Sajjad Durrani Passes away in Maryland
By Dr A. Khan
Chicago, IL
Prominent Pakistani-American engineer and academic Dr Sajjad Durrani passed away at his residence in Olney, Maryland (MD) on Friday, November 13, 2020.
A very active member of the communityDr Durrani was the co-founder of the Muslim Community Center (MCC), Silver Spring, MD. He zealously promoted inter-faith dialogue with people of other faiths and was instrumental in establishing a free medical clinic for the community at large in Silver Spring, MD.
Sajjad Durrani was born in 1928. His father served as a Judge in Pakistan, and raised twelve children, eleven of whom earned a master’s or a doctoral degree. Keeping his family’s pursuit of intellectual capital, he earned an array of impressive credentials from top academic institutions: a BA from the Government College, Lahore (1946); a BSc Engineering from the Engineering College, Lahore (1949), a Master’s from the Manchester Institute of Technology, England (1953); and a doctorate from the University of New Mexico, USA (1962).
He served in various capacities at several universities; as Head of the Electrical Engineering Department in newly formed West Pakistan University of Engineering & Technology (WPUET, presently UET), Lahore (1964-65); and as associate professor at Kansas State University (1965-66). For more than 10 years, he served in key positions of top companies like General Electric, COMSAT Labs, and RCA.
In 1974 Dr Durrani joined NASA and served at the Goddard Space Flight Center and at the NASA Headquarters. At Goddard he was research and planning manager of the NASCOM Division and was one of the managers of the tracking and data relay satellite system when it was initially deployed. He also served as chief scientist of the Communications Division, and later managed research programs in the Advanced Systems Office. After retiring from NASA in 1992, he worked with Computer Sciences Corporation on similar projects until 1998. He was a guest lecturer on space communications at the International Space University in Strasbourg, France in 1998, and was a consultant with SUPARCO, Pakistan, under the United Nations Development Program in 1999. Dr Durrani was a fellow of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE), and also served as an IEEE-USA executive fellow and technical advisor with the Federal Communications Commission in Washington, DC from 2000 to 2001. Besides, he served as senior technical advisor for the US Department of State during 2004 and 2005.
He taught several courses on satellite communications in the US and more than 25 other countries under the AESS Distinguished Lecturers Program. He was a fellow of the Washington Academy of Sciences, where he was one of its vice presidents from 2001 to 2004, and again in 2008-2009. He served as president of the DC Council of Engineering and Architectural Societies in 2006-07 and served on the Industrial Advisory Board of the University of Washington, DC. Dr Durrani also served as program evaluator for Accreditation Board of Engineering and Technology (ABET).
Dr Durrani and his late wife, Yasmin, raised two daughters, Zarina and Amina, a son, Arif, and a granddaughter, Layla. A detailed interview of Dr Sajjad Durrani is available at the following weblink: https://ethw.org/Oral-History:Sajjad_Durrani
May Allah SWT bless his soul and reward him with a place in Janet-ul-Firdous for his work for humanity. Ameen!
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