Reza Mansouri
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Reza Mansouri (, born in 1948) is an Iranian
physicist A physicist is a scientist who specializes in the field of physics, which encompasses the interactions of matter and energy at all length and time scales in the physical universe. Physicists generally are interested in the root or ultimate cau ...
and
astronomer An astronomer is a scientist in the field of astronomy who focuses on a specific question or field outside the scope of Earth. Astronomers observe astronomical objects, such as stars, planets, natural satellite, moons, comets and galaxy, galax ...
and a retired professor of physics at
Sharif University of Technology Sharif University of Technology (SUT); (, romanized : Dāneshgāh-e sana'ti-e sharif) is a public research university in Tehran, Iran. It is widely considered to be the nation's most prestigious and leading institution for science, technology ...
. His main research interest is
cosmology Cosmology () is a branch of physics and metaphysics dealing with the nature of the universe, the cosmos. The term ''cosmology'' was first used in English in 1656 in Thomas Blount's ''Glossographia'', with the meaning of "a speaking of the wo ...
,
gravitation In physics, gravity (), also known as gravitation or a gravitational interaction, is a fundamental interaction, a mutual attraction between all massive particles. On Earth, gravity takes a slightly different meaning: the observed force b ...
and
general relativity General relativity, also known as the general theory of relativity, and as Einstein's theory of gravity, is the differential geometry, geometric theory of gravitation published by Albert Einstein in 1915 and is the current description of grav ...
. As an author he had written several books and papers on scientific development in Iran and also in his profession relativity.


Biography

Reza Mansouri received his Ph.D. in 1972 from the
University of Vienna The University of Vienna (, ) is a public university, public research university in Vienna, Austria. Founded by Rudolf IV, Duke of Austria, Duke Rudolph IV in 1365, it is the oldest university in the German-speaking world and among the largest ...
under the supervision of
Roman Ulrich Sexl Roman Ulrich Sexl (19 October 1939 – 10 July 1986) was one of the leading Austrian theoretical physicists. He is famous for his textbooks on special relativity. Life His most cited work is "On the gravitational field of a massless particle" t ...
. He also spent five years as an Assistant Professor there. He served as Deputy Science Minister from 2001 to 2005 and is one of Iran's influential scientific policymakers. Without his efforts, Iran would not have been able to participate in international scientific collaborations such as
SESAME Sesame (; ''Sesamum indicum'') is a plant in the genus '' Sesamum'', also called benne. Numerous wild relatives occur in Africa and a smaller number in India. It is widely naturalized in tropical regions around the world and is cultivated for ...
(Middle-East Synchrotron) and the Large Hadron Collider particle accelerator at
CERN The European Organization for Nuclear Research, known as CERN (; ; ), is an intergovernmental organization that operates the largest particle physics laboratory in the world. Established in 1954, it is based in Meyrin, western suburb of Gene ...
in
Geneva Geneva ( , ; ) ; ; . is the List of cities in Switzerland, second-most populous city in Switzerland and the most populous in French-speaking Romandy. Situated in the southwest of the country, where the Rhône exits Lake Geneva, it is the ca ...
. Mansouri has several publications focusing on scientific development in Iran. He has received scientific honors, including the prestigious
Abdus Salam Mohammad Abdus Salam Salam adopted the forename "Mohammad" in 1974 in response to the anti-Ahmadiyya decrees in Pakistan, similarly he grew his beard. (; ; 29 January 192621 November 1996) was a Pakistani theoretical physicist. He shared the 1 ...
prize. He is presently a visiting professor at
McGill University McGill University (French: Université McGill) is an English-language public research university in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Founded in 1821 by royal charter,Frost, Stanley Brice. ''McGill University, Vol. I. For the Advancement of Learning, ...
. Mansouri has served as the president of The Physical Society of Iran. He is one of the founders of
Institute for Studies in Theoretical Physics and Mathematics The Institute for Research in Fundamental Sciences (IPM; , ''Pazhuheshgah-e Daneshhai-ye Boniadi''), previously Institute for Studies in Theoretical Physics and Mathematics, is a public research institute in Tehran, Iran. IPM is directed by Moham ...
and was the head of its Astronomy School for several years, which is responsible for Iran's 3.4-meter national telescope (INO340.


Iranian National Observatory

Mansouri brought the idea of scientific big projects into scientific policy of Iran and started the steps to constructing
Iranian National Observatory Iranian National Observatory (INO) is an Iranian Astronomy, astronomical observatory inaugurated in 2021. It has reported the capture of its first light on 15 October 2022 upon the commissioning of INO340, a home-grown optical telescope with a pr ...
as the first Iranian scientific big project. He was the head of
Iranian National Observatory Iranian National Observatory (INO) is an Iranian Astronomy, astronomical observatory inaugurated in 2021. It has reported the capture of its first light on 15 October 2022 upon the commissioning of INO340, a home-grown optical telescope with a pr ...
from the beginning in 2004 to 2016, the time he was dismissed by
Mohammad Javad Larijani Mohammad-Javad Ardeshir Larijani (; born ) is an Iranian conservative politician and former diplomat. He is currently a top adviser to the Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in foreign affairs and secretary of High Council for Human rights, Judiciary of Is ...
, a far-right and infamous politician of Islamic republic of Iran. During the years he was the head manager of INO, after a long time about one decade, site selection (an important and sensitive process of finding the best place for a large optical telescope based on several important parameters like climate, seeing, ...) led to the selection of Mount Gargash in the western south of
Kashan Kashan (; ) is a city in the Central District (Kashan County), Central District of Kashan County, in the northern part of Isfahan province, Isfahan province, Iran, serving as capital of both the county and the district. History Earlies ...
in Karkas Chain as the permanent home of Iranian largest telescope. Also by his efforts the main 3.4 m primary mirror of iran national telescope was built and polished in schoot, the company has built the main mirror of
herschel space telescope The Herschel Space Observatory was a space observatory built and operated by the European Space Agency (ESA). It was active from 2009 to 2013, and was the largest infrared telescope ever launched until the launch of the James Webb Space Telesco ...
and delivered finally to Iran in the winter of 2015. During his management on INO, the peak was leveled and the access road as long as 11 km from the village Kamoo to the peak was constructed. Despite these all-out attempts of Mansouri's team his dismission by Larijani was abrupt and without previous notice. He published his memories during his responsibilities in "Four years in ATF" as a book and "The Memories of Iran National Observatory 1,2 and 3" electronically.


Criticism

 Mansouri had criticisms that have led to many discussions. He is one of the critics of
Mustafa prize The Mustafa Prize is a science and technology award, granted to top researchers and scientists from the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) member states. The prize is granted to scholars of the Islamic world as one of the symbols of scienti ...
. Mansouri says that giving the prize to foreign researchers by the current political regime is not acceptable while native researchers are suffering from the lack of research budgets and financial helps. He also criticized the Chehrehaye Mandegar award. Mansouri states that the credit of a scientific figure is determined only by scientific communities and scientific discourse throughout the modern world, while this award is given to people by political views or goals or by
IRIB The Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting (IRIB; ) or Seda va Sima () for short, formerly called National Iranian Radio and Television until the Iranian revolution of 1979, is an Iranian state-controlled media corporation that holds a monopo ...
as one of politically-dependent organizations. He implies that although many of these figures are well-known in their field but only a scientific community have this validity of determining the credit of a figure not political references. He also criticized intensively the phenomenon of magnifying the scientific character of Mahmoud Hesabi. Mahmoud Hesabi was a well-known Iranian physicist and senator who helped to improvement the education and scientific programmes in Iran in the early decades of 20th century who died in 1991. Iraj Hesabi, the son of Hesabi published a book called Ostade Eshgh and claimed that professor Hesabi was the only
Albert Einstein Albert Einstein (14 March 187918 April 1955) was a German-born theoretical physicist who is best known for developing the theory of relativity. Einstein also made important contributions to quantum mechanics. His mass–energy equivalence f ...
's Iranian student and Einstein supported him by donating financial help. Iraj Hesabi also claimed that Hesabi had conversations with the fathers of modern physics like
Niels Bohr Niels Henrik David Bohr (, ; ; 7 October 1885 – 18 November 1962) was a Danish theoretical physicist who made foundational contributions to understanding atomic structure and old quantum theory, quantum theory, for which he received the No ...
,
Erwin Schrodinger Erwin may refer to: People Given name * Erwin Chargaff (1905–2002), Austrian biochemist * Erwin Chemerinsky (born 1953), American legal scholar * Erwin Dold (1919–2012), German concentration camp commandant in World War 2 * Erwin Hauer (1926 ...
, etc., and even invited them to a nowrouz celebration in his house in Princeton. Mansouri responded that Mahmoud Hesabi had said to him that he had only a 15 minutes appointment with Einstein and talked to Einstein about his ideas and Einstein answered only to him work more on your idea. Also the theory of infinity of particles that Iraj Hesabi mentioned in his book, is not a real and valid theory, but was an article that Mahmoud Hesabi wrote on relativity and gravitation that was rejected by the referee because of a mathematical mistake. Also based on historical references, Niels Bohr, Erwin Schodingrer, etc., were not in Princeton in the claimed time that Iraj Hesabi has said in his book. Scholars like Ziya Movahhed, Iranian philosophers, and a few other distinguished Iranian figures responded against Iraj Hesbi's false claims.


Awards

*Abdus-Salam prize


See also

*
Science in Iran Iran has made considerable advances in science and technology through education and training, despite international sanctions in almost all aspects of research during the past 30 years. Iran's university population swelled from 100,000 in 197 ...
*
Intellectual movements in Iran Intellectual movements in Iran involve the Iranian experience of modernity and its associated art, science, literature, poetry, and political structures that have been changing since the 19th century. History of Iranian modernity Long before th ...


References


External links


List of publications
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mansouri, Reza 20th-century Iranian physicists 20th-century Iranian inventors Vice ministers of Iran Academic staff of Sharif University of Technology University of Vienna alumni 1948 births Living people