Dr. Mehrdad M. Zarandi was born in 1963 in Kerman, Iran. From an early age, he had a keen interest in science and mathematics, which resulted in his taking a Bachelor of Science degree in chemical engineering from the Isfahan University of Technology. His undergraduate liberal arts studies brought him into contact with the works of contemporary perennialist authors, whose perspective has had a profound effect on his intellectual formation.

He earned Master of Science and Doctoral degrees in chemical engineering from the California Institute of Technology, where he has continued to work as a research scientist in aeronautics. In addition to his technical research and publications, he has enjoyed a wide range of teaching experiences with undergraduates in mathematics, chemistry, physics and the history and philosophy of science.

His interest in the correspondences between metaphysical principles and their expression within cosmology and science led to his collecting the essays for this anthology, Science and the Myth of Progress .