page_title: Mehdi Behzad
section_title: Institutionalizing of basic sciences
hierarchical_section_title: Mehdi Behzad / Institutionalizing of basic sciences
caption_attribution_description: English: Behzad on the postage stamps of Iran
context_page_description: Mehdi Behzad is an Iranian mathematician specializing in graph theory. He introduced his total coloring theory during his Ph.D. studies in 1965. Despite the active work during the last 50 years this conjecture remains as challenging as it is open. In fact, Behzad's conjecture now belongs to mathematics’ classic open problems.
  Behzad has been instrumental in institutionalizing mathematics education and popularization of mathematics in Iran, and has received numerous awards and recognition for his lifetime service to the Iranian scientific community.
context_section_description: Behzad has played an important role in institutionalizing and advancement of basic sciences in his home country of Iran. In recognition of his executive contributions during his lifetime, the Iranian Mathematical Society (Persian: انجمن‌ رياضى‌ ‌اير‌ان‌) has established the Dr. Mehdi Behzad’s Award (Persian: جایزه‌ی دکتر مهدی بهزاد), an annual multinational award for recognition of individuals with outstanding leadership role in advancement of mathematics in their respective countries.
  Behzad's executive contributions include:
  A founding member and the first secretary general of Iranian Academy of Sciences, referred to as Imperial Iranian Academy of Sciences, (Persian: فرهنگستان شاهنشاهی علوم ایران) before Iran's revolution, consisting of internationally renowned Iranian elites in the fields of Basic Sciences, Engineering, Medicine, Agriculture, and Liberal Arts and Anthropology, 1975-1979.
  A founding member and the first president of Iranian Mathematical Society (IMS) (Persian: انجمن‌ رياضى‌ ‌اير‌ان‌), the first registered scientific society in Iran and arguably one of the most active ones. He led IMS as its president from 1971 to 1973 and later on from 1997-2003 for two additional terms.
  A founding member of Foundation for Advancement of Science and Technology in Iran (Persian: بنياد بيشبرد علم و فن ﺁورى در ايران).
  A founding member of Council for Iranian Scientific Societies (Persian: شوراى انجمن هاى علمي ايران).
  A founding member and vice chancellor at Reza Shah-e-Kabir University (Persian: دانشكاه رضاشاه كبير) since inception in 1976 till 1979. This was the first university in Iran, and arguably in the Middle East, which admitted Ph.D. students in the fields of mathematics, physics, chemistry, and anthropology. Despite the extensive planning and collaboration with Harvard University, the ambitious goals of this institution was never achieved due to the post-revolutionary circumstances in the country.
  Chairman at School of Mathematical Sciences at Arya-Mehr University of Technology (Persian: دانشگاه صنعتی آریامهر), currently Sharif University of Technology (Persian: دانشگاه صنعتی شریف) from 1971 to 1973.
  A member of the Academy of Sciences of Islamic Republic of Iran (Persian: فرهنگستان علوم جمهورى اسلامى ایران) since 2002.
caption: Behzad featured on postage stamps by Iran Post Company, 2004
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