The Israel Academy of Science Is Happy To Host The Annual Adams Fellowship Seminar On May 17th

Izchak Goldshtein, a doctoral student of computer science who served over six years as a cyber-security specialist, a team leader, and a projects officer in an elite IDF technology unit; Barak Hirshberg, a doctoral student who worked in the IDF for six years as a theoretical chemist in RAFAEL Ltd.; Michael Kalyuzhny who immigrated from Russia when he was five and is doing his doctorate in ecology; Eran Sagi who out of boredom completed high school externally at the age of 16 and is now a successful doctoral student of physics; Omri Azencot who is conducting unique interdisciplinary research at the Technion; Yinon Spinka, a talented mathematician at Tel-Aviv University – will all receive the prestigious Adams Fellowships at the Israel Academy of Sciences and Humanities at a ceremony on Sunday, May 17th.

Seven outstanding doctoral students of the natural sciences and computer science at Israel’s research universities will receive Israel’s most prestigious fellowships – the Adams Fellowships of the Israel Academy of Sciences and Humanities. Each one will receive over $100,000 USD for up to 4 years of doctoral studies ($30,000 a year), as well as exemption from tuition. The fellowships will be awarded to them at the Academy in Jerusalem on Sunday, May 17th at 10:00 a.m. at the Annual Adams Seminar. As part of the event, Prof. Haim Cedar will deliver the Guest Lecture titled “Annotating the Genome”. The daughter and son of Mr. Marcel Adams, founder of the fellowship program, Adv. Linda Adams of Jerusalem and Mr. Sylvan Adams of Montreal, will bestow the fellowships on behalf of their father.

Academy President Prof. Ruth Arnon says that “the meticulous screening process of the universities and of the Academy’s professional committee of the fellowship program, ensure that the winners, for the 11th consecutive round, represent the spearhead of Israel’s future researchers in the fields of the natural sciences, math, computer science, life sciences and engineering.” She also said that “graduates of the fellowship program leave to conduct postdoctoral training in the world’s most prestigious universities; we are proud and happy that out of 72 alumni till today – 23 have already been assimilated in senior faculty positions in universities, 9 are in high-tech companies and 2 in hospitals. The foundations’ investment in these young and talented scientists bears fruit and ensures the future of science in Israel.”

Mr. Marcel Adams of Montreal, Canada established the Fellowships at the Israel Academy of Sciences in 2005 and to date 102 young and promising Israeli researchers received fellowships. Mr. Adams is an ardent Zionist and this year will celebrate his 95th birthday. Adams was born in Romania in 1920 and spent World War II in a Nazi labor camp. A penniless Holocaust survivor who also fought in Israel’s War of Independence, he arrived in Canada in 1951. In 1958 he established his real estate company and business grew over the years. Despite his age, he is still active in business and is at work every day by 8 a.m.
Among this year’s new fellows is Izchak Goldshtein, a doctoral student of computer science at Bar-Ilan University. Izchak, aged 29, is the second child of his family to win this fellowship. His older brother Moshe won a fellowship in 2007 and is now teaching physics at Tel-Aviv University.
Izchak served for more than six years as a cyber-security specialist, a team leader, and a projects officer in an elite IDF technology unit within the ATUDA (academic reserve) army program.
Barak Hirshberg was born and bred in Jerusalem where he was educated in the Boyer High School and became interested in the sciences, particularly chemistry. Barak joined the IDF for six years as a theoretical chemist in RAFAEL Ltd. He left to study for his doctorate at the Hebrew University, despite an offer for a position by RAFAEL and hopes his fellowship will free him financially so he can concentrate on his studies.
Since he was bored, Eran Sagi left high school to complete his studies externally at the age of 16, continuing on to study physics at Tel-Aviv University. Today he is specializing in condensed matter physics at the Weizmann Institute, focusing on electronic systems. He has several publications in prominent scientific journals. His plan is to return to an academic position in Israel following a postdoc abroad, so he can help educate a new generation of scientists and engineers.
Omri Azencot’s research at the Technion is considered unique to Israel since he specializes in physics-based simulations in computerized graphics. Omri collaborates with similar labs abroad, among them at Stanford in California, Ecole Polytechnique in Paris and the Institute for Numerological Simulation in Bonn. He plans on developing this field in Israel, which can attract companies and lead to cooperation between Academy and industry and to establishing research centers within high-tech companies in Israel.
Ido Sagi, a student of the top 1% of the Hebrew University, is doing his doctorate in the exciting field of genetics – the use of stem cells. His research in this exciting field of science focuses on the potential of stem cells for renewing medicine, with the ability of these cells to replace human tissue which was destroyed. Ido has publications in 4 prominent journals of his field.

Michael Kalyuzhny, son, grandson and nephew of scientists, came from Russia when he was five and was brought up on the Carmel in Haifa where he developed a love of nature and the outdoors. From a young age he was interested in science and even participated in science camps. He decided to study biology at the Hebrew University where today he is a doctoral student of ecology.

Yinon Spinka, a doctoral student of mathematics at Tel-Aviv University participated in Bar-Ilan’s mathematics program since middle school, completing his matriculation exam in tenth grade. Following his army service he returned to continue his degrees with honors and today concentrates on models from statistical mechanics, collaborating with researchers both in Israel and abroad.