What happened to Firouz Naderi? Tributes pour in as Iranian NASA scientist dies aged 77

Iranian-American NASA scientist Firouz Naderi has passed away. He was 77 years old at the time of his passing. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory expert worked in the esteemed organization for 35 years. His official Instagram account revealed that he had recently suffered an injury that left him paralyzed. However, an official cause of death was not revealed at the time of writing this article.

Netizens have flooded the internet with tributary messages as the news of his passing came to light.

On May 29, Firouz Naderi’s nephew took to the scientist’s verified Instagram account to tell his 445K followers that Naderi was left paralyzed from neck down after suffering from an unexpected accident. The announcement added:

Today, his social media accounts announced that Firouz Naderi passed away on June 9, Friday. The announcement added:

The announcement also stated that they will be releasing details regarding the memorial service at an appropriate time.

Tributes pour in as Firouz Naderi passes away

The internet was flooded with tributary messages after news of Naderi’s passing came to light. Followers were shocked by the announcement. A few tweets read:

Everything to know about the beloved NASA leader

Firouz Naderi was born in March 1946 in Shiraz. After completing his elementary and high school education in the city of Iran, he moved to Italy to study at the Don Bosco boarding school. He went on to immigrate to the United States where he graduated with a degree in electrical engineering from the Iowa State University. He also received his masters and PhD from the University of South California.

Naderi completed his compulsory military service in Iran as well and eventually permanently moved out of the country in 1978.

The esteemed scientist worked as a system engineer when he started in NASA. He specialized in the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) where he was to design and launch unmanned projects that would be sent outside the solar system. He also worked as the Mars Program Manager for five years which lead to him earning the prestigious NASA’s Outstanding Leadership Medal.

After successfully launching the Mars program, he went on to become the associate director of the JPL. He was also appointed as the Director of the Solar System Exploration Program.

After a successful career in NASA, he served as an advisor to early high-tech startups and also became a mentor to the next generation of Iranian- American leaders. He frequently spoke at various top universities including MIT, Oxford, Stanford, Texas A&M University and Germany’s Karlsruhe Institute of Technology amongst others.

Naderi sat at the board of directors table of the Public Affair Alliance of Iranian Americans organization. He was also part of the board of directors of other organizations including the Keep Children in School Foundation, the International Society of Children with Cancer and also the Iranica Encyclopaedia.

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