Dr. Firouz Naderi. Photo: NASA/JPL

Dr. Firouz Naderi has been named manager of the newly created Mars Program Office at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, CA, JPL Director Dr. Edward C. Stone has announced.

Naderi has been the manager of NASA's Origins Program since 1996. He joined JPL in 1979 and has served as program manager for space science flight experiments and project manager for the NASA Scatterometer project. In addition, he was program manager at NASA Headquarters for the Advanced Communications Technology Satellite program and at JPL for the Mobile Satellite program.

The new Mars Program Office will serve as the single point- of-contact for NASA Headquarters at JPL for all Mars exploration efforts. The office will work closely with the NASA Headquarters Mars Directorate Office for the development and implementation of the long-term strategy for the robotic exploration of Mars, as well as for the program's architecture and management of related funding. Naderi's appointment is effective immediately.

Born March 25, 1946, in Shiraz, Iran, Naderi holds three degrees in electrical engineering: a bachelor's from Iowa State University, Ames, IA, and a master's and doctorate from the University of Southern California.

JPL is a division of the California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA.