SAE Newsletter – October 2017, Volume 7, Issue 4, Mizan 1396

A QUARTERLY UPDATE FROM THE SOCIETY OF AFGHAN ENGINEERS

Dear Colleagues:

It is a pleasure to provide you the fourth issue of the 2017 SAE eNewsletter (newsletter). This is the seventh year of the quarterly update from the Society of Afghan Engineers (SAE) through the publication of this newsletter. Thanks for the technical articles, comments, suggestions, and news that you have sent for publication in this newsletter.

This issue of the SAE eNewsletter features an Interview with Dr. A. Saboor Rahim, President of the ASR Engineering, Inc. and former Professor at the Faculty of Engineering, Kabul University. There is a report by the Election Committee on the Society of Afghan Engineers’ 2017 Election.

We are looking forward to the receipt of your technical news, articles, comments, suggestions, questions, and opinions about SAE activities, especially this publication.

Very Truly Yours,

G. Mujtaba, MS- CE, P.E., CPM;
Editor- In- Chief, SAE eNewsletter

“This issue of the SAE eNewsletter features an Interview with Dr. A. Saboor Rahim, President of ASR Engineering, Inc. and Former Professor at the Faculty of Engineering, Kabul University.”

Inside this Issue

• Greetings from the SAE President
• Message from the Chairperson, SAE Board of Directors
• The Society of Afghan Engineers 2017 Annual Conference
• The SAE eNewsletter Interviews
• Interview with Dr. A. Saboor Rahim, President of the ASR Engineering, Inc. and former Professor at the Faculty of Engineering, Kabul University.
• Membership News
• A Brief Report on SAE Election 2017
• Announcements
• The 2017 SAE Membership Renewal
• Comments and Suggestions about SAE eNewsletter
• Obituaries
• The SAE Organization

Greetings from the SAE President

Dear SAE Colleagues Salaam:

Over the past three months, the Executive Committee has been meeting regularly to discuss issues of interest and prepare for SAE’s upcoming Annual Conference. I am excited to report that the conference committee has done a wonderful job preparing the conference from selecting excellent speakers to choosing a great venue.

I invite every member of the Society to attend this very important gathering. The Annual Conference is a great way to meet and network with other professional Afghan engineers and architects. Additionally, the Conference will showcase several technical presentations and panel discussions relating to important engineering issues in Afghanistan.

The Society of Afghan Engineers’ 2017 Annual Conference will be held in two weeks on Saturday October 14, 2017. The Conference will be from 10am until 4pm at Dunya Banquet Hall and Restaurant in Alexandria, Virginia. The Conference agenda is included in this edition of SAE’s newsletter as well as on SAE’s website and Facebook page.

If you are interested and able to attend, please let us know by RSVPing to info@afghanengineers.org or 703-407-2600.

I look forward to seeing you at the Annual Conference on Saturday, October 14, 2017.

Sincerely,

Atiq Panjshiri, President
The Society of Afghan Engineers

Message from the Chairperson, SAE Board of Directors

I would like to take this opportunity via this newsletter, to extend my greetings and message of peace, health and harmony and hope everyone celebrated the past Eid-Ul-Huda with their respected families cheerfully.

On behalf of SAE Board of Directors and the entire SAE organization, I thank the SAE Newsletter committee for their hard work and commitment to prepare this informative tool for our esteemed readers.

As the Chairperson of the Board of Directors, I am honored to report on the commitment and team work we experienced working with the Executive Committee and other sub-committees to advance the agenda of SAE and most important, to strive to attain our goals.

I believe you are aware this is a critical election year to bring in a new team as our tenure is coming to an end by the end of the year. In doing so, we must keep in mind of the mission, vision and goals of SAE which must continue in the same spirit and energy as the Society has demonstrated from day one to contribute our expertise to our homeland. Hence your participation in nominations and casting votes is of utmost importance.

I would like to especially thank Members of the Board of Directors who diligently worked with me in a team effort during this tenure. I am further extending special thanks to those who met their own expenses and travelled to Afghanistan and met with top governmental officials to introduce SAE and offered SAE Members’ volunteer services in restructuring projects as well as visited and spoke at academic institutions advocating for our vision, mission and goals. My wish is for us to continue with the same spirit and zeal and give the incoming elected team all the support they need to carry out their responsibilities. Let me thank all SAE Members who volunteered their time all these years to attain SAE valuable mission.

Thank you all.

Sohaila Sanie Shekib,
Chairperson, Board of Directors
The Society of Afghan Engineers

The Society of Afghan Engineers 2017 Annual Conference

The Society of Afghan Engineers 2017 Annual Conference will be held in Alexandria, Virginia on October 14, 2017. The details of the conference are included in the following flyer and agenda.

The Society of Afghan Engineers (SAE) Annual Conference
“Afghanistan Sustainable Development”
Saturday October 14, 2017
10:00AM – 4:00 PM

Dunya Banquet Hall
5951 Stevenson Avenue
Alexandria, VA 22304

Conference Agenda

Master of Ceremonies: Atiq Panjshiri, SAE President
Sohaila Shekib, SAE Chair Person of the Board of Directors

10:00 – 10:15 AM Registration

10:15 – 10:45 AM
Welcoming & Plenary Remarks
Acknowledgements and Introduction of SAE Board of Directors & the executive Committee

• Recitation of Holy Quran
• Introduction, Atiq Panjshiri, SAE President
• Acknowledgement, Sohaila S. Shekib, Chairperson of the Board

10:45 – 11:00 AM
Opening Keynote Speech
Afghanistan Ambassador to Washington
Dr. Hamdullah Mohib (invited)

11:00 – 11:30 AM
Education & Engineering – Key to Peace and Prosperity in Afghanistan
(Hafiz Wardak)
Q&A

11:30 – 12:00 Noon
Groundwater Exploration in Afghanistan using remote sensing and GIS
(Dr. Saleh Mohammad Keshawarz)
Q&A

12:00 – 12:15PM
The Engineering of Intellectual Property Right
(Mariam Atash Nawabi, Esq)

12:15-1:00 PM
Lunch Break

01:00 – 01:30PM
Historical Buildings Restoration
(Masouma Diljam)

01:30 – 2:00 PM
Urban Flooding & Flood Control Solutions
Manan Khalid, P.E.

02:00 – 2:30 PM
Afghanistan Environment from an Engineering Perspective
(Dr. Gul Afghan Saleh)
Q&A

2:30 – 3:45 PM
Urban Development Process (Panel Discussion, Chair Sohaila Shekib)
(Manan Khalid, Dr. Toofan Nabizada, Dr. Mahmoud Samaizay & Dr. Gul Afghan Saleh)
Q&A

3:45 – 4:00 PM
CONFERENCE SUMMARY AND CLOSING REMARKS
Sohaila Shekib, Chairperson SAE
Atiq Panjshiri, President SAE

Adjourn

The SAE eNewsletter Interviews

In every issue of the SAE eNewsletter the readers may find an interview with successful Afghan diasporas or other professionals who have served or currently serving as executives, managers, presidents, deans, professors, architects, engineers, and leaders.

You may ask our professional leaders, scholars, company chief officers, and engineering pioneers if they would accept our request for interview. You may also interview them and we will be pleased to publish their articles and interviews.

In this issue of the newsletter there is an interview with Dr. A. Saboor Rahim, President of the ASR Engineering, Inc. and former professor at the Faculty of Engineering, Kabul University. His engineering career spans over forty years both here in USA and Afghanistan. His detailed life story is described in the interview with Editor-In Chief, SAE eNewsletter.

The SAE eNewsletter Editorial Board would like to take this opportunity to thank Dr. A. Saboor Rahim for taking the time from his busy schedule to have an interview with Editor-In Chief of the newsletter, and former professor of Kabul University.

Interview with Dr. A. Saboor Rahim, President of the ASR Engineering, Inc. and Former Professor at the Faculty of Engineering, Kabul University.

By: Ghulam Mujtaba, P.E, MSCE, CPM

Dr. A. Saboor Rahim is one of the successful Afghan Diasporas who have served as leaders. Dr. Rahim is currently working as the President of the ASR Engineering, Inc. He has over 40 years of experience in geotechnical engineering, construction observations, environmental engineering, and materials testing projects.

Dr. Rahim has worked for more than seven years as professor at Kabul University. It was a privilege that the author of this interview was one of his students and colleague at Kabul University. During his work at Kabul University, he has also served in different administrative positions, including, as Chairman of the Civil Engineering Department; and Director of Center for Engineering Consulting Services and Applied Research (CECSAR). He has completed many geotechnical engineering projects in the USA and Afghanistan. The author requested him for an interview, which he gracefully accepted.

The following are the interview questions/discussions (Q) and Dr. Rahim’s responses (R)

Q: Thanks for the time that you have taken from your busy schedule to accept our request for an interview with the Editor of the SAE eNewsletter. Please tell us briefly about yourself, your family, your scholastic background, and work experience in Afghanistan and abroad.

R: Thank you Ustad Mujtaba Khan for the opportunity to share my background and experience with our dear Afghan engineers through the informative SAE eNewsletter.

I was born in Kabul, Afghanistan on February 8, 1941. I graduated from Habibia High School in 1960 and graduated from the Faculty of Engineering in December 1964. A few weeks later, in January 1965, I attended Purdue University in West Lafayette, Indiana at the Department of Civil Engineering, majoring in Transportation Engineering. After completing the Master’s Degree, I returned to Afghanistan and started teaching at the Faculty of Engineering in 1967.

A few months after returning to Afghanistan, Jamila and I got married and this year we celebrated our 50th wedding anniversary. The fruits of this wedding are our son, Irfan Masood Rahim and our daughter Homaira Badr.

Masood is a pediatrician, who jointly with three other doctors has his own medical clinic near Boston, Massachusetts. He is married to Lynne and they have two daughters, Sophia, 19 and Isabela, 13, who respectively attend college and middle school.

Homaira’s education is in the field of dietary and nutrition. She started her own business of natural facial products, made entirely of food products and has named it Dermadeli. Homaira is married to Eiman, and they live in McKinney, Texas. They have two sons, Tariq and Hassan, respectively 15 and 9 years old and a daughter, Norah, 13 years old. They attend different class levels at an Islamic School.

While teaching at the Faculty of Engineering, I worked in a research project with Dr. Archie Richardson, a member of US Engineering Team (USET), who was specializing in Geotechnical Engineering. In this project, use of soil-cement for construction of low cost housing was evaluated. Through association with Archie, I became interested in the field of Geotechnical Engineering. In 1969, he went to Bangkok, Thailand for vacation, where he met his doctoral degree classmate from MIT, Dr. Za Chi Moh, chairman of the Geotechnical Engineering Division at the Asian Institute of Technology (AIT). Upon returning from AIT, he encouraged me and insisted that I attend AIT and work with Dr. Moh, a well-known scholar in his field. During the period 1970-1971, I attended AIT and worked closely with Dr. Moh, and this was the beginning of the change of my engineering field from Transportation to Geotechnical.

During the period 1971-1972, I taught at the Faculty of Engineering. Thereafter, I attended the University of Pittsburg in the doctoral program until 1976. During this period, through my advisor’s consulting work, I became involved in a number of environmental projects. While attending the university, I worked as a consultant to Dravo Corporation of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania in their research office.

In 1977, though I had offers to work in the United States, Saudi Arabia, Iran or Belgium, returned back to my favorite place, the Faculty of Engineering, where I taught and handled the affairs of the Center for Engineering Consulting Services and Applied Research (CECSAR). This involvement continued until September 1980, where, we, like many other Afghans, had to leave the country.

Between 1980 and 1994, I worked at different capacities with four different companies in Denver, Colorado, Baton Rouge, Louisiana, Mountain View, California and Fresno, California. In 1994, I started ASR Engineering, Inc.(ASR) in Fresno and still work at ASR.

Q: You have conducted a pile testing research project in Bangkok, Thailand. Please briefly tell us about your research project and advise if the results/recommendations of your research have been applied in any of the projects in Afghanistan or abroad.

R: At the time of my arrival in Bangkok, AIT was in the process of constructing a new campus in the general vicinity of the Bangkok Airport. Subsurface soil in the area is relatively soft silty clay, and the foundations needed to be supported on piles. Since I was interested in soil-structure interaction and AIT had tight schedule for completing the construction project, it was an excellent opportunity for me to get involved with this project in an attempt to optimize construction scheduling by applying the building loads on piles at the shortest time practical. As our engineering colleagues know, when a load is applied on saturated soils, initially the load is carried by water and the water pressure inside the soil pore increases. As the excess pore pressure dissipates, the load transfers from water to soil. The rate of this transfer is affected by soil permeability. To help with construction scheduling, AIT decided to finance this soil-structure interaction research project.

As part of the research, I spent some time at the factory where the prestressed concrete piles were constructed to install piezometers and pressure transducers along the length of the piles, and the connecting tubes and wires were extended to the top of the piles. The tests were conducted on several piles at two stages. The first stage was right after the piles were driven and daily monitoring of pore pressure and pressure transducers continued until a stabilized condition was recorded. The second stage was conducted during the pile load testing. The finding of the research was used for that project and I was informed by Dr. Moh and some of the other staff members at AIT that the findings of the research were of value to AIT.

Due to favorable subsurface soil conditions in most parts of Afghanistan, in general, the buildings are not supported on piles. Therefore, the findings of the research could not be implemented in Afghanistan. However, a copy of the report was dedicated to Kabul University Library prior to my departure from Afghanistan in 1980.

Q: You have taught various engineering courses at Kabul University. Have you conducted any training activities in the USA or any other countries? Please briefly tell us about the types of training that you have performed.

R: In 1991, I taught an eight-week course in Highway and Bridge design to Afghan Refugee Engineers in Peshawar, Pakistan. The program was arranged by the University of Nebraska and IRC in Peshawar, and Dr. Wahid Hassani was coordinating the program. I have also taught Geotechnical Engineering courses in Fresno, Sacramento and Los Angles, California to engineers who were preparing to get their Professional Civil Engineering licenses.

Q: You have established the ASR Engineering, Inc. and currently serving as the firm’s President and Senior Engineer. What types of consulting work the ASR Engineering have performed in Afghanistan, USA, or any other countries?

R: ASR performs consulting services in Geotechnical Engineering, Environmental Engineering, Construction Inspection and Material Testing. Most of the consulting services have been performed in California. However, in conjunction with cellular phone tower design and construction, ASR has performed consulting services in various other states, including, but limited to, Arizona, Nevada, New Mexico, Washington, Louisiana, Texas, Connecticut and Ohio.

In 2011, at the request of Engineer Sahib Najib Poya, ASR provided Geotechnical Design data for an overpass in Kabul, near Bagh-e-Bala.

In 2011, ASR was retained by the Saudi Benladen Group (SBG), the largest construction company in Saudi Arabia, to provide consulting services in conjunction with building distress, where a total of 516 residences out of 1500 had experienced various degrees of settlement. These residences were constructed within the King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST). The site developer was the Saudi Arabian Oil Company (Aramco) and SBG was the project contractor. The site was developed by placing fill over the shores of the Red Sea, north of Jeddah. In 2010, a heavy rainstorm took place in the area and was more extensive within the project area. Subsequently, building settlement took place. ASR conducted an extensive study of the area, developed plans for installing piezometers, trained local staff for monitoring pore water pressure, assessed the causes of building settlement and provided recommendations for restoring the settled buildings and for minimizing future settlements.

Q: When the ASR Engineering Company was established? How many employees did you have, initially during its establishment, and how many employees are currently working with the company?

R: ASR was established in 1994 and I was the only employee. The garage in our house was used as the laboratory. From the beginning, the plan was to keep the firm small and perform quality work. After a few months, ASR was awarded a contract by the County of Fresno Health Department to assess compliance of five of their landfills with regulatory requirements. Subsequently, ASR got involved with some long term environmental projects, and as mentioned earlier, with cellular tower projects. Since the intention was to keep the company small, the number of employee was limited to twelve (12). In the meantime, cooperative relations were established with four other firms to assist each other in different projects. While ASR has performed environmental work for some of those firms, they have performed material testing and some aspects of construction inspection on behalf of ASR. Now that I have moved to Texas and the office is in Fresno, ASR has six (6) employees and operates out of our 5,000 square feet building.

Q: As you have mentioned the ASR Engineering is performing materials testing and inspection work in different areas, including geotechnical engineering, environmental engineering, and construction quality assurance services during the construction of the variety of the infrastructures. What types of testing and inspection equipment the ASR Engineering must have to perform these types of work?

R: As indicated above, the intension was to keep the company small. For that reason, emphasis was placed on environmental and geotechnical aspects of operation with limited emphasis on material testing, except soil. ASR maintains a complete soils laboratory and various field testing equipment. ASR also maintains a variety of environmental sampling, monitoring and remediation equipment. As indicated above, ASR utilizes services of other cooperative companies in testing and inspection of other construction materials such as steel, asphalt, etc.

Q: What type (s) of the national or international accreditations the ASR Testing laboratory has?

R: Due to the size of the company and limiting the testing to soil, ASR laboratory maintains the necessary licenses for testing soil, including certificates for using and storing nuclear gage. Our affiliated laboratories maintain different accreditations depending on their involvements in the types of projects.

Q: What types of licenses or certifications the ASR Engineering inspectors, laboratory technicians, and engineers are required to have to continue their employment with the company?

R: ASR engineers are encouraged to acquire their Professional Engineer’s (PE) license, and the company pays for the initial test and yearly maintenance fee. It is required that at least one individual must register as Geotechnical Engineer (GE). The technicians participate in yearly training in nuclear gauge use, concrete sampling, water sampling and 8-hour health and safety training, after participating in the initial 40-hour training.

Q: What are your recommendations related the development of Afghan Materials Testing and Specifications or adoption of the international standards as part of the Afghan standard. The international standards may include, but not limited to, International Organization for Standardization (ISO), American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM), American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) as part of the Afghan standards?

R: You may remember that, many years ago, you and I had a meeting with Wasi Basharyar, then president of City Planning and Engineer Yousof Rahmanzai regarding the establishment of a material testing laboratory in Afghanistan. We provided recommendations and plans for such a laboratory. Unfortunately, I did not hear and you may have not heard from them regarding establishment of such a laboratory. During the telephone conference call between the Minister of Public Works and other staff of the Ministry and SAE members, Engineer Asad Orya mentioned establishing testing laboratory at that Ministry, I am not sure if anything has happened after that.

I understand that there is an office in Afghanistan that is involved with standardizing testing, inspection and other related services. However, I am not sure which standards they are considering or applying. If requested, undoubtedly, SAE will provide such assistance and I will be happy to help in that regard.

Q: Please advise us of your suggestions/recommendations regarding the developmental activities of following technical areas in Afghanistan:
(1) Issuing of Architectural and Professional Engineering (PE) licenses in Afghanistan.
(2) Accreditation of the construction materials testing laboratories.
(3) Training and certifications of the engineering testing technicians and construction inspectors.
(4) Training and certification of the skilled workers/professionals.
(5) The development of the approved (qualified) products list for products that will be used in the construction of Afghan buildings, roadways, bridges, and other infrastructures.
(6) Development of the regulations and certification process for producers of concrete, aggregates, asphalt, precast concrete, and other construction products.
(7) Subsurface foundation investigations requirements for the design and construction of buildings, roadways, bridges, and dams.
(8) Preventive actions regarding the landslide due to rains and structural damages dues to earthquakes.
(9) Development of environmental regulations
(10) Implementation of the building code requirements and certifications of the building construction inspectors.
(11) Development of Afghan design standards and construction specifications for roadways and bridges.

R: All of the above are good and very important for providing safe, economical and standardized designs and construction services. However, it is equally or even more important to create or develop the culture of implementing such actions and standards in practice. Though, various agencies attempt to create and employ these actions, but their efforts may not be successful unless a culture of authority, responsibility and accountability is created. I am sure that the Afghan engineering community, working at various projects in Afghanistan, have the desire to implement some or all the above items, but they should be placed in responsible positions and their professional activities are not hindered by bureaucrats.

Q: What types of professional help the Society of Afghan Engineers (SAE), ASR Engineering, or other architectural or engineering firms can provide in the development of the regulations, trainings, or guidance related of the items discussed in the previous questions?

R: SAE and other engineers and organizations practicing outside Afghanistan have provided various recommendations and professional assistance to the related Afghan agencies in the past. Some of those advices have been implemented, which have been helpful in providing safe and economic conditions for the related projects. There are many examples, but the one that is very important and significant is the control of avalanche, for which Mommandi Sahib provided the necessary information and advice.

Q: You have established Irfan Charity Foundation to help the needy people in Afghanistan. Please briefly tell us about the organization.

R: Irfan Charity Foundation (ICF) was established in 2015 to assist needy Afghans, particularly, in acquiring education. With the consideration of this function, the name Irfan was selected. We are currently in the process of registering ICF in Afghanistan. Throughout the years, I was fortunate to receive good and free higher education at the Faculty of Engineering and the circumstances were such that I was provided with scholarships to continue my education in the United States and Thailand. I thought these scholarships were provided to Afghanistan, and I was the fortunate to receive them. Therefore, I decided that it is time to repay to the needy Afghans. Until ICF is registered in Afghanistan, assistance is provided through International Orphan Care (IOC) and Panah Charity.

Currently, ICF provides regular monthly financial assistance to 10 needy Afghan children through IOC. Through Panah Charity, monthly assistance is provided to 12 extremely needy girls to pursue college education in private schools of their choice. Monthly assistance is also provided to a young member of security force, who lost both of his eyes and an arm in an explosion. I am currently acquiring information from Panah Charity about 10 widows with young children, at least 7 of these families are living in extremely hard conditions. I have promised that ICF will provide regular monthly assistance to these families, particularly if they have school age children, so they will be able to receive education. Though not updated, ICF website is: irfancharity.org.

Q: Thanks for the time that you took from your busy schedule to share your thoughts and recommendations with readers of the newsletter. I congratulate you for establishment and leading a successful engineering consulting company in the USA and Irfan Charity Foundation. Also, I will take the opportunity to congratulate you and Mrs. Jamila Rahim for your 50th wedding anniversary. You have raised wonderful children who are successful and contributing members of their communities through their excellence in education.

R: Thank you for the opportunity to share my story with my friends. I congratulate and command you and the other Editorial Board members for publishing informative news and articles for the benefit of the Afghan Engineering Community. Please keep up the good work.

Membership News

Achievements and Awards

The newsletter will inform their readers of winners of awards or any other successes of Afghan professionals and students, especially, their Society members. You can help the SAE eNewsletter editors by providing the news of the achievements, award winners, promotions, retirement, and any other success stories.

“Advise us of success stories or achievements of the Society members and any Afghan professionals and students.”

A Brief Report on SAE Election 2017

By: Election Committee

Every three years a new president and the board of directors are elected. The end of 2017 will be the end of the service term for the current officials who were elected for their positions in 2014. They will serve until January 1, 2018 when the new team takes over. In order for this to happen, election 2017 was kicked off by the formation of the election committee on March 24, 2017. Accordingly, request for nominations was sent out on June 5, 2017 with an extended deadline of July 31, 2017 for the submissions. During the allocated period, one nominee for the post of president and 10 nominees for the nine posts of the board of directors were received.

Ballots were sent out on August 6, 2017 with a deadline for the return of ballots by September 15, 2017. Seventeen active members and several inactive members voted during this period. Votes were tallied and the results were announced on September 24, 2017. The election committee would like you to join them in congratulating the winners and to wish them a lot of luck and success in their tasks ahead.

Following are short bios of the President Elect and the nine Elected members of the Board of Directors arranged in alphabetical orders by their first names.

President Elect

Atiq Panjshiri

Mr. Atiq Panjshiri is Manager at Division of Land Development at Montgomery County Government, Maryland. He was Born and raised in Kabul, Afghanistan. Mr. Panjshiri has been living in the United States since 1981. He obtained his B.S. in Civil Engineering from the University of Maryland in 1988. Mr. Panjshiri is the current President of the Society of Afghan Engineers; he is one of the founding members of the Society and has served as the Vice President, Treasurer and Board member of the Society of Afghan Engineers (SAE). He is the Founding President of the Afghan American Chamber of Commerce (AACC). He is the CEO and partner of United Insurance and Financial Services, Inc., which provides insurance, financial services, and corporate accounting services for clients in the Washington D.C. metropolitan area. In 1998, he co-founded the Afghan Sports Federation (ASF) and has served as the Treasurer and Executive Vice President.

In 2002, Mr. Panjshiri participated in the history making first Afghan nationwide assembly “Loya Jirga” as one of the five elected representatives of the Afghan-American community in the United States.

Also, in 2002, along with other business men and women, he was instrumental in the establishment of AACC. In the same year, he was elected as the founding President of AACC and has served the organization as its Founding President and CEO from it inception until 2008.

Mr. Panjshiri has Over twenty five years of management experience in private and public sectors; served in several non-profit organizations as part of the management team over the past twenty (20) years; result oriented, high energy and a successful record of accomplishment in management, strong leadership, excellent communication skills and strong team player with clear vision to accomplish the organization goals; community activist; customer oriented with build up an impeccable track record for the service provide to clients.

Elected Members of the Board of Directors

Farid S Abass
BS Engineering
Information & Communication Technology (ICT) Specialist
Technical Project Manager- Cybersecurity Governance & Compliance

Mr. Abass was born in Afghanistan, attended Elementary school in Mazar-e-Sharif, Middle school in Lashkar Gah/Kabul and High school in Kandahar/Kabul, graduated from Habibia High school Kabul. Mr. Abass continued his education at the University of London, United Kingdom and graduated with Bachelor of Science and Engineering from Queen Mary College University of London.

Mr. Abass started his professional career, in the United States, in Information Technology & Innovations in 1985, and he has been providing ICT solutions and support to multitude of US government, public and private clients. Mr. Abass has acquired several industry certifications and continuously striving to stay up to date with this dynamic environment.

Presently Mr. Abass is providing support, as Technical Project Manager-cybersecurity & compliance, to a US government agency.

In 2012 Mr. Abass deployed to Kabul Afghanistan as a Senior Telecom Advisor to International Security Assistance Forces (ISAF) Telecommunication Advisory Team (TAT), in this role he supported and advised ISAF with ICT development matters, regularly met with H. E. Minister Sangin of Ministry of Information and Communication Technology (MCIT), MCIT Deputy Ministers and Project Management Office (PMO). He hosted US Embassy’s Telecom Working Group (TWG) monthly meetings, bringing all ICT stakeholders, ISAF, US Embassy, USAID, World Bank, Afghan Network Operators, Afghan Government’s Chief Information Officers (CIO), Internet Service Providers (ISPs) and System developers together to exchange information and update the group with activity/status. Upon his return from deployment, he engaged with US Department of Commerce International Trade Administration (US DOC ITA), in developing training materials and workshops for assisting the Afghan counterparts, in drafting a comprehensive Afghan National Cyber Security Strategy.

Mr. Abass continues his assistance to ICT sector developers in Afghanistan, hoping that Technology and Automation will bring more efficiency and transparency to government and public sector institutions.

Gul Afghan Saleh
Project Management Professional (PMP)

Dr. Gul Afghan Saleh is a civil engineer and certified PMP with a Ph.D. in Urban Planning & Design and over 30 years of professional work experience. Presently an Engineering Tech with Intertek-PSI, Dr. Saleh’s most recent work was with ACCIONA Engineering (Spain) engaged in developing a Country Environment Profile for Afghanistan. Before that he was Business Development Advisor with Sheladia Associates, Inc. (USA). For the last 21 years he has managed donor-funded projects in Afghanistan including for USAID as a Direct Hire employee for eleven years; the United Nations World Food Program and the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime for five years, and for the Pamir Reconstruction Bureau, an Afghan NGO, for five years. Additionally, for the Afghan Government he served as a project manager, design and construction engineer for 10 years.

During his work with USAID/Afghanistan (2003–2014), Dr. Saleh served as Contracting Officer’s Representative (COR) and Senior Program Manager for one or more major infrastructure projects with funding levels ranging from $50M to $300M. He provided a full range of analytical, technical and management services on large, complex programs in the energy and water sectors.

Dr. Saleh is currently a member of SAE’s Executive Committee. He is also member of the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) and currently serves as Vice President of the ASCE’s Bull Run Branch, Virginia Section. Before moving to the United States in 2014, Dr. Saleh was a founding and Board Member of Afghanistan Engineers’ Association (AEA). As UN-certified trainer and mentor, Dr. Saleh has been supporting the United Nations Training and Research’s Hiroshima Fellowship for Afghanistan Program since 2013. He currently serves UNITAR Iraq Program as a mentor.

Hafizullah Wardak

Mr. Hafizullah Wardak is currently a Technical Fellow at the Boeing Aerospace Company.

Mr. Wardak has been working with Boeing for 30 years in structural analysis, and worked as technical leader on the International Space Station, Space Transportation System (both NASA programs) and every new airplane at Boeing Company. In addition to regular technical work, he has been teaching Structural Integrity to other engineers for over 20 years.

Prior to joining Boeing he worked for six years as structural engineer on nuclear power plant projects with Sargent & Lundy in Chicago.

In Afghanistan, he worked at the Civil Engineering Department, Faculty of Engineering of Kabul University, as professor of the civil engineering department, and deputy-chairman of the Afghan Seismological Center.

Mahmoud Samizay

Dr. Samizay has over 20 year of work experience with governments and the private sector in the US and Afghanistan. His professional career has started with George Mason University as research associate in 1995 following a 5-year career based established with ExxonMobil Research and Engineering Corporation (1999) as data analyst. He was employed by CSRA international from 2003 till 2005, and SOS International (2012) in Fairfax, VA.

In addition of ‘Urban Development’ and ‘Town Planning’ work experience, institutional reform and change of management, capacity assessment and capacity building (CD and CB) are his line of expertise. In 2004, he was assigned by the World Bank as a Senior Advisor to the Ministry of Urban Development (MUDA) in Afghanistan, where his responsibilities included conceptualizing the National Urban Program (NUP), setting up the Projects Implementation Unit (PIU), and prioritizing development projects in the urban sector. As an expert, Dr. Samizay initiated the establishment of ICT, GIS departments and a Resource Center at MUDA. As Vice President and lead planner from 2007 through 2012 at Studio Zarnegar PLLC, a US based architectural, engineering and planning firm, Mr. Samizay oversaw the company’s operations in the US and Afghanistan. He successfully managed the completion of more than 30 design-build projects all over Afghanistan. Dr. Samizay’s latest assignments were with Danish Government technical assistance to Afghanistan as Senior Consultant (2015) and with Afghanistan Water Supply and Sewerage Corporation (AWSSC) as Senior Adviser to General Director (World Bank Grant) in 2014.

Dr. Samizay moved to the United States in 1992 and has Ph.D and Master’s degree from Kiev State University of Construction and Architecture, a Master’s degree in Urban Systems Engineering and completed Ph.D program at George Mason University in VA. He was awarded a scholarship at Georgetown University in 2012 and successfully accomplished the 6-month intensive program of professional communication and news analysis. He completed “the professional development’ program at Engineers and Surveyors Institute (ESINOVA) in Fairfax, VA in 2016.

Dr. Samiay speaks fluently in Dari, Pashto, Russian, French and English.

Nazeer Babacarkhial, PE

Mr. Nazeer Babacarkhial is graduated from Habibia High School and attended Faculty of Engineering at Kabul University. He earned his BS degree in Civil Engineering from the University of Maryland (USA) in 1987 as well as achieved EIT (Engineering in Training) and PE (Professional Engineering) certificates.

He works for the States of California, Department of Transportation (CALTRANS) for 18 years. He is currently serving at the SAE Board of Directors. As a volunteer, he traveled and participated at the SAE “Capacity Building” training program to Kabul, Afghanistan in 2007. As a Community volunteer, he has been involved in the design, construction and completion of a Mosque, “Ibrahim Khalilullah Islamic Center” in Fremont, California. He reads, writes and speaks Pushto, Dari and English and limited German language.

Rafaat M. B. Ludin
President & CEO of IHFD, LLC

Mr. Rafaat Ludin was born in Kabul, Afghanistan. He earned a Bachelor Degrees in Electrical Engineering from Germany and a Master’s degree in Business Administration from University of California in Irvine, USA. He is an entrepreneur and business developer, with expertise in real estate and renewable energy development. Rafaat has been instrumental in introducing solar and wind power systems in Afghans of the 1990s and is presently actively working to further strengthen the use of wind, hydro and solar power throughout the country through his partnership with QRTDW. His involvement in wastewater treatment and solid waste management systems in Afghanistan, USA and the Middle-East is promising a paradigm shift in how waste is managed. His early recognition of innovative technologies and manufacturing systems such as The GreenMachine(R), which manufactures compressed soil bricks as well as lightweight concrete CLC-Blocks revolutionize how low and high cost houses are built in developing countries.

Mr. Rafaat is fluent in five languages, has authored hundreds of concept papers and dozens of articles on community developmental as well as technical and business developmental issues. He has also authored a published short story titled “Tears of Anguish”, which tells the story of a family caught in the midst of a civil war that tears their lives apart. Mr. Rafaat has co-authored a book, titles “. . . And The Sun Will Rise From The West”, which discusses the predicament of “Islamic terrorism” and the way out, which was published by Xlibris.

Reza M. Afshar

Education:
1979- 1983 BSEE , University of Bridgeport, Connecticut.
Dean’s list, Member of Eta Cappa Nu (The Honor society for Electrical & Computer Engineering).
1984-1986: MS studies in Engineering Management at university of Bridgeport, CT
Continuing education, graduate courses at Management Institute of Chicago and American Management Association.
Business Education, graduate Classes at Dun & Bradstreet.

Professional Experience:
1994—present: President/Owner: Afshar Enterprises, Inc. , Afshar limited Inc. , Afshar limited II, Inc.
A chain of Car washes, convenience stores and retail Gasoline service stations in Northern Virginia.
2004—2007: Cofounder/Partner: Kabul Engineering and Construction.
Managing construction projects in Afghanistan.
2003—2012: President/ Cofounder: Kabul Gas Company.
A Natural /propane gas Distribution Company serving Kabul city.
2002—present: President/Founder: Afghan Relief Fund.
A 501C non- profit, charitable organization.
Building /running an orphanage, a private school, Distributing food to the poor and caring for the needy and poor widows in Afghanistan.
1986—1989: Engineering Manager: Chloride System, An Emergency lighting/power electronic Company in North Haven ,CT.
Managing all aspect of the engineering operation, overseeing Engineering, Quality Control and Drafting departments for Chloride Systems as well as it’s sister Company, Excide Electronics in Raleigh NC.

Achievements/Awards:
2006—Winner of century Club award presented by Sunoco Oil company.
2003—Winner of Circle of Excellence award presented by Conoco Phillips Oil company.
2002— Honorary advisor to Mobil Oil company.
2001— Winner of Community service award presented by Mobil Oil company.
1999,2001–Winner of outstanding achievement awards presented by Mobil Oil Company

Sohaila Sanie Shekib

Ms. Shekib holds a B.S in Civil Engineering and Industrial Structures from Kabul University and Polytechnic Institute in Afghanistan graduating in 1980. Ms. Shekib received a certificate in computer programming, Strayer College, 1983; a certificate in suburban development, Northern Virginia Community College, 1985, and certification as a Designated Plan Examiner (DPE), George Mason University in partnership with the Engineers and Surveyors Institute (ESI), 1995.

Prior to migrating to the USA in 1982, she worked briefly at the Construction Unit for the Ministry of Education in Kabul, Afghanistan.

Ms. Shekib is currently the President and founder of Sanie Consulting Group (SCG), LLC since December 2006 providing urban development and planning consulting services in the Washington Metro area. Ms. Shekib has over 25 years of experience in urban development and planning. Prior to establishing her own consulting firm, Ms. Shekib held various progressive positions in numerous engineering firms at EMSI Engineering, Inc., at Bowman Consulting Group, P. C. and Bowman International, at VIKA Inc. and at Urban Engineering, Inc. She is currently involved in various community activities and has been very active with the Society of Afghan Engineers (SAE) in her capacity as the Chairperson of the Board of Directors. Ms. Shekib is a Member of the Engineers and Surveyors Institute (ESI) and a Member of the American Society of Civil Engineers.

Announcements

(1) The 2017 SAE Membership Renewal

Dear Members of the Society:

The Management of the Society of Afghan Engineers (SAE) would like to remind all members that 2017 membership renewal and Annual fee of $60 are due. Your membership fee collectively would enable us to pay for some basic needed services of the Society such as Website security monitoring, updating and maintenance. Also, your membership fee would provide SAE’s management of the financial means to organize and host events and seminars on relevant technical topics. The membership renewal application can be downloaded from our website at www.afghanengineers.org

Please visit the SAE Face book when you get the opportunity.

We appreciate your kind attention to the membership due request.

Sincerely,
Atiq Panjshiri, President
The Society of Afghan Engineers

(2) SAE eNewsletter-regional Representatives

The positions of the SAE eNewsletter Regional Representatives are open. Please let us know if you are interested to volunteer for one of these positions or if you want to nominate other qualified members to serve in these positions. The representatives will inform the newsletter Editorial Bard of any technical news in their regions and contact authors for their contributions in the activities of newsletter. For additional information please send an email to SAE eNewsletter Editorial Board: Ghulam Mujtaba, E-Mail: mujtabaghulam@bellsouth.net; A. Wahed Hassani, Email: awhassani@gmail.com; A. Manan Khalid, E-Mail: manank10@gmail.com; and Hafizullah Wardak, Email: hwardak@comcast.net

(3) The SAE Membership Renewal Updates

The following are the status of the membership renewal fee payments and donations to the Society of Afghan engineers during Year 2017. The SAE management would like to thank all members for their financial support and other contributions to the Society activities.

Membership Renewal Fee and Donations in 2017

Date	First Name	Last Name	Fee Paid	Donation	Total Payment Received In 2017
1/7/2017	Atiq	Panjshiri	$60	0	$60
2/8/2017	Ghulam	Mujtaba	$60	$100	$160
2/8/2017	Yacob	Munir	$60	0	$60
1/27/2017	Steve	Rossi	$60	$60	$120
1/27/2017	Gul Afghan	Saleh	$60	$40	$100
1/7/2017	Abdul Nazeer	Babacarkhial	$60⁷	0	$0
2/8/217	Abdul Manan	Khalid	$60	0	$60
1/7/2017	Sayed F.	Abass	$60	0	$60
1/7/2017	Reza M.	Afshar	$60	$140	$200
1/27/2017	Najib	Poya	$60	$200	$260
1/7/2017	Hashem	Baluch	$60	0	$60
4/10/2017	Abdul W.	Hassani	$60	0	$60
4/23/2017	Sohaila	Shekib	$60	0	$60
4/23/2017	Hashem	Rayeq	$60	0	$60
5/12/2017	Sadiq	Ezzat	$60	0	$60
1/7/2017	Hafiz	Wardak	$60¹	0	$0
1/7/2017	Yar	Ebadi	$60¹	0	$0
1/7/2017	Amin	Mahmood	$60¹	0	$0
1/7/2017	Zarjan	Baha	$60¹	0	$0
5/15/2017	Saleh M.	Keshwarz	$60²	0	$120
5/15/2017	Rafhat	Ludin	$60³	0	$180
5/20/2017	Amanullah	Mommandi	$60⁴	0	$180
5/20/2017	Najim	Azadzoi	$60⁵	$80	$200
6/1/2017	Saber M.	Sarwari	$60⁶	0	$180
6/14/2017	Zia	Yamayee	$60	$100	$160
2016	Ashraf	Roshan	$60⁸	$0	$0

1- Mr. Hafiz Wardak, Dr. Yar Ebdai, Mr. Amin Mahmood and Dr. Zarjan Baha paid their membership renewal fees for 2017 in the previous years.
2- Dr. Saleh Keshawrz paid his membership fee of $120.00 for years 2016 and 2017 in 2017.
3- Mr. Rafat Ludin paid his membership fee of $180.00 for years 2015- 2017 in 2017.
4- Mr. Amanullah Mommandi paid his membership fee of $180.00 for years 2015- 2017 in 2017.
5- Mr. Najim Azadzoi paid his membership fee of $120 for years 2016- 2017 in 2017 plus $80 donation.
6- Mr. Saber Sarwary paid his membership fee of $180.00 for years 2015- 2017 in 2017
7- Mr. Babacarkhial has sent his membership fee for period of four years -Payment for 2014-2017 in 2015
8- Mr. Ashraf Roshan has sent his $120 membership fee for the years 2016 and 2017 in 2016.

Comments and Suggestions about SAE eNewsletter

The Editor-In – Chief of the SAE eNewsletter has received comments regarding the July 2017 issue of the SAE eNewsletter from three of his respected former colleagues; Mr. A. F. Quilio, Dean James McDonough, and Ustad Hafiz Wardak. The following are the readers’ Comments and Editor-In-Chief’s responses:

Mr. A. F. Quilio

Mr. Quilio was Editor-In-Chief ‘s former colleague and supervisor at the Florida Department of Transportation.

Mr. A. F. Quilio’s comment:
Thank you for the latest issue of the SAE e-Newsletter. I really enjoyed the excellent interview of Mr. Hafizullah Wardak by Mr. A.M. Khalid, P.E. Also, thank you for including my comments in your fine newsletter, and your most kind and generous response. As I have said in the past, you produce a great newsworthy newsletter. It is a tribute to the engineering profession. Keep up the good work.

Editor’s response to Mr. A. F. Quilio’s comment:
Thanks for the email and kind words about the newsletter and your valuable suggestions and comments. We are looking forward to the receipt of your technical articles and continued comments/suggestions.

Dr. James McDonough

Dr. James McDonough was a member of the United States Engineering Team (USET) and Civil Engineering Professor/Advisor at the Faculty of Engineering of Kabul University. In Kabul, he was also teaching the interested students, American Football during the students’ extracurricular activities. He was famous as Football Coach in Kabul University. During his MS degree program at University of Cincinnati in 1971- 1972, the Chief Editor had a pleasure of taking a few graduate courses with him. Coach McDonough sponsored a few Afghan Refugee families in USA, including his former student and colleague, Ghulam Mujtaba and his brother.

Dr. McDonough is known for his dedication and love for his countrymen and the international communities. He contributed in various capacities to the education of Afghan Refugees in Pakistan. Dr. McDonough as Dean of the College of Engineering at the University of Cincinnati and Dr. Edward Friedman Professor of Stevens Institute of Technology, former Chief of Party of USET Team, were invited by International Rescue Committee (IRC) to Peshawar, Pakistan to visit the Engineering Program of IRC. Upon their return to USA, Dr. McDonough and Dr. Edward participated in various consortium meetings, which were also attended by representatives from Stevens Institute of Technology, University of Cincinnati, University of Nebraska at Omaha, Colorado State University at Fort Collins, and University of Wyoming. The purpose of these consortium meetings was to secure funding for the IRC’s engineering programs for Afghan refugees through USAID.

Because of these meetings, a proposal was submitted to USAID. Through this proposal, a financial grant was approved by USAID, to support the text books, equipment for soil, concrete, and other material testing of the engineering program. This grant also added three new components to the Engineering programs of IRC; namely, Construction Supervisor Training, Construction Foreman Training; and Refresher and Professional Development Programs. The purpose of the Refresher and Professional Development Programs was to train Afghan Engineers who were working in various Non-Governmental Organization and Refugees, irrespective of their political affiliation. Dr. McDonough, despite of his busy time at the University of Cincinnati, traveled to Peshawar to teach a Reinforced Concrete Course for duration of 6 to 8 weeks. About 40 in-service engineers attended his class and found the course to be very informative and useful. Cooperation of Dr. McDonough and Dr. Edward Friedman for the advancement of education of Afghan refugees is an unforgettable experience to Afghan engineering communities within and outside Afghanistan.

Dean J. McDonough’s comment:
It is a real pleasure reading your newsletter. It is a great reminder of our days together in Kabul and since. You do a first-class job on this publication.
We are all well and hope that the same is true for you and your family.
Coach

Editor’s response to Dean J. McDonough’s comment:
Dear Coach,
Thanks for the email, kind words and valuable comments about SAE eNewsletter. It will be a great pleasure for your former students, engineering graduates, colleagues at Kabul University and Engineering Program of IRC to read about you and see your comments, suggestions, technical articles in SAE eNewsletter.

Professor Hafiz Wardak

Mr. Hafiz Wardak is former professor of Kabul University. His interview by Professor A. M. Khalid was published in the July issue of the SAE eNewsletter.

Mr. H. Wardak’s comment:
Dear Ustad Mujtaba, Khalid Sahib, Dr Hassani Sahib and Panjshiri Sahib Salaam Alaikum
Hope everyone is in good health.
I would like to thank, congratulate, and commend the Editor in Chief of SAE eNewsletter Ustad Mujtaba and other members for the on-time release of every scheduled SAE eNewsletter issue. The on- time release and contents of the eNewsletter has added communication within Afghan engineering communities inside Afghanistan and across the globe.
I have received, as of today, several telephone calls related to the July 2017 issue of the newsletter; expressing, joy, and happiness receiving and reading it.
With regard and wishing you more success
Hafizullah Wardak

Editor-in-Chief’s response to Ustad H. Wardak’s comment:
Ustad Hafiz Walaikum-Us-Salam:
I would like also to thank you for your contributions in the activities of the newsletter by providing an educational interview responses. I am glad to know that we have received great comments about the newsletter. This indicates that Comments Section of the October issue of the newsletter will have many paragraphs about July issue of the newsletter.
A well-done job. I join you to thank Ustad khalid as the author of the interview/article and the Newsletter Subcommittee members for their efforts in improvement of the quality of the newsletter.
I am also wishing the Subcommittee a continued success.

Obituaries

It is with sorrow that the two former professors of the Faculty of Engineering of Kabul University, Dr. Said Wahid Zewari, and Mr. M. Shah Ahmadzai have passed away. It is with heavy heart that we must share this sad news with the readers of the SAE eNewsletter. The Society of Afghan Engineers express their condolences to Zewari and Ahmadzai families.

Dr. Said Wahid Zewari

Dr. Said Wahid Zewari passed away on July 2, 2017 in Columbia, Maryland and was buried on July 5, 2017 at Tippecanoe Memory Gardens in West Lafayette, Indiana. He had been diagnosed with cancer in 2014, and had been in remission for nearly three years until shortly before his death. He was born in Kabul, Afghanistan on August 1, 1943, the eldest son of Said Wazir Zewari and Mahbooba (Ashrafee) Zewari. He married Janis (Woody) Zewari on May 19, 1973 in Kabul, and together they had two daughters, Michelle and Sheila, and six grandchildren.

Dr. Zewari was a 1963 graduate of the Afghan Institute of Technology (AIT). He went on to earn his Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering at Kabul University and his Master of Science and Ph.D. from Purdue University. He also served as a Reserve Officer at the Afghan Defense University. He began his career in 1963 as an instructor at AIT. He then worked as an instructor and, later, as an assistant professor at the Kabul University School of Engineering prior to serving as the Dean there from 1974-1975. While earning his Ph.D. at Purdue University, he worked as a teaching assistant from 1975-1978. After earning his doctorate, he went to work for Bell Laboratories (AT&T) in Indianapolis, Indiana. In 1981, he moved to Blacksburg, Virginia where he was an assistant professor of mechanical engineering at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University. While at Virginia Tech, he took a summer faculty position at Newport News Shipbuilding where he developed a personal computer based expert system shell for condition monitoring and diagnostics of mechanical and electro-mechanical systems. In a previous summer, he worked on a research project at the Veterans Administration Research Center, in which he conducted an optimization study and redesign of a robotic manipulator made by Applied Physics Laboratories for use by quadriplegic patients.

In 1986, he left Virginia to take a position as a Senior Staff Engineer at Martin Marietta Aero and Naval Systems in Baltimore, Maryland. He worked briefly as a contractor for ST Systems Corporation (STX) before being hired as an Aerospace Engineer at the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland. He retired in 2014 after 24 years of service with NASA. Throughout the course of his studies and his professional career, he authored numerous publications.

Dr. Zewari’s expertise in the field of electro-mechanical engineering included areas of automatic control and automation, mechanical and control system designs, kinematic analysis and synthesis, computer simulation of dynamic systems and vehicle dynamics, microprocessors and machine language programming, and the application of these disciplines in military and space systems. Notable projects he worked on at NASA included the Hubble Space Telescope, the Global Precipitation Measurement (GPM) Mission, the Cassini/Composite Infrared Spectrometer (CIRS) of Saturn’s Cassini orbiter, the Space Telescope Imaging Spectrograph project, and the High Energy Solar Spectroscopic Imager (HESSI) program. During his tenure at NASA, he was the recipient of numerous awards and certificates of recognition for his outstanding performance and contributions.

Professor Mohammad Shah Ahmadzai

Marhoom Professor Mohammad Shah Ahmadzai son of Ghulam Sakhi Khan was born in Machilgho – village of Paktia Provence in 1943. He completed his elementary education in Machilgho Elementary school. He graduated from Ebniseena Middle School in 1959, and obtained his Baccalaureate degree from Afghan Institute of Technology (AIT), Kabul, Afghanistan in 1961.

Professor Ahmadzai was admitted to the Faculty of Engineering, Kabul University in 1961. Due to his outstanding performance, Professor Ahmadzai was selected to complete the rest of his B.S. degree requirement at the North Carolina University, USA in 1964. He completed the B.S. degree in 1967, and was selected as math professor at the Faculty of Engineering of Kabul University. Professor Ahmadzai received his M.S. degree in Mathematics, from Purdue University in 1971.

Ustad Ahmadzai returned back to the country and devoted the rest of his life for the service of the Afghan Educational Community and taught math at the Faculty of Engineering, Kabul University. Professor Ahamadzai was selected in 1975 as a guest Professor for one year to teach at the University of Nebraska, Omaha, USA.

In 1970’s, where political activities were at the peak in Afghanistan, Professor Ahmadzai was loud and clear about the events happening in his beloved country. While communists took power in the late 70’s, Professor Ahmadzai was arrested and his whereabouts was unknown for few months. Finally, the family found out that he was in Puli-Charkhi Prison complex. He was jailed for six months without any evidence of wrong doing, and he was not affiliated to any political parties. After, they found nothing against him, he was released and joined back his teaching job in the Faculty of Engineering, Kabul University.

Professor Ahmadzai left his job in the Faculty of Engineering, Kabul University and immigrated to Peshawar, Pakistan during soviet occupation of Afghanistan. From 1988 -1989, he taught math courses at the Faculty of Engineering of International Rescue Committee (IRC) in Peshawar, Pakistan. At the end of 1989 he joined the Dauah and Jihad University, Peshawar, Pakistan as Professor of Math and continued his teaching activities until 1996. Professor Ahmadzai taught math at the Islamic University of Peshawar, Pakistan during the years 1996 and 1997. He taught in Herat University from 1998-2001 and from 2002 to 2005 he worked for Sheladia Associate Inc., in Afghanistan. From 2006-2011 he stayed home and worked on his two book projects (Quick Calculus 1 & 2). He published the earlier in 2012 while the latter is unpublished (he finalized most of the chapters).

Ustad Ahmadzai had a long history of dedicated and distinguished contributions to Afghanistan’s education system. During the half century of serving his beloved Country, Professor Ahmadzai had the following publications:
1. Applied Differential Equations
2. Pre-Calculus
3. Math and Coding
4. Operators in Math
5. Conversion of Difference Equations to Differential Equations
6. Application of Coupled System of Linear Differential Equations
7. Quick Calculus I (Under Print)

Professor Ahmadzai was a man of unique character and strong personality. He always tried to serve his country with honesty and professional integrity while he worked as government employee or as Afghan Refugees during the time of immigration outside Afghanistan. He was a pious Muslim. In 1992 he went to Hajj to perform his Islamic virtue In 2013, professor Ahmadzai suffered a CVA attack and that limited his mobility of the right hand. On June 27th, 2017, he was hospitalized at Rahman Medical Institute in Peshawar for a CVA attack, and then passed away in Peshawar on July 04, 2017 (lInna Lillahy Wa Inna Elyhy Rajeoon). May Allah bless Ahmadzai Sahib Soul, grant him Janat-Ul- Ferdous and give his family and friends Sabr-e-Jameel and Ajr-e- Azeem.

Many of late Professor Ahmadzai students, friends and colleagues were saddened and sorry to learn that respected Ustad, Professor Ahmadzai has passed away. They expressed their heartfelt condolences and deepest sympathy to the members of his respected family and friends. Mr. Atal Ahamdzai the older son of Ustad Ahmadzai responded to his friends, students, and colleagues and thanked them for their sympathy and condolences.

May Allah bless his soul in heaven, rest him in peace and give the family and friends Sabr-e-Jameel and Ajr -e- Azeem. Ameen

The Society of Afghan Engineers Organization

SAE Executive Committee Members:
President: Atiq Panjshiri, Vice President: Farid Abass Treasurer: Ashraf Roshan, Secretary: Farid Haidari, Manager: Gul Afghan Saleh

SAE Board of Directors-Officers:
Chairperson: Sohaila Sanie Shekib, Vice-Chairman: Najim Azadzoi, and Executive Director: Nazeer Babacarkhial

Members SAE Board of Directors:
Najim Azadzoi, Nazeer Babacarkhial, Wahid Enayat, Mohammad Saleh Keshawarz, Rafaat Ludin, Amanullah Mommandi, Saber Sarwary, Sohaila Sanie Shekib, and Hafizullah Wardak

SAE Past Presidents:
Ghulam Mujtaba, Abdul Hadi Rakin, M. Qasem Kadir, Abdul Hadi Rakin, Mohammed Hashim Rayek, Ahmad Wali Shairzay, Sohaila Sanie Shekib, and Malik Mortaza

SAE Chairpersons of Committees/Subcommittees:
Ghulam Mujtaba, Chairman -SAE eNewsletter Subcommittee, E- Mail: mujtabaghulam@bellsouth.net;

SAE Local Chapter Coordinators:
A. Hamid Layan – Kabul, Afghanistan; M. Qaseem Naimi – Toronto, Canada; Najim Azadzoi – Massachusetts, M. Qasem Kadir – Southern California; A. Manan Khalid – New York and New Jersey, Amanullah Mommandi – Colorado; Atiq Panjshiri – Virginia and Washington DC

SAE eNewsletter Subcommittee:
Subcommittee Chairman: Ghulam Mujtaba, M.S, CE, P.E., E- Mail: mujtabaghulam@bellsouth.net;
Members: A. Wahed Hassani, Ph.D.,P.E. Email: awhassani@gmail.com; A. Manan Khalid, M.S., P.E., LEED AP E-Mail: manank10@gmail.com; Hafizullah Wardak, Email: hwardak@comcast.net; Abdul Hamid Layan: Email: hamid.layan@gmail.com;

SAE eNewsletter Editorial Board:
Editor –In –Chief: Ghulam Mujtaba, M.S, CE, P.E., CPM E-Mail: mujtabaghulam@bellsouth.net;
Editorial Board Members: A. Wahed Hassani, Ph.D.,P.E. Email: awhassani@gmail.com; A. Manan Khalid, M.S., P.E., LEED AP E-Mail: manank10@gmail.com

SAE eNewsletter Regional Representatives:
Abdul Hamid Layan -Kabul: Email: hamid.layan@gmail.com;

Subscribe/Unsubscribe:
The subscription to the SAE eNewsletter is free. If you are not receiving the SAE eNewsletter directly and would like to subscribe, please send a note to: mujtabaghulam@bellsouth.net with the subject “Subscribe: SAE eNewsletter”. To unsubscribe, send a note with the subject “Unsubscribe: SAE eNewsletter”.

Disclaimer:
The author, reporter, or agency of each publication, project, news, and products is included in this newsletter. Additional contact information of the authors and their agencies are available with the Editorial Board of the newsletter and may be provided upon request. The Editorial Board of the Society of Afghan Engineers, Executive Committee, Board of Directors, or any of its members are not liable for the accuracy or contents of the information. The reports and information are included as provided by the authors and agencies without any changes in the substance of the documents. The information about the agency products or services is not the SAE endorsement.