Science and technology in Iran

Science and technology in Iran, formerly known as Persia, have a history, like the country itself. Persia was a cradle of science in earlier times. Persian scientists contributed to the current understanding of nature, medicine, mathematics, and philosophy. Persians made important contributions to algebra and chemistry, invented the wind-power machine, and performed the first distillation of alcohol.

Science in Persia

Science in Persia evolved in two main phases separated by the arrival and widespread adoption of Islam in the region. Many of the today's concepts in Science including Helio-Centric model of solar system, finite speed of light, and gravity were first proposed by Persian scientists.Fact|date=May 2008

Before Islam

Little is known about science in Iran during ancient times. In the Sassanid period (226 to 652 AD), attention was given to mathematics and astronomy. The Academy of Gondeshapur is a example. The Sassanid School of Nisibis and pre-Islamic Sarouyeh are other examples in this category.

Astronomical tables—such as the Shahryar Tables—date to this period, and Sassanid observatories were later imitated by the astrologers and astronomers of the Islamic period.

Sa'ad Andolsosi, in his book "Classes of People", praised Persian knowledge of mathematics and astronomy. References to scientific subjects such as natural science and mathematics occur in books written in the Pahlavi languages.

The medical and veterinary essays, prescriptions, and expressions mentioned in "Dinkart" (from the Sassanid period) were of interest to later and modern scholars. Some medical books later translated into Arabic were initially compiled in the Syrian or Pahlavi languages by Iranian scholars. Among such books are those on veterinary medicine, agriculture, diseases and treatment of gab-birds, training and education of children, and tactics of warfare.

In the mid-Sassanid era, knowledge came to Persia from the West in the form of the views and traditions of Greece which, after the spread of Christianity, accompanied Syriac, the official language of Christians as well as the Iranian Nestorians. The Christian schools in Iran produced scientists such as Nersi, Farhad, and Marabai. Also, a book was left by Paulus Persa, head of the Iranian Department of Logic and Philosophy of Aristotle, written in Syriac and dictated to Sassanid King Anushiravan.

Other teachers have risen from similar theological and philosophical schools. Amongst them were Ibrahim Madi, Hibai the translator, Marbab Gondishapuri, and Paulus, son of Kaki of Karkhe. During the Sassanid period, Gondishapur (a town east of Susa, southeast of Dezful and northwest of Shushtar) became a center of medical knowledge, and its fame lasted for several centuries, even after the advent of Islam in Persia.

Ancient technology in Persia

Qanat (a water management system used for irrigation) originated in pre-Achaemenid Persia. The oldest and largest known qanat is in the Iranian city of Gonabad which, after 2,700 years, still provides drinking and agricultural water to nearly 40,000 people. [ cite journal | last = Ward English | first = Paul | title = The Origin and Spread of Qanats in the Old World | journal = Proceedings of the American Philosophical Society | volume = Vol 112, No. 3 | pages = pp 170–181 | publisher = JSTOR
date = June 21, 1968 | url = http://links.jstor.org/sici?sici=0003-049X%2819680621%29112%3A3%3C170%3ATOASOQ%3E2.0.CO%3B2-A&size=LARGE ]

Persian philosophers and inventors may have created the first batteries (sometimes known as the Baghdad Battery) in the Parthian or Sassanid eras. Some have suggested that the batteries may have been used medicinally. Other scientists believe the batteries were used for electroplating—transferring a thin layer of metal to another metal surface—a technique still used today and the focus of a common classroom experiment. [ [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/2804257.stm BBC NEWS | Science/Nature | Riddle of 'Baghdad's batteries' ] ]

Windwheels were developed by the Babylonians ca. 1700 BC to pump water for irrigation. In the 7th century, Persian engineers in Afghanistan developed a more advanced wind-power machine, the windmill, building upon the basic model developed by the Babylonians. [ [http://www.psigate.ac.uk/newsite/physics_timeline.html Intute: Science, Engineering and Technology ] ] [ [http://www.geocities.com/ashishmsu/phytimeline.htm New Page 1 ] ]

After Islam

The philosophy of the Islamic period was influenced by Greece, India, and by the Iran of the pre-Islamic period. Ibn Khurram writes in his book "al Melal wa al-Nehal" that Muhammad Bin Zakaria Razi took from the ancient Iranians five principles in which he believed:

#Creator- Ahuramazda
#Satan-Ahriman
#Moment-Time
#Place-Locality
#Essence-Spirit

The same is mentioned by Massoudi in his book "Moruj-oz-Zahab". Shahaboddin Sohrevardi, in the preface to his philosophical book, quotes old Iranian terms and expressions derived from Zoroastrians, Manians, and Zarvanians.

invasions.

Some of the Iranian translators who knew Syriac, Greek and Pahlavi languages and translated many scientific books into Arabic were Al Bakhtyasu, Al-Nowbakht, Al-Masouyeh, Abdollah Ibn Moqaffa, Omar Ibn Farakhan Tabari, Ali Ibn Ziad Tammimi, Ibn Sahl, Yusof Al Naqel, Isa Ibn Chaharbakht, and Yatr Ibn Rostam Al Kouhi. The latest was Abu Reyhan Birooni, the mathematician and famous translator of Indian books.

As the result of these men and their Arab colleagues (e.g. Thabit ibn Qurra), the knowledge and science of ancient India, Greece, and Alexandria was translated into Arabic, creating the largest scientific treasury of the Middle Ages. The most ancient mathematicians and writers amongst the Muslims were two Iranians: Nowbakht Ahwazi and Ibrahim Ibn Habib-ol-fazari, and the latter also translated into Arabic a collection of Indian astronomy books.

Mathematics

One of the greatest mathematicians of antiquity, who appeared at the end of the 9th century, was an Iranian by the name of Muhammad Ibn Musa-al-Kharazmi, whose work affected the Islamic and European culture after the 12th century. This noted mathematician, in addition to compiling a table of figures named Algorithm, also developed algebra and revived the ancient Iranian and Indian arithmetic system. His work in algebra was translated into Latin by the Latin translator Gerard of Cremona and titled: "De jebra et almucabola". Robert of Chester also translated it under the title "Liber algebras et almucabala". The works of Khwarizmi "exercised a profound influence on the development of mathematical thought in the medieval West". [Hill, Donald. "Islamic Science and Engineering". 1993. Edinburgh University Press. ISBN 0-7486-0455-3 p.222]

Mathematics were later developed by scientists such as Abu Abbas Fazl Hatam, the Banu Musa brothers, Farahani, Omar Ibn Farakhan, Abu Zeid Ahmad Ibn Soheil Balkhi (9th century AD), Abul Vafa Bouzjani, Abu Jaafar Khan, Bijan Ibn Rostam Kouhi, Ahmad Ibn Abdul Jalil Qomi, Bu Nasr Iraqi, Abu Reyhan Birooni, the noted Iranian poet Hakim Omar Khayyam Neishaburi, Qatan Marvazi, Massoudi Ghaznavi (13th century AD), Khajeh Nassireddin Tusi, and Ghiasseddin Jamshidi Kashani.

Medicine

In medicine, Mansour Davaniqi, the founder of Baghdad, invited scholars from Gondishapur to live in that city. Amongst them was a Nestorian Christian named Jurjis Ibn Jebreel Ibn Bakhtyasu, who wrote a book on medicine that contained all subjects on medical science known to their culture at that time. Others who migrated to Baghdad also had publications of their own. The first Muslim who wrote about medicine was another Persian, Ali Ibn Rabn Tabari, who compiled medical knowledge from Greece, India, and ancient Persia.

Later in the 10th century, Abu Bakr Muhammad Bin Zakaria Razi wrote detailed, albeit short, books on medicine. His books were translated into Latin and were printed several times. In addition to compiling subjects from ancient books, Razi relied on his own experiences. His student was Abu Bakr Joveini, who wrote a comprehensive medical book in Persian. This was the first book on medicine in the Persian language and is one of the oldest literary works in that language. Razi is considered the founder of practical physics and the inventor of the special or net weight of matter.

The third important writer on medicine of this period was Ali Ibn Abbas Majussi Ahwazi, the physician to the court of Azod-od-Dowleh Daylami, whose works were also translated into Latin and reprinted several times. His books were considered the best and most complete works on medicine prior to the appearance of Avicenna (Abu Ali Sina), who wrote books and papers on various scientific subjects. His book Qanun was used as a textbook by the Europeans for many centuries thereon.

Many physicians have appeared since Avicenna, but none gained the prominence of Zinn-ol-Abedin Esmail Jorjani. His book is even more complete than Avicenna's "Canons" and is considered to be the greatest medical book written in Persian. Iranians were also proficient in other natural sciences such as botany, pharmacology, chemistry, zoology, lithology, and mineralogy. The most famous scientists in these fields were Muhammad Bin Zakaria Razi and Abu Reyhan Birooni. Alcohol and sulfuric acid are thought to have been discovered by Razi (Rhazes), and Biruni calculated specific gravity of many substances in a very precise manner.

Astronomy

In 1000 AD, Biruni wrote an astronomical encyclopaedia which discussed the possibility that the earth might rotate around the sun. This was before Tycho Brahe drew the first maps of the sky, using stylized animals to depict the constellations.

In the tenth century, the Persian astronomer Abd al-Rahman al-Sufi cast his eyes upwards to the awning of stars overhead and was the first to record a galaxy outwith our own. Gazing at the Andromeda galaxy he called it a "little cloud" - an apt description of the slightly wispy appearance of our galactic neighbour. [http://news.scotsman.com/scitech.cfm?id=1634902007 Scotsman.com News ] ]

Biology

In the 13th century, more than 600 years before Charles Darwin, Nasir al-Din Tusi developed a basic theory of evolution. Key differences exist between Tusi's approach and Darwin's "The Origin of Species". While Darwin used deductive reasoning, gathering samples of plants and animals to work his way from facts to a theory, Tusi used a more theoretical approach. Tusi explained that "hereditary variability" was the leading force of evolution. He wrote that all living organisms were able to change and that the animate organisms developed owing to their hereditary variability, saying "the organisms that can gain the new features faster are more variable. As a result, they gain advantages over other creatures." This sounds remarkably like a simplistic form of Darwin's writings about mutations. Tusi was correct when he suggested that "the bodies are changing as a result of the internal and external interactions"; that is, as a result of environmental influences. Tusi wrote "look at the world of animals and birds. They have all that is necessary for defense, protection and daily life, including strength, courage, and appropriate tools (organs)". Tusi also believed that humans are derived from advanced animals. He wrote about the different transition forms between the human and animal world, saying "such humans (probably anthropoid apes) live in the Western Sudan and other distant corners of the world. They are close to animals by their habits, deeds and behavior". [http://azer.com/aiweb/categories/magazine/92_folder/92_articles/92_tusi.html 9.2 A 13th-Century Darwin? - Tusi's Views on Evolution - Farid Alakbarov ] ]

Tusi said that humans are related to all living and inanimate creatures of Nature, writing that "the human has features that distinguish him from other creatures, but he has other features that unite him with the animal world, the vegetable kingdom or even with the inanimate bodies".

Chemistry

Tusi believed that a body of matter is able to change but is not able to disappear entirely. He wrote "a body of matter cannot disappear completely. It only changes its form, condition, composition, color, and other properties, and turns into a different complex or elementary matter". Five hundred years later, Mikhail Lomonosov (1711–1765) and Antoine-Laurent Lavoisier (1743–1794) created the law of conservation of mass, setting down this same idea. However, it should be noted that Tusi argued for evolution within a firmly Islamic context—he did not, like Darwin, draw materialist conclusions from his theories. Moreover, unlike Darwin, he was arguing hypothetically: he did not attempt to provide empirical data for his theories. Nonetheless his arguments, which in some ways prefigure natural selection, are still considered remarkably 'advanced' for their time.

Jaber Ibn Hayyan, the famous Iranian chemist who died in 804 at Tous in Khorasan, was the father of a number of discoveries recorded in an encyclopaedia and of many treatises covering two thousand topics, and these became the bible of European chemists of the 18th century, particularly of Lavoisier. These works had a variety of uses including tinctures and their applications in tanning and textiles; distillations of plants and flowers; the origin of perfumes; therapeutic pharmacy, and gunpowder, a powerful military instrument possessed by Islam long before the West. Jabir ibn Hayyan, is widely regarded as the founder of chemistry, inventing many of the basic processes and equipment still used by chemists today such as distillation.

Physics

Abu Ali al'Hasan ibn al'Haitam is known in the West as Alhazen, born in 965 in Persia and dying in 1039 in Egypt. He is known as the father of optics for his writings on, and experiments with, lenses, mirrors, refraction, and reflection. He correctly stated that vision results from light that is reflected into the eye by an object, not emitted by the eye itself and reflected back, as Aristotle believed. He solved the problem of finding the locus of points on a spherical mirror from which light will be reflected to an observer. From his studies of refraction, he determined that the atmosphere has a definite height and that twilight is caused by refraction of solar radiation from beneath the horizon. [On the page to which this comment is linked, the optical diagram on the Pakistani commemorative in blue, green, and black is hard to decipher because of the lack of contrast. http://ublib.buffalo.edu/libraries/asl/exhibits/stamps/em.html]

Science in modern Iran

Trying to revive the golden time of Persian science, Iran's scientists cautiously reach out to the world. Many individual Iranian scientists, along with the Iranian Academy of Medical Sciences and Iranian Academy of Sciences, are involved in this revival. According to the Institute for Scientific Information, Iran increased its publication output nearly tenfold from 1996 to 2004, and has been ranked first in terms of output growth rate (followed by China). [ [http://www.dti.gov.uk/files/file27330.pdf PSA target metrics for the UK research base] ] Currently among the 146 top-performing countries in all fields,

Iran ranks highest amongst all Islamic countries according to a British government study(2002), ranked 30th in terms of scientific impact. [http://www.berr.gov.uk/files/file11959.pdf]

According to a report by SJT (A spanish sponsored scientific data data)Iran ranks 25th in the world in scientific publications by volume 2007 (a huge leap from rank 40 few years before) [http://www.scimagojr.com/countryrank...=0&min_type=it ] second to turkey (ranked at 19th) in the Islamic world.

Iran ranked 49th for citations, 42nd for papers, and 135th for citations per paper. [ [http://www.in-cites.com/countries/iran2006.html Essential Science Indicators] ]

Iran is an example of a country that has made considerable advances through education and training. Despite sanctions in almost all aspects of research during the past few decades, Persian scientists have been producing cutting-edge science.

Their publication rate in international journals has quadrupled during the past decade. Although it is still low compared with the developed countries, this puts Iran in the first rank of Islamic countries. [http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v441/n7096/full/441932d.html Education and training put Iran ahead of richer states] ]

Agricultural research has been successful in releasing high yielding varieties with higher stability as well as tolerance to harsh weather conditions. The agriculture researchers are working jointly with international Institutes to find the best procedures and genotypes to overcome produce failure and to increase yield.

* Iran ranked 25th in the world in Nanotechnology in 2007 with highest, ranked paper citation international mean, amongst all Islamic countries and only second to S.Korea in Asia. . [http://www.berr.gov.uk/files/file11959.pdf]

Considering the country's brain drain and its poor political relationship with the United States and some other Western countries, Iran's scientific community remains productive, even while economic sanctions make it difficult for universities to buy equipment or to send people to the United States to attend scientific meetings.

According to a study by David Morrison and Ali khademhosseini (Harvard-MIT and Cambridge), stem cell research in Iran is amongst the top 10 in the world. [ http://isg-mit.org/projects-storage/StemCell/stem_cell_iran.pdf ]

Iran's university population swelled from 100,000 in 1979 to 2 million in 2006. Seventy percent of its science and engineering students are women. [ [http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v444/n7115/full/444022a.html Nature: News Feature] ]

Theoretical and computational sciences are highly developed in Iran. Theoretical physicists and chemists regularly publish works in high impact factor journals. Despite the limitations in funds, facilities, and international collaborations, Iranian scientists have been very productive in several experimental fields such as pharmacology, pharmaceutical chemistry, and organic and polymer chemistry. Iranian scientists are also helping to construct the Compact Muon Solenoid, a detector for the Large Hadron Collider of the European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN) that is due to come online in 2007. Iranian biophysicists, especially molecular biophysicists, have gained international reputations since the 1990s. High field nuclear magnetic resonance facility, microcalorimetry, circular dichroism, and instruments for single protein channel studies have been provided in Iran during the past two decades. Tissue engineering and research on biomaterials have just started to emerge in biophysics departments. In the last months of 2006, Iranian biotechnologists announced that they, as the third manufacturer in the world, have sent CinnoVex (a recombinant type of Interferon b1a) to the market. Also, Royana, which is the first live cloned sheep in Iran, has passed the critical first two months of his life.--------

Clinical sciences are highly developed in Iran. In areas such as rheumatology, hematology, and bone marrow trasplantation, Iranian medical scientists are among the world leaders. The Hematology, Oncology and Bone Marrow Transplantation Research Center (HORC) of Tehran Medical University of Medical Sciences in Shariati Hospital was established in 1991. Internationally, this center is one of the largest bone marrow transplantation centers and has carried out a large number of successful transplantations. [ [http://www.tums.ac.ir/research/BMT/] Dead link|date=March 2008] According to a study conducted in 2005, associated specialized pediatric hematology and oncology (PHO) services exist in almost all major cities throughout the country, where 43 board-certified or eligible pediatric hematologist–oncologists are giving care to children suffering from cancer or hematological disorders. Three children’s medical centers at universities have approved PHO fellowship programs. [ [http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=PubMed&list_uids=8292512&dopt=Abstract Pediatric hematology and oncology in Iran: past and present state.] ] Besides hematology, gastroenterology has recently attracted many talented medical students. The gasteroenterology research center based at Tehran University has produced increasing numbers of scientific publications since its establishment. Modern organ transplantation dates to 1935, when the first cornea transplant was performed by Professor Mohammad-Qoli Shams at Farabi Hospital in Tehran, Iran. The Shiraz Nemazi transplant center, also one of the pioneering transplant units of Iran, performed the first kidney transplant in 1967 and the first liver transplant in 1995. The first heart transplant in Iran was performed 1993 in Tabriz. The first lung transplant was performed in 2001, and the first heart and lung transplants were performed in 2002, both at Tehran University. [http://www.ectrx.org/forms/ectrxcontentshow.php?year=2005&volume=3&issue=1&supplement=0&makale_no=0&spage_number=333&content_type=FULL%20TEXT ::: Experimental and Clinical Tranplantation ::: ] ] Currently, renal, liver, and heart transplantations are routinely performed in Iran. Iran ranks fifth in the world in kidney transplants. [http://roozonline.com/english/016441.shtml ] The Iranian Tissue Bank, commencing in 1994, was the first multi-facility tissue bank in country. In June 2000, the Organ Transplantation Brain Death Act was approved by the Parliament, followed by the establishment of the Iranian Network for Transplantation Organ Procurement. This act helped to expand heart, lung, and liver transplantation programs. By 2003, Iran had performed 131 liver, 77 heart, 7 lung, 211 bone marrow, 20,581 cornea, and 16,859 liver transplantations. 82 percent of these were donated by living and unrelated donors; 10 percent by cadavers; and 8 percent came from living-related donors.. The 3-year renal transplant patient survival rate was 92.9%, and the 40-month graft survival rate was 85.9%.

Neuroscience is also emerging in Iran. A few PhD programs in cognitive and computational neuroscience have been established in the country during recent decades.

[http://sharif.ac.ir/~cedra/ Center of Excellence in Design, Robotics, and Automation] was established in 2001 to promote educational and research activities in the fields of design, robotics, and automation. Besides these professional groups, several robotics groups work in Iranian high schools. [ [http://www.payvand.com/news/03/nov/1072.html Iranian High Schools Establish Robotics Groups ] ]

Iran's government has devoted huge amounts of funds for research on high technologies such as nanotechnology, biotechnology, stem cell research and information technology.

In 2005, Iran's first genetically modified (GM) rice was approved by national authorities and is being grown commercially for human consumption. In addition to GM rice, Iran has produced several GM plants in the laboratory, such as insect-resistant maize; cotton; potatoes and sugar beets; herbicide-resistant canola; salinity- and drought-tolerant wheat; and blight-resistant maize and wheat. [ [http://onlypunjab.com/fullstory2k5-insight--status-7-newsID-12171.html Iranian scientists produce GM rice : Middle East Onlypunjab.com- Onlypunjab.com Latest News ] ] Iran's first cloned animal, a sheep, was born on August 2, 2006. [ [http://www.bbc.co.uk/persian/science/story/2006/08/060805_mf_clone.shtml BBCPersian.com ] ] [ [http://www.middle-east-online.com/english/?id=17674 Middle East Online ] ]

The Iranian government has committed 150 billion rials (roughly $17.5 million) for a telescope, an observatory, and a training program, all part of a plan to build up the country's astronomy base. Iran wants to collaborate internationally and become internationally competitive in astronomy, says the University of Michigan's Carl Akerlof, an adviser to the Iranian project. "For a government that is usually characterized as wary of foreigners, that's an important development". [ [http://www.physicstoday.org/vol-57/iss-7/p28a.html Physics Today July 2004 - Iran Invests in Astronomy ] ]

Parallel to academic research, several companies have been founded in Iran during last few decades. For example [http://www.cinnaGen.com/ CinnaGen Co.] , established in 1992, is one of the pioneering biotechnology companies in the region. CinnaGen won "Biotechnology Asia 2005 Innovation Awards" due to its achievements and innovation in biotechnology research. Software companies are growing rapidly. In CeBIT 2006, ten Iranian software companies introduced their products. [ [http://www.bbc.co.uk/persian/science/story/2006/03/060310_fb_me_cebit_iran.shtml BBCPersian.com ] ] [ [http://www.sanaray.ir/english/ Sanaray ] ]

Iran annually hosts international science festivals. The International Kharazmi Festival in Basic Science and The Annual Razi Medical Sciences Research Festival promote original research in science, technology, and medicine in Iran.

According to a study by David a. king work on measuring scientific impact of nations, Iran ranks 30th in the world which puts it as the most advanced Islamic country, in terms of producing high impact journals on ISI.

Iranians welcome scientists from all over the world to Iran for a visit and participation in seminars or collaborations. Many Nobel laureates and influential scientists such as Bruce Alberts, F. Sherwood Rowland, Kurt Wüthrich, Stephen Hawking, and Pierre-Gilles de Genne visited Iran after the revolution. Some universities also hosted American and European scientists as guest lecturers during recent decades.

Iran had some significant successes in nuclear technology during recent decades, especially in nuclear medicine. However, little connection exists between Iran's scientific society and that of the nuclear program of Iran. When Geoff Brumfiel, a science journalist for the journal "Nature", asked: "How closely tied are academic physicists to the nuclear programme in Iran? Is it a completely divorced government situation or have physicists helped out with it? What's the relationship there?" Sharif University’s senior physicist, Reza Mansouri answered: "It's almost no relationship." Mansouri continued: "I would say the nuclear issue in Iran has almost nothing to do with science and with physics; it's a little bit of chemistry and technology. It's not physics and it's not science. But I would say everyone who understands a little bit of physics and science knows that this is just an old technology, not even a new one, and not a high technology." [ [http://www.nature.com/nature/podcast/v443/n7110/nature-2006-09-28.html "Nature: Prof Reza Mansouri comments on Nuclear issue and existing hostilities toward Iranian scientists"] ]

In 2008 report by Institute for Scientific Information (ISI), Iran was ranked 32, 46 and 56 in Chemistry, Physics and Biology respectively among all science producing countries. [ [http://www.mehrnews.ir/NewsPrint.aspx?NewsID=678634 Iranian science according to ISI (2008)] ]

Contribution of Iranians to modern science

Iranian scientists have made significant contributions to the international scientific community. In 1960, Ali Javan invented first gas laser. In 1973, the fuzzy set theory was developed by Lotfi Zadeh. Iranian cardiologist Tofy Mussivand invented the first artificial heart and afterwards developed it further. HbA1c was discovered by Samuel Rahbar and introduced to the medical community. The Vafa-Witten theorem was proposed by Cumrun Vafa, an Iranian string theorist, and his co-worker Edward Witten. The Kardar-Parisi-Zhang (KPZ) equation has been named after Mehran Kardar, notable Iranian physicist. Extraordinary because of multidisciplinary works at a young age, Ali Eftekhari is considered a founder of electrochemical nanotechnology and creator of surprising theories such as the Fractal Geometry of Literature. Other notable discoveries and innovations by Iranian scientists and engineers include:

* Karim Nayernia: discovery of spermatagonial stem cells
* Reza Ghadiri: 1998 Feynman prize for invention of a self-organized replicating molecular system
* Mehdi Vaez-Iravani: invention of shear force microscopy
* Siavash Alamouti and Vahid Tarokh: invention of space–time block code
* Faraneh Vargha-Khadem: discovery of SPCH1 , a gene implicated in a severe speech and language disorder
* Shirin Dehghan: 2006 Women in Technology Award [ [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/6111090.stm 'Top technology' woman announced] ]
* Nader Engheta, inventor of "invisibility shield" (plasmonic cover) and research leader of the year 2006, "Scientific American" magazine, [ [http://www.sciam.com/article.cfm?articleID=CA663E2C-E7F2-99DF-3B212D4B44CF6D05 Research leaders of the year] ] and winner of a Guggenheim Fellowship (1999) for "Fractional paradigm of classical electrodynamics"
* Ali Safaeinili: coinventor of Mars Advanced Radar for Subsurface and Ionosphere Sounding (MARSIS) [ [http://mars.jpl.nasa.gov/express/spotlight/20050504.html "First-of-Its-Kind Antenna to Probe the Depths of Mars"] ]
* Pierre Omidyar: economist, founder and chairman of eBay
* Shahriar Afshar: proposed the Afshar experiment
* Rouzbeh Yassini: inventor of the cable modem
* Homayoun Seraji: most-published author in the 20-year history of the "Journal of Robotic Systems" (declared in 2007).
* Moslem Bahadori: reported the first case of Plasma cell granuloma of the lung.

According to a study carried out by the - Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Iranian scientists and engineers in the United States own or control around $880 billion. [http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-1239439901918627893&q=abbas+milani&pl=true]

Medicine in Iran

The practice and study of medicine in Iran has a long and prolific history. Situated at the crossroads of the East and West, Persia was often involved in developments in ancient Greek and Indian medicine; pre- and post-Islamic Iran have been involved in medicine as well.

For example, the first teaching hospital where medical students methodically practiced on patients under the supervision of physicians was the Academy of Gundishapur in the Persian Empire. Some experts go so far as to claim that: "to a very large extent, the credit for the whole hospital system must be given to Persia". [C. Elgood, "A medical history of Persia", Cambridge Univ. Press. p.173]

The idea of xenotransplantation dates to the days of Achaemenidae (the Achaemenian dynasty), as evidenced by engravings of many mythologic chimeras still present in Persepolis. [ [http://www.ectrx.org/forms/ectrxcontentshow.php?year=2005&volume=3&issue=1&supplement=0&makale_no=0&spage_number=333&content_type=FULL%20TEXT Transplantation Activities in Iran] , Behrooz Broumand]

Several documents still exist from which the definitions and treatments of the headache in medieval Persia can be ascertained. These documents give detailed and precise clinical information on the different types of headaches. The medieval physicians listed various signs and symptoms, apparent causes, and hygienic and dietary rules for prevention of headaches. The medieval writings are both accurate and vivid, and they provide long lists of substances used in the treatment of headaches. Many of the approaches of physicians in medieval Persia are accepted today; however, still more of them could be of use to modern medicine. [ [http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=PubMed&list_uids=12849336&dopt=Abstract History of headache in medieval Persian medicine, "The Lancet", Volume 1, Issue 8, December 2002, Pages 510-515] ]

In the 10th century work of Shahnama, Ferdowsi describes a Caesarean section performed on Rudaba, during which a special wine agent was prepared by a Zoroastrian priest and used to produce unconsciousness for the operation. [Edward Granville Browne, "Islamic Medicine", Goodword Books, 2002, ISBN 81-87570-19-9 p.79] Although largely mythical in content, the passage illustrates working knowledge of anesthesia in ancient Persia.

After the Islamic conquest of Iran, medicine continued to flourish with the rise of notables such as Rhazes and Haly Abbas, albeit Baghdad was the new cosmopolitan inheritor of Sassanid Jundishapur's medical academy.

The first medical encyclopedia to be written in the Persian language instead of the usual Arabic lingua franca was "Dhakhira-i Khwarazmshahi", composed between 1111 AD and 1136 AD by Sayyed Ismail Gorgani.

An idea of the number of medical works composed in Persian alone may be gathered from Adolf Fonahn's "Zur Quellenkunde der Persischen Medizin", published in Leipzig in 1910. The author enumerates over 400 works in the Persian language on medicine, excluding authors such as Avicenna, who wrote in Arabic. Author-historians Meyerhof, Casey Wood, and Hirschberg also have recorded the names of at least 80 oculists who contributed treatises on subjects related to ophthalmology from the beginning of 800 AD to the full flowering of Muslim medical literature in 1300 AD.

Aside from the aforementioned, two other medical works attracted great attention in medieval Europe, namely Abu Mansur Muwaffaq's "Materia Medica", written around 950 AD, and the illustrated "Anatomy" of "Mansur ibn Muhammad", written in 1396 AD.

Modern academic medicine began in Iran when Joseph Cochran established a medical college in Urmia in 1878. Cochran is often credited for founding Iran’s "first contemporary medical college". [ [http://www.ams.ac.ir/AIM/0252/0252127.htm Archives Of Iranian Medicine ] ] The website of Urmia University credits Cochran for "lowering the infant mortality rate in the region" [ [http://www.urmia.ac.ir/intro.htm Introduction to Urmia University ] ] and for founding one of Iran's first modern hospitals (Westminister Hospital) in Urmia.

=Iranian Journals listed in ISI=

*Acta Medica Iranica
*Applied Entomology and PhytoPathology
*Archives of Iranian Medicine
*Iranian Biomedical Journal
*Iranian Journal of BioTechnology
*Iranian Journal of Chemistry & Chemical Engineering
*Iranian Journal of Fisheries Sciences-English
*Iranian Journal of Plant Pathology
*Iranian Journal of Science and Technology
*Iranian Polymer Journal
*Iranian Journal of Public Health
*Iranian Journal of Pharmaceutical Research
*Iranian Journal of Reproductive Medicine
*Iranian Journal of Veterinary Medicine
*Iranian Journal of Fuzzy Systems
*Journal of Entomological Society of Iran
*Plant Pests & Diseases Research Institute Insect Taxonomy Research Department Publication
*The Journal of the Iranian Chemical Society

See also

General

The first five rows of Khaiam-Pascal's triangle

*History of science in early cultures
*List of Iranian scientists
*Higher Education in Iran
*Intellectual Movements in Iran
*Ophthalmology in medieval Islam
*Islamic Golden Age
*Persian philosophy
*History of Pathology in Iran
*Sanctions against Iranian scientists
*The position of Iranians in scientific competitions
*List of Iranian Research Centers
*Leading research groups in Iran
*Economy of Iran
*Iran National Science Foundation
*Iran's Brain Drain problem
*Base isolation from Iran

Prominent organizations

*Institute of Standards and Industrial Research of Iran
*Atomic Energy Organization of Iran
*Iranian Space Agency
*Iranian Chemists Association
*The Physical Society of Iran

Highly cited Iranian scientists

*Fereidoon Shahidi, alumnus of Shiraz University, Professor of Physical-Organic Chemistry, Memorial University
*Cumrun Vafa, Department of Physics, Harvard University and member of Advisory Committee, Institute for Studies in Theoretical Physics and Mathematics (IPM), Tehran
*Jawad Salehi, Department of Electrical Engineering, Sharif University of Technology
* M.M. Sheikh Jabbari, IPM, Tehran

References

* "Iran the cradle of science", by R. Behrouz, M. Ourmazdi and P. Reza'i. Circle of Ancient Iranian Studies. Distributed with the authors' permission.

External links

Prominent scientific organizations of Iran

* [http://www.msrt.ir/ Iran Ministry of Science, Research, and Technology]
* [http://www.iamp.ir/ Iranians Association of Medical Physics]
* [http://www.irost.com/ Iran Research Organization for Science and Technology]
* [http://www.iranscience.net/ Iran Science Network]
* [http://www.pasteur.ac.ir Pasteur Institute of Iran]
* [http://www.iranbiotech.com Biotechnology Study Center]
* [http://www.irip.ir/ Iranian Institute for Philosophy]
* [http://www.nri.ac.ir/ National Energy Research Institute of Iran]
* [http://www.nrcgeb.ac.ir/ National Research Center for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology]
* [http://www.ias.ac.ir/ Iran Academy of Sciences]
* [http://www.ams.ac.ir/ Iran Academy of Medical Sciences]
* [http://knowdiff.net/ Knowledge Diffusion Network]
* [http://i-aim.org/ International Association of Iranian Managers]

Provincial science parks

* [http://www.kstp.ir/ Khorasan Province]
* [http://www.ea-sciencepark.org.ir/ East Azerbaijan Province]
* [http://www.sstp.ir Semnan Province]
* [http://www.gstp.ir/ Gilan Province]
* [http://www.ystp.org/ Yazd Province]
* [http://www.astp.ir/ Markazi Province]
* [http://www.istt.org Isfahan Province]

Other

* [http://www.jazirehdanesh.com/ Iran science island] (in Persian)
* [http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/full/290/5496/1484?maxtoshow=&HITS=10&hits=10&RESULTFORMAT=&fulltext=iran&searchid=1138556046976_3291&FIRSTINDEX=0&journalcode=sci Iranian science: Iran's Scientists Cautiously Reach Out to the World]
* [http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/full/309/5742/1802?maxtoshow=&HITS=10&hits=10&RESULTFORMAT=&fulltext=iran&searchid=1138556046976_3291&FIRSTINDEX=0&journalcode=sci Iranian science: An Islamic Science Revolution?]
* [http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/full/290/5496/1485 Iranian science: Iranian Women Hear the Call of Science]
* [http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v435/n7040/full/435264a.html Iranian neuroscience: The brain trust of Tehran]
* [http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v435/n7040/full/435247b.html "Nature" editorial: Iran's long march]
* [http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v442/n7104/full/442719b.html "Nature" editorial: Revival in Iran]
* [http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v424/n6944/full/424003b.html "Nature:" String theorists bypass NSF en route to Iran seminar]
* [http://www.iranchamber.com/history/articles/ancient_medicine_mesopotamia_iran.php History of ancient medicine in Iran]
* [http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v440/n7087/full/440997a.html Science in culture: An exhibition in Britain explores a rich scientific heritage.]
* [http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/full/309/5742/1806?maxtoshow=&HITS=10&hits=10&RESULTFORMAT=&fulltext=iran&searchid=1&FIRSTINDEX=0&resourcetype=HWCIT Science in Iran: The Sturgeon's Last Stand]
* [http://www.iranchamber.com/culture/articles/medical_sciences_avesta.php The medical sciences in the Avesta]
* [http://www.ams.ac.ir/AIM/0693/0026.pdf The contribution of Iranian scientists to world civilization]
* [http://www.science-academy.org/ Science Academy]
* [http://www.SharifThinkTank.com/ Sharif ThinkTank]
* [http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v452/n7189/full/452781a.html "Nature" editorial: All eyes north]