Born January 29, 1931, in Tehran Iran, Morteza was the oldest son of a large and loving family. His mother Fatemeh Salimi and father Kazem Anvari had four other kids after Morteza - sisters Parvin, Simin, Nahid and brother Mostafa was the youngest.
Morteza's mother took great pride that her family had come from Garakan - a remote village in the heart of Iran. Family stories purport that Garakan had very high literacy rates - above 90%. In the cultural environment, Morteza grew up valuing education. And because of his dedication he was admitted to the prestigious high school - Alborz.
Morteza graduated from Alborz High School in 1949 and received a B.S. in Physics from the University of Tehran in 1953. He then moved to Gorgan to teach high school.
In Gorgan he shared an apartment with Manouchehr Aryanpour who taught high school English. Together they grew as teachers and friends, staying in close contact for the rest of their lives.
After 3 years of teaching high school, Morteza was granted a scholarship to continue his studies in the United States. He went to the University of Illinois in 1956 and received his Masters and Ph.D. in Mathematics (1962).
It was at the University of Illinois that he met his wife, Nancy. She was studying music and was very curious about this man from a far away land. He wooed her with his charm and they married in 1958. Alexander was born a little more than 9 months later.
Mori balanced his new role as father with his studies. He would take his son to the student union where young Alex was quite popular.
After receiving his PhD, Mori taught Mathematics at Ohio State for one year and the University of British Columbia for four years. There he started his brilliant career as a professor of mathematics, and later, computer science.
In 1963, Mori's second son, Rennie, was born in Vancouver.
In 1967, Professor Anvari moved his family to Paris for a research sabbatical at L' Institut Henri Poincare. During this time, Chancellor Mojtahedi, followed by Chancellor Reza of Aryamehr recruited Anvari to return to Iran and help educate a growing and enthusiastic generation of young Iranians.
In 1968 Morteza returned to Iran to establish and chair the Mathematics Department at Aryamehr University (now Sharif U.)
By this time, he was well aware of the significance of computing and information technology. He was advocating it for Iran and in 1970, under his leadership with the vision and collaboration of other faculty, the Mathematics department expanded to include Computer Science.
In the fall of 1971, Professor Anvari took a sabbatical leave to Michigan State University. His mission was to immerse himself in the study of Computer Science, and so he did.
The first trimester, he took his first Computer Science class. The second trimester, he taught his first computer science class and some students were astonished to find their fellow student from the previous term teaching the class.
Anvari went back to Aryamehr in 1972 and Chancellor Nasr asked him to start the Institute for General Studies - Moaseseh Talimat Omoumi. Its mission was to enrich the curriculum at Aryamehr beyond the considerable weight in technical fields. He hired eminent writers, poets, artists, philosophers, psychologists and sociologists to teach courses that would enhance the students’ education.
Perhaps Dr. Anvari’s greatest contribution was as founder and president of the College of Planning and Computer Applications in Tehran in 1974. This college provided a quality education to thousands of bright young Iranians who went on to succeed in the research, education, and application of information sciences.
In the decade leading up to the Revolution, Dr. Anvari spearheaded many enduring academic programs and thoughtfully watched over the education of thousands of young Iranians. Thus he deserves the well-earned title: Father of Computer Education in Iran.
After the Iranian revolution of 1979, Dr. Anvari went back to the United States and taught at California State University and the University of California at Berkeley.
At Berkeley, he cherished the opportunity to collaborate with his friend Lotfi Zadeh in the field of fuzzy logic. He also delved into other areas of research, such as natural language processing and control theory.
Mori's adventurous spirit continued to bloom at Berkeley. He and Nancy bought a condo at Lake Tahoe and regularly entertained friends and family there. Mori's cooking became famous. He also took Persian poetry classes at the university and began to inquire into spiritual questions.
Dr. Anvari's wide knowledge of mathematics and computer technology led to many invitations for lectures and work in many countries. One such invitation came from Iran's Ministry of Communication, in 2003, to found the National Center for Information and Communication Technologies.
During this time, Dr. Anvari's also laid the foundation for the first private, non-profit virtual university in Iran - the International University of Iran. His vision was to create a venue for Iranian students to be able to learn from and consult with Iranian experts across Iran and the globe. This university in association with the Farabi Institue of Higher Education produced its first Masters degree graduates just days after Morteza passed.
Throughout his life, Dr. Anvari approached his work with great enthusiasm and ease. He was motivated by intellectual curiosity and a desire to contribute. And he never compromised his personal life for his prolific work life.
Anvari was a man of light and learning. He made meaning of his life and treated many with his warm spirit and open mind. He was a man of science and service. And in his senior years he became somewhat of a gnostic.
In the mid 1990's after some study of the Masnavi of Jalaledin-e Rumi, Morteza wrote this poem:
Come to the Spiritual Banquet
Come to me each and all
Raw burned or baked
Clothed or naked
Poor or wretched
Humble or dreaded
Loved or hated
Come ye all tell me all
Tell me your untold tale
Of betrayal and separation
Of longing and lamentation
Of pain and affliction
Of joy and adoration
Of unity and affirmation
Every secret you unveil
Hearken to the sound of reed
Resonating bliss and delight
For a nexus firm and bright
To the divine sacred light
After separation and fright
From the ghastly sight
Of an unholy dogma or creed
This reed is Rumi
A gnostic well- aware
Of life’s hope and despair
Of man’s love and care
And capacity to forbear
The life of a solitaire
No matter how gloomy
This reed is Shams-uddin
The Sun that cast a glaring light
That descended like a meteorite
Circled and glowed bright
With Rumi he collided in full flight
Then transfigured into acolyte
Of his disciple Jalal-uddin
Disciple - master kindred souls
Taking chances
In love’s trances
In destiny’s lances
In reckless dances
In joyful glances
Brethren changing roles
In the heart of heaven remain
The ecstasy the two evoked
The envy they provoked
The icons they shattered
The tender words they uttered
The soulful flight that rendered
Meaningless all forms of pain
By their union cosmic lightening did strike
Soft lyrics fell like rain
And flowed across the plain
Heavenly Love shall restrain
Lust and greed insane
The sacred shall purge the profane
In east and west alike
Morteza Anvari passed away peacefully on November 30th, 2010 in Olympia, Washington.
May he be blessed as he has blessed so many of us.
