Dec 05, 2019
In Memoriam: Osama Ettouney
Osama Ettouney, professor and chair emeritus of mechanical and manufacturing engineering at Miami University, died Dec. 1, following a brief illness, at age 68.
Ettouney, of Oxford, taught from 1986 to 2014 and chaired the department from 1995-2010.
Believing that engineers should think beyond their own disciplines and be good writers, he spoke on ways to encourage these skills and an interdisciplinary attitude. He served on universitywide curriculum committees including STEM and Global Initiatives.
Ettouney received the “Outstanding Professor” award and was the first recipient of the E. Phillips Knox Teaching Award in 1995. He was named Miami's 2008-2009 Alumni Association Effective Educator. He had an "infectious enthusiasm about learning that gave me the impetus to excel rather than just keep up," said nominator Troy Kimmel (Miami '95).
Ettouney earned an international reputation for his approach to engineering education, combining what he described in papers and presentations as “creativity and learning.”
As former student Lyndsey McMillon-Brown (Miami ’13) wrote: He brought a “steadfast presence of leadership, tranquility, and warmth to Miami’s College of Engineering and Computing....[‘Doc E.’] was a mentor, educator, friend, advisor (life, career and academic), confidant and cheerleader.”
Ettouney earned his bachelor’s degree at Cairo Institute of Technology. After teaching and research appointments in the United States, he earned his master’s at MIT and doctorate at the University of Minnesota.
In addition to teaching and research, Ettouney consulted for several manufacturers, including Ford, Parker Hannifin, Wayne Industries, Square D and Allpoints Inc.
After retiring, he turned full time to writing books with ideas that he had been saving. He published Portraits from Cairo of the 1970s (2012) and the edition of short memories and poems by his companion, Thomas T. Peyton. In 2014 he completed a 19th-century history of the development of Egypt’s railroad system. He wrote his first mystery novel about the burning of Cairo’s Opera House, in The Curse of Aida (2016). He published Creative Chaos (2018), a fictionalized explanatory novel about the “Arab Spring.” From Cairo to Cambridge with Love, an academic mystery, is forthcoming in 2020.
Ettouney is survived by his brother Sayed’s family, including his niece and nephew, Reem and Kareem Ettouney; brother, Mohammed, and his family; and brother Hisham.
Service is set for 11 a.m. Saturday, Dec. 14, at Sesquicentennial Chapel, (551 Spring St., the corner of Spring and Maple streets) on Miami’s campus.
In lieu of flowers, friends may donate in his memory to the Thomas T. Peyton Educational Scholarship at Miami University or to Hospice of Cincinnati.
Ettouney, of Oxford, taught from 1986 to 2014 and chaired the department from 1995-2010.
Believing that engineers should think beyond their own disciplines and be good writers, he spoke on ways to encourage these skills and an interdisciplinary attitude. He served on universitywide curriculum committees including STEM and Global Initiatives.
Ettouney received the “Outstanding Professor” award and was the first recipient of the E. Phillips Knox Teaching Award in 1995. He was named Miami's 2008-2009 Alumni Association Effective Educator. He had an "infectious enthusiasm about learning that gave me the impetus to excel rather than just keep up," said nominator Troy Kimmel (Miami '95).
Ettouney earned an international reputation for his approach to engineering education, combining what he described in papers and presentations as “creativity and learning.”
As former student Lyndsey McMillon-Brown (Miami ’13) wrote: He brought a “steadfast presence of leadership, tranquility, and warmth to Miami’s College of Engineering and Computing....[‘Doc E.’] was a mentor, educator, friend, advisor (life, career and academic), confidant and cheerleader.”
Ettouney earned his bachelor’s degree at Cairo Institute of Technology. After teaching and research appointments in the United States, he earned his master’s at MIT and doctorate at the University of Minnesota.
In addition to teaching and research, Ettouney consulted for several manufacturers, including Ford, Parker Hannifin, Wayne Industries, Square D and Allpoints Inc.
After retiring, he turned full time to writing books with ideas that he had been saving. He published Portraits from Cairo of the 1970s (2012) and the edition of short memories and poems by his companion, Thomas T. Peyton. In 2014 he completed a 19th-century history of the development of Egypt’s railroad system. He wrote his first mystery novel about the burning of Cairo’s Opera House, in The Curse of Aida (2016). He published Creative Chaos (2018), a fictionalized explanatory novel about the “Arab Spring.” From Cairo to Cambridge with Love, an academic mystery, is forthcoming in 2020.
Ettouney is survived by his brother Sayed’s family, including his niece and nephew, Reem and Kareem Ettouney; brother, Mohammed, and his family; and brother Hisham.
Service is set for 11 a.m. Saturday, Dec. 14, at Sesquicentennial Chapel, (551 Spring St., the corner of Spring and Maple streets) on Miami’s campus.
In lieu of flowers, friends may donate in his memory to the Thomas T. Peyton Educational Scholarship at Miami University or to Hospice of Cincinnati.
