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PRESS RELEASE
Tuesday, May 5, 2009
AGBU Central Board Member Yervant Zorian Elected Foreign Member of
Armenia’s National Academy of Sciences
Yerevan – The annual meeting of the Republic of Armenia’s National
Academy of Sciences (NAS), which took place on April 21-23, 2009,
elected AGBU Central Board member Yervant Zorian a Foreign Member of the
prestigious Academy.
During last year’s meeting, the National Academy of Sciences decided to
strengthen ties with the scientific circles of the Armenian diaspora
and, following this decision, many internationally renowned scientists,
who have made their contribution to the development of science in
Armenia, were elected members of the Academy.
At this year’s meeting, which was attended by Armenian President Serge
Sargsian, Prime Minister Tigran Sargisian, and His Holiness Karekin II,
Catholicos of All Armenians, many foreign members of the Academy
presented a summary of their scientific activities and were presented
with certificates that noted their accomplishments.
Yervant Zorian was selected to receive the distinction of "Foreign
Member" as a result of his achievements in computer engineering and
microelectronics. Zorian is the vice-president and chief scientist of
Virage Logic, an IT company operating both in Armenia and the United
States. He was elected to the AGBU Central Board of Directors last year
during the organization’s 85th General Assembly. He is also a trustee of
the American University of Armenia and the chairman of AGBU Silicon
Valley. Zorian is the founder and chairman of the AGBU Armenian Virtual
College (AVC) (). This new educational project is an
Internet-based accredited distance learning program that aims to
facilitate Armenian studies through new technologies. AVC provides
Armenian courses in history, language and culture (architecture,
geography, fine arts and music) and allows participating students to
choose from six languages of instruction: Western and Eastern Armenian,
English, Russian, French and Spanish. AVC will tailor lessons to suit
each student’s needs, thus ensuring that Armenians from around the
world, regardless of their age, country of residence or knowledge level,
will benefit from the resource.
Established in 1906, AGBU () is the world’s largest
non-profit Armenian organization. Headquartered in New York City, AGBU
preserves and promotes the Armenian identity and heritage through
educational, cultural and humanitarian programs, annually touching the
lives of some 400,000 Armenians on six continents.