Academic Partners
Academic Advisory Board Members
Members of the Academic Advisory Board serve as consultants on academic and educational matters for Kimiya Ltd. They are not responsible for the company's management.
Prof. Mohammad Naghizadeh
Emeritus Professor, Meiji Gakuin University
Prof. Mohammad Naghizadeh, an emeritus economics professor at Meiji Gakuin University in Japan, was born in Tehran in 1941. He began his education in agriculture at the University of Tehran and, after obtaining his bachelor’s degree, worked at the Isfahan Steel Plant and the Damghan Municipality. In 1974, he moved to Japan and studied at various universities including Osaka University, Obihiro Chikusan, and Kyoto University. He then served as an assistant professor at Kyoto and Chiba Universitiy before eventually joining Meiji Gakuin University. Additionally, in 2013, he established the Japanese Studies department at the Faculty of World Studies at the University of Tehran. Dr. Naghizadeh was awarded the Imperial Order of Japan in 2008 for his academic and cultural efforts, becoming the first Iranian to receive this honor since the Iranian Revolution.
Prof. Akirou Matsumoto
Emeritus Professor, Saint Thomas University
Prof. Akirou Matsumoto, an Islamic scholar, born in Ehime Prefecture of Japan in 1944. He developed an interest in Islamic thought at a young age and later enrolled at Waseda University to study Oriental history. He studied under the guidance of Hisao Matsuda, while also being mentored by Toshihiko Izutsu, broadening his knowledge in Islamic philosophy, Islamic theology, and Arabic. He completed his doctorate at Waseda University’s Graduate School of Letters. In 1972, he studied at Ferdowsi University of Mashhad (commonly known as Mashhad University) in Iran as a visiting researcher, deepening his research in Islamic philosophy under Seyyed Jalaluddin Ashtiyani. Starting in 1981, he served as both an associate professor and professor at the Graduate School of International Relations at International University of Japan and became the director of the university’s Middle East Research Institute in 1991. He later taught as a visiting professor at Durham University in the UK and the University of Virginia in the USA.
From 1995, he was a professor and library director at Eichi University (St. Thomas University). He has left a legacy of numerous original research works and academic achievements.
Prof. Ahmad Sadri
Lake Forest College (USA) Gorter Professor of Islamic World Studies and Professor of Sociology
Prof. Ahmad Sadri, a professor at Lake Forest College in the United States, was born in Tehran in 1953. He began his studies in sociology at the University of Tehran and, after earning his master’s degree, went to the USA to continue his education, receiving his doctorate in 1988 from The New School for Social Research. Dr. Sadri’s field of study focuses on the sociology of religion and politics in Iran and the Middle East. He is also an expert in classical Persian literature, notably translating a selection of Ferdowsi’s Shahnameh into English in 2005, published by Liveright Pub Corp, which has sold over 60,000 copies to date. Additionally, his book “Max Weber’s Sociology of Intellectuals,” published by Oxford University Press in 1992, was selected as the best book of the year by the American Library Association at the time. Beyond his academic pursuits, Dr. Sadri is a passionate animal lover and is active in animal rights.
Dr. Iraj Shahbazi
Associate Professor, Faculty of Literature, University of Tehran
Dr. Iraj Shahbazi, a professor at the University of Tehran and the Dehkhoda Lexicon Institute, was born in Nahavand in 1972. He began his studies in “Islamic Jurisprudence and Law” at the University of Tehran. He then moved to the University of Shiraz, where he received his master’s degree in “Teaching Persian to Non-Persian Speakers” in 1999. Subsequently, in 2003, he obtained his second master’s degree in “Persian Language and Literature” from Imam Khomeini International University in Qazvin. Eventually, in 2007, he earned his Ph.D. in the same field from the University of Tehran. Dr. Shahbazi’s main expertise is in classical Persian poetry, particularly in relation to the poetry and thoughts of Jalaluddin Rumi. He is also recognized as one of the leading specialists in teaching Persian language and literature to non-Persian speakers and has an outstanding record in this field.