My father, Shahid Ahmad Juned, who has died aged 72, had successful careers in engineering and computer-aided design on two continents, working on diverse projects from the construction of the Barbican to the design of car parts for Rover.
He was born in Charsadda, Pakistan, to two schoolteachers who were passionate about the importance of education for all their children. His father was of Afghan descent and a Persian scholar, and his mother set up some of the first schools for girls in what was then the North-West Frontier.
Educated at Edwardes College, Peshawar, he graduated as a mechanical engineer from the University of Peshawar in 1964 with a first-class degree. In 1965 he was sent to the UK for postgraduate training in sugar-mill engineering, based at Fletcher and Stewart in Derby. It was at Derby College that he met my mother, Susan, after a debate on politics, an interest they were both to share for the next 48 years. They married in Pakistan in 1968.
The same year, Shahid went to China, then in the middle of the cultural revolution, for engineering training as part of a trade deal. He returned to his company in Pakistan, HMC Taxila, to join the sugar mill design team.
At the age of 32, he was appointed as the chief engineer responsible for the construction of Khazana sugar mill near Peshawar. He later worked on the Karachi steel mill before taking the decision, in 1979, to move back to the UK with Susan and their three children.
He was involved in the construction of the Barbican in London and worked for Lummus, an oil company, before a change of career took him into the use of computers for the design of car components.
In 1984, he gained an MSc in computer-aided design and manufacturing, one of the first such courses in the UK, and started to work for Rover at its Longbridge plant as a senior manager. Then, at Warwick University, he managed EU projects – with automotive manufacturers including Rover, Fiat and TMW, IT companies such as Siemens and BT, and European universities – on the development of sophisticated software tools for the design and manufacturing industries.
Shahid was fluent in Urdu, Pashto, English (his third language) and Farsi, and able to communicate in Chinese and Arabic. On retiring from Rover, he worked with the civil service, assisting with international communications.
He had a love of English, Indian and Persian poetry, was passionate about cricket and was a keen bridge player who won a series of grand slams a few days before his death.
Shahid is survived by Susan, his children, Aneela, Yazmin and me, and three grandchildren.
