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The dynamic young scientist who got the first nuclear reactor in Iran running at full speed in the late 1960s spends a lot of time explaining the threat posed by his former country’s nuclear program.
As Iran’s first nuclear engineer, Mehdi Sarram circulated in the highest levels of government, took pride in contributing to the prosperity of his country, and worked to help his growing family live a good life.
Then in 1979 his world began to crumble. The ayatollahs came to power in Iran and silenced everything associated with “Great Satan” (the United States), including the Sarram nuclear reactor. “I had worked for six months to get the reactor operational, the Shah himself had even cut the ribbon to initiate it, and then the leaders of the Iranian revolution closed it,” Sarram recalled with emotion in his voice.
But he decided to ride out the repressive regime and wait for better times. That changed the day he learned that his seven-year-old daughter had to wear a headscarf due to a religious decree.
“It was an encroachment on their freedom and a symbol for the oppression of women,” said Sarram, who now lives in Karlovy Vary. “I didn’t want my kids to grow up in such a society, so I decided we had to go.”
The ultimate symbol of freedom for Sarram was the United States, as he had spent almost eight years here pursuing his Bachelor, Master, and Ph.D. in nuclear engineering from the University of Michigan.
After sending dozens of applications to US nuclear companies, he was offered a position with a pre-eminent defense company, Raytheon Technologies. He signed up for work in 1982, became a citizen six years later, and received a top-secret clearance from the Department of Energy that same year.
Raytheon hired Sarram on various civil and government nuclear projects in the US and sent him overseas to manage projects in other countries including Russia and Germany.
After retiring in 2008, Sarram used his engineering skills to cut auto emissions in his new hometown, Carlsbad. He explained to the city council, the traffic engineer and the mayor that the average car idling at a traffic light emits around 100 grams of CO2 every minute. The solution was to reduce idle time by synchronizing the 140 or so traffic lights to keep traffic flowing smoothly. Over the 14 years that Sarram has lived in Carlsbad, he said that synchronizing the city has reduced CO2 emissions by about 60 percent.
Despite his retirement, Sarram’s nuclear expertise is still sought. Prior to the conclusion of the US-Iran nuclear deal, he was invited to submit a history of Iran’s nuclear policy and programs to a UN Security Council committee. And just last month he sat for a five-hour interview for a documentary about the Iranian nuclear history of a German television station.
Sarram also makes the rounds at the universities of San Diego and speaks about the politics of Iran and the countries of the nuclear club. His speech varies depending on the politics at a given time, but one line is always the same: “I am a proud Iranian-American and grateful to be a citizen of the greatest country in the world.”
And if you look closely, you can see the moisture in his eyes.
About this series
Someone San Diego Should Know is a weekly column written by members of the UT’s Community Advisory Board about local people who are interesting and noteworthy because of their experience, accomplishments, creativity, or references.
Marty Judge is a retired journalist who spent 20 years as a civil servant in Washington, mainly at the State Department.
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