NC State grad among those killed on flight shot down by Iran. ‘We’re all devastated.’
A 33-year-old woman who earned a master’s degree at N.C. State University was among those aboard the airplane shot down after takeoff in Tehran on Wednesday, according to the university’s website.
Bahareh Karami had visited family in her native Iran before boarding the flight to return to her home in Ontario, Canada, N.C. State University News reported. All 176 passengers and crew aboard the Boeing 737 were killed, including 57 Canadians, the Associated Press reported. Ukraine International Airlines Flight 752 had taken off for Kiev.
Iran said Saturday it had accidentally shot down the plane, the AP reported.
“We’re all devastated,” Francis de los Reyes, Karami’s professor at N.C. State, told the university’s news service. “She initially had a tough time in grad school. But she stuck to it, and I was so proud of her when she graduated.”
Karami, who spoke four languages, earned her master of science in environmental engineering in 2012, according to the university.
She also earned a bachelor of science in chemical engineering at the University of Tehran in 2009 and later an international certificate in health, safety and environmental training from the United Nations Association of Iran, N.C. State News reported.
At N.C. State, she was a volunteer research assistant on two water treatment projects and belonged to the nonprofit North Carolina Section of the American Water Works Association and the North Carolina Member Association of the Water Environment Federation, according to the university.
“I was so lucky to have worked in one of the best environmental engineering labs under the supervision of one of the best lab managers,” Karami wrote in the introduction to her master’s thesis, according to N.C. State News.
Her research project “examined a novel approach for inducing aerobic granulation in wastewater treatment,” and N.C. State students continue to build upon her work, according to the university’s website.
“She had a bright future ahead of her,” de los Reyes told the campus news service.
Since 2018, Karami had worked in environmental services for the York, Ontario, Regional Council and the Regional Municipality of York, according to a York Region government news release.
“Bahareh’s colleagues speak very highly of her,” York Region Chief Administrator Officer Bruce Macgregor said in the release. “She is being remembered for her love of family, a dedicated and strong work ethic, and great sense of enthusiasm.”
Flags at York Region facilities are being flown at half-mast until her funeral is held in Tehran.
This story was originally published January 11, 2020 at 6:29 PM with the headline "NC State grad among those killed on flight shot down by Iran. ‘We’re all devastated.’."