Speakers

  • Prof. Dan Ariely

    Israel / United States

    Prof. Dan Ariely is the James B. Duke Professor of Psychology and Behavioral Economics at Duke University, with appointments in the Fuqua School of Business, the Center for Cognitive Neuroscience, the School of Medicine, and the Department of Economics. He is also the founder of the Center for Advanced Hindsight. Prof. Ariely has a BA in psychology from Tel Aviv University, an MA and PhD in cognitive psychology from the University of North Carolina, and a PhD in business administration from Duke University. After graduating from Duke in 1998, he took a position at MIT, where he was the Alfred P. Sloan Professor of Behavioral Economics (with a two year break for a position at the Institute for Advanced Studies at Princeton). He returned to Duke in 2008.

    Prof. Dan Ariely is the James B. Duke Professor of Psychology and Behavioral Economics at Duke University, with appointments in the Fuqua School of Business, the Center for Cognitive Neuroscience, the School of Medicine, and the Department of Economics. He is also the founder of the Center for Advanced Hindsight. Prof. Ariely has a BA in psychology from Tel Aviv University, an MA and PhD in cognitive psychology from the University of North Carolina, and a PhD in business administration from Duke University. After graduating from Duke in 1998, he took a position at MIT, where he was the Alfred P. Sloan Professor of Behavioral Economics (with a two year break for a position at the Institute for Advanced Studies at Princeton). He returned to Duke in 2008.

    Over the years, Prof. Ariely has published his research in psychology, economics, medical, and business academic journals, and has attempted to reach beyond the boundaries of academia by writing four general audience books about his research (Predictably Irrational, The Upside of Irrationality, The Honest Truth about Dishonesty, and Payoff).

    In general, Prof. Ariely’s goal is to study how people actually act in the marketplace, as opposed to how they should or would perform if they were completely rational. His interests span a wide range of daily behaviors such as saving (or not), buying (or not), medical decision-making, pain management, procrastination, dishonesty, and decision making under different emotional states. In all of these areas he is interested in gaining a better understanding of our ability to make decisions, and identifying the places where we fall short, in order to better design products, interventions, and policies. 

    Read More » about Prof. Dan Ariely

    Prof. Dan Ariely

    Israel / United States

    Prof. Dan Ariely is the James B. Duke Professor of Psychology and Behavioral Economics at Duke University, with appointments in the Fuqua School of Business, the Center for Cognitive Neuroscience, the School of Medicine, and the Department of Economics. He is also the founder of the Center for Advanced Hindsight. Prof. Ariely has a BA in psychology from Tel Aviv University, an MA and PhD in cognitive psychology from the University of North Carolina, and a PhD in business administration from Duke University. After graduating from Duke in 1998, he took a position at MIT, where he was the Alfred P. Sloan Professor of Behavioral Economics (with a two year break for a position at the Institute for Advanced Studies at Princeton). He returned to Duke in 2008.

    Over the years, Prof. Ariely has published his research in psychology, economics, medical, and business academic journals, and has attempted to reach beyond the boundaries of academia by writing four general audience books about his research (Predictably Irrational, The Upside of Irrationality, The Honest Truth about Dishonesty, and Payoff).

    In general, Prof. Ariely’s goal is to study how people actually act in the marketplace, as opposed to how they should or would perform if they were completely rational. His interests span a wide range of daily behaviors such as saving (or not), buying (or not), medical decision-making, pain management, procrastination, dishonesty, and decision making under different emotional states. In all of these areas he is interested in gaining a better understanding of our ability to make decisions, and identifying the places where we fall short, in order to better design products, interventions, and policies. 

  • Dr. Roi Avraham

    Department of Biological Regulation

    Born in Jerusalem, Dr. Roi Avraham served in an intelligence unit of the Israel Defense Forces. He completed a BSc in computer science at Tel Aviv University in 2001and earned his MSc magna cum laude in neuro-immunology there in 2006. He completed a PhD in biological regulation with Prof. Yosef Yarden at the Weizmann Institute of Science in 2011, followed by a postdoctoral fellowship at the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard. He joined the Weizmann Institute’s Department of Biological Regulation in May 2016 and is the incumbent of the Philip Harris and Gerald Ronson Career Development Chair. 

    Born in Jerusalem, Dr. Roi Avraham served in an intelligence unit of the Israel Defense Forces. He completed a BSc in computer science at Tel Aviv University in 2001and earned his MSc magna cum laude in neuro-immunology there in 2006. He completed a PhD in biological regulation with Prof. Yosef Yarden at the Weizmann Institute of Science in 2011, followed by a postdoctoral fellowship at the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard. He joined the Weizmann Institute’s Department of Biological Regulation in May 2016 and is the incumbent of the Philip Harris and Gerald Ronson Career Development Chair. 

    Dr. Avraham’s lab studies what happens in the body when invading pathogens, like the bacteria Salmonella or Mycobacterium tuberculosis, meet the body's immune cells. The lab uses cross-disciplinary, single-cell analysis platforms that enable them to extensively profile and precisely monitor host-pathogen interactions during infections in living tissues and look closely at the cellular interactions between cells of the immune system and the invading pathogens. Looking at this battleground allows the Avraham lab to analyze the very early events of infection. This unique opportunity allows him to develop new strategies predicting the outcome of infection and to suggest novel treatments addressing such attacks, especially in the face of widespread antibiotic resistance. For example, tagging bacterial cells with fluorescent dyes allows Dr. Avraham to see in vivo where the bacteria cell are and how they survive. Using advanced cell sorting technology enables him to separate the different cellular outcomes of the host-pathogen encounters. His gene expression analysis of the attacked cells showed that the bacteria that reside within specialized immune cells gives the cell protection from host immunity, and provide a niche from where the bacteria can then disseminate to cause systemic infection. Better understanding the complex dynamics of infection may help Dr. Avraham design new interventions which would center not on novel antibiotics, but on correcting the dysfunctional host-pathogen interaction as new strategies for fighting infection.

    His academic and professional honors include an Israel Ministry of Science – Eshkol Fellowship from 2007 to 2010, and a Broad-Israel Science Foundation grant for cell circuit research, an ERC starting grant (2017-2022), an ISF personal grant (2017-2022) and an NIH grant (2020-2022). 

    Roi is married, with 3 children and lives in Tel Aviv. His spouse, Shir, is a scientist at the Hebrew university.

    Read More » about Dr. Roi Avraham

    Dr. Roi Avraham

    Department of Biological Regulation

    Born in Jerusalem, Dr. Roi Avraham served in an intelligence unit of the Israel Defense Forces. He completed a BSc in computer science at Tel Aviv University in 2001and earned his MSc magna cum laude in neuro-immunology there in 2006. He completed a PhD in biological regulation with Prof. Yosef Yarden at the Weizmann Institute of Science in 2011, followed by a postdoctoral fellowship at the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard. He joined the Weizmann Institute’s Department of Biological Regulation in May 2016 and is the incumbent of the Philip Harris and Gerald Ronson Career Development Chair. 

    Dr. Avraham’s lab studies what happens in the body when invading pathogens, like the bacteria Salmonella or Mycobacterium tuberculosis, meet the body's immune cells. The lab uses cross-disciplinary, single-cell analysis platforms that enable them to extensively profile and precisely monitor host-pathogen interactions during infections in living tissues and look closely at the cellular interactions between cells of the immune system and the invading pathogens. Looking at this battleground allows the Avraham lab to analyze the very early events of infection. This unique opportunity allows him to develop new strategies predicting the outcome of infection and to suggest novel treatments addressing such attacks, especially in the face of widespread antibiotic resistance. For example, tagging bacterial cells with fluorescent dyes allows Dr. Avraham to see in vivo where the bacteria cell are and how they survive. Using advanced cell sorting technology enables him to separate the different cellular outcomes of the host-pathogen encounters. His gene expression analysis of the attacked cells showed that the bacteria that reside within specialized immune cells gives the cell protection from host immunity, and provide a niche from where the bacteria can then disseminate to cause systemic infection. Better understanding the complex dynamics of infection may help Dr. Avraham design new interventions which would center not on novel antibiotics, but on correcting the dysfunctional host-pathogen interaction as new strategies for fighting infection.

    His academic and professional honors include an Israel Ministry of Science – Eshkol Fellowship from 2007 to 2010, and a Broad-Israel Science Foundation grant for cell circuit research, an ERC starting grant (2017-2022), an ISF personal grant (2017-2022) and an NIH grant (2020-2022). 

    Roi is married, with 3 children and lives in Tel Aviv. His spouse, Shir, is a scientist at the Hebrew university.

  • Catherine Beck

    Chair-designate, International Board

    Catherine (Cathy) Beck is one of the Weizmann Institute’s pillars of support and leadership, both in Israel and in her native Canada. The daughter of the late Mary and Tom Beck, longstanding supporters and advocates of the Weizmann Institute from Toronto – who were founding members of Weizmann Canada – Cathy has been a prominent and cherished member of the Weizmann Institute community for over four decades. 

    Catherine (Cathy) Beck is one of the Weizmann Institute’s pillars of support and leadership, both in Israel and in her native Canada. The daughter of the late Mary and Tom Beck, longstanding supporters and advocates of the Weizmann Institute from Toronto – who were founding members of Weizmann Canada – Cathy has been a prominent and cherished member of the Weizmann Institute community for over four decades. 

    Cathy started working in the family business, one of the largest producers of Christmas tree lights in North America, at age 22, eventually serving as Chief Executive. Since the late 1970s, she has dedicated a significant amount of her time to philanthropic endeavors, a decision that reflected her parents’ commitment to earning and giving, including United Way, the Regent Park School of Music in Toronto, and the Toronto Symphony Orchestra, where, since 2016, she has served as Chair of the Board.

    She joined the Board of Weizmann Canada in 2008, and from 2010 to 2016 served two consecutive terms as its Chair, overseeing a period of extraordinary growth and development. Under her leadership, Weizmann Canada surpassed its fundraising goals, increased engagement, and raised awareness for the Weizmann Institute of Science across the country. Working hand-in-hand with then-Weizmann Institute President Prof. Daniel Zajfman, Weizmann Canada’s Executive Director Susan Stern, and the Committee’s professional team, she helped build and expand the Canadian circle of friends of the Institute to what it is today. Under Cathy’s leadership, the community of Canadian friends of the Institute enlarged exponentially, along with its philanthropic support, mirroring – and even surpassing – the surge of activity during her parents’ leadership a generation before.

    The Beck family has had an outsized impact on energy research at the Weizmann Institute, and given scientists the tools to revolutionize the field. They helped establish The Mary and Tom Beck Canadian Center for Alternative Energy Research, part of the Sustainability and Energy Research Initiative (SAERI), which positioned the Institute as a world leader in solar energy research, and brought a great line of Canadian and other donors in its wake.

    Tom and Mary Beck always wanted to leave a legacy gift, and that became the eponymous Center for Advanced and Intelligent Materials, headed by Prof. Leeor Kronik. The Center supports groundbreaking research on innovative materials conducted with an eye towards applications in medicine, building materials, and alternative energy – resonating with the Beck family’s historic devotion to alternative energy research.

    Read More » about Catherine Beck

    Catherine Beck

    Chair-designate, International Board

    Catherine (Cathy) Beck is one of the Weizmann Institute’s pillars of support and leadership, both in Israel and in her native Canada. The daughter of the late Mary and Tom Beck, longstanding supporters and advocates of the Weizmann Institute from Toronto – who were founding members of Weizmann Canada – Cathy has been a prominent and cherished member of the Weizmann Institute community for over four decades. 

    Cathy started working in the family business, one of the largest producers of Christmas tree lights in North America, at age 22, eventually serving as Chief Executive. Since the late 1970s, she has dedicated a significant amount of her time to philanthropic endeavors, a decision that reflected her parents’ commitment to earning and giving, including United Way, the Regent Park School of Music in Toronto, and the Toronto Symphony Orchestra, where, since 2016, she has served as Chair of the Board.

    She joined the Board of Weizmann Canada in 2008, and from 2010 to 2016 served two consecutive terms as its Chair, overseeing a period of extraordinary growth and development. Under her leadership, Weizmann Canada surpassed its fundraising goals, increased engagement, and raised awareness for the Weizmann Institute of Science across the country. Working hand-in-hand with then-Weizmann Institute President Prof. Daniel Zajfman, Weizmann Canada’s Executive Director Susan Stern, and the Committee’s professional team, she helped build and expand the Canadian circle of friends of the Institute to what it is today. Under Cathy’s leadership, the community of Canadian friends of the Institute enlarged exponentially, along with its philanthropic support, mirroring – and even surpassing – the surge of activity during her parents’ leadership a generation before.

    The Beck family has had an outsized impact on energy research at the Weizmann Institute, and given scientists the tools to revolutionize the field. They helped establish The Mary and Tom Beck Canadian Center for Alternative Energy Research, part of the Sustainability and Energy Research Initiative (SAERI), which positioned the Institute as a world leader in solar energy research, and brought a great line of Canadian and other donors in its wake.

    Tom and Mary Beck always wanted to leave a legacy gift, and that became the eponymous Center for Advanced and Intelligent Materials, headed by Prof. Leeor Kronik. The Center supports groundbreaking research on innovative materials conducted with an eye towards applications in medicine, building materials, and alternative energy – resonating with the Beck family’s historic devotion to alternative energy research.

  • Dr. Liat Ben David

    Director General, Davidson Institute of Science Education

    An alumna of the Weizmann Institute, Dr. Liat Ben David has been a leading formulator of science education policy and a developer of STEM curricula, professional development, and infrastructure in both Israel and the USA, for over 28 years.  After earning her PhD in molecular biology in 1991 under renowned Weizmann Institute cancer researcher Prof. Leo Sachs, Dr. Ben David joined the Tel Aviv University School of Education, where she developed science curricula and leadership programs for elementary and middle school students and teachers.

    An alumna of the Weizmann Institute, Dr. Liat Ben David has been a leading formulator of science education policy and a developer of STEM curricula, professional development, and infrastructure in both Israel and the USA, for over 28 years.  After earning her PhD in molecular biology in 1991 under renowned Weizmann Institute cancer researcher Prof. Leo Sachs, Dr. Ben David joined the Tel Aviv University School of Education, where she developed science curricula and leadership programs for elementary and middle school students and teachers. 

    In 2001 she served as the Jewish Agency emissary in West Palm Beach for three years. Upon her return, she established the JDC-Ashalim Mayda Center for Knowledge and Learning for professionals working with at-risk youth. Between 2011 and 2017 she served as CEO of the Wolf Foundation, awarding the internationally acclaimed Wolf Prize, recognizing excellent scientists and artists worldwide, second only to the Nobel Prize. She joined the Davidson Institute of Science Education as its CEO in 2017.

    Dr. Ben David is an accomplished author, with more than 20 textbooks published for teachers, students, and the general public in various fields of study, as well as a novel, short stories, and a weekly blog called “A Moment Before Shabbat” in Hebrew and English. She lectures regularly, both in academia and in TEDx frameworks. 

    Dr. Ben David is married, a mother of three, and a grandmother of five.

    Read More » about Dr. Liat Ben David

    Dr. Liat Ben David

    Director General, Davidson Institute of Science Education

    An alumna of the Weizmann Institute, Dr. Liat Ben David has been a leading formulator of science education policy and a developer of STEM curricula, professional development, and infrastructure in both Israel and the USA, for over 28 years.  After earning her PhD in molecular biology in 1991 under renowned Weizmann Institute cancer researcher Prof. Leo Sachs, Dr. Ben David joined the Tel Aviv University School of Education, where she developed science curricula and leadership programs for elementary and middle school students and teachers. 

    In 2001 she served as the Jewish Agency emissary in West Palm Beach for three years. Upon her return, she established the JDC-Ashalim Mayda Center for Knowledge and Learning for professionals working with at-risk youth. Between 2011 and 2017 she served as CEO of the Wolf Foundation, awarding the internationally acclaimed Wolf Prize, recognizing excellent scientists and artists worldwide, second only to the Nobel Prize. She joined the Davidson Institute of Science Education as its CEO in 2017.

    Dr. Ben David is an accomplished author, with more than 20 textbooks published for teachers, students, and the general public in various fields of study, as well as a novel, short stories, and a weekly blog called “A Moment Before Shabbat” in Hebrew and English. She lectures regularly, both in academia and in TEDx frameworks. 

    Dr. Ben David is married, a mother of three, and a grandmother of five.

  • Dr. Sagi Ben-Ami

    Department of Particle Physics and Astrophysics

    A native of Tel Aviv, Dr. Sagi Ben-Ami earned his BA (2005) and MSc (2008) in physics from the Technion—Israel Institute of Technology. He completed his PhD in the Department of Particle Physics and Astrophysics at the Weizmann Institute of Science in 2014, in Prof. Avishay Gal-Yam’s lab. Dr. Ben-Ami was awarded a NASA Einstein fellowship in 2014 and conducted his postdoctoral research at the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics. In January 2020, he returned to the Department of Particle Physics and Astrophysics where he joined the Weizmann team on the Israel-U.S. space-borne ULTRASAT mission, the latest revolutionary project in space exploration.

    A native of Tel Aviv, Dr. Sagi Ben-Ami earned his BA (2005) and MSc (2008) in physics from the Technion—Israel Institute of Technology. He completed his PhD in the Department of Particle Physics and Astrophysics at the Weizmann Institute of Science in 2014, in Prof. Avishay Gal-Yam’s lab. Dr. Ben-Ami was awarded a NASA Einstein fellowship in 2014 and conducted his postdoctoral research at the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics. In January 2020, he returned to the Department of Particle Physics and Astrophysics where he joined the Weizmann team on the Israel-U.S. space-borne ULTRASAT mission, the latest revolutionary project in space exploration.

    An experimental astrophysicist, Dr. Ben-Ami develops advanced instruments and methods that help detect “bio-signatures”—substances whose origin specifically requires a biological agent—on planets outside of our solar system. Dr. Ben-Ami is currently working on developing a spectrograph, an instrument whose ability to capture extremely high spectral resolutions will enable the detection of O2—one of the strongest indicators of planetary life. The ULTRASAT project that Dr. Ben-Ami has been involved with since its early stages represents a major step forward for the astrophysics community. A mini-satellite with an unprecedented large field of view, ULTRASAT will be capable of detecting and measuring the UV emissions—another important indicator of life—from transient explosions minutes after they occur, not the days or weeks captured by current telescopic systems. This satellite is expected to detect 300 times the number of celestial events that today’s technologies are currently able to identify. 

    Dr. Ben-Ami is married to Flavia Rocha, whom he met while at Harvard. In his spare time he enjoys working out, reading, and riding motorcycles.

    Read More » about Dr. Sagi Ben-Ami

    Dr. Sagi Ben-Ami

    Department of Particle Physics and Astrophysics

    A native of Tel Aviv, Dr. Sagi Ben-Ami earned his BA (2005) and MSc (2008) in physics from the Technion—Israel Institute of Technology. He completed his PhD in the Department of Particle Physics and Astrophysics at the Weizmann Institute of Science in 2014, in Prof. Avishay Gal-Yam’s lab. Dr. Ben-Ami was awarded a NASA Einstein fellowship in 2014 and conducted his postdoctoral research at the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics. In January 2020, he returned to the Department of Particle Physics and Astrophysics where he joined the Weizmann team on the Israel-U.S. space-borne ULTRASAT mission, the latest revolutionary project in space exploration.

    An experimental astrophysicist, Dr. Ben-Ami develops advanced instruments and methods that help detect “bio-signatures”—substances whose origin specifically requires a biological agent—on planets outside of our solar system. Dr. Ben-Ami is currently working on developing a spectrograph, an instrument whose ability to capture extremely high spectral resolutions will enable the detection of O2—one of the strongest indicators of planetary life. The ULTRASAT project that Dr. Ben-Ami has been involved with since its early stages represents a major step forward for the astrophysics community. A mini-satellite with an unprecedented large field of view, ULTRASAT will be capable of detecting and measuring the UV emissions—another important indicator of life—from transient explosions minutes after they occur, not the days or weeks captured by current telescopic systems. This satellite is expected to detect 300 times the number of celestial events that today’s technologies are currently able to identify. 

    Dr. Ben-Ami is married to Flavia Rocha, whom he met while at Harvard. In his spare time he enjoys working out, reading, and riding motorcycles.

  • David Blatt

    Israel

    David Blatt is an Israeli-American basketball veteran professional basketball coach, executive, and former player. Born in Boston, he studied at Princeton University, where he was point guard and captain of the school’s basketball team. In 1981, Blatt played in the Maccabiah Games in Israel, and shortly after his graduation from Princeton made Aliyah. He played professional basketball in Israel—for Maccabi Haifa, Hapoel Jerusalem, and others—until he was forced to retire in 1993 due to an injury.

    David Blatt is an Israeli-American basketball veteran professional basketball coach, executive, and former player. Born in Boston, he studied at Princeton University, where he was point guard and captain of the school’s basketball team. In 1981, Blatt played in the Maccabiah Games in Israel, and shortly after his graduation from Princeton made Aliyah. He played professional basketball in Israel—for Maccabi Haifa, Hapoel Jerusalem, and others—until he was forced to retire in 1993 due to an injury.

    Blatt then launched his coaching career, first as an assistant manager and later head coach for Hapoel Galil Elyon. In 1999, he moved to Maccabi Tel Aviv as assistant coach to Pini Gershon, and helped establish a winning coaching team that won Maccabi EuroLeague and SuproLeague titles, along with many other accomplishments. In 2002, Blatt was appointed head coach of Maccabi Tel Aviv, but returned to his position as assistant coach in the 2003/04 season, during which his team won another EuroLeague title, as well as a local championship and the Israeli cup.

    In 2004, David Blatt left Maccabi Tel Aviv to coach basketball in Europe. During the next six years, he coached elite clubs in Russia, Italy, and Turkey, leading his teams to substantial achievements. He also coached the Russia men’s national basketball team between 2007 and 2012 and led it to win the EuroBasket 2007 and a bronze medal at the 2012 Summer Olympics. Blatt returned to Maccabi Tel Aviv in 2010, and led the team to win another EuroLeague title in 2014. He was named EuroLeague Coach of the Year for the 2013-2014 season.

    In June 2014, Blatt was hired as head coach of the NBA’s Cleveland Cavaliers. Over that season, the Cavaliers led the Central Division of the NBA with a 53–29 record; the team also won the Eastern Conference title (their first since 2007) and advanced to the NBA Finals, where they lost to the Golden State Warriors 4-2 in the series. David Blatt was let go from the Cavaliers in January 2016, despite the team’s 30-11 record and being first in their conference.

    Later that year, he returned to European basketball, signing on as head coach for the Turkish team Darüşşafaka, which he led to win the 2018 EuroCup Championship. In June 2018, Blatt was named the head coach of Greek mega-team Olympiacos, but parted ways with the basketball club after one season. In December 2019, he announced his retirement from coaching after the New York Knicks hired him as a consultant. In May 2020, through the Israeli company True Player Group (partly owned by the Blatt family), David Blatt became co-owner of Czech basketball team BC Brno.

    David Blatt is married to Kineret, a former women’s basketball player. Together, they have four children, one of whom, Tamir, plays professional basketball for Hapoel Jerusalem and the Israel national team.

    Read More » about David Blatt

    David Blatt

    Israel

    David Blatt is an Israeli-American basketball veteran professional basketball coach, executive, and former player. Born in Boston, he studied at Princeton University, where he was point guard and captain of the school’s basketball team. In 1981, Blatt played in the Maccabiah Games in Israel, and shortly after his graduation from Princeton made Aliyah. He played professional basketball in Israel—for Maccabi Haifa, Hapoel Jerusalem, and others—until he was forced to retire in 1993 due to an injury.

    Blatt then launched his coaching career, first as an assistant manager and later head coach for Hapoel Galil Elyon. In 1999, he moved to Maccabi Tel Aviv as assistant coach to Pini Gershon, and helped establish a winning coaching team that won Maccabi EuroLeague and SuproLeague titles, along with many other accomplishments. In 2002, Blatt was appointed head coach of Maccabi Tel Aviv, but returned to his position as assistant coach in the 2003/04 season, during which his team won another EuroLeague title, as well as a local championship and the Israeli cup.

    In 2004, David Blatt left Maccabi Tel Aviv to coach basketball in Europe. During the next six years, he coached elite clubs in Russia, Italy, and Turkey, leading his teams to substantial achievements. He also coached the Russia men’s national basketball team between 2007 and 2012 and led it to win the EuroBasket 2007 and a bronze medal at the 2012 Summer Olympics. Blatt returned to Maccabi Tel Aviv in 2010, and led the team to win another EuroLeague title in 2014. He was named EuroLeague Coach of the Year for the 2013-2014 season.

    In June 2014, Blatt was hired as head coach of the NBA’s Cleveland Cavaliers. Over that season, the Cavaliers led the Central Division of the NBA with a 53–29 record; the team also won the Eastern Conference title (their first since 2007) and advanced to the NBA Finals, where they lost to the Golden State Warriors 4-2 in the series. David Blatt was let go from the Cavaliers in January 2016, despite the team’s 30-11 record and being first in their conference.

    Later that year, he returned to European basketball, signing on as head coach for the Turkish team Darüşşafaka, which he led to win the 2018 EuroCup Championship. In June 2018, Blatt was named the head coach of Greek mega-team Olympiacos, but parted ways with the basketball club after one season. In December 2019, he announced his retirement from coaching after the New York Knicks hired him as a consultant. In May 2020, through the Israeli company True Player Group (partly owned by the Blatt family), David Blatt became co-owner of Czech basketball team BC Brno.

    David Blatt is married to Kineret, a former women’s basketball player. Together, they have four children, one of whom, Tamir, plays professional basketball for Hapoel Jerusalem and the Israel national team.

  • Prof. Eran Bouchbinder

    Department of Chemical and Biological Physics

    Born in Kfar Saba, Prof. Eran Bouchbinder completed his BA in physics and philosophy at Tel Aviv University (1999). He earned his MSc (2002) and PhD (2007) in theoretical physics from the Weizmann Institute of Science under the guidance of Prof. Itamar Procaccia. After conducting postdoctoral research for two years in the Racah Institute of Physics at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, he joined the faculty of the Weizmann Institute late in 2009. In 2018, he became the first director of the Ben May Center for Chemical Theory and Computation.

    Born in Kfar Saba, Prof. Eran Bouchbinder completed his BA in physics and philosophy at Tel Aviv University (1999). He earned his MSc (2002) and PhD (2007) in theoretical physics from the Weizmann Institute of Science under the guidance of Prof. Itamar Procaccia. After conducting postdoctoral research for two years in the Racah Institute of Physics at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, he joined the faculty of the Weizmann Institute late in 2009. In 2018, he became the first director of the Ben May Center for Chemical Theory and Computation.

    Prof. Bouchbinder is a theoretical physicist who is interested in various non-equilibrium problems in condensed-matter physics, materials physics, geophysics, and biophysics. He aims at answering some everyday questions such as, "How do things break?", “How do things slide?”, "How do solids deform?" and “How do cells sense their environment?” He does this by using the tools of statistical and continuum physics and through interactions with experimental and computational groups. Examining the mechanics of macroscopic systems, he develops predictive theories, such as his theory of cracks, called the “Weakly Nonlinear Theory of Dynamic Fracture”.

    His awards and honors include the Wolf Foundation’s Krill Prize for Excellence in Scientific Research (2014), the Weizmann Institue’s Scientific Council Prize (2013), the Alon Fellowship, the Council for Higher Education, Israel (2010),  the Weizmann Institute’s Sir Charles Clore Prize (2009), an appointment to the `International Achievement Summit at the Academy of Achievement, Washington D.C. (2007), and the Feinberg Graduate School’s John F. Kennedy Prize for Outstanding Achievement (2006). In 2015, he was elected as a member of the Israel Young Academy, where he served as chair until the end of his Academy term in 2019.

    Prof. Bouchbinder is married to Michal and has four children. He is deeply interested in literature and education. 

    Read More » about Prof. Eran Bouchbinder

    Prof. Eran Bouchbinder

    Department of Chemical and Biological Physics

    Born in Kfar Saba, Prof. Eran Bouchbinder completed his BA in physics and philosophy at Tel Aviv University (1999). He earned his MSc (2002) and PhD (2007) in theoretical physics from the Weizmann Institute of Science under the guidance of Prof. Itamar Procaccia. After conducting postdoctoral research for two years in the Racah Institute of Physics at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, he joined the faculty of the Weizmann Institute late in 2009. In 2018, he became the first director of the Ben May Center for Chemical Theory and Computation.

    Prof. Bouchbinder is a theoretical physicist who is interested in various non-equilibrium problems in condensed-matter physics, materials physics, geophysics, and biophysics. He aims at answering some everyday questions such as, "How do things break?", “How do things slide?”, "How do solids deform?" and “How do cells sense their environment?” He does this by using the tools of statistical and continuum physics and through interactions with experimental and computational groups. Examining the mechanics of macroscopic systems, he develops predictive theories, such as his theory of cracks, called the “Weakly Nonlinear Theory of Dynamic Fracture”.

    His awards and honors include the Wolf Foundation’s Krill Prize for Excellence in Scientific Research (2014), the Weizmann Institue’s Scientific Council Prize (2013), the Alon Fellowship, the Council for Higher Education, Israel (2010),  the Weizmann Institute’s Sir Charles Clore Prize (2009), an appointment to the `International Achievement Summit at the Academy of Achievement, Washington D.C. (2007), and the Feinberg Graduate School’s John F. Kennedy Prize for Outstanding Achievement (2006). In 2015, he was elected as a member of the Israel Young Academy, where he served as chair until the end of his Academy term in 2019.

    Prof. Bouchbinder is married to Michal and has four children. He is deeply interested in literature and education. 

  • Prof. Ran Budnik

    Department of Particle Physics and Astrophysics

    Prof. Ran Budnik completed his BSc in physics and mathematics through the elite Israel Defense Force’s Talpiot excellence program at the Hebrew University, Jerusalem in 1997. He was awarded his MSc at the Technion – Israel Institute of Technology in 2004, and his PhD in physics at the Weizmann Institute in 2009. He spent the next year as a postdoctoral fellow at the Weizmann Institute working on cryogenic radiation detectors. From 2010 until joining the Department of Particle Physics and Astrophysics at the Weizmann Institute in December 2013, he was a postdoctoral scientist at the Columbia University astrophysics laboratory working on the XENON dark matter project. In 2019-2020, Prof. Budnik spent a sabbatical year at the Simons Center for Geometry and Physics in Stony Brook, SUNY. Until his promotion, he was the incumbent of the Aryeh and Ido Dissentshik Career Development Chair.

    Prof. Ran Budnik completed his BSc in physics and mathematics through the elite Israel Defense Force’s Talpiot excellence program at the Hebrew University, Jerusalem in 1997. He was awarded his MSc at the Technion – Israel Institute of Technology in 2004, and his PhD in physics at the Weizmann Institute in 2009. He spent the next year as a postdoctoral fellow at the Weizmann Institute working on cryogenic radiation detectors. From 2010 until joining the Department of Particle Physics and Astrophysics at the Weizmann Institute in December 2013, he was a postdoctoral scientist at the Columbia University astrophysics laboratory working on the XENON dark matter project. In 2019-2020, Prof. Budnik spent a sabbatical year at the Simons Center for Geometry and Physics in Stony Brook, SUNY. Until hjs promotion, he was the incumbent of the Aryeh and Ido Dissentshik Career Development Chair.

    Dark matter is one of the most striking unsolved mysteries in physics today. Scientists have yet to detect it directly, but almost all measurements of the motion of galaxies, the evolution of the universe and the behavior of matter in the known universe lead scientists to believe that there must be a tremendous amount of mass in the universe that is not made of conventional matter. Prof. Budnik is part of an international team of scientists creating new instruments that they hope will show the first confirmed interactions between this so-called “dark matter” and “normal” matter. He has done work on the Xenon 100 project, was in charge of building and operating major parts of  Xenon 1T – currently the most sensitive dark matter experiment world-wide – and is now working on the upgrade to the XENONnT, which will increase the sensitivity about tenfold. He is part of the planned DARWIN international project to build 50-ton scale liquid xenon detectors. In addition, Prof. Budnik is working on small-scale, proof-of-concept experiments built at the Weizmann Institute, to explore new, unknown ways to find Dark Matter that may change the path of future experiments.

    Prof. Budnik won first place in the Israel Physics Olympics in 1994 and went on to win a silver medal in theoretical physics at the International Physics Olympics that year. Prof. Budnik wasappointed commander of the third-year students in the IDF Talpiot program in 2001 – 2001, and completed his ten years of service at the rank of major.  

    Prof. Budnik is married and has four children. When not looking for dark matter, he enjoys a game of pick-up basketball with friends.

    Read More » about Prof. Ran Budnik

    Prof. Ran Budnik

    Department of Particle Physics and Astrophysics

    Prof. Ran Budnik completed his BSc in physics and mathematics through the elite Israel Defense Force’s Talpiot excellence program at the Hebrew University, Jerusalem in 1997. He was awarded his MSc at the Technion – Israel Institute of Technology in 2004, and his PhD in physics at the Weizmann Institute in 2009. He spent the next year as a postdoctoral fellow at the Weizmann Institute working on cryogenic radiation detectors. From 2010 until joining the Department of Particle Physics and Astrophysics at the Weizmann Institute in December 2013, he was a postdoctoral scientist at the Columbia University astrophysics laboratory working on the XENON dark matter project. In 2019-2020, Prof. Budnik spent a sabbatical year at the Simons Center for Geometry and Physics in Stony Brook, SUNY. Until hjs promotion, he was the incumbent of the Aryeh and Ido Dissentshik Career Development Chair.

    Dark matter is one of the most striking unsolved mysteries in physics today. Scientists have yet to detect it directly, but almost all measurements of the motion of galaxies, the evolution of the universe and the behavior of matter in the known universe lead scientists to believe that there must be a tremendous amount of mass in the universe that is not made of conventional matter. Prof. Budnik is part of an international team of scientists creating new instruments that they hope will show the first confirmed interactions between this so-called “dark matter” and “normal” matter. He has done work on the Xenon 100 project, was in charge of building and operating major parts of  Xenon 1T – currently the most sensitive dark matter experiment world-wide – and is now working on the upgrade to the XENONnT, which will increase the sensitivity about tenfold. He is part of the planned DARWIN international project to build 50-ton scale liquid xenon detectors. In addition, Prof. Budnik is working on small-scale, proof-of-concept experiments built at the Weizmann Institute, to explore new, unknown ways to find Dark Matter that may change the path of future experiments.

    Prof. Budnik won first place in the Israel Physics Olympics in 1994 and went on to win a silver medal in theoretical physics at the International Physics Olympics that year. Prof. Budnik wasappointed commander of the third-year students in the IDF Talpiot program in 2001 – 2001, and completed his ten years of service at the rank of major.  

    Prof. Budnik is married and has four children. When not looking for dark matter, he enjoys a game of pick-up basketball with friends.

  • Prof. Alon Chen

    President

    Prof. Alon Chen was born in Israel. He studied biology, receiving his BSc, with distinction, from Ben-Gurion University in 1995, and a PhD from the Weizmann Institute of Science through the direct PhD program, with distinction. During his PhD studies, Prof. Chen also received an MBA from Ben-Gurion University. He was a postdoctoral fellow at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies in California; it was there he began his research into the processes that occur in the brain and the body during stress and anxiety. He then joined the faculty of the Weizmann Institute of Science's Department of Neurobiology.

    Prof. Alon Chen is the 11th President of the Weizmann Institute of Science.

    Prof. Chen was born in Israel. He studied biology, receiving his BSc, with distinction, from Ben-Gurion University in 1995, and a PhD from the Weizmann Institute of Science through the direct PhD program, with distinction. During his PhD studies, Prof. Chen also received an MBA from Ben-Gurion University. He was a postdoctoral fellow at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies in California; it was there he began his research into the processes that occur in the brain and the body during stress and anxiety. He then joined the faculty of the Weizmann Institute of Science's Department of Neurobiology.

    Prof. Chen's research into the neurobiology of stress focuses on the mechanisms by which the brain regulates the response to stressful challenges and how this response may be linked to a number of psychiatric disorders. The longterm goal of his research is to elucidate the pathways and mechanisms by which stressors are perceived, processed and converted into neuroendocrine and behavioral responses under healthy and pathological conditions.

    His lab has made significant discoveries in the field, revealing fundamental aspects of the stress
    response in both animals and humans, including actions that link specific stress-related genes,
    epigenetic mechanisms and brain circuits to anxiety disorders, depression, eating disorders and metabolic syndrome.

    Over the years in his various scientific and administrative leadership roles, Prof. Chen has worked extensively with scientific boards, executive boards, elected officials, alumni, donors and the community at large to advance the mission of the institutions in which he is involved.

    Prof. Chen was Head of the Department of Neurobiology, and he is also Managing Director and Scientific Member of the Max Planck Institute of Psychiatry, Munich, Germany, and serves as the Head of the Max Planck Society - Weizmann Institute of Science Laboratory for Experimental Neuropsychiatry and Behavioral Neurogenetics. He is an adjunct professor at the Medical School of the Ludwig Maximilian University, Munich. He is the recipient of both the Rothschild Foundation and Fulbright fellowships. Upon his joining the Weizmann Institute, he received the Yigal Alon Fellowship.

    Prof. Alon Chen is the incumbent of the Vera and John Schwartz Professorial Chair in Neurobiology. 

    Prof. Chen is married and father to two children.
    He has a keen interest in science education.

    Read More » about Prof. Alon Chen

    Prof. Alon Chen

    President

    Prof. Alon Chen is the 11th President of the Weizmann Institute of Science.

    Prof. Chen was born in Israel. He studied biology, receiving his BSc, with distinction, from Ben-Gurion University in 1995, and a PhD from the Weizmann Institute of Science through the direct PhD program, with distinction. During his PhD studies, Prof. Chen also received an MBA from Ben-Gurion University. He was a postdoctoral fellow at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies in California; it was there he began his research into the processes that occur in the brain and the body during stress and anxiety. He then joined the faculty of the Weizmann Institute of Science's Department of Neurobiology.

    Prof. Chen's research into the neurobiology of stress focuses on the mechanisms by which the brain regulates the response to stressful challenges and how this response may be linked to a number of psychiatric disorders. The longterm goal of his research is to elucidate the pathways and mechanisms by which stressors are perceived, processed and converted into neuroendocrine and behavioral responses under healthy and pathological conditions.

    His lab has made significant discoveries in the field, revealing fundamental aspects of the stress
    response in both animals and humans, including actions that link specific stress-related genes,
    epigenetic mechanisms and brain circuits to anxiety disorders, depression, eating disorders and metabolic syndrome.

    Over the years in his various scientific and administrative leadership roles, Prof. Chen has worked extensively with scientific boards, executive boards, elected officials, alumni, donors and the community at large to advance the mission of the institutions in which he is involved.

    Prof. Chen was Head of the Department of Neurobiology, and he is also Managing Director and Scientific Member of the Max Planck Institute of Psychiatry, Munich, Germany, and serves as the Head of the Max Planck Society - Weizmann Institute of Science Laboratory for Experimental Neuropsychiatry and Behavioral Neurogenetics. He is an adjunct professor at the Medical School of the Ludwig Maximilian University, Munich. He is the recipient of both the Rothschild Foundation and Fulbright fellowships. Upon his joining the Weizmann Institute, he received the Yigal Alon Fellowship.

    Prof. Alon Chen is the incumbent of the Vera and John Schwartz Professorial Chair in Neurobiology. 

    Prof. Chen is married and father to two children.
    He has a keen interest in science education.

  • Dame Vivien Duffield, DBE

    United Kingdom
    Chair, Clore Foundation

    Dame Vivien Duffield is the daughter of Sir Charles Clore, one of Britain’s most successful post-war businessmen and one of the most generous philanthropists of his day. Continuing this tradition, Dame Vivien grew up with a firm belief in supporting charitable endeavours. After Sir Charles’ death in 1979, she assumed the Chairmanship of the Clore Foundations in Israel and in the UK.
    In Israel, Dame Vivien served as Deputy Chair of the Board of the Weizmann Institute of Science in 1995-2008, and currently serves as a Life Member of the Institute’s International board.

    Dame Vivien Duffield is the daughter of Sir Charles Clore, one of Britain’s most successful post-war businessmen and one of the most generous philanthropists of his day. Continuing this tradition, Dame Vivien grew up with a firm belief in supporting charitable endeavours. After Sir Charles’ death in 1979, she assumed the Chairmanship of the Clore Foundations in Israel and in the UK. At the Weizmann Institute of Science, the Clore Foundation established the Clore Garden of Science, the Clore Center for Biological Physics, and the Clore Institute for High-Field Magnetic Resonance Imaging and Spectroscopy. The Clore FOundation also supports the Sir Charles Clore-Weizmann Fund Post-Doctoral Fellowships and Sir Charles Clore Doctoral Fellowship.

    In Israel, Dame Vivien served as Deputy Chair of the Board of the Weizmann Institute of Science in 1995-2008, and currently serves as a Life Member of the Institute’s International Board. She is an Honorary Fellow of the City of Jerusalem and winner of the Jerusalem Foundation’s Teddy Prize. Dame Vivien has also been awarded PhD honoris causa degrees from the Weizmann Institute of Science and from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.

    In the UK, Dame Vivien is closely associated with a number of charities and, since the early 1980s, has sat on various Appeal Committees and Development Boards for the NSPCC, Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children, and the Royal Marsden, and was a Trustee of Dulwich Picture Gallery from 1993 to 2002. She was a member of the Board of the Royal Opera House from 1990 to 2001 and is currently Chairman of the Royal Opera House Endowment Fund. Dame Vivien became a Director of the South Bank Centre board in 2002, is on the Board of the World Monuments Fund in Britain and is a Governor of the Royal Ballet and the Royal Ballet School. In addition to the Chairmanship of her Foundations, Dame Vivien is also Founder and Life Patron of Eureka!, the Museum for Children in Halifax. In 2007 she was appointed Chair of the Executive Committee for the Oxford University Development Campaign. Her charitable work in the UK was acknowledged with the award of a CBE in 1989 and DBE in 2000. In November 2008 HRH the Prince of Wales presented Dame Vivien one of the first five Medals for Arts Philanthropy. The medal celebrates individuals who support the arts and recognises the contribution of the most inspiring philanthropists in the UK.

    Dame Vivien initiated the Jewish Community Centre in London - JW3 - and has been a major contributor to the building, which opened in September 2013.

     

    Read More » about Dame Vivien Duffield, DBE

    Dame Vivien Duffield, DBE

    United Kingdom
    Chair, Clore Foundation

    Dame Vivien Duffield is the daughter of Sir Charles Clore, one of Britain’s most successful post-war businessmen and one of the most generous philanthropists of his day. Continuing this tradition, Dame Vivien grew up with a firm belief in supporting charitable endeavours. After Sir Charles’ death in 1979, she assumed the Chairmanship of the Clore Foundations in Israel and in the UK. At the Weizmann Institute of Science, the Clore Foundation established the Clore Garden of Science, the Clore Center for Biological Physics, and the Clore Institute for High-Field Magnetic Resonance Imaging and Spectroscopy. The Clore FOundation also supports the Sir Charles Clore-Weizmann Fund Post-Doctoral Fellowships and Sir Charles Clore Doctoral Fellowship.

    In Israel, Dame Vivien served as Deputy Chair of the Board of the Weizmann Institute of Science in 1995-2008, and currently serves as a Life Member of the Institute’s International Board. She is an Honorary Fellow of the City of Jerusalem and winner of the Jerusalem Foundation’s Teddy Prize. Dame Vivien has also been awarded PhD honoris causa degrees from the Weizmann Institute of Science and from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.

    In the UK, Dame Vivien is closely associated with a number of charities and, since the early 1980s, has sat on various Appeal Committees and Development Boards for the NSPCC, Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children, and the Royal Marsden, and was a Trustee of Dulwich Picture Gallery from 1993 to 2002. She was a member of the Board of the Royal Opera House from 1990 to 2001 and is currently Chairman of the Royal Opera House Endowment Fund. Dame Vivien became a Director of the South Bank Centre board in 2002, is on the Board of the World Monuments Fund in Britain and is a Governor of the Royal Ballet and the Royal Ballet School. In addition to the Chairmanship of her Foundations, Dame Vivien is also Founder and Life Patron of Eureka!, the Museum for Children in Halifax. In 2007 she was appointed Chair of the Executive Committee for the Oxford University Development Campaign. Her charitable work in the UK was acknowledged with the award of a CBE in 1989 and DBE in 2000. In November 2008 HRH the Prince of Wales presented Dame Vivien one of the first five Medals for Arts Philanthropy. The medal celebrates individuals who support the arts and recognises the contribution of the most inspiring philanthropists in the UK.

    Dame Vivien initiated the Jewish Community Centre in London - JW3 - and has been a major contributor to the building, which opened in September 2013.

     

  • Prof. Avishay Gal-Yam

    Department of Particle Physics and Astrophysics
    Head, Department of Physics Core Facilities

    Born in Jerusalem, in 1970, Prof. Avishay Gal-Yam earned his BSc magna cum laude in physics and mathematics in 1996 and his PhD in physics and astronomy in 2003, all at Tel Aviv University. He received NASA’s prestigious Hubble postdoctoral fellowship and spent four years conducting research at the California Institute of Technology. He joined the Weizmann Institute of Science in 2007.

    Born in Jerusalem, in 1970, Prof. Avishay Gal-Yam earned his BSc magna cum laude in physics and mathematics in 1996 and his PhD in physics and astronomy in 2003, all at Tel Aviv University. He received NASA’s prestigious Hubble postdoctoral fellowship and spent four years conducting research at the California Institute of Technology. He joined the Weizmann Institute of Science in 2007.

    Prof. Gal-Yam is a cosmic detective who attempts to identify the stars responsible for spectacular stellar explosions called supernovae. Solving these mysteries can provide vital clues for both the origins of the elements that make up the periodic table – including those necessary for life itself – and for cosmological questions about the origin and fate of the universe. Prof. Gal-Yam and his research team have reported the discovery of two new types of supernova explosions. One very faint type, which occurs when helium detonates, appears to produce significantly more calcium and titanium than were thought possible, and probably contributes a significant portion of these critical elements in the cosmos—calcium being an elemental critical for life as we know it. The second new type of mega explosion is called pair-production supernovae. These explosions are 10 to 100 times more powerful than any previously known type, and may be the first supernova explosions to have occurred after the “big bang.”

    In 2012, Prof. Gal-Yam received the Helen and Martin Kimmel Award for Innovative Investigation. He also received the Krill Prize for Excellence in Scientific Research in 2011, and in 2010, the Israeli Physical Society Prize for a Young Physicist, the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research ARCHES prize, and Weizmann’s Morris L.  Levinson Prize for Physics. His previous honors and awards include a Colton Fellowship (2000), European Union fellowships (1999 and 2007), the Italian Città di Cefalù prize (2006), and the 2008 Peter and Patricia Gruber Award. He has published more than 200 papers in prominent scientific journals, including Nature, Science, and The Astrophysical Journal.

    Prof. Gal-Yam and his family like to travel and hike together.

    Read More » about Prof. Avishay Gal-Yam

    Prof. Avishay Gal-Yam

    Department of Particle Physics and Astrophysics
    Head, Department of Physics Core Facilities

    Born in Jerusalem, in 1970, Prof. Avishay Gal-Yam earned his BSc magna cum laude in physics and mathematics in 1996 and his PhD in physics and astronomy in 2003, all at Tel Aviv University. He received NASA’s prestigious Hubble postdoctoral fellowship and spent four years conducting research at the California Institute of Technology. He joined the Weizmann Institute of Science in 2007.

    Prof. Gal-Yam is a cosmic detective who attempts to identify the stars responsible for spectacular stellar explosions called supernovae. Solving these mysteries can provide vital clues for both the origins of the elements that make up the periodic table – including those necessary for life itself – and for cosmological questions about the origin and fate of the universe. Prof. Gal-Yam and his research team have reported the discovery of two new types of supernova explosions. One very faint type, which occurs when helium detonates, appears to produce significantly more calcium and titanium than were thought possible, and probably contributes a significant portion of these critical elements in the cosmos—calcium being an elemental critical for life as we know it. The second new type of mega explosion is called pair-production supernovae. These explosions are 10 to 100 times more powerful than any previously known type, and may be the first supernova explosions to have occurred after the “big bang.”

    In 2012, Prof. Gal-Yam received the Helen and Martin Kimmel Award for Innovative Investigation. He also received the Krill Prize for Excellence in Scientific Research in 2011, and in 2010, the Israeli Physical Society Prize for a Young Physicist, the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research ARCHES prize, and Weizmann’s Morris L.  Levinson Prize for Physics. His previous honors and awards include a Colton Fellowship (2000), European Union fellowships (1999 and 2007), the Italian Città di Cefalù prize (2006), and the 2008 Peter and Patricia Gruber Award. He has published more than 200 papers in prominent scientific journals, including Nature, Science, and The Astrophysical Journal.

    Prof. Gal-Yam and his family like to travel and hike together.

  • Prof. Haim Harari

    President Emeritus

    Prof. Haim Harari was born in Jerusalem in 1940. He became an Associate Professor at the Weizmann Institute at the age of 26, the youngest ever, and was promoted to Professor three years later. Since 1999, he is an "Institute Professor". He made several major contributions to Particle Physics and, in 1975, was the first to synthesize the full "standard model" of six quarks and six leptons in its present form. 

    Prof. Haim Harari was born in Jerusalem in 1940. He became an Associate Professor at the Weizmann Institute at the age of 26, the youngest ever, and was promoted to Professor three years later. Since 1999, he is an "Institute Professor". He made several major contributions to Particle Physics and, in 1975, was the first to synthesize the full "standard model" of six quarks and six leptons in its present form. 

    Prof. Harari served as President of the Weizmann Institute from 1988 to 2001, prior to which he served as Chairman of the Planning and Budgeting Committee of Israel's Council for Higher Education (1979-1985), the body which distributes all Government funding for Higher Education and Basic Research. 

    In the field of education, Prof. Harari served as a Dean of the Graduate School of the Weizmann Institute (1972-1978), and was a co-Founder of "Perach", a national tutoring program for underprivileged children in Israel, which was awarded the 2008 Israel Prize. He initiated and led the establishment of unique educational Institutions, including the Davidson Institute of Science Education and the HEMDA Science Center in Tel Aviv, whose Boards he chaired until 2016.

    Prof. Harari is a member of the Israel Academy of Sciences and won the Rothschild Prize and the Israel Prize in Physics, the "EMET" Prize in Education, several honorary doctorates and other prizes, medals of honor from Germany and Austria, and the Harnack Medal of the Max Planck Society. 

    Prof. Harari is a member of the Institute’s Executive Board, the Chairman of the Management Committee of W-GEM and Chairman of the Executive Committee of the Institute of Science and Technology-Austria. He served as member of International Advisory Boards of SwissRe and DaimlerChrysler.

    Read More » about Prof. Haim Harari

    Prof. Haim Harari

    President Emeritus

    Prof. Haim Harari was born in Jerusalem in 1940. He became an Associate Professor at the Weizmann Institute at the age of 26, the youngest ever, and was promoted to Professor three years later. Since 1999, he is an "Institute Professor". He made several major contributions to Particle Physics and, in 1975, was the first to synthesize the full "standard model" of six quarks and six leptons in its present form. 

    Prof. Harari served as President of the Weizmann Institute from 1988 to 2001, prior to which he served as Chairman of the Planning and Budgeting Committee of Israel's Council for Higher Education (1979-1985), the body which distributes all Government funding for Higher Education and Basic Research. 

    In the field of education, Prof. Harari served as a Dean of the Graduate School of the Weizmann Institute (1972-1978), and was a co-Founder of "Perach", a national tutoring program for underprivileged children in Israel, which was awarded the 2008 Israel Prize. He initiated and led the establishment of unique educational Institutions, including the Davidson Institute of Science Education and the HEMDA Science Center in Tel Aviv, whose Boards he chaired until 2016.

    Prof. Harari is a member of the Israel Academy of Sciences and won the Rothschild Prize and the Israel Prize in Physics, the "EMET" Prize in Education, several honorary doctorates and other prizes, medals of honor from Germany and Austria, and the Harnack Medal of the Max Planck Society. 

    Prof. Harari is a member of the Institute’s Executive Board, the Chairman of the Management Committee of W-GEM and Chairman of the Executive Committee of the Institute of Science and Technology-Austria. He served as member of International Advisory Boards of SwissRe and DaimlerChrysler.

  • Prof. Serge Haroche

    Co-Chair, Scientific and Academic Advisory Committee

    Prof. Serge Haroche was born in 1944 in Casablanca. He graduated from École Normale Supérieure (ENS), receiving his doctorate from Paris VI University in 1971 (thesis advisor: Claude Cohen-Tannoudji). After a post-doctoral visit to Stanford University in the laboratory of Arthur Schawlow (1972-73), he became full professor at Paris VI University in 1975, a position he held until 2001, when he was appointed Professor at Collège de France (in the chair of quantum physics).

    Prof. Serge Haroche was born in 1944 in Casablanca. He graduated from École Normale Supérieure (ENS), receiving his doctorate from Paris VI University in 1971 (thesis advisor: Claude Cohen-Tannoudji). After a post-doctoral visit to Stanford University in the laboratory of Arthur Schawlow (1972-73), he became full professor at Paris VI University in 1975, a position he held until 2001, when he was appointed Professor at Collège de France (in the chair of quantum physics). He has been Maitre de Conference at Ecole Polytechique (1974- 1984), visiting professor at Harvard (1981), part time professor at Yale University (1984-1993), member of Institut Universitaire de France (1991-2000) and Chairman of the ENS Department of Physics (1994-2000). From 2012 to 2015 he has been Administrateur of Collège de France (President of the institution). Since 2015, he is Emeritus Professor at Collège de France. His research has mostly taken place in laboratoire Kastler Brossel at ENS, where he now works with a team of senior coworkers, postdocs, and graduate students.

    Prof. Haroche has received many prizes and awards, culminating with the Nobel Prize in Physics 2012, shared with David Wineland. Other awards include the Grand Prix Jean Ricard of the French Physical Society (1983), the Einstein Prize for Laser science (1988), the Humboldt Award (1992), the Michelson Medal from the Franklin Institute (1993), the Tomassoni Award from La Sapienza University (Rome, 2001), the Quantum Electronics prize of the European Physical Society (2002), the Quantum Communication Award of the International Organization for Quantum Communication, Measurement and Computing (2002), the Townes Award of the Optical Society of America, the CNRS Gold Medal (2009) and the Herbert Walter Prize of the German Physical Society and the Optical Society of America.

    He is a member of the French Academy of Sciences, a Foreign Member of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States and of the Brazilian, Moroccan, Colombian, and Russian academies of Sciences. He has received honorary degrees from the Universities of Patras, Montreal, Strathclyde, Bar Ilan, and City University of Hong Kong as well as from the Weizmann Institute of Sciences (2015).

    Read More » about Prof. Serge Haroche

    Prof. Serge Haroche

    Co-Chair, Scientific and Academic Advisory Committee

    Prof. Serge Haroche was born in 1944 in Casablanca. He graduated from École Normale Supérieure (ENS), receiving his doctorate from Paris VI University in 1971 (thesis advisor: Claude Cohen-Tannoudji). After a post-doctoral visit to Stanford University in the laboratory of Arthur Schawlow (1972-73), he became full professor at Paris VI University in 1975, a position he held until 2001, when he was appointed Professor at Collège de France (in the chair of quantum physics). He has been Maitre de Conference at Ecole Polytechique (1974- 1984), visiting professor at Harvard (1981), part time professor at Yale University (1984-1993), member of Institut Universitaire de France (1991-2000) and Chairman of the ENS Department of Physics (1994-2000). From 2012 to 2015 he has been Administrateur of Collège de France (President of the institution). Since 2015, he is Emeritus Professor at Collège de France. His research has mostly taken place in laboratoire Kastler Brossel at ENS, where he now works with a team of senior coworkers, postdocs, and graduate students.

    Prof. Haroche has received many prizes and awards, culminating with the Nobel Prize in Physics 2012, shared with David Wineland. Other awards include the Grand Prix Jean Ricard of the French Physical Society (1983), the Einstein Prize for Laser science (1988), the Humboldt Award (1992), the Michelson Medal from the Franklin Institute (1993), the Tomassoni Award from La Sapienza University (Rome, 2001), the Quantum Electronics prize of the European Physical Society (2002), the Quantum Communication Award of the International Organization for Quantum Communication, Measurement and Computing (2002), the Townes Award of the Optical Society of America, the CNRS Gold Medal (2009) and the Herbert Walter Prize of the German Physical Society and the Optical Society of America.

    He is a member of the French Academy of Sciences, a Foreign Member of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States and of the Brazilian, Moroccan, Colombian, and Russian academies of Sciences. He has received honorary degrees from the Universities of Patras, Montreal, Strathclyde, Bar Ilan, and City University of Hong Kong as well as from the Weizmann Institute of Sciences (2015).

  • Dr. Nir London

    Department of Organic Chemistry

    Born in Israel, Dr. Nir London served in the Intelligence Corps. He completed his BSc magna cum laude in 2006 and his MSc in 2007, both in computer sciences and computational biology at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. He earned his PhD in microbiology and molecular genetics at Hadassah Medical School in 2011, and completed a postdoctoral fellowship in at the University of California, San Francisco in 2015. Dr. London joined the Department of Organic Chemistry in June 2015 and is the incumbent of the Alan and Laraine Fischer Career Development Chair.

    Born in Israel, Dr. Nir London served in the Intelligence Corps. He completed his BSc magna cum laude in 2006 and his MSc in 2007, both in computer sciences and computational biology at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. He earned his PhD in microbiology and molecular genetics at Hadassah Medical School in 2011, and completed a postdoctoral fellowship in at the University of California, San Francisco in 2015. Dr. London joined the Department of Organic Chemistry in June 2015 and is the incumbent of the Alan and Laraine Fischer Career Development Chair.

    The London lab develops and applies computational and experimental methods to design and discover new compounds for applications in chemical biology and drug discovery and design, with a focus on covalent inhibition and cancer biology. Covalent chemical bonds are the strongest bonds in existence. Compounds that form covalent bonds are the basis of many common and effective drugs—such as aspirin and penicillin—but they also tend to bond with everything, leading to undesirable side effects. Dr. London designed software—called DOCKovalent—to evaluate the precise structural fit for new compounds that form covalent bonds that are target-specific, not promiscuous. This software has the potential to create faster and more efficient drug discovery pipelines and a wider range of potential drugs. To complement this work, the London lab also developed an experimental technology platform for the rapid identification of covalent-binding compounds, and they have applied it successfully against a variety of targets. 

    Dr. London’s honors include an EMBO postdoctoral fellowship (2012-2014) as well as a postdoctoral award from the Program for Breakthrough Biomedical Research in 2013. In 2016, Dr. London received both the Alon Fellowship for Outstanding Young Researchers and an Outstanding Research Award from the Israel Cancer Association. In 2018, he was one of two recipients worldwide of the AACR-BCRF Career Development Award, and was recognized in the IUPAC Periodic Table of Young Chemists.

    Dr. London is married with two daughters.

    Read More » about Dr. Nir London

    Dr. Nir London

    Department of Organic Chemistry

    Born in Israel, Dr. Nir London served in the Intelligence Corps. He completed his BSc magna cum laude in 2006 and his MSc in 2007, both in computer sciences and computational biology at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. He earned his PhD in microbiology and molecular genetics at Hadassah Medical School in 2011, and completed a postdoctoral fellowship in at the University of California, San Francisco in 2015. Dr. London joined the Department of Organic Chemistry in June 2015 and is the incumbent of the Alan and Laraine Fischer Career Development Chair.

    The London lab develops and applies computational and experimental methods to design and discover new compounds for applications in chemical biology and drug discovery and design, with a focus on covalent inhibition and cancer biology. Covalent chemical bonds are the strongest bonds in existence. Compounds that form covalent bonds are the basis of many common and effective drugs—such as aspirin and penicillin—but they also tend to bond with everything, leading to undesirable side effects. Dr. London designed software—called DOCKovalent—to evaluate the precise structural fit for new compounds that form covalent bonds that are target-specific, not promiscuous. This software has the potential to create faster and more efficient drug discovery pipelines and a wider range of potential drugs. To complement this work, the London lab also developed an experimental technology platform for the rapid identification of covalent-binding compounds, and they have applied it successfully against a variety of targets. 

    Dr. London’s honors include an EMBO postdoctoral fellowship (2012-2014) as well as a postdoctoral award from the Program for Breakthrough Biomedical Research in 2013. In 2016, Dr. London received both the Alon Fellowship for Outstanding Young Researchers and an Outstanding Research Award from the Israel Cancer Association. In 2018, he was one of two recipients worldwide of the AACR-BCRF Career Development Award, and was recognized in the IUPAC Periodic Table of Young Chemists.

    Dr. London is married with two daughters.

  • Shirin Natour Hafi

    Israel

    Shirin Natour Hafi, a courageous visionary and an innovative educational leader, grew up in a Muslim family, attended a Catholic elementary school and a Jewish high school, and later studied at Bar-Ilan University. After earning a BA in Arabic language and Jewish literature, an MA in Arabic language, and a teaching certificate, she became a successful teacher, educator, mentor, and principal in her native city of Lod – a mixed community of Jewish, Muslim, and Christian residents. 

    Shirin Natour Hafi, a courageous visionary and an innovative educational leader, grew up in a Muslim family, attended a Catholic elementary school and a Jewish high school, and later studied at Bar-Ilan University. After earning a BA in Arabic language and Jewish literature, an MA in Arabic language, and a teaching certificate, she became a successful teacher, educator, mentor, and principal in her native city of Lod – a mixed community of Jewish, Muslim, and Christian residents. 

    In 2009, at the invitation of the Lod Municipality, Shirin established the city’s first Arab public high school. The school, now part of the ORT network, serves a neighborhood whose youth comes of age in a climate of violence, organized crime, entrenched family feuds, and perceptions of the social sphere as a no-man’s-land, leading to a lack of faith in state authorities and alienation. 

    Anchored in a deep understanding of the local community and of Israeli society, Shirin’s clear vision, alongside her unwavering persistence, are transforming this reality. She is working to strengthen the identity of youth in her care by addressing their emotional and social needs and the substantial educational gaps they face. And she is working to strengthen their sense of belonging by connecting them with the rich tradition of the Arab culture, as well as rehabilitating their self-esteem and preparing them for a trajectory of higher education and successful participation in the Israeli economy. 

    Shirin has also founded an extensive volunteering program at the school, recruiting key players in the community and throughout Israel to help students to find their place within Israeli society and engage them in learning. In this framework, students and faculty from the Weizmann Institute have been meeting with small groups of high school students on a weekly basis over the last decade. In this setting, the Weizmann mentors provide them with educational support for the students’ science curriculum. Recently, a group of talented students from the Lod school has started a high-level physics program at the Schwartz/Reisman Science Education Center – Rehovot. 

    Shirin’s efforts have contributed to reduced violence and a dramatic growth in the number of Lod youth who are eligible for high school matriculation, and a growing number of alumni who continue on to higher education while giving back to their community through volunteer work. She has been included in The Marker’s list of 40 most promising young adults in Israel and in the Ha'aretz newspaper’s list of the 50 most influential figures in education in 2012. 

    Read More » about Shirin Natour Hafi

    Shirin Natour Hafi

    Israel

    Shirin Natour Hafi, a courageous visionary and an innovative educational leader, grew up in a Muslim family, attended a Catholic elementary school and a Jewish high school, and later studied at Bar-Ilan University. After earning a BA in Arabic language and Jewish literature, an MA in Arabic language, and a teaching certificate, she became a successful teacher, educator, mentor, and principal in her native city of Lod – a mixed community of Jewish, Muslim, and Christian residents. 

    In 2009, at the invitation of the Lod Municipality, Shirin established the city’s first Arab public high school. The school, now part of the ORT network, serves a neighborhood whose youth comes of age in a climate of violence, organized crime, entrenched family feuds, and perceptions of the social sphere as a no-man’s-land, leading to a lack of faith in state authorities and alienation. 

    Anchored in a deep understanding of the local community and of Israeli society, Shirin’s clear vision, alongside her unwavering persistence, are transforming this reality. She is working to strengthen the identity of youth in her care by addressing their emotional and social needs and the substantial educational gaps they face. And she is working to strengthen their sense of belonging by connecting them with the rich tradition of the Arab culture, as well as rehabilitating their self-esteem and preparing them for a trajectory of higher education and successful participation in the Israeli economy. 

    Shirin has also founded an extensive volunteering program at the school, recruiting key players in the community and throughout Israel to help students to find their place within Israeli society and engage them in learning. In this framework, students and faculty from the Weizmann Institute have been meeting with small groups of high school students on a weekly basis over the last decade. In this setting, the Weizmann mentors provide them with educational support for the students’ science curriculum. Recently, a group of talented students from the Lod school has started a high-level physics program at the Schwartz/Reisman Science Education Center – Rehovot. 

    Shirin’s efforts have contributed to reduced violence and a dramatic growth in the number of Lod youth who are eligible for high school matriculation, and a growing number of alumni who continue on to higher education while giving back to their community through volunteer work. She has been included in The Marker’s list of 40 most promising young adults in Israel and in the Ha'aretz newspaper’s list of the 50 most influential figures in education in 2012. 

  • Dr. Meital Oren-Suissa

    Department of Neurobiology

    Dr. Meital Oren-Suissa earned her BSc in molecular biochemistry, cum laude (2003), her MSc in Biology, cum laude (2006), and her PhD in biology (2012) all from the Technion—Israel Institute of Technology. She completed her doctoral studies on the mechanisms of neuronal branching under the guidance of Prof. Benjamin Podbilewicz. Her postdoctoral training at Columbia University focused on sex differences in neuronal wiring patterns during development. She joined the Weizmann Institute of Science in July 2017 and is the incumbent of the Jenna and Julia Birnbach Family Career Development Chair.

    Dr. Meital Oren-Suissa earned her BSc in molecular biochemistry, cum laude (2003), her MSc in Biology, cum laude (2006), and her PhD in biology (2012) all from the Technion—Israel Institute of Technology. She completed her doctoral studies on the mechanisms of neuronal branching under the guidance of Prof. Benjamin Podbilewicz. Her postdoctoral training at Columbia University focused on sex differences in neuronal wiring patterns during development. She joined the Weizmann Institute of Science in July 2017 and is the incumbent of the Jenna and Julia Birnbach Family Career Development Chair.

    Dr. Oren-Suissa studies the development of brain circuits that control behaviors that differ between males and females. Her research has provided key evidence that a brain cell’s protein degradation machinery plays a role in shaping synaptic connectivity—that is, the cellular clean-up crew helps regulate the strength of a brain cell’s connections with other brain cells. Moreover, she has shown that sexual identity intersects with the protein degradation machinery to specify synapse elimination. The implications for her research are immense, given that many genes associated with neurological diseases and disorders display sex-specific differences in developmental and pathological processes, and in recovery mechanisms—including in Alzheimer’s disease, autism spectrum disorder, depression, and post-traumatic stress disorder. 

    Dr. Oren-Suissa has received several awards both for her research progress and for her teaching skills, including the Human Frontier Science Program (HFSP) Long-Term Postdoctoral Fellowship (2013-2016), the EMBO Long-term Fellowship (2012-2013) and the Azrieli early career faculty fellowship (2017-2020). She has also received an Israeli National Postdoctoral Award for Advancing Women in Science (2012-2014), the Technion’s Faculty of Biology Award for Excellence in Teaching (2009), and the Vivian Konigsberg Award for Excellence in Teaching (2007), among other honors.

    She lives in Rehovot with her husband, an IDF officer, and their two children.

    Read More » about Dr. Meital Oren-Suissa

    Dr. Meital Oren-Suissa

    Department of Neurobiology

    Dr. Meital Oren-Suissa earned her BSc in molecular biochemistry, cum laude (2003), her MSc in Biology, cum laude (2006), and her PhD in biology (2012) all from the Technion—Israel Institute of Technology. She completed her doctoral studies on the mechanisms of neuronal branching under the guidance of Prof. Benjamin Podbilewicz. Her postdoctoral training at Columbia University focused on sex differences in neuronal wiring patterns during development. She joined the Weizmann Institute of Science in July 2017 and is the incumbent of the Jenna and Julia Birnbach Family Career Development Chair.

    Dr. Oren-Suissa studies the development of brain circuits that control behaviors that differ between males and females. Her research has provided key evidence that a brain cell’s protein degradation machinery plays a role in shaping synaptic connectivity—that is, the cellular clean-up crew helps regulate the strength of a brain cell’s connections with other brain cells. Moreover, she has shown that sexual identity intersects with the protein degradation machinery to specify synapse elimination. The implications for her research are immense, given that many genes associated with neurological diseases and disorders display sex-specific differences in developmental and pathological processes, and in recovery mechanisms—including in Alzheimer’s disease, autism spectrum disorder, depression, and post-traumatic stress disorder. 

    Dr. Oren-Suissa has received several awards both for her research progress and for her teaching skills, including the Human Frontier Science Program (HFSP) Long-Term Postdoctoral Fellowship (2013-2016), the EMBO Long-term Fellowship (2012-2013) and the Azrieli early career faculty fellowship (2017-2020). She has also received an Israeli National Postdoctoral Award for Advancing Women in Science (2012-2014), the Technion’s Faculty of Biology Award for Excellence in Teaching (2009), and the Vivian Konigsberg Award for Excellence in Teaching (2007), among other honors.

    She lives in Rehovot with her husband, an IDF officer, and their two children.

  • 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. 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. 

    Read More » about Prof. Dan Oron

    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. 

  • Prof. Roee Ozeri

    Vice President, Resource Development

    Prof. Roee Ozeri is the Vice President for Resource Development.

    Prof. Roee Ozeri was born in Israel. He earned a BSc in physics from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, and his MSc and PhD in physics from the Weizmann Institute of Science. He conducted postdoctoral research at the National Institute of Standards and Technology in Boulder,  Colorado in the group of David Wineland, a 2012 Nobel Laureate in Physics, after which Prof. Ozeri joined the Weizmann Institute faculty.

    Prof. Roee Ozeri was born in Israel. He earned a BSc in physics from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, and his MSc and PhD in physics from the Weizmann Institute of Science. He conducted postdoctoral research at the National Institute of Standards and Technology in Boulder,  Colorado in the group of David Wineland, a 2012 Nobel Laureate in Physics, after which Prof. Ozeri joined the Weizmann Institute faculty.

    Prof. Ozeri's lab works with ultra-cold atoms. One of his research directions may advance the fields of quantum computing – the development of computing systems based on the principles of quantum mechanics. Such quantum systems would have the potential to perform immense information-processing tasks that are out of the reach of regular computers, as well as a vastly greater capacity for storing information. If such systems are indeed built, they will revolutionize the world of computing, which will require an entirely new approach to ensuring the security of information, for example, in online banking transactions. Prof. Ozeri focuses on one of the greatest challenges in developing quantum computers: finding ways to mitigate the effect of noise on quantum systems. Quantum information is easily disrupted by the slightest environmental interference, and researchers have not yet figured out how to avert this on a large scale.

    Prof. Ozeri received the Rosa and Emilio Segre Research Award, the Morris L. Levinson Prize in Physics, and the prestigious Rothschild Foundation Postdoctoral Fellowship. Prof. Ozeri is a member of the executive boards of the Davidson Institute of Science Education and the Schwartz/Reisman Science Education Center.

    Prof. Ozeri is married and a father to three children. His hobbies include sea-kayaking,
    running, cooking, reading and writing short stories.

    Read More » about Prof. Roee Ozeri

    Prof. Roee Ozeri

    Vice President, Resource Development

    Prof. Roee Ozeri was born in Israel. He earned a BSc in physics from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, and his MSc and PhD in physics from the Weizmann Institute of Science. He conducted postdoctoral research at the National Institute of Standards and Technology in Boulder,  Colorado in the group of David Wineland, a 2012 Nobel Laureate in Physics, after which Prof. Ozeri joined the Weizmann Institute faculty.

    Prof. Ozeri's lab works with ultra-cold atoms. One of his research directions may advance the fields of quantum computing – the development of computing systems based on the principles of quantum mechanics. Such quantum systems would have the potential to perform immense information-processing tasks that are out of the reach of regular computers, as well as a vastly greater capacity for storing information. If such systems are indeed built, they will revolutionize the world of computing, which will require an entirely new approach to ensuring the security of information, for example, in online banking transactions. Prof. Ozeri focuses on one of the greatest challenges in developing quantum computers: finding ways to mitigate the effect of noise on quantum systems. Quantum information is easily disrupted by the slightest environmental interference, and researchers have not yet figured out how to avert this on a large scale.

    Prof. Ozeri received the Rosa and Emilio Segre Research Award, the Morris L. Levinson Prize in Physics, and the prestigious Rothschild Foundation Postdoctoral Fellowship. Prof. Ozeri is a member of the executive boards of the Davidson Institute of Science Education and the Schwartz/Reisman Science Education Center.

    Prof. Ozeri is married and a father to three children. His hobbies include sea-kayaking,
    running, cooking, reading and writing short stories.

  • Prof. Yitzhak Pilpel

    Department of Molecular Genetics

    Born in Jerusalem, Prof. Yitzhak (Tzachi) Pilpel was awarded a BSc in biology from Tel Aviv University (1993), and a PhD from the Weizmann Institute of Science (1999). He was a postdoctoral fellow in the Harvard Medical School’s Department of Genetics and Lipper Center for Computational Genetics. He joined the Weizmann Institute faculty in 2003 and in 2018 became the Director of the Azrieli Institute for Systems Biology. He became head of the Department of Molecular Genetics at the Weizmann Institute and later also Head of the Braginsky Center for the Interface between Science and Humanities in 2019. He is the incumbent of the Ben May Professorial Chair.

    Born in Jerusalem, Prof. Yitzhak (Tzachi) Pilpel was awarded a BSc in biology from Tel Aviv University (1993), and a PhD from the Weizmann Institute of Science (1999). He was a postdoctoral fellow in the Harvard Medical School’s Department of Genetics and Lipper Center for Computational Genetics. He joined the Weizmann Institute faculty in 2003 and in 2018 became the Director of the Azrieli Institute for Systems Biology. He became head of the Department of Molecular Genetics at the Weizmann Institute and later also Head of the Braginsky Center for the Interface between Science and Humanities in 2019. He is the incumbent of the Ben May Professorial Chair.

    Prof. Pilpel specializes in systems biology, genomics and evolution. He develops computational tools and theoretical models to analyze complex networks within cells and the evolutionary mechanisms that created them. In parallel, he and his laboratory team apply systems biology and genomics experimental strategies to the study of genetic circuits that process and transmit information in cells. 

    Among Prof. Pilpel‘s awards are the Helen and Martin Kimmel Award for Innovative Investigation (2020), an IBM Faculty Award (2013), the Michael Bruno Memorial Award (2012), the Hestrin Prize of the Israel Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology (2010), the Morris Levinson Prize in Biology (2007), and the James Heineman Research Award (2006). He has received the EMBO Young Investigator Award (2005) and a merit-based fellowship for young principal investigators from Horowitz Foundation for Complexity Sciences (2003-2006). In 2011, Prof. Pilpel was elected as a member of the European Molecular Biology Organiztion.

    Prof. Pilpel is married to Ayelet and they have three children, Yarden, Adi and Noga. His is involved in improvisational theater and recently began writing sonnets, which, like genes, must obey strict rules that affect form and content. 

    Read More » about Prof. Yitzhak Pilpel

    Prof. Yitzhak Pilpel

    Department of Molecular Genetics

    Born in Jerusalem, Prof. Yitzhak (Tzachi) Pilpel was awarded a BSc in biology from Tel Aviv University (1993), and a PhD from the Weizmann Institute of Science (1999). He was a postdoctoral fellow in the Harvard Medical School’s Department of Genetics and Lipper Center for Computational Genetics. He joined the Weizmann Institute faculty in 2003 and in 2018 became the Director of the Azrieli Institute for Systems Biology. He became head of the Department of Molecular Genetics at the Weizmann Institute and later also Head of the Braginsky Center for the Interface between Science and Humanities in 2019. He is the incumbent of the Ben May Professorial Chair.

    Prof. Pilpel specializes in systems biology, genomics and evolution. He develops computational tools and theoretical models to analyze complex networks within cells and the evolutionary mechanisms that created them. In parallel, he and his laboratory team apply systems biology and genomics experimental strategies to the study of genetic circuits that process and transmit information in cells. 

    Among Prof. Pilpel‘s awards are the Helen and Martin Kimmel Award for Innovative Investigation (2020), an IBM Faculty Award (2013), the Michael Bruno Memorial Award (2012), the Hestrin Prize of the Israel Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology (2010), the Morris Levinson Prize in Biology (2007), and the James Heineman Research Award (2006). He has received the EMBO Young Investigator Award (2005) and a merit-based fellowship for young principal investigators from Horowitz Foundation for Complexity Sciences (2003-2006). In 2011, Prof. Pilpel was elected as a member of the European Molecular Biology Organiztion.

    Prof. Pilpel is married to Ayelet and they have three children, Yarden, Adi and Noga. His is involved in improvisational theater and recently began writing sonnets, which, like genes, must obey strict rules that affect form and content. 

  • Prof. Carol Prives

    Co-Chair, Scientific and Academic Advisory Committee

    Prof. Carol Prives is the DaCosta Professor of Biological Sciences at Columbia University. She was educated in Canada, receiving her BSc and PhD from McGill University. Her postdoctoral training took place at Albert Einstein College of Medicine and the Weizmann Institute under the mentorship of Professor Michel Revel, after which she became a faculty member at the Weizmann Institute. She then joined the Biological Sciences Department at Columbia University where she was named the DaCosta Professor of Biology in 1995.

    Prof. Carol Prives is the DaCosta Professor of Biological Sciences at Columbia University. She was educated in Canada, receiving her BSc and PhD from McGill University. Her postdoctoral training took place at Albert Einstein College of Medicine and the Weizmann Institute under the mentorship of Professor Michel Revel, after which she became a faculty member at the Weizmann Institute. She then joined the Biological Sciences Department at Columbia University where she was named the DaCosta Professor of Biology in 1995. Prof. Prives served as Chair of that department between 2000 and 2004. She has served as the Co-Chair of the Weizmann Institute's Scientific and Academic Advisory Committee since November 2017.

    Since the late 1980’s her work has focused on the p53 tumor suppressor protein, the product of the most frequently mutated gene in human cancers. She and her group have elucidated aspects of the structure and function of the p53 protein especially as it relates to its roles as a transcriptional activator. In parallel, her group has examined how cancer related mutant forms of p53 regulate tumorigenesis. Work from her laboratory has also illuminated the functions of the key p53 negative regulators, Mdm2 and MdmX.

    Prof. Prives has served as Chair of both the Experimental Virology and the Cell and Molecular Pathology Study Sections of the NIH and was a member of the NCI Intramural Scientific Advisory Board. She was also a member of the Advisory Boards of the Dana-Farber Cancer Center, the Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center and the Massachusetts General Cancer Center as well as the American Association for Cancer Research and is currently a member of the Scientific Council of the Cancer Prevention and Research Institute of Texas. She also serves on the editorial boards of Cell, Genes & Development, Cancer Discovery and the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. Prof. Prives has received several honors including being named an American Cancer Society Research Professor, election to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, the National Academy of Medicine, the National Academy of Sciences and the AACR Academy.  She has presented numerous named lectures and has received awards including the NCI Rosalind E Franklin Award for Women in Science, the Paul Jansen Prize in Advanced Biotechnology and Medicine, and the AACR-Women in Cancer Research Charlotte Friend Memorial Lectureship Award. Prof. Prives has also received an honorary doctorate from McGill University, her alma mater.

    Read More » about Prof. Carol Prives

    Prof. Carol Prives

    Co-Chair, Scientific and Academic Advisory Committee

    Prof. Carol Prives is the DaCosta Professor of Biological Sciences at Columbia University. She was educated in Canada, receiving her BSc and PhD from McGill University. Her postdoctoral training took place at Albert Einstein College of Medicine and the Weizmann Institute under the mentorship of Professor Michel Revel, after which she became a faculty member at the Weizmann Institute. She then joined the Biological Sciences Department at Columbia University where she was named the DaCosta Professor of Biology in 1995. Prof. Prives served as Chair of that department between 2000 and 2004. She has served as the Co-Chair of the Weizmann Institute's Scientific and Academic Advisory Committee since November 2017.

    Since the late 1980’s her work has focused on the p53 tumor suppressor protein, the product of the most frequently mutated gene in human cancers. She and her group have elucidated aspects of the structure and function of the p53 protein especially as it relates to its roles as a transcriptional activator. In parallel, her group has examined how cancer related mutant forms of p53 regulate tumorigenesis. Work from her laboratory has also illuminated the functions of the key p53 negative regulators, Mdm2 and MdmX.

    Prof. Prives has served as Chair of both the Experimental Virology and the Cell and Molecular Pathology Study Sections of the NIH and was a member of the NCI Intramural Scientific Advisory Board. She was also a member of the Advisory Boards of the Dana-Farber Cancer Center, the Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center and the Massachusetts General Cancer Center as well as the American Association for Cancer Research and is currently a member of the Scientific Council of the Cancer Prevention and Research Institute of Texas. She also serves on the editorial boards of Cell, Genes & Development, Cancer Discovery and the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. Prof. Prives has received several honors including being named an American Cancer Society Research Professor, election to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, the National Academy of Medicine, the National Academy of Sciences and the AACR Academy.  She has presented numerous named lectures and has received awards including the NCI Rosalind E Franklin Award for Women in Science, the Paul Jansen Prize in Advanced Biotechnology and Medicine, and the AACR-Women in Cancer Research Charlotte Friend Memorial Lectureship Award. Prof. Prives has also received an honorary doctorate from McGill University, her alma mater.

  • Prof. Jehuda Reinharz

    Chair, International Board

    Jehuda Reinharz was born in Haifa, Israel, in 1944. He received his high school education in Germany and immigrated to the United States as a teenager in 1961.

    Prof. Reinharz earned concurrent bachelor’s degrees from Columbia University and the Jewish Theological Seminary of America. He earned his master’s degree in medieval Jewish history from Harvard University in 1968 and his doctorate in modern Jewish history from Brandeis University in 1972.

    Jehuda Reinharz was born in Haifa, Israel, in 1944. He received his high school education in Germany and immigrated to the United States as a teenager in 1961.

    Prof. Reinharz earned concurrent bachelor’s degrees from Columbia University and the Jewish Theological Seminary of America. He earned his master’s degree in medieval Jewish history from Harvard University in 1968 and his doctorate in modern Jewish history from Brandeis University in 1972.

    Prof. Reinharz was the first professor of Jewish history at the University of Michigan from 1972 to 1982, where he established the program in Judaic Studies and became a full professor.

    In 1982, he became the Richard Koret Professor of Modern Jewish History in the Department of Near Eastern and Judaic Studies at Brandeis University. Two years later, he was named Director of the Tauber Institute for the Study of European Jewry at Brandeis and eight years later founded the Jacob and Libby Goodman Institute for the Study of Zionism and Israel. From 1991 to 1994, Prof. Reinharz served as Provost and Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs. In 1994, he became the seventh President of Brandeis University. In January 2011, Prof. Reinharz assumed the presidency of the Jack, Joseph and Morton Mandel Foundation.

    Prof. Reinharz is the author or co-author of more than one hundred articles and thirty-one books in various languages. His Jew in the Modern World (3rd edition 2011), co-edited with Paul Mendes-Flohr, is one of the most widely adopted college texts in modern Jewish history. His two-volume biography of Chaim Weizmann, the first President of Israel, has won many prizes in Israel and the United States and his book, co-authored with the late Ben Halpern, entitled Zionism and the Creation of a New Society, was published in 1998 and re-issued in a revised paperback edition in 2000. His three latest co-authored books (with Prof. Yaacov Shavit) are Darwin and His Kind (published in Hebrew in 2009); Glorious, Accursed Europe (published in 2010), which analyzes the relationship of Jews to Europe from the 18th century to the present; and The Scientific God, which deals with popular science in Eastern Europe in the second half of the 19th century (published in Hebrew in 2011). In 2013, Reinharz co-authored The Road to September 1939 (published in Hebrew) with Yaacov Shavit, as well as Die Sprache der Judenfeindschaft im 21.Jahrhundert, co-authored with Monika Schwarz-Friesel. He is now completing with Prof. Motti Golani of Tel Aviv University, the third and final volume of the biography of Chaim Weizmann.

    Most recently, Prof. Reinharz co-wrote a book on the history of the donkey in literature (with Prof. Yaacov Shavit). The book, The Donkey: A Cultural History, was published in Hebrew (2014). On this subject, Prof. Reinharz has said: “No one has ever contemplated this history on a large scale… It’s probably the most ambitious topic Prof. Shavit and I have ever contemplated.”

    Prof. Reinharz is the recipient of seven honorary doctorates, including one from the Weizmann Institute of Science. In 1992, he was elected a Fellow of the Royal Historical Society. In 1995, Prof. Reinharz was elected a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and in 1999 he was elected a member of the Council on Foreign Relations. In addition, he serves on a number of boards and advisory committees.

    Jehuda Reinharz is married to Shulamit Reinharz, professor emerita of sociology at Brandeis University. They have two daughters, Yael and Naomi.

    Read More » about Prof. Jehuda Reinharz

    Prof. Jehuda Reinharz

    Chair, International Board

    Jehuda Reinharz was born in Haifa, Israel, in 1944. He received his high school education in Germany and immigrated to the United States as a teenager in 1961.

    Prof. Reinharz earned concurrent bachelor’s degrees from Columbia University and the Jewish Theological Seminary of America. He earned his master’s degree in medieval Jewish history from Harvard University in 1968 and his doctorate in modern Jewish history from Brandeis University in 1972.

    Prof. Reinharz was the first professor of Jewish history at the University of Michigan from 1972 to 1982, where he established the program in Judaic Studies and became a full professor.

    In 1982, he became the Richard Koret Professor of Modern Jewish History in the Department of Near Eastern and Judaic Studies at Brandeis University. Two years later, he was named Director of the Tauber Institute for the Study of European Jewry at Brandeis and eight years later founded the Jacob and Libby Goodman Institute for the Study of Zionism and Israel. From 1991 to 1994, Prof. Reinharz served as Provost and Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs. In 1994, he became the seventh President of Brandeis University. In January 2011, Prof. Reinharz assumed the presidency of the Jack, Joseph and Morton Mandel Foundation.

    Prof. Reinharz is the author or co-author of more than one hundred articles and thirty-one books in various languages. His Jew in the Modern World (3rd edition 2011), co-edited with Paul Mendes-Flohr, is one of the most widely adopted college texts in modern Jewish history. His two-volume biography of Chaim Weizmann, the first President of Israel, has won many prizes in Israel and the United States and his book, co-authored with the late Ben Halpern, entitled Zionism and the Creation of a New Society, was published in 1998 and re-issued in a revised paperback edition in 2000. His three latest co-authored books (with Prof. Yaacov Shavit) are Darwin and His Kind (published in Hebrew in 2009); Glorious, Accursed Europe (published in 2010), which analyzes the relationship of Jews to Europe from the 18th century to the present; and The Scientific God, which deals with popular science in Eastern Europe in the second half of the 19th century (published in Hebrew in 2011). In 2013, Reinharz co-authored The Road to September 1939 (published in Hebrew) with Yaacov Shavit, as well as Die Sprache der Judenfeindschaft im 21.Jahrhundert, co-authored with Monika Schwarz-Friesel. He is now completing with Prof. Motti Golani of Tel Aviv University, the third and final volume of the biography of Chaim Weizmann.

    Most recently, Prof. Reinharz co-wrote a book on the history of the donkey in literature (with Prof. Yaacov Shavit). The book, The Donkey: A Cultural History, was published in Hebrew (2014). On this subject, Prof. Reinharz has said: “No one has ever contemplated this history on a large scale… It’s probably the most ambitious topic Prof. Shavit and I have ever contemplated.”

    Prof. Reinharz is the recipient of seven honorary doctorates, including one from the Weizmann Institute of Science. In 1992, he was elected a Fellow of the Royal Historical Society. In 1995, Prof. Reinharz was elected a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and in 1999 he was elected a member of the Council on Foreign Relations. In addition, he serves on a number of boards and advisory committees.

    Jehuda Reinharz is married to Shulamit Reinharz, professor emerita of sociology at Brandeis University. They have two daughters, Yael and Naomi.

  • Meir Shalev

    Israel

    Meir Shalev is an Israeli author and publicist, one of the most preeminent – and popular – writers of modern Hebrew literature, whose unique and influential has greatly affected Israeli culture in recent decades. His oeuvre, which includes works for both children and adults, are saturated with love of man and nature and brings to the forefront the magic of everyday life.

    Meir Shalev is an Israeli author and publicist, one of the most preeminent – and popular – writers of modern Hebrew literature, whose unique and influential has greatly affected Israeli culture in recent decades. His oeuvre, which includes works for both children and adults, are saturated with love of man and nature and brings to the forefront the magic of everyday life.

    Meir was born on Moshav Nahalal in 1948. He joined the IDF in 1966, taking part in battles of the Six-Day War and the War of Attrition. During his service, he was wounded in a military accident. After his discharge, he studied psychology at The Hebrew University of Jerusalem and began a career as a researcher, screenwriter, host, and producer on radio and television, and a contributor to Israel’s leading newspapers. His long-standing column in Yedioth Ahronoth’s weekend supplement applies humor and sarcasm to the critical treatment of government policies, in particular in the areas of education and culture, nature and the environment, and religion and state.

    His first published book (in 1982) was a children’s story, Michael and the Monster of Jerusalem. In the following years, he published Bible Now – a personal, modern look at diverse biblical episodes, as well as two more children’s books. His first book for adult readers, The Blue Mountain, was published in 1988 and became an immediate bestseller, and is considered one of the most-read Hebrew books in history. Meir Shalev has since published a large number of novels, essays, and children’s books, many of which have been translated into multiple languages and adapted to the stage.

    His novels chronicle the experience of the settlers in the Jezreel Valley in the pre-State era. Fantasy and humor are prevalent in his fiction, which combines imaginative tales with biographical details and his family’s history, together with biblical associations and mythic references. These elements and many more are interwoven into a multi-layered narrative on the backdrop of his childhood landscapes in Jerusalem and the Galilee. 

    Meir Shalev’s work has been recognized with some of the most prestigious literary awards in Israel and abroad. These include the Bernstein Prize; the Brenner Prize; the Israel Prime Minister’s Prize for Literature; the Entomologist’s Society’s Award (for his insect descriptions in The Blue Mountain); the WIZO Prize in France, Italy and Israel; the Chiavari Prize (Italy); the American National Jewish Book Award; the Pratt Award for Environmental Journalism, in recognition of his contribution to the protection of nature and the environment in his literary writing and essays; and many more. He was also decorated as Chevalier of the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres (France) and has received honorary doctorates from Ben-Gurion University of the Negev and The Hebrew University of Jerusalem.

    Read More » about Meir Shalev

    Meir Shalev

    Israel

    Meir Shalev is an Israeli author and publicist, one of the most preeminent – and popular – writers of modern Hebrew literature, whose unique and influential has greatly affected Israeli culture in recent decades. His oeuvre, which includes works for both children and adults, are saturated with love of man and nature and brings to the forefront the magic of everyday life.

    Meir was born on Moshav Nahalal in 1948. He joined the IDF in 1966, taking part in battles of the Six-Day War and the War of Attrition. During his service, he was wounded in a military accident. After his discharge, he studied psychology at The Hebrew University of Jerusalem and began a career as a researcher, screenwriter, host, and producer on radio and television, and a contributor to Israel’s leading newspapers. His long-standing column in Yedioth Ahronoth’s weekend supplement applies humor and sarcasm to the critical treatment of government policies, in particular in the areas of education and culture, nature and the environment, and religion and state.

    His first published book (in 1982) was a children’s story, Michael and the Monster of Jerusalem. In the following years, he published Bible Now – a personal, modern look at diverse biblical episodes, as well as two more children’s books. His first book for adult readers, The Blue Mountain, was published in 1988 and became an immediate bestseller, and is considered one of the most-read Hebrew books in history. Meir Shalev has since published a large number of novels, essays, and children’s books, many of which have been translated into multiple languages and adapted to the stage.

    His novels chronicle the experience of the settlers in the Jezreel Valley in the pre-State era. Fantasy and humor are prevalent in his fiction, which combines imaginative tales with biographical details and his family’s history, together with biblical associations and mythic references. These elements and many more are interwoven into a multi-layered narrative on the backdrop of his childhood landscapes in Jerusalem and the Galilee. 

    Meir Shalev’s work has been recognized with some of the most prestigious literary awards in Israel and abroad. These include the Bernstein Prize; the Brenner Prize; the Israel Prime Minister’s Prize for Literature; the Entomologist’s Society’s Award (for his insect descriptions in The Blue Mountain); the WIZO Prize in France, Italy and Israel; the Chiavari Prize (Italy); the American National Jewish Book Award; the Pratt Award for Environmental Journalism, in recognition of his contribution to the protection of nature and the environment in his literary writing and essays; and many more. He was also decorated as Chevalier of the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres (France) and has received honorary doctorates from Ben-Gurion University of the Negev and The Hebrew University of Jerusalem.

  • Helen Sharman, CMG OBE

    United Kingdom

    Helen Sharman is a pioneer, a role model for young people (of all ages!) and world-class inspirational speaker. She became the first British Astronaut when in May 1991, aged 27, she launched on a Russian Soyuz spacecraft. She spent 8 days orbiting the Earth, living and working on the MIR Space Station (*in the modern Russian language, "Mir" can be translated as "peace" or "world"). Helen will celebrate her 30th Anniversary in May 2021.

    Helen Sharman is a pioneer, a role model for young people (of all ages!) and world-class inspirational speaker. She became the first British Astronaut when in May 1991, aged 27, she launched on a Russian Soyuz spacecraft. She spent 8 days orbiting the Earth, living and working on the MIR Space Station (*in the modern Russian language, "Mir" can be translated as "peace" or "world"). Helen will celebrate her 30th Anniversary in May 2021.

    She was selected from over 13,000 applicants but didn't think she stood a chance of being chosen when she applied, after hearing an advert on the radio on her way home after work.
    Two people were chosen for the rigorous training but only one -  Helen - went into Space.

    But Helen was exactly the right person - calm, practical, friendly, professional and a team player. A superb speaker, Helen enthuses her audience about Space, STEM and the wonders of science. She describes the meticulous training and preparation, learning Russian, launch and landing, how weightlessness feels, her science experiments, the team spirit, and readjusting to life on Earth.

    Helen Sharman was awarded the OBE in 1993. In the New Year Honours List of 2018, she was further awarded a rare and special honour, being made a Companion of the Order of St Michael and St George (CMG) for services to Science and Technology Educational Outreach. She received the CMG from Her Majesty The Queen at Windsor Castle in February 2018.

    In his Foreword to Helen's autobiography Seize The Moment, Arthur C Clarke writes:
    "Her account of the hours before the launch and the actual sensations during ascent into orbit is so gripping that any reader will feel a vicarious involvement. This is exactly what it must be like".

    After MIR, Helen became a science communicator and corporate speaker, winning numerous prizes for radio and TV programmes and for her inspirational talks on teamwork, STEM, science communication and motivation.

    Helen Sharman received her BSc in Chemistry at Sheffield University. She worked in Research & Development for GEC before moving to Mars Confectionery as a Research Technologist working on chocolate and ice cream. Later, Helen managed a research group at the National Physical Laboratory in London. She now works part-time as the UK Outreach Ambassador for Imperial College London.

    Read More » about Helen Sharman, CMG OBE

    Helen Sharman, CMG OBE

    United Kingdom

    Helen Sharman is a pioneer, a role model for young people (of all ages!) and world-class inspirational speaker. She became the first British Astronaut when in May 1991, aged 27, she launched on a Russian Soyuz spacecraft. She spent 8 days orbiting the Earth, living and working on the MIR Space Station (*in the modern Russian language, "Mir" can be translated as "peace" or "world"). Helen will celebrate her 30th Anniversary in May 2021.

    She was selected from over 13,000 applicants but didn't think she stood a chance of being chosen when she applied, after hearing an advert on the radio on her way home after work.
    Two people were chosen for the rigorous training but only one -  Helen - went into Space.

    But Helen was exactly the right person - calm, practical, friendly, professional and a team player. A superb speaker, Helen enthuses her audience about Space, STEM and the wonders of science. She describes the meticulous training and preparation, learning Russian, launch and landing, how weightlessness feels, her science experiments, the team spirit, and readjusting to life on Earth.

    Helen Sharman was awarded the OBE in 1993. In the New Year Honours List of 2018, she was further awarded a rare and special honour, being made a Companion of the Order of St Michael and St George (CMG) for services to Science and Technology Educational Outreach. She received the CMG from Her Majesty The Queen at Windsor Castle in February 2018.

    In his Foreword to Helen's autobiography Seize The Moment, Arthur C Clarke writes:
    "Her account of the hours before the launch and the actual sensations during ascent into orbit is so gripping that any reader will feel a vicarious involvement. This is exactly what it must be like".

    After MIR, Helen became a science communicator and corporate speaker, winning numerous prizes for radio and TV programmes and for her inspirational talks on teamwork, STEM, science communication and motivation.

    Helen Sharman received her BSc in Chemistry at Sheffield University. She worked in Research & Development for GEC before moving to Mars Confectionery as a Research Technologist working on chocolate and ice cream. Later, Helen managed a research group at the National Physical Laboratory in London. She now works part-time as the UK Outreach Ambassador for Imperial College London.

  • Dr. Noam Stern-Ginossar

    Department of Molecular Genetics

    Dr. Noam Stern-Ginossar completed her BSc in biology magna cum laude at the Hebrew University in 2002, and her MSc in 2005 at the Hadassah School of Medicine at Hebrew University. She was awarded a PhD in immunology with distinction there in 2009 and went on to conduct her postdoctoral training at the University of California, San Francisco. She joined the Department of Molecular Genetics at the Weizmann Institute in January 2014 and currently heads the ACWIS 7Oth Anniversary Laboratory. She is the incumbent of the Skirball Career Development Chair for New Scientists.

    Dr. Noam Stern-Ginossar completed her BSc in biology magna cum laude at the Hebrew University in 2002, and her MSc in 2005 at the Hadassah School of Medicine at Hebrew University. She was awarded a PhD in immunology with distinction there in 2009 and went on to conduct her postdoctoral training at the University of California, San Francisco. She joined the Department of Molecular Genetics at the Weizmann Institute in January 2014 and currently heads the ACWIS 7Oth Anniversary Laboratory. She is the incumbent of the Skirball Career Development Chair for New Scientists.

    Dr. Stern-Ginossar studies how viruses invade healthy cells and take over the cell’s systems to survive and reproduce. Viruses are completely reliant on the host cell machinery and need to hijack the cell’s transcription system in order to reproduce, as well as to overcome the cell’s defenses and evade the body’s immune responses. In her PhD work, she described how a herpes virus, Human Cytomegalovirus (HCMV), creates encoded microRNAs (mRNA) to reduce the expression of a host stress-induced gene, helping it evade natural killer cells. The journal Nature Medicine selected the paper as one of the notable scientific advances of 2007. Dr. Stern-Ginossar has concentrated on using genetic deep sequencing to discover all the different types of viral mRNA translated in the ribosome of the host cell during the course of infection and to reveal how the proteins they create affect the regulatory mechanisms of the cell. Her "ribosome profiling" has discovered hundreds of previously undiscovered, virus-produced mRNAs that can regulate the production of proteins in the host cell.

    Her academic and professional honors include Wolf Prizes as an MSc and PhD student, an Adams PhD Fellowship, the Chorafas Prize for Excellence in Scientific Research (2007), the James Sivartsen Award for Excellence in Cancer Research (2009), EMBO short-term and long-term fellowships, the Weizmann Institute of Science National Postdoctoral Award Program for Advancing Women in Science Fellowship (2010-2011), and a Human Frontiers Postdoctoral Fellowship. In 2013, she won the Weizmann Institute’s Sir Charles Clore Prize for Outstanding Appointment as a Senior Scientist.

    She is married and has three children.

    Read More » about Dr. Noam Stern-Ginossar

    Dr. Noam Stern-Ginossar

    Department of Molecular Genetics

    Dr. Noam Stern-Ginossar completed her BSc in biology magna cum laude at the Hebrew University in 2002, and her MSc in 2005 at the Hadassah School of Medicine at Hebrew University. She was awarded a PhD in immunology with distinction there in 2009 and went on to conduct her postdoctoral training at the University of California, San Francisco. She joined the Department of Molecular Genetics at the Weizmann Institute in January 2014 and currently heads the ACWIS 7Oth Anniversary Laboratory. She is the incumbent of the Skirball Career Development Chair for New Scientists.

    Dr. Stern-Ginossar studies how viruses invade healthy cells and take over the cell’s systems to survive and reproduce. Viruses are completely reliant on the host cell machinery and need to hijack the cell’s transcription system in order to reproduce, as well as to overcome the cell’s defenses and evade the body’s immune responses. In her PhD work, she described how a herpes virus, Human Cytomegalovirus (HCMV), creates encoded microRNAs (mRNA) to reduce the expression of a host stress-induced gene, helping it evade natural killer cells. The journal Nature Medicine selected the paper as one of the notable scientific advances of 2007. Dr. Stern-Ginossar has concentrated on using genetic deep sequencing to discover all the different types of viral mRNA translated in the ribosome of the host cell during the course of infection and to reveal how the proteins they create affect the regulatory mechanisms of the cell. Her "ribosome profiling" has discovered hundreds of previously undiscovered, virus-produced mRNAs that can regulate the production of proteins in the host cell.

    Her academic and professional honors include Wolf Prizes as an MSc and PhD student, an Adams PhD Fellowship, the Chorafas Prize for Excellence in Scientific Research (2007), the James Sivartsen Award for Excellence in Cancer Research (2009), EMBO short-term and long-term fellowships, the Weizmann Institute of Science National Postdoctoral Award Program for Advancing Women in Science Fellowship (2010-2011), and a Human Frontiers Postdoctoral Fellowship. In 2013, she won the Weizmann Institute’s Sir Charles Clore Prize for Outstanding Appointment as a Senior Scientist.

    She is married and has three children.

  • Dr. Eliran Subag

    Department of Mathematics

    Dr. Eliran Subag completed his BSc and MSc in electrical engineering, both summa cum laude at the Technion – Israel Institute of Technology in 2010 and 2013, respectively. He completed a PhD in mathematics at the Weizmann Institute of Science under the direction of Prof. Ofer Zeitouni in 2017. From 2017 until joining the faculty of the Weizmann Institute in 2020, Dr. Subag worked as a postdoctoral fellow at the Courant Institute of Mathematical Sciences at New York University in the lab of Prof. Gérard Ben Arous.

    Dr. Eliran Subag completed his BSc and MSc in electrical engineering, both summa cum laude at the Technion – Israel Institute of Technology in 2010 and 2013, respectively. He completed a PhD in mathematics at the Weizmann Institute of Science under the direction of Prof. Ofer Zeitouni in 2017. From 2017 until joining the faculty of the Weizmann Institute in 2020, Dr. Subag worked as a postdoctoral fellow at the Courant Institute of Mathematical Sciences at New York University in the lab of Prof. Gérard Ben Arous.

    Dr. Subag is interested in probability theory, in particular the theory of Gaussian fields and their geometry. Gaussian fields are a model of random functions, whose probability laws and theories can be useful for numerous applications in physics, computer science, and medical imaging. His doctoral work focused on spherical spin glasses — models of disordered magnetic systems, materials, or alloys that enable physicists and mathematicians understand the landscape of free energy and other phenomena. Combining tools from the theory of Gaussian fields, large deviations and random matrices, he studies the distribution of the critical points and asymptotic geometric structure of the thermodynamics spherical spin glass models, as the dimension tends to infinity, i.e. as the amount of data becomes too big to compute.

    Dr. Subag was appointed a Junior Fellow in the Simons Society of Fellows. Among his academic and professional honors, Dr. Subag will receive the Sir Charles Clore Prize in 2020. He received the Nessyahu Prize of the Israel Mathematical Union in 2018, and the John F. Kennedy Prize awarded to outstanding PhDs graduating from the Weizmann Institute in 2017. His studies were supported by a Wolf Foundation Fellowship in 2015, the Otto Schwartz Award in 2014 – 2015, an Adams Fellowship from 2014 – 2017, the WorldQuant Foundation Scholarship and a Meyer Excellence Program Fellowship in 2011, the Freescale Israel Excellence Award for Undergraduate Students and an Alfred and Anna Grey Scholarship in 2008 and 2009. 

    Read More » about Dr. Eliran Subag

    Dr. Eliran Subag

    Department of Mathematics

    Dr. Eliran Subag completed his BSc and MSc in electrical engineering, both summa cum laude at the Technion – Israel Institute of Technology in 2010 and 2013, respectively. He completed a PhD in mathematics at the Weizmann Institute of Science under the direction of Prof. Ofer Zeitouni in 2017. From 2017 until joining the faculty of the Weizmann Institute in 2020, Dr. Subag worked as a postdoctoral fellow at the Courant Institute of Mathematical Sciences at New York University in the lab of Prof. Gérard Ben Arous.

    Dr. Subag is interested in probability theory, in particular the theory of Gaussian fields and their geometry. Gaussian fields are a model of random functions, whose probability laws and theories can be useful for numerous applications in physics, computer science, and medical imaging. His doctoral work focused on spherical spin glasses — models of disordered magnetic systems, materials, or alloys that enable physicists and mathematicians understand the landscape of free energy and other phenomena. Combining tools from the theory of Gaussian fields, large deviations and random matrices, he studies the distribution of the critical points and asymptotic geometric structure of the thermodynamics spherical spin glass models, as the dimension tends to infinity, i.e. as the amount of data becomes too big to compute.

    Dr. Subag was appointed a Junior Fellow in the Simons Society of Fellows. Among his academic and professional honors, Dr. Subag will receive the Sir Charles Clore Prize in 2020. He received the Nessyahu Prize of the Israel Mathematical Union in 2018, and the John F. Kennedy Prize awarded to outstanding PhDs graduating from the Weizmann Institute in 2017. His studies were supported by a Wolf Foundation Fellowship in 2015, the Otto Schwartz Award in 2014 – 2015, an Adams Fellowship from 2014 – 2017, the WorldQuant Foundation Scholarship and a Meyer Excellence Program Fellowship in 2011, the Freescale Israel Excellence Award for Undergraduate Students and an Alfred and Anna Grey Scholarship in 2008 and 2009. 

  • Prof. Ofer Yizhar

    Department of Neurobiology

    Prof. Ofer Yizhar was awarded a BSc in biology with distinction at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem in 2001 and a PhD in neurobiology with distinction at the Tel Aviv University in 2008. He did his postdoctoral research at Stanford University in California from 2008 to 2011. In 2011, he joined the Weizmann Institute of Science. In 2019, he took a one-year sabbatical leave to conduct research in the Center for Brain Science at Harvard University. 

    Prof. Ofer Yizhar was awarded a BSc in biology with distinction at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem in 2001 and a PhD in neurobiology with distinction at the Tel Aviv University in 2008. He did his postdoctoral research at Stanford University in California from 2008 to 2011. In 2011, he joined the Weizmann Institute of Science. In 2019, he took a one-year sabbatical leave to conduct research in the Center for Brain Science at Harvard University. 

    Prof. Yizhar focuses his investigations on unraveling the mysteries of the prefrontal cortex, a brain region that contributes to many higher brain functions, including language, working memory, emotional regulation, and goal-directed behavior. To investigate the physiology of neural circuits, he uses optogenetics, a tool that enables the investigation of neuron functions. He played a pivotal role in the development of many of the optogenetic tools being used today worldwide in brain research; optogenetic technology allows precise control over the activity of defined elements within the neural circuit. In this way, Prof. Yizhar can learn about the function of a neural circuit and establish causal links between patterns of circuit activity and animal behavior. His research has implications for the study and treatment of brain-related disorders including autism, schizophrenia, mood and anxiety disorders, epilepsy, and beyond. 

    Prof. Yizhar’s academic and professional awards include the 2005 Jorge Deutsch Prize for Research in Bio-Medicine, the 2011 Sieratzki Prize for Neuroscience Research, a career development award from the International Human Frontier Science Program (2013), the Adelis Brain Research Award (2018), the Bernard Katz Award (2019), and the Levinson Prize for Biological Research (2019). His research has been funded by prestigious grants from the Israel Science Foundation, the European Research Commission, the Human Frontier Science Program and the Simons Foundation.

    Prof. Yizhar is married to Lital and they live on the Weizmann campus with their three children, Yotam, Maayan, and Tamar. When he’s not in the lab, he enjoys spending time with his family, hiking, trail running and playing the piano.

    Read More » about Prof. Ofer Yizhar

    Prof. Ofer Yizhar

    Department of Neurobiology

    Prof. Ofer Yizhar was awarded a BSc in biology with distinction at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem in 2001 and a PhD in neurobiology with distinction at the Tel Aviv University in 2008. He did his postdoctoral research at Stanford University in California from 2008 to 2011. In 2011, he joined the Weizmann Institute of Science. In 2019, he took a one-year sabbatical leave to conduct research in the Center for Brain Science at Harvard University. 

    Prof. Yizhar focuses his investigations on unraveling the mysteries of the prefrontal cortex, a brain region that contributes to many higher brain functions, including language, working memory, emotional regulation, and goal-directed behavior. To investigate the physiology of neural circuits, he uses optogenetics, a tool that enables the investigation of neuron functions. He played a pivotal role in the development of many of the optogenetic tools being used today worldwide in brain research; optogenetic technology allows precise control over the activity of defined elements within the neural circuit. In this way, Prof. Yizhar can learn about the function of a neural circuit and establish causal links between patterns of circuit activity and animal behavior. His research has implications for the study and treatment of brain-related disorders including autism, schizophrenia, mood and anxiety disorders, epilepsy, and beyond. 

    Prof. Yizhar’s academic and professional awards include the 2005 Jorge Deutsch Prize for Research in Bio-Medicine, the 2011 Sieratzki Prize for Neuroscience Research, a career development award from the International Human Frontier Science Program (2013), the Adelis Brain Research Award (2018), the Bernard Katz Award (2019), and the Levinson Prize for Biological Research (2019). His research has been funded by prestigious grants from the Israel Science Foundation, the European Research Commission, the Human Frontier Science Program and the Simons Foundation.

    Prof. Yizhar is married to Lital and they live on the Weizmann campus with their three children, Yotam, Maayan, and Tamar. When he’s not in the lab, he enjoys spending time with his family, hiking, trail running and playing the piano.