Dr. Shams-Kolahi – exceptional scientist known for his research in photovoltaic related technologies.

Posted on April 2, 2014 by socialinform

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Wahid Shams-Kolahi (Persian: وحید شمس کلاهی) is a scientist and an electrical engineer who is known for his research in photovoltaic related technologies.

Dr. Shams-Kolahi was born in Arak, Iran in 1965. He obtained his undergraduate degree in Electrical Engineering at University of Stuttgart and joined the graduate school of electrical engineering/electrophysics, led by Professor Werner H. Bloss he obtained hisPhd. from Osaka University Japan in 1997.While at Hamakawa Lab, Wahid Shams-Kolahi conducted research on space made materials and their potential for applications such as the absorption layer of solar cells. The team at Hamakawa Lab led by Shams-Kolahi was chosen by the Spacelab Mission Endeavour project, a cooperation between NASA of the United States and the Japanese NASDA, to study the electrical and optical properties of SiAsTe amorphous- or chalcogenide semiconductors fabricated under microgravity in space as part of Endeavour mission STS-47

Notable projects

Ref :wikipedia.org/wiki/Vahid_Shams_Kolahi

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Majid Hassanizadeh professor of hydrogeology at Utrecht University awarded with the von Humboldt price

Posted on April 1, 2014 by socialinform

Majid Hassanizadeh is a professor of hydrogeology at Utrecht University, where he heads the Hydrogeology group at the Faculty of Geosciences.[1] He also is a senior advisor with the Soil and Groundwater Department of Deltares.

Scientific Honors

He was elected Fellow of American Geophysical Union in 2002 and Fellow of American Association for the Advancement of Science in 2007. He was awarded the honorary degree of Doktor-Ingenieur from Stuttgart University in 2008. In 2010, he was awarded a von Humboldt Prize. In May 2011, he was selected by the US National Ground Water Association as the Darcy Distinguished Lecturer for 2012

Ref:wikipedia.org/wiki/Majid_Hassanizadeh

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Iranians participating in Earth Hour 2014 throughout Iran

Posted on March 31, 2014 by socialinform

Earth Hour is a worldwide movement for the planet organized by the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF). The event is held worldwide annually encouraging individuals, communities, households and businesses to turn off their non-essential lights for one hour, from 8:30 to 9:30 p.m. on the last Saturday in March, as a symbol for their commitment to the planet

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Earth_Hour

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2014 Farhang Foundation Short Film Festival Winners Announced

Posted on March 31, 2014 by socialinform

About KAJART  (1st place)
Kajart is an animation production studio, based in Toronto, Canada, formed by four friends (Hajar Moradi, Kajeh Mehrizi, Taravat Khalili, Vahid Fazel), who discovered they share a similar taste of art. Kajart ended up creating some unique visual artworks as they discovered each other’s different talents and skills. Their passion towards music and film has led them to mainly focus on producing short animated movies and music videos.

About Kevon Moezzi  (2nd place)
Kevan Moezzi – If you can’t be Persian, at least try to be ‘Half ‘. That’s what standup comedian K-von did.  With his multi-cultural humor, he’s been able to connect with and make audiences of all ages laugh across the US and internationally.  When not on stage, you can catch him in one of his many TV and movie appearances.  He’s just as busy behind the scenes writing, producing, & directing a number of projects including his 1-hour comedy special TANX GOD! and upcoming documentary, NOWRUZ.

About Sarah Tabibzadeh  (3rd place)
Sarah Tabibzadeh was born in 1984, in Tehran, Iran. She has BA in Graphic Design from University of Tehran, Tehran, Iran and MA in Tarbiat Modarres, Tehran, Iran. She is the designer and manager of “Sarah Product” since 2002. Her first animation “Lady with Flower-Hair” has won several international and national prizes in 2013 including the Second National Prize at the “8th Tehran International Animation Biennal”, the Special Prize of Jury & selected as the best animation by audience “Accorto Di donne” in Italy, and the Best Animation “Short Film Festival” in Mexico.

About Farhang Foundation
Farhang Foundation is a non-religious, non-political and not-for-profit foundation established in 2008 to celebrate and promote Iranian art and culture for the benefit of the community at large. The foundation supports a broad range of academic activities in Southern California by funding university programs, publications and conferences. The foundation also supports diverse cultural programs such as the celebration of Nowruz and Mehregan, theater, dance performances, film screenings and poetry reading in Southern California. And, in cooperation with various cultural and academic institutions, Farhang Foundation funds major programs and exhibitions about Iran and its culture. However, the content, viewpoints or biases expressed by individual artists, academics, institutions or events supported by the foundation belong solely to each individual party and do not necessarily reflect the views of Farhang Foundation. For more info visit www.farhang.org.

http://www.payvand.com/news/14/mar/1168.html

 

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Professor Hamid Jafarkhani, holder of the NSFs CAREER award

Posted on March 30, 2014 by socialinform
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Hamid Jafarkhani (Persian: حمید جعفرخانی‎), born in 1966 in Tehran, is a Chancellor’s Professor in electrical engineering and computer science at the University of California, Irvine‘s Henry Samueli School of Engineering. His research focuses on communications theory, particularly coding and wireless communications and networks.
he studied at the University of Maryland College Park and obtained his Ph.D. in 1997. After graduating, Jafarkhani joined AT&T Laboratories-Research in August 1997 before moving to Broadcom in July 2000Jafarkhani received a National Science Foundation CAREER award in January 2003 which “recognizes outstanding scientists and engineers who, early in their careers, show exceptional potential for leadership at the frontiers of knowledge”.

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Firouz Michael Naderi awarded with NASA’s highest award – the Distinguished Service Medal

Posted on March 29, 2014 by socialinform

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Firouz Michael Naderi (born in Shiraz, Iran) is an Iranian-American scientist and currently the Director for Solar System Exploration at NASA‘s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL). In this role Naderi oversees JPL’s robotic solar system missions in planning (such as a mission to the Jupiter’s moon Europa) or, in development (InSight lander on Mars) and operating missions, including the Cassini orbiter at Saturn, the Dawn spacecraft at the giant asteroid Vesta, JUNO on its way to Jupiter.
He received his M.S. and Ph.D. in electrical engineering from USC
He was named head of the Mars Exploration Program at JPL in 2000 . In the summer of 2000 he helped re-plan the Program as a chain of scientifically, technologically and operationally interrelated missions with a spacecraft launch to Mars every two years. He led the Program for the next five years, a span of time that included the successful landing of the Mars Exploration Rovers, Spirit and Opportunity.

Awards and honors

  • Fellow of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA)
  • 2010 recipient of the William Randolph Lovelace II Award from the American Astronautical Society (AAS)[4]
  • 2005 recipient of Ellis Island Medal of Honor
  • NASA Outstanding Leadership Medal
  • Space Technology Hall of Fame Medal and
  • NASA’s highest award – the Distinguished Service Medal.

Ref:wikipedia.org/wiki/Firouz_Naderi

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Ramin Djawadi – Iranian-German composer of the title music of “Game of Thrones” and Grammy nominee

Posted on March 28, 2014 by socialinform

Ramin Djawadi.jpg

Ramin Djawadi (Persian: رامین جوادی‎; born July 19, 1974) is an Iranian-German composer of orchestral music for film and television. Djawadi may be best known for his Grammy-nominated, guitar-driven score for Iron Man and Pacific Rim and for the TV series Prison Break, Game of Thrones and Person of Interest.

After graduating summa cum laude from Berklee College of Music in 1998, Djawadi garnered the attention of Hans Zimmer, who recruited him to Remote Control Productions. Djawadi moved to Los Angeles and worked as an assistant to Klaus Badelt.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ramin_Djawadi

 

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Homayoon Kazerooni – highly awarded Iranian-American roboticist and professor of Mechanical Engineering at the University of California, Berkeley

Posted on March 27, 2014 by socialinform
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Homayoon Kazerooni (born in Kazerun, Iran) is an Iranian-American roboticist and professor of Mechanical Engineering at the University of California, Berkeley
Dr. Kazerooni is the director of the Berkeley Robotics and Human Engineering Laboratory and also the Co-founder and Chief Scientist of Berkeley Bionics.
The Berkeley Robotics and Human Engineering Laboratory is also affectionately known as “KAZ LAB”.
Early in his career, Dr. Kazerooni was a recipient of the outstanding ASME Investigator Award, and has also won Discover Magazine’s Technological Innovation Award, and the McKnight-Land Grant Professorship. His research was recognized as the most innovative technology of the year in New York Times Magazine

Patents:

  • Human power amplifier for lifting load with slack prevention apparatus
  • Device and Method for Wireless Lifting Assist Devices
  • Pneumatic human power amplifier module

Ref:wikipedia.org/wiki/Homayoon_Kazerooni

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Babak Hassibi Iranian-American Professor at Caltech, holder of multiple awards

Posted on March 26, 2014 by socialinform

http://www.its.caltech.edu/~gallery/HassibB.jpg

Babak Hassibi (born in Tehran, Iran) is an Iranian-American electrical engineer who is the Gordon M. Binder/Amgen Professor of Electrical Engineering and head of the Department of Electrical Engineering at the California Institute of Technology (Caltech).

He received the B.S. degree in electrical engineering from the University of Tehran in 1989, and the M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in electrical engineering from Stanford University in 1993 and 1996 respectively. He was a member of the technical staff in Mathematics of Communications Research Group at the Bell Laboratories in 1998-2000. He is the recipient of the 2003 Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers (PECASE), 2003 David and Lucille Packard Fellowship for Science and Engineering, the Okawa Foundation Research Grant in Information Sciences in 2002 and National Science Foundation Career Award in 2002

Ref:wikipedia.org/wiki/Babak_Hassibi

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Professor Reza Iravani

Posted on March 25, 2014 by socialinform
Reza Iravani (in Persian: رضا ایروانی) is a professor in the Edward S. Rogers Sr. Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at the University of Toronto.After obtaining his B.Sc degree in 1976 in electrical engineering from Amirkabir University of Technology (Tehran Polytechnic), He then moved to Canada and received his M.Sc. and Ph.D. degrees from the University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, Manitoba, in 1981 and 1985, respectively.He is one of the pioneers in the development of the control and the operational concepts of microgrids and active distribution systems.
Professor Iravani is the founder and coordinator of the Centre for Applied Power Electronics (CAPE) at the University of Toronto
His research interests include application of power electronics in industrial and utility electric power systems, distributed generation and storage, renewable energy systems, modeling and analysis of electromagnetic transient phenomena in power systems, and power system dynamics and control.

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Female Pianist Dena Taherianfar awarded with the Bita Prize

Posted on March 24, 2014 by socialinform

socialinform's avatarThe other Iran

Stanford, California – In a ceremony held at Stanford University last Wednesday evening, March 12, 2014, global philanthropist and humanitarian Bita Daryabari awarded the First Annual Bita Prize for Young Persian Artists to acclaimed seventeen-year-old concert pianist Dena Taherianfar.

About Dena Taherianfar
Dena was born in Tehran, in November of 1996. She began taking lessons in piano when she was six years old. Her first teacher was Mrs. Shohreh J. Ghajar. Dena gave her debut concert in the renowned Roudaki Concert Hall of Tehran in 2008. At her teacher’s suggestion, Dena eventually moved to Vienna with her Mother (her father still in Iran) where she began to study piano with Prof. Stanislaw Tichonow at the Joseph Haydn Conservatory. She has won numerous national and international prizes. She performed at the Gala Concert in the House of “Music House” in Vienna and won two first prizes in the Austrian…

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Ali Javan (Persian: علی جوان‎ – ‘Ali Javān, Azerbaijani: ) Iranian American physicist and inventor at MIT ranked no. 12 in “Top 100 Living Geniuses”

Posted on March 23, 2014 by socialinform

Ali Javan (Persian: علی جوان‎ – ‘Ali Javān, Azerbaijani: ) is an Iranian American physicist and inventor at MIT. His main contributions to science have been in the fields of quantum physics and spectroscopy. He co-invented the gas laser in 1960, with William R. Bennett. In 2007 Javan was ranked Number 12 on the list of the “Top 100 Living Geniuses”.

Known for Gas laser
Notable awards Albert Einstein World Award of Science (1993)

Ali Javan was born in Tehran to Iranian Azerbaijani parents from Tabriz.[3] He graduated from Alborz High School, started his university studies at University of Tehran and came to the United States in 1948 right after the war.

Honors

Ref:wikipedia.org/wiki/Ali_Javan

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Professor Caro Lucas – renowned Armenian-Iranian scientist

Posted on March 22, 2014 by socialinform

Caro Lucas (Persian: کارو لوکس‎; Armenian: Կարո Լուկաս; September 4, 1949 – July 8, 2010) was a renowned Armenian-Iranian scientist. His many areas of contribution to Iranian scientific society include biological computing, computational intelligence, uncertain systems, intelligent control, fuzzy systems, neural networks, multiagent systems, swarm intelligence, data mining, business intelligence, financial modeling, knowledge management, systems science, and general design theory. He was honored as an Eternal Figure (Persian: chehreye mandegar چهره ماندگار) by the Iranian Science and Culture Hall of Fame, which is a distinguishing honor offered to prominent Iranian chancellor scholars
Professor Lucas was also a Visiting Associate Professor at the University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada (summer, 1989–1990), University of California, Berkeley (1988–1989), an Assistant Professor at Garyounis University (1984–1985), University of California, Los Angeles (1975–1976), a Senior Researcher at the International Center for Theoretical Physics, and the International Centre for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology, both in Trieste, Italy, the Institute of Applied Mathematics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Harbin Institute of Electrical Technology, a research associate at the Manufacturing Research Corporation of Ontario, and a research assistant at the Electronic Research Laboratory, University of California, Berkeley.

Ref:wikipedia.org/wiki/Caro_Lucas

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Nima Behnoud, the designer of the Nimany brand

Posted on March 22, 2014 by socialinform

Perhaps only a few people imagined that imprinting Persian alphabet letters or verses from Persian poets on articles of clothing would generate interest among young people.

The various designs that Iranian born Nima Behnoud, the designer of the Nimany brand, uses on clothes has enticed many Iranian youth outside the country to wear these clothes.

selections from Nimany Collection
www.nimany.com

More Information and more pictures on:

http://www.payvand.com/news/14/feb/1184.html

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Haleh Afshar female Iranian professor at the University of York, England

Posted on March 21, 2014 by socialinform

Haleh Afshar,  born 21 May 1944  in Tehran, Iran, is now  a British professor and a life peer in the House of Lords. She is also a prominent Muslim feminist
completing a PhD degree from the New Hall, Cambridge. She worked as a journalist before and after her first degree.She is now a professor in politics and women’s studies at the University of York, England.

In March 2009, she was named as one of the twenty most successful Muslim women in the UK on the Muslim Women Power List 2009. The list was a collaboration between the Equality and Human Rights Commission, Emel Magazine and The Times, to celebrate the achievements of Muslim women in the UK

In April 2009, she was appointed an Academician of the Academy of Social Sciences

In 2011, she received an Honorary Doctorate from the University of Essex.

Ref :.wikipedia.org/wiki/Haleh_Afshar

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Mohammed Ghanbari emeritus professor at the University of Essex

Posted on March 20, 2014 by socialinform

Mohammed Ghanbari (Persian: محمد قنبری‎) is an emeritus professor in the Department of Electronic Systems Engineering focused in the areas of Video Networking at the University of Essex.[1]

He graduated from Aryamehr University of Technology in Tehran, Iran with a BSc degree in Electrical Engineering in 1970, an MSc in Telecommunications, and a PhD in Electronics from the University of Essex, England in 1976 and 1979 respectively.
…
He has been an organizing member of several international conferences and workshops. He was the general chair of the 1997 international workshop on Packet Video and Guest Editor to 1997 IEEE Transactions on circuits and systems for Video Technology, Special issue on Multimedia technology and applications. He has been an Associate Editor to IEEE Transactions on Multimedia (IEEE-T-MM) and represented University of Essex as one of the six academic partners in the Virtual Centre of Excellence in Digital Broadcasting and Multimedia. He is a Life Fellow of IEEE, Fellow of IEE and Charted Engineer (CEng).

Read more:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mohammed_Ghanbari

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Professor Kamran Eshraghian – inventor and recipent of multiple awards

Posted on March 18, 2014 by socialinform
Kamran Eshraghian (born 1945 in Tehran/Iran) is an electronic engineer notable for being a key early pioneer of VLSI in Australia. He is one of the fathers of CMOS VLSI design and his books have been influential on a par with the Mead & Conway revolution.

Inventions

Professor Eshraghian has developed over 40 patents which have influenced many areas of Nano technology, Electronics Engineering, Mirror Neurons, . A vast majority of these inventions have revitalized many areas of electronic engineering, some call him the Great-Great Grandson of Sir Isaac Newton.

Eshraghian is the recipient of a number of awards and grants such as the architect and recipient of grant from Government of Western Australia in 2003 for establishment of Centre of Excellence for MicroPhotonics Systems.

Ref:wikipedia.org/wiki/Kamran_Eshraghian

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Arash Ferdowsi – Dropbox co-founder

Posted on March 17, 2014 by socialinform

Pars Equality Center (PEC) and more than 800 guests celebrated its 4th Annual Nowruz Gala in honor of the Persian New Year at San Francisco’s Marriott Waterfront Burlingame Hotel.
…
A special highlight at this year’s gala was Uber investor and PEC advisory board member Shervin Pishevar (Sherpa Ventures) awarding his $100k genius grant, dubbed the “Cyrus Prize,” to Dropbox co-founder Arash Ferdowsi.
…

Dropbox is now used by a quarter of a billion people around the world and valued at 10 billion dollars.
…

About Pars Equality Center

Founded by Bita Daryabari in 2010, the Pars Equality Center (PEC) is a non-profit organization, and the first of its kind, supporting the full integration of people of Persian (Iranian) origin in the United States.  PEC provides social and legal support for all members of the Iranian-American community, including refugees, asylees, immigrants and the American-born.  …  For more information, please visit www.parsequalitycenter.org.

Bita Daryabari and husband Dr. Reza Malek.

About the Cyrus Prize

Sherpa Ventures investor Shervin Pishevar created the $100k “Cyrus Prize” genius grant for Iranian innovators.   The prize is named after the Persian King and inventor, Cyrus the Great.

http://www.payvand.com/news/14/mar/1104.html

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Vartan Gregorian – former president of the Brown University and philanthropist

Posted on March 16, 2014 by socialinform

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Vartan Gregorian (Armenian: Persian: وارتان گرگوریان‎, born April 8, 1934) is an Irani-born Armenian-American academic, serving as the president of Carnegie Corporation of New York
After receiving his dual PhD in history and humanities from Stanford University in 1964, Gregorian served on the faculties at several American universities before joining the faculty of the University of Pennsylvania in 1972
In 1988, he was chosen to become president of Brown University, where he served for the next nine years. In 1997, he was selected as president of philanthropic Carnegie Corporation of New York
He has received the National Humanities Medal. In 2004.He is also a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts of Sciences and has also received honorary degrees from nearly seventy institutions.

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Kamran Elahian – Philathropist and holder of the Dr. Morris Chang Exemplary Leadership Award

Posted on March 16, 2014 by socialinform

Kamran Elahian (born 1954) is the Chairman and Co-Founder of Global Catalyst Partners, an international, multistage, technology-oriented venture capital firm. GCP has invested in leading-edge technology companies in the U.S., China, Japan and Israel. Kamran serves on the boards of Actelis Networks, Beceem Communications, iKoa and SoundHound.

He is Chairman Emeritus of Relief International–Schools Online, a humanitarian non-profit agency that provides emergency relief, rehabilitation, development assistance, and program services to vulnerable communities worldwide. Schools-Online is a non-profit public charity organization with the goal to bring the Internet to disadvantaged schools in the world (to-date 6,400 schools in over 36 countries); founded by Kamran in 1996 and merged with Relief International in 2003.

Kamran received a BS in Computer Science, a BS in Mathematics (at the age of twenty) and a Masters of Engineering degree in Computer Graphics from the University of Utah.

In December 2006, The Dr. Morris Chang Exemplary Leadership Award which recognizes individuals for their exceptional contributions to drive the development, innovation, growth and long-term opportunities for the fabless semiconductor industry was presented to Kamran.

Ref :wikipedia.org/wiki/Kamran_Elahian

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Iran Heritage Foundation’s Norouz Gala 2014 in London

Posted on March 14, 2014 by socialinform

Iran Heritage Foundation Invites you to celebrate The Persian New Year NOROUZ with its legendary hospitality on Saturday 22nd March 2014 at The Grosvenor House, Park Lane, London W1K 7TN

Featuring Rising Star Rana Mansour

Biography: Rana Mansour has performed her original song entitled “No Place Like Home” on Bravo TV’s hit show The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills. A Finalist of the VH1 ‘Song of the Year’ Competition, Rana earned her Bachelor’s in Music with honors at the acclaimed Berklee College of Music in Boston, Massachusetts. Currently, Rana lives in Los Angeles where she is working on releasing her first Persian album with producer Erwin Khachikian (Serj Tankian) while also continuing to pursue her music career in the American market with their new project ‘The Animates‘. The Animates released their first single ‘IN mY hEAd‘ in January 2014.

http://www.payvand.com/news/14/mar/1007.html

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Friday March 14th: Nowruz at the Midnight Mission in Los Angeles: “Good Thoughts, Good Words, Good Deeds”

Posted on March 13, 2014 by socialinform

From 3-6 pm the streets of Skid Row will be transformed into festive medley of traditional Iranian music, dance and a glittering haft sin commemorating the festival of spring.
…
Everyone’s efforts helped raise over $125,000 to aid the Midnight Mission continue serving those in need of assistance.
…
Nowruz is not strictly an Iranian holiday but a festival of life and gratitude that cultivates fellowship among all ethnicities and religions.
…
This year marks the Midnight Mission’s 100th anniversary of helping LA’s most needy residents to reestablish themselves back into society by giving them the proper care, resources and support they need for long-term rehabilitation.
…
“I’m proud to be part of this remarkable institution, which has successfully evolved in harmony with the Los Angeles region over the last hundred years,” says Larry Adamson, The Midnight Mission’s President and CEO. “By the same token, we are honored to be aligned with the Iranian-American community, who continue their philanthropic pledge to the City and the issue of homelessness.”
…
Prominent members of the community including philanthropist and real estate developer Shay Maghame as well as Chairman of Farhang Foundation Ali C. Razi will be in attendance as well as other celebrities and community leaders who will participate by volunteering to serve meals, perform, deliver gifts or donate much needed funds to the Mission.
More info and some pictures:

http://www.payvand.com/news/14/mar/1070.html

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Iranian composer Behzad Ranjbaran in Santa Rosa Symphony’s March 22, 23 and 24 concerts

Posted on March 12, 2014 by socialinform

Santa Rosa Symphony Music Director Bruno Ferrandis leads the orchestra in a world premiere by award-winning contemporary composer Behzad Ranjbaran on March 22, 23, and 24, 2014, in Weill Hall at Sonoma State University’s Green Music Center.

Born in 1955 in Tehran, Iran, Behzad Ranjbaran’s musical education started at the age of nine when he entered the Tehran Music Conservatory. He came to the United States in 1974 where he attended Indiana University. He received his doctorate in composition from the Juilliard School where he currently serves on the faculty. His honors include a National Endowment for the Arts grant, a grant from Meet the Composer, and a Charles Ives Award from the American Academy of Arts and Letters.Ranjbaran was named a “Distinguished Artist” by the New Jersey Council on the Arts. He is also the recipient of the Rudolf Nissim Award for his Violin Concerto.

Ranjbaran’s music has been performed by soloists Renee Fleming, Joshua Bell, and Yo-Yo Ma, among others. Recordings include Persian Trilogy on the Delos label by the London Symphony Orchestra, conducted by JoAnn Falletta. This orchestral cycle, comprising the works Seven Passages, Seemorgh, and The Blood of Seyavash, takes its inspiration from ancient Persian legends, as recounted in the 11th century epic poem “Shahnameh” (The Book of Kings). Falletta has also conducted Elegy for Cello and Orchestra with soloist Yo-Yo Ma and the Buffalo Philharmonic. Among his other recordings is an all-Ranjbaran album of string music on Naxos, including Awakening, String quartet, Elegy, and more.

More info_

http://www.payvand.com/news/14/mar/1017.html

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Sormeh – Successful Austrian trio with two Iranian women in the European World Music Charts.

Posted on March 11, 2014 by socialinform

It certainly does not happen every day that Austrian bands hit the international charts.
…
This month the trio Sormeh have claimed the No.12 spot on the European World Music Charts.
…
Sormeh is a talented group of three musicians that endeavor to override all musical boundaries and oppositions. With their eponymous debut album (released by Lotus Records), Sormeh impressively demonstrate the art of creating excitingly new and innovative music, while at the same time respectfully integrating the traditional and supposedly old.
…
The ingredients used by Golnar Shahyar (voice, daf, berimbau) and Mona Matbou Riahi (clarinet, vocals), both from Iran, and Jelena Popržan (viola, vocals, loops) from Serbia, are translated into their own vivid and lyrical world music language, ranging from old Jewish songs and chansons from the Levantine Sephardim, cabaret songs about the Balkans and the South East European sound traditions, to those of the Orient. Ever so often mixed with occasional improvisations and sonic experiments, every tone of Sormeh’s pieces is tremendously complex and multi-faceted.
…


http://www.musicexport.at/sormeh-in-the-european-world-music-charts/

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In Memoriam of Dr. Akbar Ghahary: well known inventor and philanthropist

Posted on March 10, 2014 by socialinform

Dr. Ghahary received his master’s in mechanical design and engineering from Aria Mehr University in Iran and his Ph.D., in 1983, in thermoset plastics composition and design in affiliation with Lowell University of Massachusetts. He is well-known for his expertise in polymer design and composites and owns many US and international patents, mostly in polymers and advanced composites. As CEO of Safas Corporation, he created Granicoat (R), the award-winning product that Safas Corporation manufactures and markets worldwide.
A strong supporter of the younger generation of Iranian Americans, Dr. Ghahary was instrumental in funding and promoting PAAIA’s Capitol Hill Internship Program (CHIP).

Ref: http://www.payvand.com/news/14/feb/1188.html

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Farzaneh Rezasoltani female cross-country skier

Posted on March 9, 2014 by socialinform

socialinform's avatarThe other Iran

Image

Farzaneh Rezasoltani (born September 13, 1985[1][2]) is a cross-country skier competing for Iran.

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Alenush Terian “Mother of Modern Iranian Astronomy”

Posted on March 8, 2014 by socialinform

socialinform's avatarThe other Iran

Alenush-Terian-Mother-Iranian-Astronomy
“Mother of Modern Iranian Astronomy”She was born in 1920 to an Armenian family in Tehran, Iran. After graduating in 1947 from the Science Department of the University of Tehran, she began her career in the physics laboratory of the same University. She was promoted the same year as the chief of laboratory operations.In france 1956 she obtained her doctorate in Atmospheric Physics from Sorbonne University. Upon this she returned to Iran and became Assistant Professor in thermodynamics at University of Tehran. Later she worked in Solar Physics in the then West Germany for a period of four months through a scholarship that was awarded by the German government to University of Tehran. In 1964 Dr Terian became the first female Professor of Physics in Iran.

In 1966, Professor Terian became Member of the Geophysics Committee of University of Tehran. In 1969 she was elected chief of the Solar Physics studies at…

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Forough Abbasi female alpine skier

Posted on March 8, 2014 by socialinform

socialinform's avatarThe other Iran

Forough Abbasi (born September 15, 1993 in Shiraz , Iran [1] ) is an alpine skier from Iran .

Image

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“I support a peaceful solution with Iran, I do not want another war.”

Posted on March 6, 2014 by socialinform
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Manuchehr Mohammadi honored by UNESCO for “outstanding contribution to the promotion and preservation of cultural diversity through film,”

Posted on March 5, 2014 by socialinform

socialinform's avatarThe other Iran

Iranian film The Painting Pool’s producer Manuchehr Mohammadi has been honored by UNESCO during a ceremony held in the capital city of Tehran.

The Painting Pool won the UNESCO Award for “outstanding contribution to the promotion and preservation of cultural diversity through film,” the APSA jury had earlier commented on the film at the award ceremony in Brisbane in December 2013.
APSA is endorsed by UNESCO, with which it shares a common goal of fostering cultural diversity and promoting mutual understanding, dialogue and peace.
The annual Asia Pacific Screen Awards (APSA) is an international cultural initiative of the State Government of Queensland, Australia, through Events Queensland, to honor and promote the films, actors, directors, and cultures of Asia-Pacific to a global audience.

http://presstv.com/detail/2014/02/22/351786

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