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March 30, 2007 Vol. 77, no.
10S
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| PEG SKORPINSKI
PHOTO |
Professor Minute with CEE professor Adib Kanafani
Adib Kanafani is the Edward G. Cahill & John R. Cahill Professor
of Civil Engineering. He earned his B.Eng. from the University of Beirut,
Lebanon, in 1964, his M.S. from UC Berkeley in 1967 and his Ph.D. from
UC Berkeley in 1969, all in CE. He joined the Berkeley faculty in 1970.
His research interests include transportation planning, systems analysis,
transportation economics and air transportation.
What first inspired you to go into engineering?
I was always fascinated by the process of designing something and then
seeing it built. I thought it was that simple! Also in college, I thought
it was cool to walk around campus with my T-square. I wonder if our
students today know what a T-square is.
To date, what has been the most memorable moment in your career?
The last class I taught. It’s true!
If you had a few extra hours, what would you do?
There’s a common myth about spare time. Spare time does not exist
because we are always doing what we want to do most. But I do spend
all the time I can on my piano.
What should engineering students make sure they do at Berkeley before
they graduate?
Make sure to take a course or two outside your field of specialization,
and preferably outside engineering. Make sure to befriend someone from
a different country than yours and a different field of study than
yours.
What are you currently reading?
To me reading is like nourishment — you need to keep a balanced
diet. So I usually have three or four books going in parallel. Currently:
A Briefer History of Time by Stephen Hawking and Leonard Mlodinow,
State of Denial by Bob Woodward, My Name is Red by Orhan Pamuk, and
Johannes Brahms: A Biography by Jan Swafford.
What is one thing you would like to learn?
More languages. I’d like to learn Chinese, Japanese and Java.
If you would like us to feature your favorite professor, please e-mail
his or her name to engnews@coe.berkeley.edu. |
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