပါမောက္ခ ငြိမ်း

မှတ်တမ်းတင်ဓာတ်ပုံ (တချို့)

Dr Tin Maung / Dr တင်မောင် (ကွယ်လွန်)

• Alumnus of Rangoon University, Queen Mary College
• Lecturer, Mathematics Department, RASU
• Succeeded Dr. Chit Swe as UCC Director
• ICST ပါချုပ် ငြိမ်း

Dr. Tun Aung Gyaw / Dr ထွန်းအောင်ကျော်

Photo 5 — with U Soe Win, U Hla Min and U Aung Zaw

• Alumnus of RIT, RU, UIUC
• UCC, DCS, ICST တွဲဖက်ပါမောက္ခ ငြိမ်း

U Hla Min ဦးလှမင်း — Lifelong Learner

Photo 6 — with U Aung Zaw, U Soe Win, Dr. Tun Aung Gyaw, Dr. Kyaw Thein (GBNF)

• Alumnus of RIT, RU, Rice University
• UCC, DCS, ICST တွဲဖက်ပါမောက္ခ ငြိမ်း

U Soe Win ဦးစိုးဝင်း

• See photos with Dr. Tun Aung Gyaw and U Hla Min
• Alumnus of RIT
• UCC, PTC ကွန်ပျူတာ ငြိမ်း

Chief Operator U Hla Min / CO ဦးလှမင်း (ကွယ်လွန်)

• Alumnus of RIT and UK University
• Passed away in his mid 30’s

U Aung Zaw ဦးအောင်ဇော် (ကွယ်လွန်)

• See photos with Dr. Tun Aung Gyaw, U Hla Min and U Soe Win
• Alumnus of RASU and Southampton University
• Taught Computer Science at UCC, CSo, Assumption University and Australian University
• Published two books “Bawa and Dhamma” and “Cetana Thi Thar Kan”
• Transplant of Kidney (donated by his spouse) extended his life by a decade

UCC Staff and/or Students ဝန်ထမ်း and/or ကျောင်းသူ ကျောင်းသား

• See above photo (for CO U Hla Min)

Arcariya Pu Zaw Pwe အာစရိယ ပူဇော်ပွဲ

ဦးစိုးပိုင်၊ Dr ကျော်သိန်း (ကွယ်လွန်)၊ Dr ပိုက်တင်၊ ဦးလှမင်း၊ ဦးသိန်းဦး

Daw Nge Ma Ma Than

Memories of UCC (16)

Dr. San Tint (External Examiner, GBNF)

• Graduated in 1961
• Joined the EE (Electrical Engineering) Department as Assistant Lecturer.
• When EE Department formally split into EC and EP Departments, he became Professor of EC (Electrical Communications AKA Electronics Engineering).
• Staunch supporter of the UCC Project.
• Served as External Examiner at UCC.
• Played on the RIT Saya Soccer team with Saya Paing, Saya Dr. Tin Win (M62), and Saya U Tin Maung Nyunt.
• Continued to teach at RIT after retirement.
• Suffered stroke and his right hand was paralyzed.
  Practiced writing with his left hand hoping that he will recover and continue teaching.
• Spent four decades (or so) teaching and passing the torch to the younger generation.
• Ko Hlaing Myint, Saya’s nephew, was with Saya in Saya’s final days.

Memories of UCC (17)

U Tin Swe (Power User, GBNF)

• Was wrongly called as U Tint Swe, U Tin Shwe and U Tin Shwe Gyi.
• Correct name is U Tin Swe.
• Member of the Prome Hall Football (Soccer) team which won the Inter-Hall Soccer Tournament for two consecutive years.
• Graduated in 1953.
• Joined the Electrical Engineering Department as Assistant Lecturer.
• Studied for MS at the University of Michigan.
• Upon his return, Saya became a Lecturer.
• Power User at UCC.
• Supervised U Aung Kyaw Pe (EP69) for his Master’s thesis.
• Worked with Power Distribution & Analysis programs.
• Collaborated with his former students including Dr. San Oo (EP67).
• In the early days, there were few Professorships.
• Passed away before the creation of separate EC (Electrical Communications) and EP (Electrical Power) Departments.

Memories of UCC (18)

Dr. Kyaw Thein (GBNF)

• Retired Rector, ICST
• Mentioned at the 5th ICST/UCSY Acariya Pu ZawPwe in 2018 that I was Generation Zero of UCC, Bo Htay was Generation One, and he was Generation Two. 
• Was a fledgling tutor in the Mathematics Department in 1963 when we entered I.Sc. (A) class at Leik Khone.
• Top student in his Honors Class (1958 – 1962).
• Held Tutorial for the topics taught by Saya U Khin Zaw, Saya Choudry and Sayama Daw Khin Ma Ma.
• Encouraged me.
  I was top among Science Option students of I.Sc. (A).
• We crossed our paths again when Saya U Tun Aung Gyaw, U Soe Win and I visited Southampton University to see Saya U Soe Paing and U Aung Zaw.
  He was doing his Ph.D in Mathematics specializing on Differentiable Manifold (and related topics).
  He and U Aung Zaw joined us to see Stonehenge, Salisbury Cathedral, and Safari (with wild animals roaming).
• As Saya Chit’s assistant and general hand, I worked on several projects with him and several other Mathematics sayas.
• Became Principal of Sittwe College.
• Succeeded Saya Dr. Tin Maung as Rector of ICST.

U Soe Win

• Graduated with Electrical Communications in 1970.
• Joined UCC as Engineer.
• Sent to UK for ICL training and to US for PDP training.
• He and his team implemented the Burmese font for the Calcomp graph plotter.
• Father : U Thein Maung (“Htin Lin”, winner of National Literary Award)
• Elder brother : U Soe Myint (Chief Editor of several publications, GBNF) is the father of Daw Khin Khin Latt (KMZ’s spouse).
• Younger brothers : U Kyaw Zaw (EC71, GBNF) and U Khin Zaw (KZ).
• Transferred to PTC.
• After retirement, he and his spouse did business (e.g. private tuition school, lodging) in Mawlamyaing (Moulmein).

Memories of UCC (19)

40th Anniversary Of UCC

• The “40th Anniversary of UCC” was the Reunion of Staff, Teachers (Past and Present) and Students.
• Daw Khin Lay Myint (former Secretary and Admin Officer, GBNF) and the Maintenance Crew : Daw Ngwe Tin, Aye Aye Myint, Hla Hla Myint and Maung Myint were among the attendees.
  
• Saya Dr. Tin Maung (GBNF) was represented by Sayagadaw and Saya’s daughter.
• There was fun and laughter, music and dances, and good old memories.

U Soe Myint (GBNF)

• Graduated with Mechanical Engineering in 1972.
• Joined UCC as Operator.
• Served as Shift Lead
• Expert in Mechanical Drawing and AutoCAD
• Retired as Pro-Rector of ICST.
• Known as Sunlun Kappiya and Soe Myint Gyi

• Came to see me during my visit and shared his knowledge about U Lokanatha and Sayadaw’s financial support to buy the land for Kaba Aye Sun Lun Gu Kyaung.
• Gave me a “Chone Hte” (blanket for monk).
• On the fateful day, he made two trips to the Kaba Aye Sunlun Gu Kyaung monastery, because he forgot his donation on his first trip. He also visited his nephew and niece who need dialysis. May be because of his karma or because of the trips he tool that day, he passed away around 3 AM.
• Elder sister : Tekkatho Shwe Yi Win (spouse of Saya Dr. Khin Maung Win (Mathematics), mother of Mg Mg Win (Maung Yit) and Mi Mi Win (Junior Win)).

Memories of UCC (20)

Names

• Saya Chit (Dr. Chit Swe, GBNF)
• Saya Paing (U Soe Paing)
• Saya Myo (U Myo Min)
• Saya Lay (U Ko Ko Lay, GBNF)
• Saya DTM (Dr. Tin Maung, GBNF)
• Saya Thein (Dr. Kyaw Thein, GBNF)
• Saya Pyke (Dr. Pyke Tin)
• Saya Zaw (U Aung Zaw)
• Saya Tag (Dr. Tun Aung Gyaw)
• Bo Shoke (U Mya Thein, GBNF)
• Ah Thay Lay (U Thein Oo)
• Pauk Si (Chief Operator U Hla Min)
• Bo Htay (Dr. Mg Mg Htay)
• KMZ (U Khin Mg Zaw)
• Kyein (U Kyaw Nyein, GBNF)
• MMG (U Maung Maung Gyi)
• Mra (U Mra Tun)
• Ah Leong (U Kyaw Zwar)
• Ah Ba (U Mg Mg Lay)
• Dobat Sayagyi (U Win Hlaing)
• Soe Myint Gyi or Sunlun Kappiya (U Soe Myint, GBNF)
• Charlie (U Myint Lwin)
• Joe Thein (U Soe Thein, GBNF)
• Joe Than (Dr. Soe Than)
• Judy (Daw Nwe Nwe Win)
• Ma Nge (Daw Nge Ma Ma Than, GBNF)
• Japan Sayagyi (U Aung Hlaing)
• Ju Ju (Daw Tin May Lwin)
• Bei Gyi (U Sein Myint)
• Sin Gyi (Daw Sao Mon Sint)
• Sammy (U San Myint Thane)
• Boe (U Boe Ba Shan)
• Ma Phyu (Daw Phyu Phyu Win)
• Jaws (U Kyaw Zwa Than)
• K-cube (Daw Khin Khin Kyu)
• KLM (Daw Khin Lay Myint. GBNF)
• KSM (U Soe Myint (Systems))
• Gary (U Sein Myint Maung)
• Mu Mu (Daw Khin Aye Mu)
• AM (U Aung Myint)
• Silver (U Ngwe Soe)
• Byte (U Myint Soe)
• KZ (U Khin Zaw)
• Bo Waing (U Win Myint (1))
• Ah Shay Gyi (U Tin Ohn)
• Toe Toe (Daw Khin Toe Nyein, GBNF)
• Ohn Thee (U Ohn Thwin, GBNF)

Terms

• A : Architecture
• ABAC : Assumption Business And Accounting College
• AI : Artificial Intelligence
• AKA : Also Known As

• BRS : Boundary Road School
• BS : Bachelor of Science
• BSCE : BS in Civil Engineering
• BSEE : BS in Electrical Engineering
• CHM : Computer History Museum
• CO : Chief Operator
• COBOL : Common Business Oriented Language
• CS : Computer Science
• CSE : Computer Science Education
• CSL : Control And Simulation Language
• CSO : Central Statistical Organization
• CT : Computer Technology
• CTK : Children’s Treasury of Knowledge
• DCS : Department Of Computer Science
• DEC : Digital Equipment Corporation
• EC : Electrical Communications
• EE : Electrical Engineering
• EP : Electrical Power
• FILAN : File Analysis
• FORTRAN : Formula Translator
• GBNF : Gone But Not Forgotten
• GEORGE : General Organizational Environment
• GPCP : General Purpose Contouring Package
• IBM : International Business Machines
• ICT : International Calculators And Tabulators
• ICL : International Computers Limited
• ICL ETC : ICL Engineers’ Training Center
• ICST : Institute Of Computer Science And Technology
• ILA : Intelligence Level Aggregate
• IP : Internet Protoocol (or) Intellectual Property
• IT : Information Technology
• M : Mechanical
• MEHS : Methodist English High School
• MIT : Massachusetts Institute Of Technology
• MS : Master of Science
• MSCE: MS in Civil Engineering
• MSEE : MS in Electrical Engineering
• NA : Not Applicable
• OS : Operating System
• PBRS : Private Boundary Road School
• Ph.D : Doctorate In Philosophy
• PLAN : Programming Language For Nineteen Hundred
• PPBRS : Private Primary Boundary Road School
• PZP : Pu Zaw Pwe
• RASU : Rangoon Arts And Science University
• RU : Rangoon University
• RUBC : Rangoon University Boat Club
• RUESU : Rangoon University Engineering Students’ Union
• SPHS : St. Paul’s High School
• SPZP : Saya Pu Zaw Pwe
• TTC : Teachers Training College
• UBARI : Union of Burma Applied Research Institute
• UCC : Universities’ Computer Center
• UCSY : University Of Computer Studies, Yangon
• UN : United Nations
• UNDP : United Nations Development Program
• UNESCO : UN Educational Scientific & Cultural Organization
• UNV : United Nations Volunteer

Memories of UCC (21)

Win Myint

There were three people at UCC named Win Myint.

Win Myint (1)

• AKA Bo Waing and U Win Myint Gyi
• High School Luyechun (Outstanding student) from Myeik (Mergui).
• Was caught off guard when the then new Education System used the controversial ILA (Intelligence Level Aggregate) to determine the admission to the Universities and Institutes.
  Had to study Philosophy along with others who had “low” ILA scores.
• Instead of using the marks directly, the ILA uses a “distribution” of the marks for each subject and gives a score. The ILA system helped students with “balanced” marks. By having marks in the “top tier” for each subject, a student can get reasonably good score. But a student with “low” marks in one or two subjects (e.g. Burmese and English) would be penalized by the ILA system.

• Philosophy is derived from Phil (love of) and Sophy (Wisdom).
  The highest degree is called Ph.D (Doctorate of Philosophy).
  It is ironic that students with “low” ILA scores were “forced” to major in Philosophy.
  
• Bo Waing is an exception.
  He was determined to pursue a challenging career.
  Since he wanted to learn and work with computers, he enhanced his typing skills for both English and Burmese.
  It was a requirement for the position of Secretary at the newly formed UCC.
• Grapevine says that Bo Waing’s interview at PSC (Public Services Commission) was fast and smooth. When he said, “I am Bet Thar (or similar meaning ‘I am from Beik (Mergui)’, the PSC Chairman who was from Beik “validated” Bo Waing’s appointment as Secretary.
• Bo Waing not only typed very fast, but he learned Computer Science quickly and proficiently.
  He became a programmer.
  Later Bo Waing joined Winner Computer Group.
  Kudos to Bo Waing for his tenacity and professionalism.

Win Myint (2)

• Majored in Mathematics and received Masters.
• Worked at SLR (Surveyor of Lan Records) Department, before serving as an Applications Programmer at UCC. 
• Worked overseas (initially as a UNV [United Nations Volunteer]) and later as a consultant.

Win Myint (3)

• Operated the cyclostyle (Gestener).
• The UCC lecture guides were printed mostly on Sittaung (Sittang) paper and some on the Ye Ni paper.

Notes

Some may remember “Introduction to Computers”, “Introduction to Computer Programming”, and the various User Guides prepared by Saya U Soe Paing, Saya U Aung Zaw and me.

Memories of UCC (22)

International Business Machines (IBM)

• IBM designed and implemented System/360.
  360 supposedly refers to the number of degrees in a circle
• It uses the same “architecture” with a common “instruction set”.
• The “high end” models implement the instruction set using the “best available” hardware.
• The “low end” models implement the instruction set using firmware.
• George Blauuw and Frederick Brooks Jr. explain the then “new” concepts (architecture, implementation, realization …) in their reference guides.
• Brooks led the development of both the computer systems S/360 and the operating system OS/360. He wrote a book, “The Mythical Man Month” (which became a classic).
• I attended a lecture at CHM (Computer History Museum) and requested some members of the S/360 development team to autograph the S/360 reference card.

System/370

• IBM introduced System/370 in the 1970’s.
• Gene Amdahl, Architect for System/370, left IBM to form his company and produced Amdahl 470, which is “compatible” with System/370 and supposedly “better” than System/370.

Bidding For UCC Project

• IBM was among the four computer companies that submitted tender for the UCC Project.
• It submitted a model of S/360.
• ICL (International Computers Limited) won the tender.

Memories of UCC (23)

International Computers Limited (ICL)

ICT (International Calculators and Tabulators) evolved into ICL (International Computers Limited).

ICL 1900 Series

• ICL 1900 series cover a range of machines : ICL 1901 to ICL 1907.
• The basic machines have “A” in the name, e.g. ICL 1901A.
• The enhanced machines have “S” in the name, e.g. ICL 1902S (the one used at UCC).

Computer And Peripherals

• The following configuration was used at UCC.
• Some upgrades were made using the budget for “Population Census Data Processing” Project.

• ICL 1902S computer with 2.5 D (dimensional) core memory and a console typewriter
• Two ICL 2101 Card Readers
• ICL 1933 Line Printer
• Two ICL 2802 EDS (Exchangeable Disk Store)
• Each controller controls two EDS 8 disks
• Four ICL 2506 Magnetic Tape 9 track NRZI (Non Return to Zero Inverted)

The computer has piano-like keys for “bootstrapping” and for “testing”.

Some ICL computers use a 5-track Paper Tape Reader. There are pros and cons for using “punched cards” versus “punched paper tape”. Punched cards were used in the early looms and in the Hollerith Machines used for processing US Population Census Data. Hollerith founded a company, which evolved into IBM. Punched paper tape were used in the early transmission systems.

A flat bed CalComp Graph Plotter was added.

Training

Three UCC engineers underwent training at the ICL ETC (ICL Engineering Training Center) in Letchworth, United Kingdom.

ICL provided a “resident” engineer to maintain the computer system and a “resident” programmer/analyst to guide the system programmers and selected application programmers. CalComp provided an on-site training for the graph plotter. Details can be found in the computer articles published by Saya U SoePaing.

Memories of UCC (24)

Operating System For ICL 1900 Series

ICL 1900 series use GEORGE (General Organization Environment) O/S Operating System.

ICL1902S uses GEORGE-2.

Some other computers use GEORGE-3.

Software Packages

ICL1902S comes with several software packages.

Saya Zaw and team install the software and the patches (during the period reserved for them).

PLAN (Programming Language for Nineteen hundred series) is the Assembly Language.

FORTRAN (Formula Translator) and COBOL (Common Business Oriented Language) are the programming languages used for scientific computing and business applications.

The language compilers detect for syntax and semantic errors and output a form that can be read by a “consolidator” or “linking loader”.

There are application software packages.

• FILAN (File Analysis) is used for the processing of Population Census data.
• CSL (Control and Simulation Language) is available for Discrete Event Simulation.
• GPCP (General Purpose Contouring Package)

Details can be provided by Saya U Soe Paing, Saya U Aung Zaw, U Maung Maung Htay, and U Soe Myint (KSM).

Memories of UCC (25)

Analogy : Teach Fishing Rather Than Give Fish

To help “speed up” the computerization in Burma, Saya Chit mandated the “training and knowledge transfer” component in the UCC project. The component was awarded to Professor Harry D. Huskey (Past ACM President), who taught at University of California Berkeley (UCB) and University of California Santa Cruz (UCSC). Dr, Huskey is a computer pioneer, ACM (Association of Computing Machinery) Fellow, and CHM (Computer History Museum) Fellow. Details can be found in Wikipedia, ACM and CHM.

Dr. Huskey persuaded several top Computer Scientists and Educators to transfer their knowledge and expertise to UCC staff and students.

Learning From The Pioneers And Gurus

The following is a partial list of the experts provided by Dr. Huskey.

Professor Anthony Ralston (SUNY Buffalo & Past President of ACM) lectured on “Structured Programming” , “Structured FORTRAN) …

Professor Peter Wegner (Brown University, Providence, Rhode Island) lectured on “Formal Languages and Automata Theory” …

Dr. Malcolm P. Atkinson (Cambridge University Mathematics & Computer Lab) taught “Programming Languages”, “Data Structures”, …

Professor Forman Acton (Princeton University) lectured using his book, “Programs that almost work” with emphasis on Error Analysis

Professor Michael Stonebraker (UC Berkeley) lectured on RDBMS (Relational DataBase Management System) in general and INGRES (an early language for RDBMS) in particular. Michael Stonebraker, Eugene Wong and Gerald Held designed and implemented INGRES at UCB. They went on to found INGRES and several other DB companies. Stonebraker is currently affiliated with MIT. Stonebraker won the prestigious ACM Turing Award (“Nobel Prize” for Computer Professionals) a few years ago.

Impact Of The Lectures And Courses

Dr. Htay Lwin Nyo, Sai Aung Thurein, JAWS (Ko Kyaw Zwar Than), BEI GYI (Ko Sein Myint), … implemented projects (based on INGRES and other Databases) on ICL 1902S under the supervision of Saya Paing and several other sayas.

Memories of UCC (26)

Digital Equipment Corporation (DEC)

Ken Olson and several other MIT (Massachusetts Institute of Technology) alumni founded DEC (Digital Equipment Corporation). Grape vine says that there was a “protocol” in government departments to “purchase computer”. In order to circumvent that, DEC named their mini-computers as PDP (Programmable Digital Processors). CHM (Computer History Museum) has a PDP-1 on display. Retired DEC engineers “restored” a PDP-1. The exhibit has demos : one for play a “primitive” Space War game, another for “playing” music.

PDP-8 is a 12-bit mini-computer used in many universities of that period.

PDP-11 is a 16-bit mini-computer (that was acquired by UCC).

VT-101 (or similar) terminals became the “new” mode of entering and running programs.

DEC later introduced VAX (Virtual Address eXtended) series.

Gordon Bell was the VAX architect and co-author of the book using CMS (Computer Memory System) and “formal” methods to describe and evaluate computer systems. The artifacts that he collected for the book project were displayed in DEC as BCM (Boston Computer Museum) with Gwen Bell as the Curator. It later became CHM (Computer History Museum) in Mountain View, California.

Docent for CHM

I volunteered as a Docent for CHM for a couple of years. i had to explain to visitors about the early computers (including DEC and VAX machines). A few wanted to know “What is Silicon Valley?” and “What makes SV special?”

Route 66

Some early Computer and Technology companies were founded on or near Route 66 in Boston, Massachusetts. Some factors and people (William Shockley, Frederick Terman) contributed to the birth of “Silicon Valley” in California instead of Massachusetts (which has MIT and Harvard).