Science/academia: Well known Iranian-Americans in science include Firouz Naderi, a director at NASA; Ali Javan, inventor of the first gas laser; Maryam Mirzakhani, the first female winner of the Fields Medal; Nima Arkani-Hamed, a leading theoretical physicist; cancer biologist Mina J. Bissell; Gholam A. Peyman, the inventor of LASIK; Lotfi Asker Zadeh; Vartan Gregorian; Cumrun Vafa; Babak Hassibi; Nouriel Roubini; Ali Hajimiri; Pardis Sabeti; Vahid Tarokh; George Bournoutian; and Rashid Massumi, M.D., a pioneer in the fields of electrophysiology and cardiology. Prominent Iranian-Americans in American higher education include Rahmat Shoureshi, researcher, professor, and provost of New York Institute of Technology (NYIT) and Nariman Farvardin, president of Stevens Institute of Technology.