{"47219":{"#nid":"47219","#data":{"type":"news","title":"Chemistry Researcher Aims for City Council Seat","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cem\u003EBahareh Azizi, a researcher and Research Support manager in the School of Chemistry and Biochemistry, had thrown her hat in the ring for the District 6 Atlanta City Council race. It\u0027s a crowded field, with six candidates, but Azizi stays optimistic about her chances. Her campaign is centralized on the idea of bringing new people with new ideas to the council, and on increasing Atlanta\u0027s stature as an international city. Born in Houston, Azizi was raised in Kuwait. She earned her bachelor\u0027s degree from Michigan State University and her doctorate in chemistry and biochemistry from Georgia Tech. District 6 is comprised of Midtown, Candler Park, Virginia Highlands, Midtown, Morninside and Lindridge Martin Manor.\u003C\/em\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EWhen did you decide to run for the open Atlanta City Council position in District 6?\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EThe incumbent [Anne Fauver] decided not to run again at the end of April, and seriously started considering running at the end of May. I took the month of June to put a campaign team together, and we launched the campaign July 4. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EHow is the campaign going?\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003ECandidates are required to file their disclosures on June 30, Sept. 30 and Oct. 30. Since I filed to run at the beginning of July, I didn\u0027t post anything June 30. By Sept. 30, Alex Wan-who many consider the front-runner-had reported donations of $80,000. We were in second place, with $40,000, which is impressive for someone who got into the race late and with no name recognition. I\u0027m pretty happy about that. \u003Cbr \/\u003EAnd I have been endorsed by Atlanta Progressive News and the Association of Professional City Employees-that was pretty rewarding. I think the city\u0027s employees are what sustains the city and allows it to function. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EHow has this campaign affected your schedule?\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EI wake up at 6 a.m., and answer e-mails until 8:30. I work from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m., and I walk door-to-door in neighborhoods until 7. If I need to, I attend neighborhood meetings from 7 to 9. And then from 9 to midnight or 1 a.m., I\u0027m back at Tech working. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EWhy is this so important to you? \u003C\/strong\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EAny direction the city takes directly affects us here at Tech, as evidenced by the recent problems with crime. College is a time when [students] should be able to walk around campus late at night. But the campus is not as safe as it could be because the city is not as safe as it should be. \u003Cbr \/\u003EThere are creative ways to increase our public safety. We could put administrative officers on the street, and hire retired officers for part-time work to handle the administrative work, for example. It\u0027s a simple way to get more officers on the street for not much more money. \u003Cbr \/\u003EThe key to moving Atlanta forward in the next four years is having people with new ideas making decisions. You have some on the council who have been there for 20 years. There are only five open seats this time, so the remaining 10 members will still be a majority. Any one new [on the Atlanta City Council] will need to be able to form coalitions and cooperate with those already on the council to new ideas forward. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EWhat has this experience been like?\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EI now have a respect and admiration for all those who have chosen to run for public office. It\u0027s a huge time-consuming effort. And I don\u0027t think people realize how hard it is to gain a vote. You must have the ability to connect with the voter-it takes time and energy. You have to be yourself, and you can\u0027t make promises you can\u0027t keep while learning about issues that are important to people. And in listening to people with issues, I find it frustrating that I can\u0027t help them now. \u003Cbr \/\u003EAt the same time, I have had a blast. If this process has shown me anything, it\u0027s that with a little bit of training and a little bit of discipline, you can learn something new. And, personally, it\u0027s a nice charge to hear that people are going to support you. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EWhat has been tough about the experience?\u003C\/strong\u003E \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EBalancing- I would love to be able to take some time off for myself. But when I decided I was going to run, I made a commitment that I would continue to be a mentor to the students and continue with my work at Georgia Tech, as well as commit my time to the campaign. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EWhat is your background?\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EI grew up in Kuwait, but I was born in Houston and went to school in Michigan [Michigan State University]. \u003Cbr \/\u003EMy father was a diplomat for the Iranian government before the revolution. He was living in Houston, but then was sent to Kuwait. After the Iranian revolution in 1979, we ended up staying in Kuwait. My mother is a teacher at Kuwait University. \u003Cbr \/\u003EMoving to Michigan was a challenge-the weather change was the roughest. Between snow storms and sand storms, I think I prefer sand. I received a bachelor of science in biochemistry and biotechnology at MSU, and I earned my doctorate from Georgia Tech. My sister also graduated from Tech. She earned her undergraduate and master\u0027s degree from the Sam Nunn School of International Affairs. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EHow are people responding to your candidacy? \u003C\/strong\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EGranted, some of the responses I get are because of my name. But on the whole, I\u0027m not judged for not being a \u0027traditional American.\u0027 \u003Cbr \/\u003EMy link to Georgia Tech has helped me, I think. Tech has a place of respect, not only in Atlanta, but also around the country. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EHow has your diverse background aided in your campaign? \u003C\/strong\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EWell, homelessness is a huge issue for me. During the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait [in 1990], we went from having a home to living in two cars almost overnight. While driving through Kuwait through Iraq and into Iran, for several days we were sleeping in some parks.\u003Cbr \/\u003EI realize that some homeless persons are not mentally capable of pulling themselves out of that condition. But if we can help some achieve more than that, we have a responsibility to do so. My parents would tell me as a child, \u0027It\u0027s best to wear your shoes. But every now and then, just to appreciate what you have, it\u0027s a good idea to wear someone else\u0027s, even if just for a while.\u0027 That has always stuck with me. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EWhat are your duties at Tech?\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EI advise graduate students and I run a research lab with six students. I teach occasionally-it depends on the semester. I also run the research facilities and the safety department in the School of Chemistry and Biochemistry. I decided on a non-tenure track because I really enjoy the administrative aspect. And I love working with students-there is nothing more rewarding that being an educator.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EHow did you decide on becoming a chemist?\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EI never wanted to be a scientist when I was filling out my application for college. My parents told me that if I wanted to go to school overseas [America], I could either study science, math, pre-med, engineering or law. I wanted to study journalism, but my parents said if I wanted to do that, then I could just stay [in Kuwait]. \u003Cbr \/\u003EWhile looking at my application, I noticed the \u0027Undecided\u0027 box, so I checked that, thinking I would change to something later. I received my acceptance letter and noticed I had been accepted in Michigan State\u0027s College of Natural Science under chemistry. My mother told me, \u0027See? They looked at your grades and thought that you would be well-suited to be a scientist.\u0027\u003Cbr \/\u003EWhen I finally got to school and met with my advisor, I was in his office and saw my application. My mother had used White Out on \u0027Undecided\u0027 and had selected \u0027Chemistry.\u0027 Even today, she takes credit for my career.\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":[{"value":"Bahareh Azizi, Research Support manager and researcher in the School of Chemistry and Biochemistry, is campaigning to represent Atlanta residents in District 6 of the Atlanta City Council.","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"Bahareh Azizi works to represent the residents of District 6"}],"uid":"27191","created_gmt":"2009-10-27 14:03:28","changed_gmt":"2016-10-08 03:03:45","author":"Robert Nesmith","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2009-10-27T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2009-10-27T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"40270":{"id":"40270","type":"image","title":"Bahareh Azizi","body":null,"created":"1449174171","gmt_created":"2015-12-03 20:22:51","changed":"1475894296","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:38:16"}},"media_ids":["40270"],"related_links":[{"url":"http:\/\/www.chemistry.gatech.edu\/","title":"School of Chemistry and Biochemistry"}],"groups":[{"id":"1183","name":"Home"}],"categories":[{"id":"134","name":"Student and Faculty"}],"keywords":[{"id":"7712","name":"Atlanta City Council"},{"id":"7711","name":"Azizi"},{"id":"2533","name":"Bahareh"},{"id":"7713","name":"District 6"}],"core_research_areas":[],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EBahareh Azizi\u003C\/strong\u003E, 404-894-6077\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EResearch Support Manager, School of Chemistry and Biochemistry\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":["bahareh.azizi@chemistry.gatech.edu"],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}}}