PRESS RELEASE

ADAMS FELLOWSHIPS OF THE ISRAEL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES AND HUMANITIES ISRAEL’S MOST PRESTIGIOUS FELLOWSHIPS, FOR A TOTAL OF $ 1 MILLION DOLLARS WILL BE GRANTED TO 10 EXCELLENT DOCTORAL STUDENTS OF THE SCIENCES

An Israeli doctoral student who is working on the prevention of herpesviruses, another whose research on photo electrochemical solar cells has a patent submitted and is being implemented by an industrial company, and a student who won international medals in mathematics, along with additional doctoral students in the sciences, will receive the prestigious Adams Fellowships on Wednesday, May 18th, in a ceremon at the Israel Academy of Sciences and Humanities in Jerusalem.

10 top doctoral student s in the sciences from the seven research universities of Israel will receive Israel’s most prestigious fellowships – the Adams Fellowships of the Israel Academy of Sciences and Humanities. Each doctoral student will receive a stipend of over $100,000 during the course of up to four years of doctoral studies and is exempt from tuition. The 10 doctoral students will come to receive their fellowships at the annual Adams Seminar, which will take place at the Israel Academy of Sciences.

The Academy explained that the tough selection process both of the universities and of the professional selection committee of the Adams Fellowship Fund, ensure that the winners are at the forefront of Israel’s scientists of the future, in the fields of natural sciences, mathematics, computer science, life sciences and engineering.

Marcel Adams of Montreal, Canada, established the Fellowship Fund in 2005. Adams, an enthusiastic Zionist, will celebrate his 91st birthday this year. He began as a penniless holocaust survivor from Romania who fought in Israel’s War of Independence, eventually becoming a successful real estate developer and entrepreneur in Canada. Adams came to Israel especially to participate in the annual Adams Seminar. The guest lecturer this year is the distinguished Professor Michael O. Rabin, Academy member and professor of mathematics and computer science at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and Harvard University.

Among those receiving fellowships this year is Daphna Nachmani from Jerusalem, who conducts research on the herpes viruses, showing remarkable laboratory achievements. Nachmani completed ground-breaking research that was published in prestigious scientific journals and was chosen to present her work at the Second European Congress of Immunology in Berlin in 2009. Daphna joined the Hebrew University’s initiative, introducing 14 year-olds to the world of basic science by teaching through class courses and some hands-on experimenting. She takes great pleasure seeing how being exposed to basic science opens their minds and broaden their horizons.

Sophia Buhbut from Ashkelon is another doctoral student receiving a fellowship this year. Her research focuses on photo electrochemical solar cells. Sophia developed a device that scatters light in preferred orientations, acting like an optical antenna. The systems she developed were based on new ideas and on the capability to integrate several disciplines – inorganic chemistry, photo-electrochemistry, physical chemistry and optics. Sophia’s scientific insights and intellectual breakthroughs in the use of solar energy as an efficient, cheap and available converter of electrical energy, led to her application for a patent which is currently implemented by an industrial company – New 3G Solar. Sophia plans to do her post-doctorate abroad in the field of renewable energy, focusing on green energy and to return and work as a senior researcher in one of the most advanced research institution is Israel. Sophia believes that Israel should invest in the development of technology that will combine industry, science and the environment and should support the field of alternative energy, encouraging the use of green energy.

Another fascinating scholar is Doron Puder of Jerusalem, who already won international competitions in mathematics. Doron loves math since kindergarten. From eighth grade he participated in youth competitions, winning many prizes. He won bronze awards at the International Mathematical Olympiads of 1997 and 1998. In the army he served in a technological-mathematical unit in the intelligence corps, winning the Israel Defense Prize several times. Doron studied mathematics at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and was chosen for the Amirim honors program at the Faculty of Humanities. Upon completion of his MSc, Doron was offered a position by a New York based hedge fund. After working two years in New York, he returned to Israel to complete his doctoral studies, having no doubt that he made the right decision. He is conducting fruitful research at the Einstein Institute and takes part in their important project to instruct math teachers from elementary schools across Jerusalem. He views this as a great opportunity to use the excellence of Israeli universities to improve the unsatisfactory level of math education in Israeli schools.

Another new Adams Fellow is Air Force Pilot Avi Braun who serves as an air force reserve pilot over 70 days a year and whose dream is to invent a new source of energy. Avi grew up in a family of farmers, where he learned that everyone has the power to create change by working hard and acquiring knowledge. Studying for his BSc at Tel-Aviv University, he acquired a strong theoretical basis in physics and environmental studies. For his MSc studies he transferred to the Blaustein Institute for Desert Research of Ben-Gurion University at Sde Boker. There he concentrated on the study of solar energy. His state-of-the-art research deals with the basic and practical aspects of bringing photovoltaic (PV) cells to a state where they can serve as a wide-scale source of energy. Avi is very active in Midreshet Ben-Gurion, a community settlement in Ramat Hanegev, where he and his wife chose to bring up their young family.

Amir Nevet is an Adams Fellow who, following four and a half intensive years of military service as a submariner in the Israeli navy, began studies in Electrical Engineering and Physics at the Technion. During his studies, Amir worked in RAFAEL, Israel Armament Development Authority. Upon graduation, he began working as a systems Engineer in Remon Medical Technologies, a start-up medical company, in which he conducted and managed a project of a wearable unit acoustically communicating with a pulmonary implant in heart-failure patients. Remon was bought by Boston Scientific, a leading international medical company, which was a great Israeli achievement. Amir trained their engineers in the technology transfer process. In his accelerated track of doctoral studies so far, Amir published several publications and won many prizes.