Bassem Armaly

January 6, 2015

Bassem Armaly, 77, of Rolla, Missouri died January 6, 2015 after a short illness with cancer. He was born in Shefa Amir, Palestine, son of Farid and Fadwa (Bahouth) Armaly. He came to the United States in 1959 to attend the University of Iowa and received his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in mechanical engineering in 1963 and 1964 respectively. He received his doctoral degree from the University of California, Berkeley in 1969. In 1962 he married Gery Hazard in Iowa City, IA. He is survived by Gery, his daughter Nicole and husband Duane of Maple Grove, MN, his son Samir and wife Kelly of La Canada, CA and his five grandchildren Grace, Aidan, Emma, C.J., and Zachary. He is also survived by his sisters Anisseh, Marie, Souad, and Laila. He was preceded in death by his brother Mansour and his sister Nouha. Bassem joined the Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering and Engineering Mechanics department at the University of Missouri in Rolla in 1969. He served as the chairman of that department from 1985 to 1996 and became a Curator’s Professor in 1997. His research in the field of heat transfer included contributions to the National Science Foundation, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration and the Department of Energy and resulted in more than 170 publications. From 1999-2002, he served as the Program Manager of the Engineering Science Program for the Department of Energy, in Germantown, Maryland. His honors included a Fulbright Fellowship and a NASA Achievement Award. In 1995 he helped to establish the UMR Academy of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineers and was inducted as a member in 1997. He loved to travel and was fortunate to combine his work with this pleasure by serving as program chair to several international conferences and visiting scholar at many international universities including trips to Lebanon, Jordan, China, Ireland, Brazil and New Zealand. He retired as Curator’s Professor Emeritus from Missouri Science & Technology in 2012. He and Gery continued to enjoy traveling the world after his retirement with trips to Galapagos, Machu Picchu, and around Cape Horn, and a cruise around Italy and the Adriatic Sea. Bassem was an avid trout fisherman and loved to be one of the first to cast his line into Maramec Springs early in the morning when the whistle blew, often returning home with his limit before teaching his first class for the day. The family would appreciate memorial contributions be directed to the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society (www.lls.org) in honor of Bassem. Funeral arrangements are being made through James & Gahr Mortuaries. A Celebration of Bassem’s Life is planned for Friday, January 16 from 6:00-8:00 pm at the Kensington Park Clubhouse, 1930 Kensington Parkway in Rolla. A Funeral Mass is planned for Saturday, January 17 at 10:00 am at St. Patrick’s Catholic Church in Rolla.