Bobak Ferdowsi

Bobak Ferdowsi (, ; born November 7, 1979)

Life and career Ferdowsi was born November 7, 1979, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He is of Persian descent; He was inspired to work in the space sector by his high school teachers and his love of science fiction, including Star Trek and the works of Arthur C. Clarke. Soon after birth he moved to the San Francisco Bay Area where he stayed until age 11, then moved to Tokyo in 1991, where he attended the American School in Japan, graduating in 1997.

Ferdowsi joined JPL in late 2003, and worked on the Mars Science Laboratory mission through its successful landing nearly nine years later on August 6, 2012. He was a science planner on the Cassini–Huygens mission, and is involved with the Europa Clipper as a systems engineer.

, Ferdowsi is Fault Protection lead on the NISAR joint Earth observation mission at Jet Propulsion Laboratory.

Media appearances and NASA advocacy

Ferdowsi became a media sensation when, during the August 6, 2012, landing of the Curiosity rover on Mars, he wore a mohawk hairstyle that was seen on NASA TV's live broadcast of the event. He was seated in a prominent camera position and his mohawk unexpectedly became an iconic image of the landing. Ferdowsi explained that he wore a new haircut for every mission and the mohawk was chosen by his team by popular vote.

When President Barack Obama called to congratulate the team, he noted the popularity of the "Mohawk Guy", saying "it does seem NASA has come a long way from the white shirts, dark-rimmed glasses, and pocket protectors. You guys are a little cooler than you used to be." Ferdowsi said in another interview that he did it to help lighten the seriousness of the workplace and "If my mohawk gets a few more people excited about science and this mission, that's awesome." Ferdowsi also took part in Obama's State of the Union address on February 12, 2013, where he was seated in First Lady Michelle Obama's box "to highlight President Barack Obama's call for more visas for skilled immigrants in the fields of math, science and engineering."

Ferdowsi appeared on the sixth season of BattleBots as a sideline reporter. Ferdowsi appeared in a cameo role in the 2015 television film Sharknado 3: Oh Hell No! He is an advocate for the space sector and appears in several events that link arts and sciences. He is active on social media, using Twitter to make the public more aware of the lighter side of science. In 2024, Ferdowsi appeared as a fictional mission director in 3 Body Problem.