Ferdowsi took part in the Second inauguration of Barack Obama (January 2013) marching in the parade alongside replicas of Curiosity and the Orion spacecraft, along with other NASA scientists, as part of the agency's official Presidential Inaugural Weekend. Ferdowsi also took part in Obama's State of the Union address on February 12, 2013, where he was seated in First Lady Michelle Obama's box "to highlight President Barack Obama's call for more visas for skilled immigrants in the fields of math, science and engineering."