Anas Hamoui: 1973-2011
Dr. Anas Hamoui passed away on November 9th, 2011, in Montréal. He joined the department of Electrical and Computer Engineering in September 2004, as an Assistant Professor. He had obtained a Bachelor degree from Kuwait University in 1996, after which he joined McGill University for his Master’s degree, which he obtained in 1998, followed by a PhD degree from the University of Toronto in 2004.
As soon as he joined McGill University in 2004, he embarked on what promised to be a brilliant career as a teacher and researcher. He planned his career path and development with the rigour and determination that we all grew to know as his trademarks. He was a specialist of Delta-Sigma converters, a field of microelectronics with applications in many areas, including telecommunications and healthcare. For his work, he received funding from NSERC and CIHR, and, during his short but prolific career, which was interrupted several times by medical leaves, he published over 35 refereed journal and conference articles on the subject. In the process he saw two PhD students through to completion, and left two more in the final thesis writing phase.
As a teacher, Anas was beloved by his students: he was “considerate, professional and dedicated”, to quote one of his former students. Two years in a row – the first two years he actually taught at McGill – he was awarded the “Professor of the Year” award by the student society of his department. His dedication to his students, his rigor and genuine interest in their learning, made him sometimes even respond to students emails from his hospital bed… Some of his former students call him an “inspiring teacher”, and the response to the news of his passing in the undergraduate student community testifies to the strength of the relationship he had forged with them.
An active member of the local community, he was well known to his fellow researchers in the Montreal area, as a prominent member of two FQRNT-funded research clusters (ResMiQ and CREER), as a vigorous leader of a local chapter of his scholarly society (IEEE) –for which he received a “chapter of the year award” – , and, as always, as a teacher and mentor, for the local student branch of the same society. His service to the IEEE included editorial posts and membership in the board of directors.
Anas was a man of thoroughness and resolve, an example of courage and drive, a perfectionist for whom there was a plan for everything and, in all things written, there was only one draft—the right one, the final one. He had a promising and bright future in our department, but unfortunately fate had decided otherwise, and he was taken away at the young age of 38.
He will be dearly missed by his colleagues, students and friends.
Richard G. Redwood 1936-2011
It is with great sadness that the Department of Civil Engineering and Applied Mechanics reports the passing of Richard G. Redwood on October 26, 2011, at an age of 75. Richard Redwood joined the Department in 1965 as an Assistant Professor. He quickly rose through the ranks and served two separate terms as Chair of the Department for a period of nine years. In addition, he has been active on a large number of key Departmental, Faculty and University Committees over the years.
His main field of expertise was the behaviour and design of steel structures. He was recognized as an international expert in this area and played a key role in the development of the Canadian code of practice for the design of steel structures for buildings and for bridges. He carried out pioneering work on composite steel and concrete structures, thin walled beams, beams with openings, braced frames and the non-linear dynamic analysis of steel structures to simulate earthquake effects. In particular, his novel applications of yield line analysis in predicting the behaviour of tubular steel connections has not only sparked further studies by other researchers but has been incorporated in design codes of practice around the world (e.g., US, Germany, Australia and China). Many of his former graduate students have gone on to play leadership roles in industry and at several universities. His colleagues have benefitted from his undeniable integrity and his carefully measured advice.
After retiring from McGill in 1997, Richard was appointed Emeritus Professor and discovered that he had hidden talent. He became a gifted artist who studied and painted in San Miguel de Allende in Mexico. He has had a remarkable career and made significant contributions to McGill University as an excellent teacher, researcher and administrator. He will be missed by all of his colleagues at McGill.