Pirooz Parvarandeh, Founder of the Iranian Americans' Contributions Project, Speaks at Stanford University on Organization's Mission and Methods

PALO ALTO, Calif., April 14, 2017 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Earlier this week, Mr. Pirooz Parvarandeh, Founder and President of Iranian Americans' Contributions Project (IACP) https://ia-cp.org/ gave a presentation for the Hamid and Christina Moghadam Program in Iranian Studies at Stanford University. 

He outlined the newly formed organization's educational mission to document and highlight the contributions and impact of this key segment of American society upon America and, by extension, the world. 

The organization is registered in California and is active across the country.

During his introductory remarks, Dr. Abbas Milani, the Moghadam Director of Iranian Studies at Stanford, said: "Though much has been written about the significant financial, managerial, technological and intellectual contributions of the Iranian-American community, this research, using rigorous methods, and the savvy and social commitments of the best of Silicon Valley, offers a chance for us to know, free from any hyperbole, the exact nature and dimension of this contribution." 

Parvarandeh, a technologist who has held senior positions in Silicon Valley's semiconductor industry over the past few decades said: "Given the currently charged debate about the role of immigrants in our society, we are focused on shedding light on the contributions of Iranian-Americans in an objective and systematic fashion."

"For example, we use publicly available databases and mapping software to enable accurate estimates of not only the many thousands of Iranian-American physicians or lawyers in various counties and states, but also the number of patents held by this group, which is in the tens of thousands. This data will be used to quantify the impact of this community on job creation and the US GDP".

Using data-mining techniques and in-depth interviews, IACP undertakes original research and disseminates its findings on the presence and work of Iranian Americans in multiple fields of endeavor in the United States, including in the professions (engineering, healthcare, law, etc.),  business, civil service, the sciences, as well as the arts and humanities.

Alongside its quantitative and data-driven methods, IACP conducts in-depth and long-form interviews with notable Iranian-Americans in multiple fields that are published in the Huffington Post https://ia-cp.org/stories.  

IACP has concluded some 40 of these interviews so far, and aims to produce scores more, which aim to delve into the details of where and how they have contributed to America and the world. IACP also aims to work with the mainstream media to bring greater coverage to this key segment of American society.

For more information on this talk, see https://iranian-studies.stanford.edu/events/documenting-contributions-iranian-americans-new-approach

You can view the YouTube video here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ss9CvEPR2xM

Media Contact for Iranian Americans' Contributions Project: Stacey Conti, [email protected]

Media Contact for Stanford Iranian Studies Program: Roma Parhad, [email protected]

SOURCE Iranian Americans' Contributions Project