Placards displaying photos of deceasedZahra Naghibi, Mohammad Abbaspour Ghadi, Hamidreza Setareh Kokab, Pedram Jadidi, and Samira Bashiri will be remembered.

Plane crash victims remembered as talented scholars and loving friends

They were dedicated researchers who were bolstering bridge safety with artificial intelligence, improving the accuracy of critical medical procedures, and using solar energy to increase greenhouse efficiency.

They were friends who never forgot a birthday, supported each other like family, and reminded others of the importance of living in the moment.

On Jan. 8, the University of Windsor lost five cherished members of its community, who were returning to campus, when Ukrainian International Airlines’ Flight PS752 crashed in Iran and claimed the lives of all 176 on board.

Engineering doctoral candidates Hamidreza Setareh Kokab, Pedram Jadidi, Zahra Naghibi and her spouse Mohammad Abbaspour Ghadi, and biology research assistant Samira Bashiri will be remembered by friends, faculty, and staff as vital contributors and caring companions. 

“We all feel the tremendous depth of human suffering caused by this tragedy,” UWindsor president Robert Gordon said. “Our own students were standing on the very doorstep of discovery in their research careers and their potential was limitless. We will never know what life-changing contributions they may have made in their areas of study and academic pursuits — and that loss is unfathomable.”

Following the news of their deaths, the University received an immediate outpouring of support from the UWindsor community and general public to establish the “Remembering Flight PS752” fund, a graduate scholarship endowment that will support international students conducting vital research in the faculties of engineering and science.

—Kristie Pearce

Read the full story, featured in the Winter 2020 edition of the Windsor Engineering newsletter.

Hear more about their contributions and lives by watching UWindsor’s campus memorial, which was live-streamed for family and friends who live outside of Windsor.

Academic Area: