Mahyar Rahbarrad: Thirsting for knowledge
by Candy Niemann
A small black-and-white sign hangs above the desk in Mahyar Rahbarrad's apartment:
"Discipline!
'Efficiency!
'Confidence!"
Those are the principles Rabbarrad tries to live by every moment of his life.
"I want to do something worthwhile while I am here. I don't have to be Einstein, but I want to do it and then to say that whatever it is I am supposed to do. I don't miss it," he says.
An Olathe senior majoring in aerospace engineering, Rahbarrad is president of the KU Space Program, a team that manages the missions which will eventually be flown on the space shuttle.
Even without the additional responsibility of leading the space program, the tremendous load of homework that comes with the territory in aerospace studies keeps Rahbarbarr in almost a constant mode of learning.
He studies whenever he can, whether it be at home, in the library, or heaven.
"I knew when I came here it wouldn't be
he pans on staying at the University of Kansas an extra year to make sure he learns how to use him, and then the work itself, he says, is the motivation that keeps him going.
easy," he says. "But I made the choice, and I must face the consequences. I'm going to do what it takes."
Not that he doesn't enjoy the work. If knowledge could be eaten like a pizza, Rahbarrad would be a glutton.
"There is so much unknown in this field," he says. "I challenge me to push
To live up to the expectations of the sign that hangs on his wall, Raharrad makes every effort to remove distractions, starting with television.
"My time is valuable, and TV would detract from that value," he says. "Your eyes just get glued to the tube and you sit back and absorb. It doesn't make you
Since he was a child growing up in Iran, Robhered has been fascinated with flight.
Rabbarrad says if he had more leisure time he would like to read books about new physics, another field full of unknowns.
"Every time a plane went overhead, I
would grab my binoculars and run out
and would try to tell the type of
plane and what it was.
“At that time I didn't think about the technological side, but in high school I realized I wanted to find out what it was all about. I'm glad I did.”
Rahbarr came to the United States from Iran during his freshman year in high school to live with his aunt and uncle in Olathe.
"I the revolution was not something I wanted to do," he says. "I didn't need to injure it in."
Rahbarad's parents arrived here four years later.
"If they asked me to leave school today I would do it," Rabbadran said. "I respect them so much for what they have given up and I believe that the United States is the land of opportunity, it's true."
Having a chance to be involved in the KU Sports Program, Raharadh says, is one of the most important things I do.
"I feel what we are doing is so significant," he says. "It is such an honor to be a customer of NASA. They are at the leading edge of technology."
Rabbarrad said that as far as he knows, only three other universities have been
able to get experiments into space on the space shuttle: California Institute of Technology, the University of Utah, and Pennsylvania State University.
He said the experiments KU would be conducting could have great significance in the fields of space station construction, pharmacy and biomedicine. The experiments are scheduled to launch in either May or December 1990, but right now a lack of financing has slowed the project down.
The space program needs $10,000 for materials, and until those funds are obtained, the experiments cannot be completed.
But Rahbarrad will keep on trying
"He is the driving force of this project," said Saeed Farokhi, associate professor of engineering and adviser for the program. "He is very eager to learn."
And what Rabbarad is not learning in classroom, he is learning in the professional
The professional world, that is, of apartment complex management.
Since the start of last summer, he has been the resident manager of Park Plaza South, 1912 W. 25th St., where he keeps the grounds clean, shows apartments to prospective tenants, and does emergency maintenance.
Larry Bellarmand, Overland Park senior and vice-president of the space program, says the group is always teasing Rahbarad about his job.
Mahyar Rahbarrad
"He always seems so worried about whether or not it is going to snow, because he has to shovel the walkways," Bellard said. "Sometimes it is pretty funny."
"For the first time in my life, I don't want it to snow," he says. "But I really like the management part of it. I hope it will help on my resume."
There are times when Rabbariad gets very frustrated with trying to keep up with his job, his homework and the space program. so he hops into his white 1983 Toyota Tercel and drives around the outskirts of Lawrence.
"I put in a tape of mellow music, drive down the dirt farm roads, and think," Rahbarrard says. "I look at some of the homes, and I think, 'They probably don't know that differential equations even exist, and they're happy.'
That is what I am doing this for, to make the lives of people like that more comfortable. I have chosen to learn so I can use my knowledge for people. And I hope the choices I've made are the right ones."
AN AFFORDABLE PRICE
AN AFFORDABLE PLACE
A QUIET COMFORTABLE PLACE
- Spacious 2 Bedroom Apartments
- Roomy Kitchens
- Large Patios or Balconies
- Swimming Pool
- Close to Campus and on KU Bus Route
- Laundry Facilities in Each Building
- Waterbeds Allowed
* Ouiet Graduate Buildings
A Great Place to Live
VILLAGE SQUARE
Apartments
corner of 9th and Avalon 842-3040
842-3040
Mexican Delight
- Home Made Food
- Beer On Tap
Pancho's
Mon.-Thurs. 11:30 to 2:00
and 5:00 to 8:00
Fri. 11:30 to 2:00 and 5:00 to 9:00
Sat. 11:30 to 9:00
711 W. 23rd
4 KANSAN/Profiles/April 12, 1989
843-4044