Nazim Muradov, research professor for Special Projects at the FSEC Energy Research Center at the University of Central Florida, was awarded the Jubilee Medal from his home country, the Republic of Azerbaijan.

The Ambassador of the Republic of Azerbaijan, His Excellency Khazar Ibrahim, presented the award in-person to Muradov on June 29 at FSEC ERC in Cocoa, FLORIDA in front of his family and co-workers.

“I am very honored and pleased to present the commemoration medal to Professor Nazim Muradov, who is the best representation of brilliant Azerbaijani, and who dedicated his life to science and strengthening U.S.-Azerbaijan friendship and partnership,” Ibrahim says. “He and his wife Pervin, who hails from a prominent Azerbaijani music family, are as much of a value for Florida as for Azerbaijan.”

The Jubilee Medal is officially named the “100th Anniversary of the Diplomatic Service of the Republic of Azerbaijan (1919-2019)” medal. It represents the 100th anniversary of diplomatic service for the Republic and is awarded for diplomatic excellence to Azerbaijan.

Muradov began working for FSEC in 1990, and his main areas of research include thermocatalytic and photocatalytic hydrogen production systems, solar-powered water-splitting cycles, advanced biofuels, fossil fuel decarbonization, reformers for fuel cell applications, hydrogen sensors, radiant detoxification of hazardous wastes and nanostructured carbon materials.

As a member of the NASA-UCF research team, Muradov helped to develop a unique hydrogen sensor, which was successfully tested during NASA’s Space Shuttle Endeavour mission.

Muradov has authored and coauthored two books and five book-chapters and is credited with roughly 50 patents in his fields of study. He has presented papers at more than 100 national and international meetings, including several keynote presentations and plenary lectures. His paper “From hydrocarbon to hydrogen-carbon to hydrogen economy” (coauthored with N. Veziroglu) was identified by Thomson Reuters’ Essential Science Indicators to be one of the most cited papers in research area of Hydrogen Economy. His pioneering work and contributions led to being named a Fellow of the National Academy of Inventors.

“I am deeply honored to accept the Jubilee medal from His Excellency the Ambassador of the Republic of Azerbaijan Khazar Ibrahim,” Muradov says. “I thank my Alma Mater, the University of Oil and Industry and the Department of Education of Azerbaijan for recognizing my contributions to science and technology. I also thank my colleagues at FSEC who gathered to share this exciting moment with me.”

Muradov says he shares the recognition with his co-workers, many of whom have worked alongside him at FSEC ERC for many years.

“I have been with FSEC for 32 years and I am convinced that I could not come to this point without the support and encouragement of my colleagues,” Muradov says.