It is with great sadness to let you know that our distinguished colleague and friend Ferial El-Hawary passed away on Thursday, May 6, 2021.
Ferial El-Hawary
20 March 1943 – 6 May 2021
Dr. El-Hawary received her B.Eng. from the University of Alexandria, M.Sc. in Electrical Engineering from the University of Alberta, and Ph.D. in Oceans Engineering from Memorial University of Newfoundland. She was President and Co-Founder of BH Engineering Systems Ltd. and was a Professor at the Faculty of Engineering, Dalhousie University, Canada.
Ferial was an avid IEEE volunteer. She served as a current member of the IEEE Systems, Man, and Cybernetics Society (SMCs) Board of Governors (BoG) (2021– 2023) and IEEE Oceanic Engineering Society (OES) Administrative Committee (2019–2021). She also served as OES Vice-President International and as President of IEEE Canada (2008–2009). Dr. El-Hawary was instrumental in establishing the Canadian Atlantic Chapters of OES, France, and Norway. Ferial served on organizing Committees of numerous conferences: OCEANS’87, OCEANS’94, OCEANS’97, OCEANS’98, CCECE 2000, and SMC 2007. She was the Editor-in-Chief of The Ocean Engineering Handbook CRC Press and served as Associate Editor of the IEEE Oceanic Engineering Journal.
She was a recipient of the 2000 IEEE Canada Wally Read Service Award, 2000 IEEE Third Millennium Medal, 1999 Regional Activities Board Achievement Award, and the 1997 IEEE Oceanic Engineering Society Distinguished Service Award. She was a Fellow of IEEE, a Fellow of the Engineering Institute of Canada, and a Fellow of the Marine Technology Society.
Ferial and her late husband Mo El-Hawary were long-term SMCS volunteers who regularly attended SMC annual conferences, BoG meetings, and social events. She was engaged and passionate about projects, yet she valued people and life first. Ferial will be greatly missed as a leader, mentor, and friend. We will miss her smile, her laughter, and her joy for life.
Board of Governors
IEEE Systems, Man, and Cybernetics Society
