Beloved Professor Dr. Bassiouni Passes Away

In mid-July, the Craft & Hawkins Dept of Petroleum Engineering learned that Dr. Zaki Bassiouni passed away peacefully on July 8, 2026. Under his leadership and direction for 20 years, the department thrived throughout challenging circumstances. Dr Bassiouni led by example and challenged his colleagues to work together to find creative solutions for the issues that the department faced.  He welcomed ideas and encouraged outside assistance from our alumni when their alma mater was faced with difficulties, resulting in the formation of the Industry Advisory Committee. He sought innovative ways to lift the department (and enrollment once it dropped) and he challenged department members, students, and alumni to all take accountability to aid in the overall success for the department.

Dr. Bassiouni was originally hired by LSU in 1977 and provided excellent teaching and performed valuable research. According to the department’s history book Through the Long String: The History of Petroleum Engineering at LSU, he worked on “advanced techniques for log interpretation for the Mineral Institute and was cooperating with the Gas Research Institute and Center for Energy Studies to assess the feasibility of co-production to get the optimum gas production from offshore wells before those wells watered out.”  As time passed and research progressed, the department was able to begin its PhD program in 1981.  Enrollment grew as well, and Dr. Adam T. "Ted" Bourgoyne, Jr., who was the Department Chair at the time, decided it was time for a change in leadership at the chairman position.  An excerpt from Through the Long String describes, “When Dr. Bassiouni first took charge of the department in 1983, his open, less paternal style helped him tackle the problem on managing a department that had mushroomed in size.  He delegated authority and responsibility to his staff for day-to-day personnel and budget management, choosing members of the staff carefully according to the talents and capacities he had observed in them before he became chair.” Dr. Bassiouni met with many challenges. When he became chair in July 1983, the department had 740 students enrolled. He led during peak enrollment years 1983-85; however, once the downturn took effect, the enrollment dropped in 1989 to 51 students. It is said by an alumnus who graduated in the late-90s, that he would receive mid-morning calls from Dr. Bassiouni encouraging the student to not miss class. Having low enrollment really changed the dynamics of how close the faculty and students became, to mirror the nurturing, family-oriented relationships that both Craft & Hawkins had with their students during enrollment dips.

Leading the department through the ups and downs of the enrollment cycle inspired Dr. Bassiouni to create our Industry Advisory Committee in 1987, and the committee is still active today. Dr. Harry Longwell, Jr. served as our first Chair, and he, Mr. William B. Daniel IV, and many others helped lead our campaign to grow the department financially, naming the dept after its original department chairs and beloved professors Benny Craft & Murray Hawkins.  Endowing the department was a stroke of genius and helped provide the department with enough scholarships to ensure that our enrollment and students would succeed.  A teaching lab was also provided an endowment, and multiple professorship were established.  This generosity by our alumni has continued through the years and enables the department to successfully provide a professorship to each tenure-track professor today.

In 2004, Dr. Bassiouni was asked to step in as Interim Dean. He replied that if he was to serve as Dean, he wanted the freedom to make lasting changes and impact the College of Engineering in a meaningful way. So, he negotiated a 3-year appointment as the Dean and spread his leadership style to the College until his eventual retirement in 2008. He was beloved as an administrator, as he inspired his colleagues and staff to also rise to challenges and find innovative solutions to difficult problems.  His infectious smile and attitude helped reassure his staff that a solution could be found for every problem, and they could work through it all as a team.

In March 2012, Dr. Bassiouni was inducted into the College of Engineering Hall of Distinction during its 31st annual ceremony. He was recognized for his distinguished professional and professorial achievements, dedicated service to engineering, and outstanding humanitarian activities. The department hosted him for a speaking engagement, as he traveled in from California.  His wife Chantal joined him for the week and the ceremony. Her link to the family’s obituary can be found here: Zaki Bassiouni | Meadow Memories. Updates regarding a memorial service are forthcoming.

Beloved by so many colleagues, friends, and alumni, Dr. Bassiouni has a scholarship, professorship, and teaching award in his name.  Mrs. Chantal Bassiouni asked the department to encourage donations to the scholarship rather than sending flowers for an eventual memorial service. Please check back here, on the obituary, or on our social media pages for updates regarding the service.