Mojtahedi and the Founding of the Arya-Mehr University of Technology

Abstract

The paper presents an account of the founding of the Arya-Mehr (now Sharif) University of Technology, and the role that Dr. Mohammad Ali Mojtahedi had in its creation in 1965. The paper describes the landscape of science and technology in Iran in 1965, the year in which Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi appointed Mojtahedi to establish this university. It describes the various challenges that Mojtahedi faced in establishing the university, such as avoiding crippling government regulations and bureaucracy, hiring qualified faculty, attracting top students, developing an appropriate milieu for the cultivation of scientific and technological culture and, most importantly, setting the course for the university to become not only Iran's leading institution, but also one of world's credible institutions in science and engineering. The paper also discusses Mojtahedi's unique approach to these challenges, and how, despite his best intentions, he created the animosity and intrigues that resulted in his ousting in 1967. The university did in fact become Iran's leading institution in sciences and engineering, a position which it holds even today.