"Informal" with Dr. Firouz Naderi
Recently Dr. Firouz Naderi, NASA's Director for the Solar System Exploration at JPL, shared a stage at George Washington University with other distinguished Iranian-Americans Christiane Amanpour, Vali Nasr, Faryar Shirzad, Anousheh Ansari, Nazie Eftekhari, Nariman Farvardin, Pardis Sabeti, and Ramin Asgard. They each shared, with the mostly young Iranian American audience, an inspiring story of professional growth and success in America. The event was hosted by Maz Jobrani and Rudi Bakhtiar, one of the series called "Passing the Torch of Success," sponsored by PAAIA's NexGen.
Firouz Naderi has been both an admirer and a role model for young Iranians inside and outside Iran. He is very optimistic about the future of Iranians and Iranian Americans in Science and Engineering fields (related story). Dr. Naderi was instrumental in formation of PAAIA's NexGen Chapters, responsible for inspirational events like the one in DC (others listed here).
Kodoom.com: At what age did you come to the U.S. and how did you end up with the successful career at NASA?
Firouz Naderi: I came to America at 18. Since I was good in Math and Science, I studied Engineering for my undergraduate and graduate (Ph.D.) degrees. My work for NASA was not planned but came as a result of an interest I developed upon exposure to NASA work. I developed a career at NASA. This indicates we can't plan everything in life, we just have to work hard towards what interests us.
Regarding my position at NASA and the praise I receive, frankly, I am somewhat uncomfortable and even embarrassed by the culture of hero worship, exaggerations and hyperbole. Mentioning my "title" and "rank" in NASA as the reason to be proud of me, although done with good intention, basically means respect is only earned by way of "titles" and "status" and not because of actual hard work, accomplishments, achievements, etc.
We need to remember people don't hand you anything. Accidents and chance did not play a role in where I am today either. I think with passion and diligence, anyone can start from the bottom and make it.
Kodoom.com: Share with us two common myths about NASA?
Firouz Naderi: NASA is a powerful brand and well respected in the world. Yet one persistent myth is that we at NASA know about UFOs but are hiding it from the public! Trust me we don't hide the truth. I elaborated on this also in my interview with VOA's Kambiz Hosseini (full video below).
Another myth is about NASA budget being too high. Take a dollar of Federal Budget. Then take a penny from that dollar. One quarter of a penny from that budget (or 0.25% of Federal budget) is NASA's, a small fraction of other Federal budget items (like defense, wars, etc.).
Kodoom.com: What part of immigrant or Persian culture has helped you in your career and life?
Firouz Naderi: I agree with what Omid Kordestani (formerly VP of Google) stated in one of the previous PAAIA events (link here). As Iranian immigrants, when we first arrive we're handicapped in language and social connections. So we have to work harder than natives to overcome these obstacles. The key to continued success is keeping that same spirit of hard work and "underdog's" persistence years later when we have improved our language skills and have socially assimilated. We need to work harder than others. There are no shortcuts.
Kodoom.com: What are your hobbies and personal interests?
Firouz Naderi: The 12 hour work day leaves me with little free time during the week. I do enjoy visiting my large extended family in California and also attending USC (University of Southern California, where I attended school) sports events. I do like LA Lakers Basketball games. I also get my news from Internet and do check sites like Kodoom.com. My only vice is poker!
Related Website:
Fans of Dr. Naderi www.firouznaderi.com
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»This is a summary of the original feature in Farsi. To request a more extensive translation of the Farsi text, please contact us.
