Presentation: Iran has long boasted a rich scientific heritage that spans from the sophisticated observatories of the Islamic Golden Age to the brilliant astronomers in the modern era across the globe. While figures like Al-Biruni and Nasir al-Din al-Tusi laid the mathematical foundations for our understanding of the cosmos centuries ago, that spirit of inquiry remains vibrant today through the Iranian International community, with figures like Woman astronaut Anousheh Ansari and Firouz Naderi, pivotal leader at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) for 36 years, best known for transforming the Mars Exploration Program (2000–2005) . This presentation explores how Iran’s unique geographical landscape and enduring intellectual legacy continue to drive significant contributions to global astrophysics. By blending ancient wisdom with 21st-century technology, Iranian astronomers are not just looking back at their history but are actively pushing the boundaries of the final frontier.
About the Presenter: Dr. Fatemeh Zahra Majidi is a time-domain astronomy expert, painter, and writer — she loves Dirac, Van Gogh, Kafka. Astronomy has been her profession since 2014, and her work spans across multiple research fields since, from theoretical astrophysics and solving Einstein Field Equations, to computational Gravitational Waves, to observational astronomy – characterization of low-mass stars, discovery of new accretors in star-forming regions, and exoplanet discovery. Currently Fatemeh writes science cases for upcoming facilities (Roman, NewAthena, WST, Pollux) and provides science support for synergies between two upcoming missions MUSE (NASA) and SOLAR-C (JAXA/ESA). She has served as PI on multiple programs with VLT/X-Shooter and served for three years as the Project Scientist for Mauve (BSSL. London, UK). Alongside her scientific research, Fatemeh serves as the Chair of the IAU Early Career Working Group Executive Committee and the Secretary of the IAU Professional-Amateur Working Group (Pro-AM WG) and is a member of Astronomers for Planet Earth (A4E, Munich, Germany).
Webinar Session 1 – will take place on Monday, 27 April 2026 at 12:00 UTC. Click here to register for Session 1.
Webinar Session 2 – will take place on Monday, 27 April 2026 at 20:00 UTC. Click here to register for Session 2.