Firouz Naderi, a Name Registered in the Galaxy

Firouz Naderi, whose name is forever registered in the galaxy, in the Solar System, on an asteroid (Asteroid Naderi), is one of the most prominent contemporary scientists in the space sciences. He achieved many outstanding goals during his career at NASA and after that as a professor. Unfortunately, Nadery passed away in June 2023 due to an incident.
Stay with this article to find out who he is and all his scientific achievements while working at NASA and after his retirement, as well as awards, honors, and causes of death in detail.

Who is Firouz Naderi?

Firoz Naderi was born in Shiraz on March 25, 1946. He spent the first twelve years of his life in Shiraz and finished his primary education. Then, he went to Tehran with his father and studied at Andisheh High School. Then, he went to the United States of America for higher education.
When he went to the USA, he wanted to become an architect. Still, he studied engineering without planning, and his future was tied to galaxies and NASA.
He completed his bachelor's degree at Iowa State University, and his master's and doctorate degrees in 1972 and 1976 at the University of Southern California. After completing his academic education, Naderi returned to Iran and joined the military service; while serving in the military, he worked for Iran's Remote Sensing Center, then returned to the USA and worked at NASA.

Firouz Naderi at NASA

During his collaboration with NASA, Firouz Naderi held several technical and management positions in mobile telecommunication satellites, remote sensing radars, astrophysics research observatories, and exploration of Mars and other solar system entities, which are briefly listed in the following:

• Naderi has been the director of NASA's Origin of Life program since 1996.
• He joined JPL  (NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory) in 1976 and was director of space science flight experiments and NASA's diffractometer project.
• Naderi was the manager of the mobile satellite program at JPL.
• He was in charge of the advanced satellite communication technology program at the NASA Management Center.
• Since 2000, Firooz Naderi has managed the newly established Mars program.
• He was selected as the manager of Mars exploration projects in April 2000, which is the mission of the Mars Program Center to direct and plan all Mars-related research.
• Because of the success of the Mars probes, Naderi was appointed deputy and chief planning officer of the JPL, one of NASA's most crucial space centers. In his new position as the person in charge of designing the programs and strategies of the center, he has used his experiences in Mars missions to study other parts of the world, from Earth to distant galaxies.
• He was also in charge of designing JPL's five to 20-year strategic vision.
• In 2011, he was appointed to the position of director of robotic research of the solar system.

They were the most critical careers at NASA. The following image shows Firouz Naderi and James Webb Space Telescope (JWST).

Firouz Naderi Works after Nasa

After NASA, Naderi worked as a management consultant, advisor to early-stage high-tech startups (e.g., Opal Ai), and public speaker. He also served in the Iranian-American community as a mentor to the next generation of leaders. Furthermore, he has always been teaching and giving lectures in universities and scientific institutions after he was retired from NASA.

Teaching and Public Lectures after Retirement from NASA

Firouz Naderi was often invited as a keynote and motivational speaker at conferences and workshops. He has spoken to student associations at many universities, including:

• Stanford University
• University of California, Berkeley
• University of California, San Diego
• University of Southern California
• Duke University
• University of Toronto
• Virginia State University and Polytechnic Institute
• University of British Columbia
• Texas A&M International University
• Texas A&M University in Qatar
• University of Houston
• Western Michigan University
• Karlsruhe Institute of Technology — Germany

Naderi also taught special classes at Stanford University on "Management of large, complex programs."

Firouz Naderi Scientific Achievements

Firouz Naderi's most outstanding achievements in managing Mars missions were achieved in the early 2000s.
Firoz Naderi has been honored many times during his professional life; He has received NASA's highest award, the Distinguished Service Medal, was named America's Most Influential Person of the Year, received the Liberal Award in 2014, received the Ellis Island Medal of Honor in 2005, and is considered one of the most outstanding leaders in NASA history Chosen.
But as he says, he loves one of them more than the others, which is also the last one, and that is naming an asteroid after him. This asteroid, previously called (EL1 1989 5515), has a 10 km diameter and belongs to the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter. NASA had to ask the International Astronomical Union (IAU) for this name change, which was done with their approval.

Firouz Naderi's Most Prominent Achievement

Naderi's fame has been primarily due to the 2 Mars explorers, "SPRITE" and "Opportunity," that, with his management, gave humanity a lot of information, including more hope for the existence of life on Mars.
In April 2000, when several consecutive missions of the NASA space agency failed to launch spacecraft to Mars, he was appointed to manage Mars exploration programs. He achieved three important missions in 4 years, including the launch of 2 Mars rover probes. SPRITE and Opportunity were successfully concluded.

Awards and honors of Firoz Naderi

Firouz Naderi was among the most honored scientists of NASA. During his prosperous life, he did many studies, was always honored, and got numerous awards. The following is a brief list of his rewards and honors.

• Fellow of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA)
• Liberal Award Winner (2004)
• Received Ellis Island Medal of Honor (2005)
• Receiving the second William Randolph Lovelace Award from the American Astronautical Society (2010)
• NASA Distinguished Leadership Medal
• NASA Distinguished Service Medal

Finally, in 2016, because of 36 years of occupation, NASA named Firoz Naderi one of the asteroids of the solar system. Formerly known as (5515) EL1, 1989, it is now Naderi.

The Incident and Death of Firouz Naderi

In an announcement published on Naderi's Facebook page along with a picture of him in the hospital bed, it was stated that he passed out due to a sudden drop in heart rate and his spinal cord was damaged due to his head hitting the wall and displacement of the cervical vertebra, which caused him to fall from the neck to paralyze down.
He said that his surgery was performed on Saturday, June 1st, and his recovery period will last four to five months. But he died on June 9th, 2023, when he was 77.

Firouz Naderi in Oscar Ceremony

After Asghar Farhadi, the director of the film The Salesman, withdrew from attending the 2017 Oscar ceremony — which was done in protest against Executive Order 13769 to prevent the entry of citizens of seven predominantly Muslim countries, including Iran, into the United States.
Farhadi asked Firouz Naderi and Anousheh Ansari to attend the Oscar ceremony as his representatives. In this ceremony, the film The Salesman won the Oscar award for Best Foreign Language Film, and after that, Anousheh Ansari and Firoz Naderi received the Oscar award in place of Asghar Farhadi.
The left picture shows them in the Oscar ceremony in the following image. The right picture is Firouz Naderi with his colleagues Dr. Fuk Li, Keyur Patel, Jim Graff, and Richard Cook at Firouz's JPL retirement party.

CyrusCrafts Last Memos about Professor Firouz Naderi

Professor Firouz Naderi was an Iranian Scientist who devoted 36 years of his worthwhile life to the engineering and space sciences. CyrusCrafts is proud to introduce Persian Scientists and honorable persons, such as Maryam Mirzakhani, Ali Daei, Nazanin Bonyadi, etc., to the whole world. You can share your ideas and ask your inquiries about them by sharing a comment.
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