fereydoon family (born september 18, 1945) is a leading persian physicist in the field of nanotechnology and solid-state physics. he is currently samuel candler dobbs professor of physics and a member of the emerson center for scientific computation at emory university in atlanta, georgia. he is an elected fellow of the american physical society, and a recipient of the southeastern section of the american physical society's highest honor, the j.w. beams award.