EL-HAWARY (EL-BIBANY), Ferial

Age 78, of Halifax, passed away peacefully with family at her side on Thursday, May 6, 2021 at her home in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada.

Born in Mansoura, Egypt, she was predeceased by her husband, Mohamed El-hawary; her parents, Mohamed El-sayed El-bibany and Wahiba El-qaddah El-bibany (of Mansoura); and her sisters and brothers, Fathya El-bibany, Ahmed El-bibany, Abd El-rahman El-bibany, Helmy El-bibany and Karima El-bibany (of Cairo, Egypt). She is survived by her daughter, Elizabeth “Bette” El-hawary, and son, Rany “Ron” (Tricia Lane) El-hawary, all of Halifax; son, Robert “Bob” El-hawary, London, U.K.; and grandchildren, Alexa, Ben, Grace, Ryan, Eoin, Kegan, Duncan, and Liam. She is also survived by her former daughters-in-law, Sarah Dunne of Galway, Ireland; and Amanda Macdonald of Halifax.

Dr. El-hawary received her B.eng. from the University of Alexandria, Egypt, M.SC. in Electrical Engineering from the University of Alberta, Edmonton, Canada, and PH.D. in Oceans Engineering from Memorial University of Newfoundland, Canada. Prior to her PH.D. she spent two years (1971-1973) in Brazil along with her husband Mo in being part of the team for establishing a Higher Engineering Research Institute which is well-recognized as COPPE in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. She was President and Co-founder of BH Engineering Systems Ltd. and a former Professor, Faculty of Engineering at Dalhousie University, Canada where she established and directed the Modeling & Signal Analysis Research Laboratory. Her sustained research was devoted to Control and Signal Processing for Ocean Engineering Applications with significant impact in the Marine Industry. Published widely in IEEE Journals. She was the Editor-inChief of The Ocean Engineering Handbook CRC Press, 2nd Ed. 2004 and served as Associate Editor of the IEEE Oceanic Engineering Journal. As Cofounder of BH Engineering Systems Ltd she established professional development courses linking academic innovations to industrial needs.

She had been heavily involved in Engineering both technically and administratively as a current member of the IEEE Oceanic Engineering Society Administrative Committee having served as VicePresident International, and Past Chairman of the Membership Development Committee. She was nominated to serve as President of the Society. Ferial had been instrumental in establishing the Canadian Atlantic Chapters of Oceanic Engineering Society, and she was recognized for her leadership roles in establishing strong IEEE/OES European Chapter based in France as well as the IEEE/OES Chapter based in Trondeheim, Norway. Ferial was heavily involved in the organizing Committees of OCEANS'87, OCEANS'97 Conferences, and CCECE'2000 in Halifax, and OCEANS'94, OCEANS'98 in France. Dr. El-hawary was also the current Chair of Eastern Canada Council of IEEE Canada, and a member of IEEE Committee on Women in Engineering.

She was a recipient of IEEE Canada Wally Read Service Award for 2000, the IEEE Third Millennium Medal 2000, the 1999 RAB Achievement Award, 1997 IEEE Oceanic Engineering Society Distinguished Service Award. She was a Fellow of IEEE, a Fellow of the Engineering Institute of Canada (EIC), and a Fellow of the Marine Technology Society (MTS). Ferial served as president of IEEE Canada in 2008 and 2009. As a woman "ahead of her time" she has served as a role model and passionate advocate for Women in STEM (Science Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) initiatives around the world.

Nanny Fifi, as she was known to her family, was a great lover of animals especially her cats, dancing, yoga, Zumba, swimming, and traveling around the world. She was a devoted wife, mother, grandmother, sister, and friend. She was a familiar face around the Canada Games Center since joining only days after the doors opened in 2011 making it a big part of her healthy lifestyle which she encouraged others to do similarly. She especially enjoyed being with family and friends and making them all laugh and smile in Canada and in travels around the world. She enjoyed spending as much time as possible with the love of her life (Grampy Mo) with whom she has shared so many amazing adventures in exotic locations all around the world. Their favorite place was their cottage at White Point Beach, Nova Scotia where they will lie together for eternity.

A small family burial will take place in White Point Cemetery in White Point, on Tuesday May 11th, with Minister Janet Hatt officiating. We hope that Ferial’s countless friends and family from around the world will be able to celebrate her life in their own way.

Our family would like to thank all of the doctors and nurses who have taken care of Ferial, especially Dr. Ravi Ramjeesingh, Nurse Shelby, all of the nurses on the 11th at the Victoria General Hospital, all of the nurses and doctors on 3E and 3W at Dartmouth General Hospital, and the Palliative Home Care Team. In lieu of flowers donations may be made in honor of Ferial to Craig’s Cause Pancreatic Cancer Society: https://www.craigscause.ca. Online condolences may be made at:

www.jasnowfuneralhome.com