He was honoured for his indisputable contribution during recent years to the training of South African students and the promotion of the South African universities for which he has worked as a member of the French South African Institute of Technology, known as F'SATI.
Born in Haïfa, Palestine on 23 February 1943, Hamam spent his childhood and adolescence in Lebanon where his family had to take refuge. He received his Bachelor of Electrical Engineering degree from the American University of Beirut in 1966, and the Master of Science and Doctor of Philosophy degrees from the University of Manchester Institute of Science and Technology in 1970 and 1972 respectively. Hamam was also awarded the Diplôme d'Habilitation à Diriger des Recherches degree, the highest national diploma of Higher Education in France, from the Université des Sciences et Technologies de Lille in 1998.
Hamam conducted research activities and lectured in England, Brazil, Lebanon, Belgium and France. He was the Head of the Control Department and the Dean of the Faculty of ESIEE Paris, France. Hamam is an active member of modelling and simulation societies, and was the President of the European Federation of Simulation Societies, EUROSIM. He is also a Life Senior Member of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers.
A major technical contribution during his research career is the development of a water and gas network analysis method, which has replaced previous methods and is now a reference for the analysis of piping networks.
In 2007, Hamam joined F’SATI at the Tshwane University of Technology (TUT) as a Scientific Director, and then also at CPUT in 2008. He remained in these positions until December 2012. He is currently an Emeritus Professor in the Department of Electrical Engineering at TUT and also an Emeritus Professor at ESIEE-Paris, France. Hamam retains an active involvement in the further development of F’SATI.
Of the 57 doctorate students who graduated under his supervision, 36 are in South Africa and many of them are now involved in academic institutions in the country.
He has co-authored four books and 40 chapters in edited books. He has also authored or co-authored more than 400 papers in peer-reviewed scientific journals and in peer-reviewed conference proceedings.
He is married to Annie Johanet and is the father of three children and grandfather of eight grandchildren.
