Dr. Allahverdi Farmanfarmaian, 87, of Princeton, died in his home on August 27, 2016 surrounded by family and loved ones.
Dr. Farmanfarmaian was known to his friends as Verdi, to his students as Dr. Farman, and to his grandchildren as Big Daddy. He was born in Iran in 1929, a Prince and descendent of the once ruling Qajar dynasty. He moved to the U.S. in 1948 and attended Reed College in Portland, Oregon. After graduating from Reed College with a BA (1952), he earned an MS (1955) and a PhD (1959) in biological sciences from Stanford University, where his research focused on marine physiology at Hopkins Marine Station in Pacific Grove, California. After his postdoctoral work at UC Berkley, he held various academic teaching and research positions including at Shiraz Medical School in Iran, where he set up the physiology department, Marine Biological Laboratory (MBL) in Woods Hole, Massachusetts, and as a visiting Professor at Princeton University. He spent 30 years at Rutgers University as a Professor of Physiology, retiring on the first day of the new millennium. During his academic career he studied membrane physiology, authoring numerous peer-reviewed publications, and receiving many prestigious grant awards for his research. He was a member of several national research organizations including the New York Academy of Sciences, American Physiological Society, and the Society of General Physiologists. Dr. Farmanfarmaian taught undergraduate and graduate students at Rutgers University and took great pride in his role as a mentor and teacher.
In addition to his many professional accomplishments, Dr. Farmanfarmaian was an intellectual who loved literature, poetry, and the arts. He was an avid traveler, a gentleman farmer, a naturalist who loved to mountain climb and canoe, and a devoted friend of the birds, which brought him great joy as they ate their fill of gourmet bird food from his birdfeeders. He was also a long-time patron of many deserving causes including open space preservation, Native American youth programs, wildlife, and the arts. And, he was well known to his friends and family for always having a supply of chocolate ready to be handed out to grown-ups and children alike.
Dr. Farmanfarmaian was a devoted and loving husband, father, grandfather, and friend. He was married to the late Dr. Parvin Saidi for 50 years and is survived by his daughters, Lara Farmanfarmaian Terry and Kimya Farmanfarmaian Harris, his sons-in- law, Chip Terry and Michael Harris, and his four chocolate-loving grandchildren, Juni and Leo Terry, and Niki and Mirabelle Harris. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made in memory of Professor A. Verdi Farman-Farmaian to the Hopkins Marine Station General Gift Fund, School of Humanities & Sciences, Frances C. Arrillaga Alumni Center, 326 Galvez Street, Stanford, CA 94301-6105. A memorial service will be held at a later date.
Arrangements are under the direction of The Mather-Hodge Funeral Home, Princeton.
