Omar Sharif a foreigner of some sort. He bridled at travel restrictions imposed by the government of Egyptian president Gamal Abdel Nasser, leading to self-exile in Europe. He was a lifelong horse racing enthusiast, and at one time ranked among the world's top contract bridge players. Omar Sharif, whose adopted surname means "noble" or "nobleman", was born as Michel Dimitri Chalhoub in Alexandria, Egypt, to a Melkite Catholic family, either of Syrian or Lebanese descent: he belonged to a small ethnocultural minority known as the Levantine 'Antiochian' Greek Catholics of Egypt ("Rum Katuleek"), an offshoot of the Greek Orthodox Church of Antioch.
Michel Soto Chalhoub Michel Soto Chalhoub Michel Soto Chalhoub is a civil engineer who pioneered modern practice in shock, vibration, and seismic design using energy dissipating devices [ref]. He developed his methodologies while at the University of California, Berkeley, where he earned his Ph.D. in dynamics and seismic design. He focused his research and his product development projects on critical facilities that are needed to remain functional during and in the aftermath of a major tremor such as fire command centers, hospitals, and transportation facilities. Chalhoub applied advanced structural dynamics to projects such as TITAN IV Solid Motor, Disney theme parks, and offshore