Other Names: Tehran Polytechnic; Amirkabir University of Technology
Address: Hafez Ave., No. 424, P.O. Box 15875-4413 Tehran, Iran
Website: http://www.aku.ac.ir/
Telephone: +98 21 64541
Fax: +98 21 6413969
Subordinate to: Ministry of Culture and Higher Education
Size: At present, Amir Kabir University (AKU) has 7000 students in undergraduate and post-graduate programs. It has 14 engineering departments, five research centers, and an associate university complex located at the town of Tafresh near Tehran. AKU employs 480 full-time teachers and 550 administrative employees.
Primary Function: Education, development of post-graduate studies, expansion of industrial and academic links, and establishment of new research laboratories
History: Founded in 1958, AKU underwent a series of reforms after the revolution to align its teachings with Islamic principles. The first independent biomedical engineering department in Iran was established at AKU in October 1993.
Activities: AKU's Biomedical Engineering Department offers graduate programs in three major specialties—Bioelectrics, Biomaterials, and Biomechanics—which incorporate traditional engineering programs to address problems associated with human physiology, treatment, and rehabilitation. AKU's Biomaterials Laboratory is the largest university laboratory fostering research in the area of synthesis, processing, and modification of materials for use in biological environments. This laboratory is especially active in the area of polymeric materials with the objective of modifying the physical, chemical, biological, and mechanical properties of polymeric materials to render them biocompatible. The laboratory's specific research areas include the design and processing of systems for controlled and targeted delivery of bioactive agents.
The university places emphasis on its strong relationship with the nation's industries and the practical application of its training programs. According to the National Council of Resistance of Iran, Iran has purchased dual-use equipment using the science and technology center at Amir Kabir University as a cover. Middle East Defense News reports that AKU has been used as a front company to purchase the following equipment from the United States: computers, Unix software, and training from NCR, Apple Computer, and Sun Microsystems, and neutron-shielding from Reactor Experiments, Inc. None of these technologies appears to be directly related to biological weapons.
Additional Info: In 2002, AKU and Damascus University signed a mutual scientific cooperation agreement that called for broadened scientific, educational, and research cooperation between the universities, the exchange of professors and students, the organization of scientific seminars and educational courses, and the formation of a joint working committee to probe into the inauguration of a branch of Amir Kabir University in Syria.
Key Sources: Clerical Remarks to the Press by Soona Samsami, US Representative of the National Council of Resistance of Iran, 26 January 1999, p. 2; Amir Kabir University website, <http://www.aku.ac.ir/>; "Iranian, Syrian Universities Sign Mutual Scientific Cooperation Agreement," Tehran IRNA in English, 20 March 2002; in FBIS Document IAP20020320000059; "Iranian Procurement Fronts," Middle East Defense News (Mednews), vol. 5, no. 17-18, 8 June 1992.
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Updated August 2003 |
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