Prof. Dan Oron

Department of Physics of Complex Systems

Prof. Dan Oron earned his BSc degree in physics and mathematics at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem in the Israel Defense Forces’ Talpiot program (1994). After completing an MSc at Ben-Gurion University in Be’er Sheva (1998), he worked as a scientist in the Physics Department of the Negev Nuclear Research Center (1994-2000). He received his PhD in physics at the Weizmann Institute in 2005. After postdoctoral research at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Prof. Oron joined the Institute’s Department of Physics of Complex Systems in 2007 and was the head of the department from 2015 - 2017. He is the incumbent of the Harry Weinrebe Professorial Chair of Laser Physics and serves as Director of the Crown Photonics Center.

Prof. Oron investigates the optics of nanomaterials, which are made of particles measuring about ten millionths of a millimeter in size. He and his colleagues utilize advanced wet chemistry methods to obtain new materials with unique optical properties for a variety of applications in biological research, medicine, laser technology, and highly efficient solar cells that convert sunlight into energy. In the field of biological imaging, Prof. Oron’s group tailors nanoparticles to serve as optical indicators of cellular activity. In parallel, the researchers develop methods to improve the resolution and quantitative capabilities of high-end microscopes, in order to visualize such indicators. They have recently developed a ‘quantum’ version of the widely used confocal microscope, increasing its resolution up to four-fold by harnessing quantum properties of light.  Prof. Oron also studies optical phenomena in a range of natural systems, from leaves to shellfish eyes, and is developing new optical materials  which are inspired by biological optical systems, which have been perfected over millions of years of evolution.

Prof. Oron is the co-owner of ten patents in physics and a recipient of a number of prestigious scholarships and awards. He is the winner of the Andre Deloro Prize for Scientific Research in 2020. Prof. Oron won the European Research Council consolidator investigator grant in 2016 and more recently a proof-of-concept ERC grant aimed towards commercializing the findings in the field of optical microscopy. In 2012 he was elected to the Israeli Young Academy, and has served as co-chair on its steering committee. He has won the 2011 Morris L. Levinson Prize in Physics from the Weizmann Institute’s Scientific Council, the European Research Council starting investigator grant in 2010, and the Alon Scholarship in 2007.

Prof. Oron is married and has a daughter.