Friday, September 20, 2013
Members of the Department of Civil & Environmental Engineering mourn the loss of their friend and colleague, Professor Khal Soudki, who passed away early in the morning on Tuesday, September 17, 2013 after a long battle with cancer. A funeral prayer was held at the Waterloo Masjid the same day, with burial at Parkview Cemetery taking place afterwards. Khal leaves behind his wife, Rana Shami, and daughter Sara and son Adnan.
A graduate of the American University of Beirut (BEng, 1987), Cornell University (MSc, 1989) and the University of Manitoba (PhD, 1994), and held a postdoctoral position at Queens University in Kingston. Professor Soudki joined the Department of Civil & Environmental Engineering as Assistant Professor in 1997. A prolific and well-respected researcher, he quickly progressed to Associate Professor in 2001 and full Professor in 2006. In 2003, he was appointed Canada Research Chair in Innovative Structural Rehabilitation; he was reappointed in 2006 for a further five-year term. He was also the founding Dean of Engineering at the American University in Dubai, UAE and a former visiting scholar at the Swiss Federal Laboratory for Material Testing (EMPA). He was also very active on many international scientific committees and was a Fellow of the American Concrete Institute.
Professor Soudki was an internationally renowned leader in the field of reinforced and prestressed concrete structures with emphasis on the use of advanced fibre reinforced polymers (FRP) for the repair of structures. His research and teaching contributions over the last twenty years resulted in over 250 research publications, including patents, book chapters and many journal and conference publications. Dr. Soudki had substantial experience with structural performance of concrete members and his research had high impact as it was directed at the repair of deteriorated structures with minimal cost, time and complexity. He worked with many public and private sector research partners to improve state-of-the-art practice. Khal leaves behind a legacy of scientific research in Canada and around the world.
As expressions of sympathy, donations to the Waterloo Region Cancer Centre would be appreciated by the family. Friends and colleagues are invited to express their condolences to Professor Soudki’s family at the family’s residence on Friday, September 20 between 5:00 p.m. and 7:00 p.m. and on Saturday, September 21 from 2:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m.