Dr. A. Halim Kazi

Abdul Halim Kazi, PhD, age 89, passed away on Wednesday, March 6, at his home in Jarrettsville, Maryland. Dr. Kazi is survived by his beloved wife of 65 years, Patricia Stewart Kazi, 2 loving sons Aaron Sr. {Jennifer} and Ethan {Armina}. He is also survived by his beloved grandchildren, Aaron Jr., Violet, Hazel, Lachlan, and Finn. All reside in Harford County, Maryland. Dr. Kazi’s younger sister Leisha Soukary of Palm Desert, California preceded him in death. 

Dr. Kazi was born January 12, 1935, in Kruezlingen, Switzerland to Zubaidah Schutt, the daughter of a Swiss Industrialist and Abdul Hamid Kazi, a visiting doctoral student from India. Soon after his birth, he moved to Berlin, Germany where he was raised as a child. After surviving as a refugee from World War 2, he and his mother moved to the Kazi estate in Bihar, India. Shortly thereafter they fled north to the newly created Pakistan during the 1947 Partition of India. After several years in Pakistan, they moved to a German speaking community in Cairo, Egypt where he attended American University in Cairo receiving a bachelor's in physics in 1954. He then emigrated to the US and attended Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute where he earned a master’s in physics. He then earned a master’s and PhD in Nuclear Engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1959 and 1961 respectively. At MIT, his thesis advisor was Dr. Hans Mark (Secretary of the US Airforce ’79 – ‘81). By this time, he had earned multiple patents for his nuclear reactor designs. Dr. Kazi obtained his US Citizenship in 1962.

Over his 40-year career, Dr. Kazi contributed to the nuclear effects community while a staff scientist at General Atomics, a section chief at the advanced reactors division of United Nuclear, and finally as a civil servant with the US Army. In 1968 he was hired by the US Army, and he was charged with designing and building a new APRF reactor to replace the prior that had experienced a prompt critical excursion event. He then worked as a chief investigator at APRF until 1987 when he took over as the Director of Radiation, Simulation, and Analysis. He held this position until his retirement in 2001 whereupon he received the Distinguished Public Service Career Award for Excellence in Federal Career. 

Dr. Kazi enjoyed gardening, tending to his pool, spending time with family, speaking German with other native speakers, drinking dark German beers, and enjoying vacations at the family summer home on Swans Island, Maine. 

Donations in his memory can be made to the World Wildlife Fund (www.protect.worldwildlife.org).