Rui Vasco Sitoe, associate professor in the petroleum engineering department at the Universidade Eduardo Mondlane (UEM) in Maputo, Mozambique died 23 February. He was the primary faculty member for the drilling discipline. Sitoe was one of the founders and coordinators of the master’s of science in petroleum engineering program (MSPE) at UEM, the first of its type in Mozambique.
The UEM MSPE degree was founded in 2014 as a tripartite partnership among the Mozambique government, Anadarko, and academic stakeholders to establish a world-class, post-graduate program in Mozambique. Sitoe was instrumental in creating and maintaining the program. In conjunction with industry subject matter experts and petroleum engineering professors from several leading US universities, he built and maintained the curriculum and academic research, and nurtured student engagement—from recruitment to academic counseling, and management of student research. Sitoe was also the faculty advisor for the UEM SPE Student Chapter, the country’s first SPE student chapter. The graduation of the initial 11 students from the program in 2016 marked its success, with three of the students receiving invitations from the Norwegian University of Science and Technology for doctorate studies in petroleum engineering.
Sitoe held a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering from UEM; master's degree in manufacturing systems engineering and management from the University of Bradford, UK; and a doctorate from Cranfield University, UK.