The Department of Computer Science and the Faculty of Arts & Science are remembering two PhD students who lost their lives in the tragic crash of flight 752 in Iran on Wednesday, January 8.
“Our community has been devastated by the loss of two of our best and brightest young minds,” says the chair of computer science, Marsha Chechik. “My deepest condolences to their families and their friends, members of their academic communities, and everyone who knew these incredibly smart and driven, yet generous and caring individuals.”
A total of 176 people were killed in the crash. Fifty-seven Canadians were among the victims. Mohammad Amin Beiruti and Mohammad Salaheh were among the eight members of the U of T community who perished.
“To make the world a better place”
Mohammad Amin Beiruti was born in Iran in 1990. An innovator, with a natural ability for deep thinking, he was keen and focused on his academic goals. Beiruti received his master of science in computer engineering in 2015 from Sharif University of Technology, Tehran. He joined the computer science department at the University of Toronto as a PhD student in 2017.
His research in systems and networking focused on designing the next generation of networks under the supervision of Professor Yashar Ganjali.
Beiruti’s contributions in this area ranged from theoretical modeling and analysis of existing systems, to design and implementation of new protocols for load migrations, and even deployment and evaluation of his solutions in real systems. He was highly motivated in his research and constantly sought new and interesting problems — which often led to interesting solutions later on.
Beiruti believed that the more technology improved, the better the world would be — and he wanted to play a role to ease the life of human beings. His goal was to reach the leading edge of science, and he was eager to make contributions and enhancements to technology.
He generously shared his knowledge with his peers and with undergraduate students as a teaching assistant in computer science at U of T and previously at Sharif University. He also served as a mentor to several undergraduate students at U of T, helping them with research projects.
Beiruti was a natural leader and a brilliant student. He was the executive director for seven different national collegiate programming contests, as part of the Asia Regional ACM International Programming Contests (ICPC). He was also the chief of staff of the 2014 Asia Regional ACM-ICPC Contest held in Tehran, Iran.
In addition to being hardworking and ambitious, Beiruti was very caring and kind. He spoke softly and respectfully and was loved by many friends, a reflection of his inner calm and peace of mind. He was in Iran after his grandmother passed away as he wanted to spend time with his family and console them.
Beiruti is remembered by his supervisor Professor Yashar Ganjali, his labmates and his academic family, as an individual who “cared deeply about the impact of his research and wanted to make the world a better place.”
“Kind, respecting and caring”
Mohammad Saleheh was born in Ahvaz, Iran, in 1987. He loved computer programming since childhood and developed his first computer game for a Commodore 64 while he was in elementary school. He was a graduate of Allameh Helli High School — an affiliate of the National Organization for Development of Exceptional Talents — in Tehran.
Salaheh received both his bachelor and master of science degrees in computer engineering from Sharif University. He had a silver medal in the National Olympiad in informatics and was an ACM-ICPC competitor. He was also active in the Robocup competition, where he received multiple medals. He was an instructor for several courses while at Sharif University. His online course on web programming in Farsi is still being used by thousands of people in Iran each year.
After working for a few years as a senior software engineer at a very well-known tech company in Iran and consulting for many other companies, Salaheh was admitted to U of T’s computer science PhD program in 2018. He was an outstanding scientist and a top-rate engineer who had a deep understanding of the theoretical aspects of computer science. During his short time at U of T, he developed strong collaborations with scientists from Samsung AI research and AT&T research. His dedication and hard work resulted in multiple published papers at top conferences.
Salaheh was a kind, respectful and caring soul who went above and beyond to help others. His humbleness and humility were inspiring, especially for people who were aware of his technical expertise. Although he was usually quiet, he was very active in multiple social and religious communities, always trying to be there for his friends and neighbours.
Salaheh was also a skilled table tennis player, competing in intramurals at Sharif University and U of T, and liked playing Warcraft 3. He will be remembered and missed by his friends from all over the world, including Allameh Helli High graduates, Sharif University graduates and the U of T community.
Salaheh’s wife, Zahra Hassani was born in 1994 in Kerman. She was a graduate of Farzanegan High School, an affiliate of the National Organization for Development of Exceptional Talents in Qom, Iran. She graduated from Sharif University with a bachelor’s degree in physics. She was looking forward to pursuing her graduate studies at U of T.
Her kindness and generosity were exceptional. Hassani was caring, devoted to her friends and family, spiritual, and had a unique perspective where she enjoyed life to its fullest. She was extremely mindful of her friends, family, and neighbours.
Salaheh and Hassani were a great couple, and they will be sorely missed by anyone who had the privilege of knowing them. They were onboard flight 752 returning from a vacation in Tehran.