Student victims of Iran plane crash to receive posthumous UW degrees
University of Waterloo 'a better place having had them as part of our community,' president says
Two University of Waterloo students who died in a plane crash in Iran in January will receive their degrees posthumously on Friday.
Mansour Esnaashary Esfahani was doing a PhD in civil engineering and Mari Foroutan was a PhD candidate in the department of geography. They were aboard Ukraine International Airlines Flight PS752 to Kyiv when it was shot down shortly after takeoff on Jan. 8 in Tehran. All 176 people on board the flight died.
Additonally, the university will give a degree to Jaya Gupta, an undergraduate engineering student who died from cancer earlier this fall.
In a release, the university's president Feridun Hamdullahpur says the impact of the students "has been profound both personally and across our university community.
The University of Waterloo is most certainly a better place having had them as part of our community."
Mary Wells, dean of engineering, remembered Esfahani as "a bright, well-respected young researcher."
Jean Andrey, dean of the faculty of environment, said everyone was heartbroken when Foroutan died.
"Her dedication to improving our world was an inspiration to so many," Andrey said. "While we are heartbroken to be without her today, we are grateful for the opportunity to recognize her contributions, both personal and academic."
'A very, very, very good thing'
Esfahani's wife Hanieh Dehghan says she appreciates that the university will give her late husband his degree.
"I think it's a very, very, very good thing that they want to do," she said. "But I'm upset because I'm sure that this wouldn't [have] been his last degree. He never stopped learning."
'My best friend'
An investigation into the incident continues. In July, Iranian investigators blamed a misaligned missile battery and miscommunication for the downing of the plane. Dehghan says she and the families of the other people who died in the plane crash continue to wait for answers.
"All of the families of the passengers ... I think they want to see that to see that someone [is] at least punished," she said.
She says she has many fond memories of him and their life together.
Dehghan and Esfahani married two years ago, but their wedding celebration in Iran happened only a week before the plane was shot down.
"The loss of him was a great pain for me," she said of her husband. "I have lost not only my husband, but also my best friend. I will love him forever. He's alive in my heart."
Listen to the interview with Hanieh Dehghan: