April 21, 2017, by Shirlene Campbell Ritchie
A Picture of Inspiration
Few people are more inspiring than Dr Mohamed Bashir Gadi, winner of this year’s Fazlur Rahman Khan Award for Excellence in Engineering, Science and Technology.
Dr Gadi, Associate Professor, Director and Admissions Tutor for the MSc Course on Renewable Energy and Architecture, has had a stellar and distinguished career.
He has published over sixty research papers, co-authored several books and was awarded the gold medal at the international Energex ’98 conference for his research on a new energy conscious system for low-cost housing.
Now, he has been lauded in this year’s Muslim News Awards for Excellence. Dr Gadi won the prestigious Fazlur Rahman Khan Award for Excellence in Engineering, Science and Technology, beating a distinguished field of two senior academics from other universities.
The glittering award ceremony was attended by Members of Parliament and included a special message from the Prime Minister who said, ‘Tonight we celebrate not just the best of Britain’s Muslim community, but the very best of Britain.’
This recent award is part of a long line of achievements for Libyan-born architect, Dr Gadi, who has battled leukaemia for the past ten years. His acceptance speech was described by many as moving and inspirational.
He said, ‘I have been blessed with a caring family. My wife Amna, my son Munder and my daughter Islam have supported me through some painful times. Islam and Munder would accompany me on walks in the first few months because I was too ill and frail to go out on my own. Islam is now a doctor after graduating from Nottingham, which for me, is another blessing.’
‘Until now, only my family, some friends and very few colleagues at the University have known about my illness. However, when I needed a hand at work, my colleagues were happy to help by swapping and moving their lecture times and venues. There were other friends, neighbours and colleagues who didn’t know about my illness, but were helpful by simply being friendly and welcoming – God bless everyone who helped in any way, even with a smile.
For others who may be suffering from cancer, ‘Keep smiling and never give up hope.’
Despite his illness, Dr Gadi has not slowed down. He has received a host of awards for his innovative teaching techniques. He has used his self-taught skills in multimedia, web design and coding, and software engineering to develop ‘e-Tutors’ – a new software tool which he uses in his lectures to enhance the learning experience.
To date, he has supervised over eighty Masters and PhD theses. He has also organised international training workshops, and delivered keynote lectures and presentations at academic institutions and conferences around the world. These include UNESCO and the UN. In addition, he has been a Fellow of the International Energy Foundation for over 20 years now.
We congratulate Dr Gadi and wish him all the very best in all his endeavours.
About the Muslim News Awards for Excellence
The Muslim News Awards for Excellence celebrate Muslim talent and their contributions to British society. This year, there were nominees in 15 different categories and Dr Gadi was the winner of the Fazlur Rahman Khan Award. The latter was a Bangladeshi-American structural engineer and architect who lived and worked in the US (1929 – 1982). He is best known for devising the structural systems behind Chicago’s tallest buildings which were completed in the late 20th century and subsequently influenced the design of modern skyscrapers to come. For more information on skyscrapers and tall buildings, visit: http://www.ctbuh.org/
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