LV Life

Doctor to bring ULV recognition

The Chemistry Department moves forward into hydrogen energy technology with a grant and the leadership of Dr. Iraj Parchamazad. He holds a hydrogen model and displays a computer generated image of the same molecule, representing the basis for its work. / photo by Jason Cooper

by Enrique Gutiérrez
Staff Writer

In a place where most people think of going to the beach as soon as the sun rises everyday, it is odd to find a person who sees a different ray of hope coming from the king of the stars.

That person spends long hours working and that may affect the way people live.

Dr. Iraj Parchamazad, chair of the Chemistry Department at the University of La Verne is that individual.

His goal is that in the not-so-far future, people will use solar energy as the main source of fuel. To accomplish that, he is currently working on the creation of a portable unit which would replace the conventional way electricity is produced.

“It’s a new technology that uses hydrogen as a fuel to produce electricity,” Dr. Parchamazad said. “The starting material that we have is propane gas, methanol, but the next step is solar hydrogen. They use solar energy, solar radiation and water to produce hydrogen and that one is the most important one which is in my field.”

“It is the first experimental project for our energy institute,” said Dr. Jay Jones, professor of biology and biochemistry and chair of Academic Computing. “It deals with clean energy.”

“Iraj’s forté is solar photochemistry and the ideas that Iraj has are really before their time,” Dr. Jones said.

The project has already passed the alpha testing, the first of various tests in the process before the product actually goes to the public.

“Right now we need a lot of money to get this to the next step,” Dr. Parchamazad said.

The next step, he said, is the beta testing.

“After the beta testing is finished, if it is successful then it goes to the market,” said Dr. Parchamazad, “and then we need much more money for mass production.”

Despite the large amount of money required to complete the testing, Dr. Parchamazad believes this product is getting close to hitting the market.

“There are several companies working with us, but this is top security,” said he. “We have several confidentiality agreements so we have to be very careful with the knowledge that we have.”

One reason for that is that the project will affect the entire globe.

“It’s really a competition all over the world. We should move faster and with more people,” said Dr. Parchamazad.

Dr. Parchamazad, who began working at ULV in 1987, hopes this project will be the beginning of a new era of recognition for the school.

“The Chemistry Department and the Science Division as a whole believes that if the University gets involved in these kinds of high-tech projects it should be a new source of funding for the University, it brings more money to the University, recognition to attract better students and also with the supports of the Department of Energy and the National Science Foundation. The University of La Verne will be ranked at the top of this kind of technology,” Dr. Parchamazad said. “We would have a good name for teaching and … with this recognition the University of La Verne will be one of the finest universities. We’ll show that not only Caltech or UCLA can can do these kinds of projects.”

However, that is only a small part of Dr. Parchamazad’s intentions. His plans do not stop there.

“This project is one of the smallest ideas. My wish is to have a very active energy institute with a building and solar photochemistry lab,” he said. “And try to create new technology which is safe for the environment, more efficient and safe for natural resources like oil, gas. This is really the thing I want to achieve.”

He sounds excited when he talks about the future.

“Here at this University, we can make the Science Division and the Chemistry Department so active to create new technology with energy and environmental issues,” he said.

Dr. Jones recognizes the Dr. Parchamazad’s knowledge.

“He’s a very bright individual and has a good theoretical background. He’s done a marvelous job,” Dr. Jones said.

Dr. Parchamazad obtained his doctorate and his master’s degree as a chemical engineer in France.

He worked as a professor at the University of Tehran, Iran, his hometown. He also served as a technical adviser for Comples, an international organization that deals with solar energy. Dr. Parchamazad’s advising took him to places such as Germany, France and England before being a visiting professor at the University of Texas in Austin.

“He’s an excellent instructor, excellent researcher, terribly overworked,” said Jones. “It’s only recently that his research and potential began to be realized. It’s very difficult at the University of La Verne to do research. It takes a lot of effort and we do not have the supportive infrastructure that large institutions have.”

Junior Manny Escalante, who took one of Dr. Parchamazad’s classes said he is always available to his students.

“He wants to make students the best chemistry students they can be,” said Escalante. “He’s willing to go out of his way to help you.”

Dr. Parchamazad’s interest in the field is such that it has been extended to his descendants. His two children, Patty, 25, and Payam, 19, are also involved in chemistry.

According to Dr. Parchamazad, Patty finished graduate school last year and she now is a pharmacist. While Payam, a sophomore at ULV, is also considering the possibility of majoring in chemistry.

Payam looks at his father as one of his role models.”He’s hard worker, a motivator. He tries to get stuff done,” he said.

“I think of the future and I think that my contribution could be very effective,” said Dr. Parchamazad.

Said Dr. Jones, “He’s very talented, very dedicated and has a good heart.”

Enrique Gutiérrez, Staff Writer
Enrique Gutiérrez
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Jason Cooper, Staff Photographer
Jason Cooper
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