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Passing of Houshang Pakzad, Professor of Physics and Co-Founder of the Baha’i Institute for Higher Education Dr. Houshang Pakzad, researcher and former professor of physics at the University of Tehran, passed away on 12 August 2025 in the United States after a period of illness. After twenty years of research and teaching at the university, in 1980 he was dismissed from his academic post because of his adherence to the Baha’i Faith. Although the Iranian government barred him from teaching at universities in his homeland, he never gave up. By imparting his scientific knowledge to young Baha’is deprived of higher education, he trained dozens of professors, researchers, entrepreneurs, and innovators who today each work as specialists in universities and research centers around the world. Who Was Houshang Pakzad? Houshang Pakzad was born in 1936 in the city of Zanjan. Due to the family’s frequent relocations, his childhood and teenage years were spent in various cities, such as Mashhad and Birjand. When he was about 16 or 17, the Pakzad family settled in Tehran, where he obtained his high school diploma. He then pursued studies in physics at the University of Tehran and, after earning his bachelor’s degree, began teaching there as an instructor. Alongside his teaching, he continued his studies in physics and obtained a master’s degree from the University of Tehran. Later, he received a scholarship to study in France. In 1970, after obtaining a PhD in physics from the University of Marseille, he returned to Tehran. He joined the faculty of the University of Tehran’s College of Science and taught physics (acoustics) as a professor. In 1977, he went to Sweden on a one-year research fellowship at Uppsala University, the oldest university in Scandinavia and one of Sweden’s most prestigious institutions. In the summer of 1978, during the upheaval of the Islamic Revolution, Dr. Pakzad returned to Iran. At that time, universities were nearing closure, with classes suspended by student strikes. He taught for several months after the Revolution, but with the onset of the Cultural Revolution and the closure of universities, he was permanently banned from teaching in Iranian universities because of his religious beliefs. Several books and articles in physics remain from Dr. Pakzad. Among them is Wave and Vibrational Phenomena by Polkanoski, translated by Houshang Pakzad and Zia Taheri, published by the University of Tehran, which is still used as an important academic source. He also published scientific articles such as Resonance of Tubes and Its Relation to Reverberation Time and Statistical Phonetics of the Persian Language and Its Application in Acoustic Studies, which appeared in the University of Tehran’s journal of sciences. Founding the Baha’i Institute for Higher Education (BIHE) The Cultural Revolution of 1980–1982 deprived Baha’i citizens of access to higher education. After this, all Baha’i professors and students were expelled from universities and prevented from either studying or teaching. Dr. Pakzad, even after dismissal, kept his knowledge up-to-date and sought ways to share it with his compatriots. Each year, dozens of young Baha’is were barred from university entrance exams solely because of their faith. To address this deprivation and discrimination, he proposed establishing a Baha’i university. In 1986, the plan materialized as the Baha’i Institute for Higher Education (BIHE), founded by Dr. Houshang Pakzad along with Dr. Parvin Mutahida and Dr. Parviz Javid. At first, Baha’i homes served as classrooms, and no one foresaw its future. Dr. Nizamuddin Misaghi, a physician in the U.S. and one of the early students, wrote of Dr. Pakzad: “He himself poured tea for the young students, hosted them, set up their tables, chairs, and laboratories in basements, and cleaned and prepared the environment with his own hands. He was a shining example of the truth that real humanity is not found in rank or position, but in service and humility.” In addition to management and organizational work, Pakzad taught physics III and IV and statistics (probability and statistics). He set up a small physics laboratory in the basement of his house, where he gave lessons to students. Dr. Pakzad was repeatedly pursued by security forces for teaching Baha’i youth. September 29, 1998, agents raided his home and confiscated many of his belongings. Today, hundreds of BIHE graduates pursue higher education in universities across Europe, the United States, Australia, and India, and serve as Iranian specialists in various fields. Dr. Pakzad collaborated with BIHE for two decades in different capacities—from founding and managing to teaching and advising—until his retirement. On 12 August 2025, Dr. Houshang Pakzad passed away in California after a period of illness. His legacy is not only the training of hundreds of Iranian specialists and researchers. As Dr. Misaghi said: “Dr. Pakzad’s life taught us that knowledge and education cannot be imprisoned. If doors are closed, we will open a window. If laboratories are taken away, we will build one in the heart of a basement.” Preventing a physics teacher from teaching and researching simply because his heartfelt beliefs differed from those of the ruling authorities not only exemplifies discrimination against a religious minority but also deprived society itself of knowledge that could have served its development and progress. #BIHE #Bahai #EducationIsNotACrime https://t.co/cSw8wMqU6X