.

Many thanks to NIKI for sponsoring my life-changing trip to Iran. I was introduced to perhaps the friendliest culture I"ve ever been a part of, and for someone born and raised in the USA, it was a bit odd to be greeted with far more hospitality on the other side of the world than what I"m used to here! What is clear is that everything that I had heard from Western sources, particularly media and government, describing Iran, its culture and people, was completely wrong. And it is unfortunate that, on an official level, shouting propaganda has displaced reasoned dialogue all around. For that reason, I feel it is of paramount importance that as much real exchange and dialog take place as possible, as NIKI focuses on. My area being in the academic realm, it was an enormous privilege to be able to visit, speak to so many scholars and students, see historically important architectural monuments, and have a chance to speak to the public via the national television networks.

In the two and a half weeks of my visit, I gave ten lectures, mostly at physics departments at major universities: Sharif (Tehran), Inst. For Adv. Studies in Basic Sciences (Zanjan), Isfahan Univ., Imam Khomeini Intl Univ  (Qazvin), Tarbiat Modarres (Tehran). I had many discussions with professors and students (mostly in physics, my area of study) about research and life. What was fascinating to me was that, in a strange way, things were very familiar: we all study from the same texts, and speak with the same words (and even trained under the same people!). Of all the people I met, it was probably easiest to communicate my ideas and thoughts to the physicists, who under the circumstances (i.e. the embargo) were doing a phenomenal job with research, finding creative ways to continue doing experiments in spite of the numerous practical challenges. But it was abundantly clear that very significant work in physics, even in my subspecialty, is being done across the country. And I felt a lot more in common with physicists in Iran, than, say, biologists in the USA. There is something universal about working in physics that transcends culture, religion, ethnicity and personal background, and talking about my (and their) physics research all around Iran felt the same as talking to any other international audience around the world.

As for the students, my main exposures to Iran before coming are fellow Iranian graduate students I"ve known over the years, and clearly these expatriates are competitive with the best at the top schools. Similarly, the good students at the top schools, specifically IASBS and Sharif, would do very well if given the opportunity to pursue a PhD in the USA or Europe. But what was truly astounding, for me coming from the USA, was the gender balance. At some of my talks on physics, there were twice as many women as men, which is unheard of in this country. And consistently far more women are involved in studying physics in Iran, than in the USA, and honestly I believe that Iran sets a very good example worldwide for achieving gender balance in the physical sciences.

As a result of arrangements made by my hosts, I also had a chance to communicate with a much broader audience in Iran. I lectured on my work to the Iranian Academy of Arts; to the committee on Iranian Culture and Civilization, part of the Supreme Revolutionary Council for Culture; and to a large teachers" conference sponsored by the Ministry of Education. I also was able to speak to a national audience, appearing on a live interview on Parto (Channel 2), and on a special taped program (Channel 4). This gave me an opportunity to meet a number of scholars working on the cultural (specifically architectural) history of Iran, and interchange with those world-leading scholars. What became very clear is a distinct gap in research progress, due in large part to a language barrier. Many of the Iranian publications are simply unavailable in the West (and vice versa), and even if they were, very few scholars here would be able to use them directly. I personally encountered this problem in my own research, as a number of important historical Persian manuscripts have been discussed by modern Persian authors, and I have only limited access to their thoughts and ideas. If could make any suggestion to the scholarly community in Iran, it would be to publish an English text, even if not perfectly polished, with every major publication of a paper or book; clearly this is difficult and tedious, but it would greatly facilitate international exchange of ideas, and would encourage foreign collaboration.

I also had an opportunity to continue my research on the mathematics of Islamic architectural tilings. I had a chance to visit the Sheikh Safi  Mausoleum in Ardebil; Uljaytu mausoleum in Sultaniya, numerous important sites in addition to the Naqshi Jahan in Isfahan (incl. the Darb-i Imam shrine, Masjid Darb-i Kushk, Masjid-i Jami). I took many photographs highlighting tilings for which no good photographs exist in the West, and I made a number of discoveries relating to the historical evolution of pattern design and the use of girih tiles that will appear in my next paper on the subject.

Finally, thanks to the generosity of my hosts, I had the chance to enjoy a number of the natural beauties of Iran, from the mountains in the northwest, to the Caspian sea, to the desert and salt formations around Isfahan. The valleys and mountains en route to Alamut were particularly amazing. The food was delicious, and I was constantly amazed by the diversity of agricultural products grown in Iran. The diversity of breads and fruits was tremendous, and I"ve never had better grilled meat.

But what will remain permanently etched in my memory was the unbelievable friendliness and hospitality of all of the Iranian people I met. Everyone truly cared about me, and did everything they could to show it. It was amazing and wonderful in a way not easily experienced in the West. I remain in contact with a number of new friends I met, and I therefore eagerly await the next opportunity to visit!

Peter J. Lu,
Harvard University,
Department of Physics,
Cambridge, Massachusetts
USA

Note: This trip was sponsored by a full travel grant from Network of Iranians for Knowledge and Innovation.

.

Dr peter Lu (Departemtn pf Physics, harvard University) and Paul Steinhardt in the US have found 15th Century examples that use the concept of quasicrystalline geometry. Patterns discovered 1973 by the mathematician and physicist Roger Penrose. In 1984, they were found in natural substances called quasicrystals that seemed to break the geometric rules of atomic packing. A girih design on the Darb-i-Imam shrine is closely related to a Penrose tiling. One of the pattern"s mesmerizing features is that, like a true quasicrystal, it looks regular but never repeats. A similarity between Penrose tiling and decorative patterns used in the Middle East has been frequently noted and in February 2007 a paper in Science by Steinhardt and Lu offered evidence that a Penrose tiling underlies some examples of Islamic medieval art.

Apart from his prominent publications in several different fields, what distinguishes Lu from most of his scientific peers is the unpretentious joy he takes in science.