Blog

Family

Birthday : October 1, 1931
Spouse : Ma Ma Pat
Children : Chit Saya (and Win Maw), Michael (and Jenny)
Grandchildren: Ashton …

He has nine brothers and two sisters. They include Kyaw Tun Sein, Thawda Sein, Kyi Win Sein, Tin Htoo Sein, Tin Htet Sein, Ko Ko Sein.
Five brothers and a sister have passed away. Among the siblings who are alive, he is the most senior.
Most brothers attended De La Salle Schools.

Education / Experience

• President of the RU ConBro Association.
• Captain of the soccer team.
• Graduated in 1958 (first batch of Architects from the University of Rangoon)
• Received Masters at Michigan University in the USA
• Succeeded Saya U Tha Tun as Head of the Architecture Department
• Retired as Professor before moving to the USA
• Author
• Invited to lecture in Japan, Australia, New Zealand …
• Wrote articles for RIT Alumni Newsletter, Swel Daw Yeik Magazine and HMEE (History of Myanmar Engineering Education),

• Attended SPZP-2000 and said that his American colleague would gladly exchange all his awards to attend a SPZP.
• Attended the Annual Dinner of RIT NorCal RITAA along with several other sayas from Southern California.

• Khamee Khamet of U Win Kyu, a senior alumni
• Visited Northern California to see his grandson (studying at UC Davis)
  Spent some time with Saya U Myat Htoo (C68).
• iNapa Winery hosted a gathering for his 90th Birthday

Thanks to U Aye (M62) for providing information & feedback

Architecture

U Myo Myint Sein (A58)

• Retired Professor and Head of Department
• Soccer Selected
• President of RU ConBro (alumni of Convent & Brother Schools)
• Author
• Guest Lecturer at selected associations and universities
• Alumnus of Michigan University

U Tun Thein (A58, GBNF)

• Senior Architect

Civil

Allen Htay (C58, GBNF)

• Joined Faculty as Assistant Lecturer
• Received MS from Harvard University
• Promoted to Lecturer
• President of RIT Photography Association
• Moved to USA
• Member of BEA and BAPS
• Leader of SF Bay Area Alumni
• Founding member and President of RIT Alumni International which hosted SPZP-2000.
• His article “Brother, can you spare $500 and more?” resulted in Golden Sponsors, Donors and Volunteers.

Dr. San Hla Aung (C58)

• Joined Faculty as Assistant Lecturer
• Received MS from Massachusetts Institute of Technology
• Promoted to Lecturer
• President of RIT Swimming Association
• President of RIT Rowing Association.
• Line Judge at RUBC Regattas.
• Moved to USA
• Received Doctorate
• Retired Professor of Practice at Tulane University, New Orleans
• Wrote articles for RIT Alumni Newsletter and website.
• Donated back some Garawa money to SDYF and RIT-related activities.

Dr. Win Thein (C58, GBNF)

• Retired Professor and Head of RIT Civil Engineering

• U Khin Maung Win (Sid Chen, USA, GBNF)
• Helped annotate the C58 Class Photo with Dr. San Hla Aung and Saya Allen

Oscar Sharazee (C58)

• Attended SPZP-2000.
• Worked in Middle East.
• Brother-in-law of U Ngwe Zoe (Peter Gale, GBNF)

Saw Irwin Myaing (C58)

• He was from St Patrick’s HS, Moulmein

Electrical

• U Htin Paw (USA, GBNF)
  Double Gold Medalist.
  Joined Faculty of Engineering after graduation.
  MS from Michigan University.
  Transferred to UBARI and EI.
  President of BEA
  President of TBSA.
  Attended SPZP-2000. Wrote articles for RIT Alumni Newsletter and website.
  Donated $2000 to Dhammanda Vihara in memory of Sayama Dr. Julie Han (who served as VP and Fundraiser of TBSA).
• U Ba Nyunt (GBNF) : Saya.
  MS from US. Worked for MOC/MOGE. Attended SPZP-2000 during his visit to see his daughter and grandchild. His spouse is Daw May Su (Physics, GBNF). His son-in-law Thiha played keyboard at SPZP-2000. Thet Win, son of U Shwe Kyaw (M63, GBNF) played drums.

Mechanical

U Kyaw Than (Gwan Leong, M58, GBNF)

• Retired Airworthiness Engineer, UBA / BAC
• Moved to Canada
• Attended RIT Reunion in the East Coast with Rosemary (Spouse)
• Brother : U San Lwin (Gwan Toh, EE57)

Chemical

• U Soe Maung (Ch59)
• U Win Pe (C59)
• U Tun Aung Thwin (Ch59)

Mining

U Hla Myint (Kenny, Min58, GBNF)

• Lecturer, GTI Insein
• Husband of Sayama Daw Tin Tin Ohn (T61)
• Prome Hall soccer goalkeeper and basketball

• Matriculated in 1951, but had to wait one year before attending Rangoon University (due to the Minimum Age Requirement)
  
• Won Gold Medal for finishing Top in the Class of Civil 58
  
• Joined RU as Assistant Lecturer.
  
• Received MS from MIT.
  
• Promoted to Lecturer.
  
• Completed Doctorate from University of New Orleans.
  
• Retired as Professor of Practice

Activities and Achievements

• President, RIT Swimming Association
  
• President, RIT Rowing Association
  
• Line Judge, RUBC Regattas
  
• Wrote articles for RIT Alumni Newsletter
  Student days at BOC College
  Bio for SPZP-2000
  Memory of Saya U Sein Win

• Attended SPZP-2000
  
• Missed some SPZPs due to Schedule Conflict (e.g classes and exams)

Notes

• Had first mini-reunion in New Orleans (during my visit to CA World)
  
• Had further reunions in SPZPs, and at SF Bay Area gatherings and Winner Inn
  
• Saya retired at the tender age of 80.
  
• After retirement, Saya spent some time in Myanmar.
  He lives mostly with his daughter in New York.
  He spent about a year in San Francisco with his son (partly due to the Covid restrictions in NY and California).

• Several of Saya’s classmates are GBNF
  Saya Allen Htay (C58, GBNF)
  Saya Dr. Win Thein (C58, GBNF)
  Sid Chen (Khin Maung Win, C58, GBNF)
  Saya U Htin Paw (EE58, GBNF)
  Saya U Ba Nyunt (EE58, GBNF)

Photos

• C58 Class Photo
  Annotated by Saya and friends

* Soon Kwyay in SF Bay Area

• At Winner Inn with Saya U Ba Than

• With U Nyi Hla Nge (C69) and U Saw Lin (C71)

• Most members matriculated in 1949 and graduated with B.Sc.(Engg) in 1955.
• Dr. Aung Gyi, U Min Wun and U Maung Maung Than (GBNF) were among the first engineering students sent to US as State Scholars under the “Twinning Project” proposed by Sayagyi U Ba Hli.

Saya Dr. Aung Gyi (C)

• Matriculated in 1949.
• Joined Engineering classes after completing Intermediate of Science.
• Received Scholarship to study in the USA.
• Received BS and MS from MIT.
• Upon return to Burma, joined the Civil Engineering Department as Assistant Lecturer
  and was promoted to Lecturer.
• Received Scholarship to study in Canada.
• Received Doctorate from the University of Alberta.
• Became Professor and Head of Civil Engineering.
• Succeeded U Yone Moe as Rector in 1971.
• Rector from 1971 – in 1977
• Worked for UN and Canadian Agency
• Moved to Napean, Canada
• Keynote speaker at SPZP-2000
• Wrote articles for RIT Alumni Newsletter and HMEE project.
• Celebrated his 91st birthday in October 2022

Saya U Min Wun (C, GBNF)

• Matriculated in 1949.
• Joined Engineering classes after completing Intermediate of Science.
• Received Scholarship to study in the USA.
• Received BS from MIT and MS from Cornell University
• Upon return to Burma, joined the Civil Engineering Department as Assistant Lecturer
  and was promoted to Lecturer.
• Succeeded Dr. Aung Gyi as Professor and Head of Civil Engineering Department
• Served as Advisor for the Myanmar Pyet Ka Dein Committee
• Speaker at SPZP-2000
• Wrote articles for RIT Alumni Newsletter and HMEE project.
• Moved to California, USA.
• Retired from CalTran (California Transportation) at the tender age of 80.
• Stay fit and healthy in his 90s doing Meditation.

Saya U Khin Aung Kyi (Ch, GBNF)

• Matriculated in 1949.
  Stood Seventh in Burma, and received Collegiate Scholarship.
• Joined Engineering classes after completing Intermediate of Science.
• Received Scholarship to study in the USA.
• Received BS and MS from MIT
• Upon return to Burma, joined the Chemical Engineering Department as Assistant Lecturer
  and was promoted to Lecturer.
• Became Professor and Head of Chemical Engineering.
• Succeeded Dr. Aung Gyi as Rector in 1977.
• Rector from 1977 – 1988.
  
• Taught at Rengsit University in Bangkok
• Speaker at SPZP-2000
• Gave interview to HMEE team member U Ohn Khine (M70)

Saya U Maung Maung Than (T, GBNF)

• Matriculated in 1949.
• Joined Engineering classes after completing Intermediate of Science.
• Received Scholarship to study in the USA.
• Received BS from Clemson and MS from Lowell University
• Upon return to Burma, joined the Textile Engineering Department as Assistant Lecturer
  and was promoted to Lecturer.
• Became Professor and Head of Textile Engineering.
• Succeeded U Khin Aung Kyi as Rector in 1988
• Rector from 1988 – 1992
• Retired as Director General of DHE
  
• Served as Chairman of the RIT Sports Council
• Hobbies include Music (playing the Harp)

• Most members matriculated in 1947 and graduated with B.Sc.(Engg) in 1953.
• U Ba Than left before graduation to study at Imperial College, University of London.

U Tin Swe (EE53, GBNF)

• Member of the Prome Hall soccer team which won the Inter-Hall tournament for two consecutive years.
• Played good tennis.
  
• Joined the EE Department after graduation in 1953.
• Studied MSEE at University of Michigan.
• Retired as Senior Lecturer of the Electrical Engineering Department.
  
• He was a power user at UCC.
  He and his former students Dr. San Oo (EP67) and U Aung Kyaw Pe (EP69) developed and ran programs related to power systems.

U Ba Than

• Matriculated from St. John’s Dio in 1947.
• Won Collegiate Scholarship.
• Won the Gold Medal for scoring the highest marks in the Intermediate of Science examination.
• RUBC Full Green
• Studied Mechanical Engineering at Imperial College, University of London.
• Joined the Faculty of Engineering as Assistant Lecturer.
• As a requirement for promotion, he did his Masters at Imperial College.
• Retired as Professor of Mechanical Engineering.
• Saya is an early supporter of the HMEE-2012 project.
  Donated his photo albums.
  Cooperated with U Thaw Kaung to allow Saya U Soe Paing and his team to access the archives of Rangoon University Central Library.
• Before the pandemic, he invited former colleagues and students to his Birthday Soon Kyaw at Yaw Sayadaw’s Monastery.
• He donated back all of the Garawa Money to various social and religious associations.
• Celebrated his 92nd birthday on October 2022.

U Chan Tha (GBNF)

• Led the Prome Hall soccer team to victory in the Inter-Hall tournament for two consecutive years.
• Played soccer for Rangoon University and SAMB.
• Past Captain and Gold of RUBC.
• Worked for Rangoon Municipal Corporation.
• Passed away in USA.

Dr. Aung Gyi

• Joined Rangoon University in 1949
• Selected as State Scholar to US to pursue BSCE and MSCE at MIT
• Retired as Rector of RIT
• Moved to Canada
• Wrote articles for RIT Alumni International Newsletter, Commemorative Swel Daw Yeik Sar Saung and HMEE (History of Myanmar Engineering Education)

U Min Wun (GBNF)

• Joined Rangoon University in 1949
• Selected as State Scholar to US to pursue BSCE at MIT and MSCE at Cornell
• Retired as Professor of Civil Engineering at RIT
• Moved to USA
• Wrote articles for RIT Alumni International Newsletter and HMEE (History of Myanmar Engineering Education)

U Maung Maung Than (GBNF)

• Joined Rangoon University in 1949
• Selected as State Scholar to US to pursue BS and MS in Textile Engineering
• Retired as Rector of RIT
• Chair, RIT Sports Council
• Expertise : Harp, Chinlon

U Khin Aung Kyi (GBNF)

• Stood Seventh in Burma in Matriculation
• Won Collegiate Scholarship
• Joined Rangoon University in 1949
• Selected as State Scholar to US to pursue BS and MS in Chemical Engineering at MIT
• Retired as Rector of RIT
• Taught in Thailand
• Gave interview for HMEE (History of Myanmar Engineering Education)

Twinning Program

• Initiated by Sayagyi U Ba Hli, first native Dean of Engineering
• Project to send State Scholars to US to pursue undergraduate and graduate studies in the US.
• Dr. Aung Gyi, U Khin Aung Kyi and U Maung Maung Than were the first three undergraduates selected by the project

by Hla Min

Updated : May 2025

U Thet Win (M70, Southern California, USA) posted me the book that was distributed at “Paying respect to [senior] engineers and architects, 75 years or older” ceremony sponsored by Myanmar Engineering Society (MES) on May 6, 2012.

Honorees

1. U Aung Kyi
2. U Aung Kywe
3. U Aung Par Thein
4. U Aung Hla Tun (Saya)
5. U Aung Than
6. U Aye Su
7. U Ba Aye
8. U Ba Chit
9. U Ba Myint (Saya)
10. U Ba Shein
11. U Ba Than (Sayagyi)
12. U Ba Thwin
13. U Bo Gyi (Ashin Pandita)
14. U Bo Kyin
15. U Hla Aye
16. U Hla Thein
17. U Hla Tin
18. U Hla Yee
19. U Kan Aye
20. U Kyi
21. U Kenneth C Po
22. U Khin Aung Kyi (Sayagyi)
23. U Khin Maung
24. U Khin Maung Lin
25. U Khin Maung Aye
26. U Khin Maung Lwin
27. U Khin Maung Yin
28. U Khin Maung
29. U Ko Ko Gyi
30. U Ko Ko Gyi (Part-time Saya)
31. U Ko Ko Than
32. U Kyaw Gyi
33. U Kyaw Myint
34. U Kyaw Thaung
35. U Kyaw Zan
36. U Kyi Khin
37. U Kyin Htwe
38. U Kyu Po
39. U Lay Lwin
40. U Lit Tan Gyi
41. U Maung Maung Htay
42. U Maung Maung Kyaing
43. U Maung Maung
44. U Mya Thein
45. U Myint Pe
46. U Myint Sein (passed away on 21st April, 2012)
47. U Myint Swe
48. U Myint Thein
49. U Myo Kyi
50. U Myo Swe
51. U Nyunt Hlaing
52. U Ohn Thwin
53. U Pe Thein
54. U San Tun Aung
55. Mr. S. Arya (Saya)
56. U San Maung
57. U San Myint
58. U San Yin
59. U San Ya
60. U Saw Bo Ka Naung
61. U Saw Gladstone
62. U Saw George Bu Mu [?]
63. U Saw Hap Block [?]
64. U Saw Maung
65. U Saw Taik Ain
66. U Sein Hlaing
67. U Sein Maung
68. U [Saw] Christopher Maung (Saya)
69. U Shwe Maung
70. U Soe Thein
71. U Soe Thein
72. U Than Aung
73. U Than Aye
74. U Than Lwin
75. U Than Tun
76. U Than Aye
77. U Than Hlaing
78. U Thein Tun
79. U Thein Tun
80. U Tin Aung
81. U Tin Maung Shwe
82. U Tin Maung
83. U Tin U
84. U Tin Tun
85. U Tin Tun
86. U Tin Yee
87. U Tun Kyi
88. U Tun Kyi
89. U Tun Lwin
90. U Tun Thein
91. U Wan Hlaing
92. U Thin Maung
93. U Win Naing
94. U Win Naing
95. U Win Pe
96. U Win Thein

The “notes” differ in length and content.

A few photos and addresses are missing.

Some names are spelled with variations. “na-thut versus ma-thut”.

Update

Sample Advice

Some are now GBNF (Gone But Not Forgotten)

• U Aung Par Thein
• Sayagyi U Khin Aung Kyi
• Saya Mr. S. Arya

• Also known as Jeffrey
• He attended MEHS (Methodist English High School).
• He was a Top student in the Class of EC68.
• He moved to USA.
• He retired as Director.
  
• He passed away of heart failure
• Eldest of six brothers
• Spouse : Daw Thuzar (Former Movie Actor, Sister of Academy Daw May Yu)
• Son : Michael Aung
• Daughter-in-law : Annie
• Grandchildren : 3

Trivia

• Most of his classmates, who passed GCE examination, left Burma to study and/or work overseas.
  Only two chose to attend Rangoon University.
  He was top student in EE and EC classes.
  Anita Aye Pe was selected Luyechun for 2nd MB Jr in the Summer of 1965.

• He suggested the name “BASES” for the association that was co-founded by Saya U Tin Htut, U Tin Htway and David Tun Tin.
  
• Saya U Chin Way was interviewed for a job in Los Angeles. When the interviewers learned that U Chin Way was a saya of their boss (U Tun Aung), there were no more questions.
  
• Two of his cousins (Dolly and Margaret) are spouses of U Kyaw Sint (E Tai, T70, Soccer, Tennis) and U Tin Maung Lay (M69)

U Khin Maung Zaw (KMC, EC76) wrote

U Jeffrey was the classmate of U Aung Khin (U Tar Tu – LA) and U Myint Thein Aung ((U Min Maung – Bellevue/WA/USA)– My son’s God Grand Dad).

• He graduated with B.E. (Electrical Power) in 1966 and joined the Electrical Engineering Department at RIT (Rangoon Institute of Technology).
• He later taught at Assumption University (formerly known as ABAC) in Bangkok, Thailand.
• He wrote about his final year B.E. (Bachelor of Engineering) experience in an article.
  It was published in the Commemorative Issue of “Swel Daw Yeik Sar Saung” for SPZP-2010 (Saya Pu Zwe Pwe in Singapore).
• He became a monk after retirement.
  He managed the Sangha Library.
• Sadly, he passed away.
  He is GBNF (Gone But Not Forgotten)

Health Care

• His former students donated for Saya’s health care.

A Poem in his memory

• Saya U Moe Aung (Tekkatho Moe War) wrote a Kabyar “To the Shwe Duo” lamenting the loss of Saya U Tin Shwe and Saya U Hla Shwe.
• The two sayas with “Shwe” in their names passed away a few months apart.
• I translated the Kabyar.

“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
Translated by Hla Min

SHWE duo
Blossom in unison
Disappear together
Free from complaint
Even with thin breath
Showed mark [of courage and wisdom]
Never ever 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.

Chemical

• Daw Tin Myint (ChE66) retired as Professor of Chemical Engineering.
  The Pon Tu is a gift from Bagyee Myat Myo Myint.

• Saya U Maung Maung (George, USA, ChE66) is an MEHS Alumnus.
  He is a Founding Member of RIT Alumni International and an Organizer of SPZP-2000.
  He is a Founding Member of Norcal RITAA and inaugural President.
  He provided $500 as Seed Money for YTU Library Staff Training Fund and raised $3000+ with donations by Saya U Myat Thwin (Kuesan Lin, ChE) and other sayas and alumni.
  His spouse Eng Eng is the younger sister of U Myat Thwin.
• U Ne Win Myint (Victor Win, ChE66, Diving, USA, GBNF) is an alumnus of St. Albert’s HS.
  He is a Past President of BADA.
  His spouse Jean Gale is a Past President of BAWA.
• U Tint Swe (ChE66, Singapore, Tennis) and his spouse Yi Yi Khaing (Vilma, ChE69) visited their sons in USA.
  They had a mini-gathering with Saya George and Ko Victor.
• Saya U Myat Thwin (ChE66) brought his wife Suzie (EE74, GBNF) and their son to attend SPZP-2000. Donated $500 for the Training Component of the YTU Library Modernization Project.

Mechanical

• Saya U Lin (M66) is Past President of RIT Buddhist Association.
  He is a Patron and Organizer of SPZPs in Yangon.
  Rowed for RIT.
  Donated to the YTU Modernization Project.
• U Soe Win (M66)
• U Soe Aung (M66)

Civil

Source : Ko Saw Lwin (Thaton)

• Ah Haung@Kyaw Myint USA
• Mr. Amil
• Aung Myint
• Aye Lwin
• Mr. Chandra India
• Mr. Gopo Nepal
• Kyaw Soe USA
• Lay Maung
• Maung Nu Bangladesh
• Myint Aung
• Nay Soe Naing
• Ohn Maung
• Or Hein
• Pe Than
• San Lwin
• San Nyein
• Sein Tun Australia/ Myanmar
• Soe Aung
• Thant Zin
• Thein Lwin Australia
• Thein Tan
• Tin Aung
• Tin Shwe USA
• Tun Tin
• Tun Win USA
• Victor Wong (King Wong) USA
  He donated books to YTU Library.
  He donated twice to NorCal RITAA : for the library and for the Scholarship fund
• Win Aung
• Win Myint

GBNF

• Aung Nyunt Hlaing
• Aye Thaung
• Bon Kyi
• Kar Daw
• Khin Myint Mu
• Ko Gyi
• Maung Kyin
• Myat Cho
• Myint Han
• Myo Ngwe
• Paw Tun
• Soe Nyunt
• Tin Tun Aye
• Yan Aung
• Yin Maung

REMARK : – The total C66 may be around 52 student

Electrical

• U Thaung Lwin (EC, Singapore) is RUBC Past Captain and Gold.
  He is the younger brother of Saya U Tin U, Saya U Ba Than, Dr. Myo Tint (GBNF), U Tin Htoon (A60) and Saya U Myo Min (UCC). Younger brother of Saya U Tin U (C), Saya U Ba Than (M), Dr. Myo Tint, U Tin Htoon (A60) and Saya U Myo Min (UCC).
  Past Captain and RUBC Gold like his three elder brothers U Tin U, Dr, Myo Tint and U Tin Htoon.
  Worked for IBM Burma before moving to Singapore.
• U Soe Lwin (EC, Railways, USA)
• U Aung Min (EC, MOC)
• U Thein Toe (EC, MOC)
• U Khin Maung Oo (Robert Gale, EC, BPI, USA)

• Saya U Tin Shwe (EP, GBNF) taught at RIT and Assumption University in Bangkok.
  He became a monk and Dhamma Librarian.
  Wrote an article for the Swel Daw Yeik Sar Saung for Singapore SPZP.
  Saya U Moe Aung wrote “To the Shwe Duo” in memory of Saya U Tin Shwe and Saya U Hla Shwe

Architecture

• U Htin Myaing (Ben Aye Maung, A66, Tennis)
• Daw Pyi Aye (Rosalind Maung, A66)
• U Than Tun (A66)
  He is a nephew of Sayadaw U Silanandabhivamsa (GBNF).
  He and Saya Dr. Koung Nyunt (A67, GBNF) wrote an article about Sayagyi U Tha Tun, who served as Part-time Lecturer and Head of the RIT Architecture Department.
  He and his wife Chit Chit visited California in September 7, 2018 and met Saya U Myat Htoo (C68), U Tin Htoon (A60) and Saya U Myo Myint Sein (A58).