binarny system - persiancultural.org

Rutgers University
Newark
&
Persian Cultural
Foundation
Second Annual Awards
Ceremony
November 12, 2007
11:30 AM—2:00 PM
Art cover courtesy of Master Mahmoud Farshchian
Persian Cultural Foundation
&
Rutgers-Newark
Second Annual Award Ceremony
November 12, 2007
Program
A.
Speakers
Dr. Steven Diner
Provost
Rutgers University
Opening Remarks
Dr. Philip Yeagle
Dean of Faculty of Arts and Sciences
Rutgers University
Welcoming Remarks
Dr. John Gunkel
Acting Dean of Instruction & Director Honors College
Rutgers University
Expanding Opportunities through Cultural
Diversity
Dr. Maboud Ansari
Professor of Sociology
William Paterson University
Second Generation Iranian and Maintaining
Iranian Identity
Ms. Willow Heske, Winner of the PCF Award of 2006
Columbia University
An Overview of Iran
Dr. Minoo Varzegar
Director of the Program in American Language Studies
Rutgers University
Persian Literature and Culture in the West
Dr. Houra Yavari
Senior Research Scholar
Columbia University
Mowlana Jalaleddin Rumi
MUSICAL PERFORMANCE
Persian Dancing
Ms. Chritstina Wasef, Rutgers
Ms. Atra, Rutgers
Mr. Alborz Yarahmadi, NJIT
The Mission of Persian Cultural Foundation
Ms. Sadaf Sattarzadeh-Amiri
Provost Diner
Presenting an Award to Dr. Akbar Ghahary
Dr. Rachel Hadas, Professor and Poet, Rutgers University
Dr. Dick Davis, KEYNOTE SPEAKER
Professor, Chair of the Near-Eastern Department
Ohio State University
The Shahnameh
MUSICAL PERFORMANCE
Singing
Vocalist and Composer Atoosa Salimi,
Dr. Akbar Ghahary
Presenting Awards to the Winners of the Contest for
the Best Persian Papers
Mr. Arian Nakhaie, Rutgers University
Iran is Ferdowsi and Ferdowsi Is Iran
Ms. Anna Jaroszynski, Rutgers University
Hafez: the legendary Persian Mystic Poet and Teacher
Second Best Papers :
Ms. Prajakta Bhagwat, Iranian Cinema
Ms. Monica Ahluwalia, Forough Farrokhzad
MUSICAL PERFOMANCE
Vocalist MONIKA and Her Ensemble
Persian lunch will be served.
Dedicating the Ceremony to:
Professor Richard Frye
Harvard University
The Late Professor Jerome Clinton
Princeton University
Professor Dick Davis
Professor and Chair of the Department of
Near Eastern Languages and Cultures
Ohio State University
An internationally known scholar of
Persian literature
Keynote Speaker
Professor Dick Davis
A Renowned Persian
Dick Davis was born in Portsmouth,
England, in 1945, and educated at the
universities of Cambridge (B.A. and M.A. in
English Literature) and Manchester (PhD. in
Medieval Persian Literature). He lived in
Iran for 8 years (1970-1978), and also for
some time in both Italy and Greece. He is
currently Professor of Persian and Chair of
the Department of Near Eastern Languages
and Cultures at Ohio State University. As
author, translator or editor, he has produced
over 20 books; as well as academic works
these include translations from Italian
(prose) and Persian (prose and verse), and
eight books of his own poetry (the most
recent of which is A Trick of Sunlight, 2006).
His translations from Persian include Attar’s
The Conference of the Birds, a book of
medieval epigrams (Borrowed Ware),
Pezeshkzad’s My Uncle Napoleon, and
recently Ferdowsi’s Shahnameh. He has
recently completed a verse translation of
the 11th century poet Gorgani’s Vis and
Ramin, one of the most beautiful of Persian
love stories.
HONORING
Dr. Akbar Ghahary
Industrialist, Scientist,
Activist and Philanthropist
President
Persian Cultural Foundation
Dr. Akbar Ghahary
Dr. Akbar Ghahary, an industrialist and executive in the manufacturing sector, is the CEO and Chairman of the Board of Safas Corporation, an equity partner with General Electric Capital
Corporation. He is also a member of the American Chemical
Society and Society of Plastic Engineers, a member of advisory
board of Iranian/Americans Chemists Association. He received
his MA from Aria Mehr University in Mechanical Design and
Engineering while he designed and built a filament winding
machine for Iran’s CAS’s pipeline in partnership with Sharif
University (Aria Meher) in 1974 and his PhD in Thermoset Plastics Composition and Design, in affiliation with Lowell University
of Massachusetts in1983.
Dr.Ghahary owns many patents including several international
patents and ten US patents, mostly in polymers and advanced
composites. He has over 40 years of experience in polymer
design and composites. Being the inventor of GRANICOAT ®
he holds many national and international awards, for products
that Safas develops and markets.
Dr. Ghahary has been an active member of the IranianAmerican community for the last twenty-nine years. His commitment to serving cultural and humanitarian projects has involved
him in extensive charitable work with various cultural and community based organizations worldwide. He is the first individual
who co- organized and founded a 3-day international conference (Iran facing the new century) on Iran’s National Identity
and National Interests at Oxford University UK 2004. This oneof-a-kind conference was well-received and attended by scholars and academicians from Iran, USA, Canada and Europe.
He has been a former President of the Persian Cultural and
Humanitarian Association; past Treasurer and present ViceChair of the Encyclopedia Iranica Foundation; and is the Cofounder and President of the Persian Cultural Foundation
(PCF). Dr. Akbar Ghahary has remained an active member of
the Iranian-American community as a political advocate. He is
the co- founder of Iranian Americans Political Action Committee
(IAPAC) and serves this organization as Treasurer and a member of the Board of Trustees.
Dr Ghahary played an important role of filling the gap in presence of Iranian/American community in political arena by joining
John Kerry’s campaign in presidential election 2004 and Jon
Corzine, for New Jersey Governor 2005 and Senator Hillary
Clinton in 2006. He is also an active member of 2008 presidential campaign for Hillary Clinton.
Winners of Rutgers-PCF Awards
Arian Nakhaie
Arian Nakhaie is a third-year
undergraduate at Rutgers
University planning on
majoring in Philosophy. Arian
says he first fell in love with
Persian literature after having
read an English translation of
Farid udin Attar's Conference
of the Birds (Manteq al-Tayr),
when he was thirteen years
old. He began to increasingly
read English translations of Persian literature until he
became literate in Persian his first year at Rutgers
University. Currently, he is studying Abol Qasem
Ferdowsi's The Book of Kings (Shahnameh) with
Dr. Paul Sprchman at Rutgers-New Brunswick.
Anna Jaroszynski
Anna was born in
Poland, Opole on
September 14, 1985.
She came to Bayonne,
NJ, when she was 14
years old. She lives with
her parents and her two
sisters. She finished
Bayonne High School
(with induction to
National Honors Society)
in 2004. This is her
senior year at Rutgers
and she is majoring in nursing. She is graduating in
May 2008 and she is looking forward to starting an
exciting career in health care. Her inspiration in her life
is faith, family and friends.
Performers
Atra Rouzbehnia was born in
Esfahan, Iran, where she spent the
first twelve year of her life. She left
Iran for Austria and spent seven
months there before arriving in the
United States. Atra finally reached the
United States in June of 2000. and
has been living in New Jersey ever
since. Currently, she is a sophomore
at Rutgers University.
Christina Wasef, was born on
August 28,1988 in Cairo, Egypt.
She attended school in Cairo until
she was nine years old. She then
came to the United States in 1997
with her parents, older brother
and younger sister. Currently, she
is enrolled at Rutgers University
studying Mathematics hoping one
day she would get her Ph.D.
Alborz Yarahmadi, an
American born Iranian, is
very proud of his homeland
and heritage . He was born
in NY on February 20,
1986. He attended Bayonne
High School. He was then
granted entrance into NJIT
with 70% scholarship and
entrance into Albert
Dorman Honors College.
Currently, he is working
towards earning two degrees, one in the Mathematical
Science and the other in Biology from the Rutgers
Newark – NJIT Biology Program. He aspires to earn
his MD and specialize in surgery.
Atoosa Salimi
Singer-songwriter
Atoosa’s intensely
personal lyrics, soft
and expressive vocals,
and unique
songwriting style have
been garnering
audience attention and
critical acclaim.
Having attended
Parsons School of
Design and received
her Master’s in English
Literature, Atoosa
draws inspiration from
all these sources and themes of literature and art
often weave their way throughout her songs.
Her success and critical acclaim led to increased
touring around the country, including performances at music festivals in the North East. Having
won the attention of two independent film
producers for her songwriting, she has written
material for two films in 2006. Awards and honors
include the prestigious 2006 Insight Award for
best original song placed in an independent film.
Atoosa is currently working on her next album.
She is also writing a book of poems she hopes to
publish in the spring. Atoosa especially looks
forward to “learning more about this world we
inhabit,” and continuing to inspire audiences by
“having the freedom to be who you really are.”
Because to Atoosa, that is what her music is all
about.
Monika and Her Ensemble
Vocalist: Monika Jalili is a classically trained
vocalist born in New York City with a degree in
Vocal Performance from The Manhattan School of
Music and in French Literature from Columbia
University. Monika has been a performer on stage
and film since childhood and was a student of the
late Beverley Peck Johnson. Her performances
have taken her to Lincoln Center, Carnegie Hall,
Symphony Space, The Tchaikovsky Concert Hall
in Moscow, The Moscow Conservatory of Music,
The Wortham Center (Houston), Wolf Trap
(Virginia), and throughout Europe. Monika's great
love of Persian music and culture led her to create
NoorSaaz with Megan Weeder. She is the proud
mom of a little boy.
Megan Weeder (violin) has a BA in Violin and an
MA in Ethnomusicology. She has had numerous
performances in Iran and Turkey.
Zeb Gould (guitar) (substituting for Natahn Dillon)
has a BA in audio engineering. He has had
performances which have attracted diverse
audiences.
Special Thanks go to:
Provost Steven Diner
Vice-Provost Gary Roth
Dean Philip Yeagle
Dean John Gunkel
Dean Heidi Szymanski
Professor Frances Bartkowski
Committee of Reviewers:
Professor Maboud Ansari
Professor Minoo Varzegar
Professor Bonnie Harley
Professor Patricia Bender
Professor Art Glass
Keynote Speaker:
Professor Dick Davis
Performers:
Ms. Atoosa Salimi
Ms. Monika Jalili and her Ensemble
Ms. Atra Rouzbehnia
Ms. Christina Wasef
Mr. Alborz Yarahmadi
Graphic Designers:
Mr. Salar Ghahary
Ms. Ahu Senol
Mr. Mahdi Zarif
Ms. Darlene Smith, JD
Ms. Gladian Rivera
Ms. Ressie Mayo
Mr. George Cabral
Mr. Seth Mann
Ferdowsi Statue –Tehran
Organizer:
Dr. Minoo Varzegar,
Director of Program in American Language Studies