Prof. Dr William Selim Hanna (1896–1980), born in

Assiut AsyutAlso spelled ''Assiout'' or ''Assiut'' ( ar, أسيوط ' , from ' ) is the capital of the modern Asyut Governorate in Egypt. It was built close to the ancient city of the same name, which is situated nearby. The modern city is located at , ...

Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediter ...

وليم سليم حنا, was an Egyptian Minister of Housing. A prominent

structural engineer Structural engineers analyze, design, plan, and research structural components and structural systems to achieve design goals and ensure the safety and comfort of users or occupants. Their work takes account mainly of safety, technical, economic ...

, Hanna completed his education in

Alexandria Alexandria ( or ; ar, ٱلْإِسْكَنْدَرِيَّةُ ; grc-gre, Αλεξάνδρεια, Alexándria) is the second largest city in Egypt, and the largest city on the Mediterranean coast. Founded in by Alexander the Great, Alexandria ...

and

Cairo Cairo ( ; ar, القاهرة, al-Qāhirah, ) is the capital of Egypt and its largest city, home to 10 million people. It is also part of the largest urban agglomeration in Africa, the Arab world and the Middle East: The Greater Cairo metro ...

and graduated from the Faculty of Engineering of Cairo University in 1920 with an engineering diploma. He then traveled to England and joined the

University of Birmingham , mottoeng = Through efforts to heights , established = 1825 – Birmingham School of Medicine and Surgery1836 – Birmingham Royal School of Medicine and Surgery1843 – Queen's College1875 – Mason Science College1898 – Mason Univers ...

, where he earned a bachelor's degree with first place honors in Civil Engineering in 1923. He studied for a doctorate in the same university and received his PhD in 1926.

Positions held

After getting his PhD, he returned to Egypt for the post of Lecturer at the Department of Structural Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Cairo University, in 1926 . When the Research Laboratory of Concrete was created at the Faculty of Engineering in Cairo University in 1932 with the support of Cebu Tariv, an engineering professor at

Princeton University Princeton University is a private university, private research university in Princeton, New Jersey. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth, New Jersey, Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the List of Colonial Colleges, fourth-oldest ins ...

, Hanna became its director. In 1933 he was appointed Director of the Research Laboratory for Mechanics and Foundations Education. In 1937 he took the post of assistant professor in the faculty. In 1941 he took the post of professor of reinforced concrete for the construction of buildings and continued to hold this post until 1952. In 1952 he was appointed Minister of Municipal and Rural Affairs, a post he held until 1954. After this post, Hanna worked as a consultant in his own office, in addition to serving as a full-time professor at the Faculty of Engineering of Cairo University. Later in 1954 he was chosen to be a member of the board of

Ain Shams University Ain Shams University ( ar, جامعة عين شمس) is a public university located in Cairo, Egypt. Founded in 1950, the university provides education at the undergraduate, graduate and post-graduate levels. History Ain Shams University was fou ...

Projects

*contributed to the construction of

Qasr al-Nil bridge The Qasr El Nil Bridge (originally named ''Khedive Ismail Bridge''), also commonly spelled Kasr El Nil Bridge, is a historic structure dating from 1931 which replaced the first bridge to span the Nile River in central Cairo, Egypt. It connects Ta ...

, which opened in 1935 *The Nile Hilton Hotel *

Ramses Hilton The Ramses Hilton is a 35-storey purpose built hotel on the Nile Corniche Street, in the Bulaq district of Cairo, Egypt. It was designed by the New York-based architects Warner Burns Toan & Lunde in collaboration with the Egyptian architect, Ali No ...

Hotel * Many industrial buildings and some well-known presses * Power plants * Hanna was also the first to envision the construction of a subway for Egypt *Involved with the saving of the Philae Monuments after a global appeal directed by

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international cooperation in education, arts, sciences and culture. It ...

in 1966

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hanna, William Selim 1896 births 1980 deaths 20th-century Egyptian engineers Structural engineers Transport ministers of Egypt Cairo University alumni Alumni of the University of Birmingham Academic staff of Cairo University