Each of the doctoral students will receive a scholarship of more than one hundred thousand dollars for the four years of doctoral studies ($30,000 per year) in addition to an exemption from tuition fees.
Yitzhak Goldstein, a doctoral student in computer science who served six years in an elite unit in the IDF as a cyber security expert; Barak Hirschberg, a doctoral student who worked as a chemist at the Rafael company; Michael Kaluzheny, who immigrated from Russia at the age of five and is writing a doctorate in ecology; Eran Sagi, who got bored at school and did an extramural matriculation at the age of 16 and is currently a successful doctoral student in physics; Omri Azenkot, who is doing unique interdisciplinary research at the Technion; Ido Sagi, who researches stem cells at the Hebrew University; Yanon Spinka, a talented mathematician at Tel Aviv University - on Sunday, May 17, all of these will receive the prestigious Adams Scholarships on behalf of the Israel National Academy of Sciences in a ceremony at the Academy House in Jerusalem.
Each of the doctoral students will receive a scholarship of more than one hundred thousand dollars for the four years of doctoral studies ($30,000 per year) in addition to an exemption from tuition fees.
About the scholarship recipients
Yitzhak Goldstein is a doctoral student in computer science at Bar-Ilan University. Yitzhak, 29, is the second in the Goldstein family to win this scholarship. His older brother Moshe won a scholarship in 2007 and is now a physics lecturer at Tel Aviv University. Yitzhak was a reservist and worked for six years in an elite unit in the IDF as a cyber expert, project officer and group manager.
Barak Hirschberg was born and raised in Jerusalem and was educated at Boyer School, where his interest in science and chemistry began. During his military service, he was employed for five years as a theoretical chemist in the physics department at the Rafael company. He resigned to pursue a doctorate at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem, even though he was offered a job after the army. With the help of the scholarship, he hopes to concentrate only on his doctorate.
Eran Sagi got bored at school and stopped his high school studies at the age of 16. He did an extramural matriculation, and at the age of 17 he started studying physics at Tel Aviv University. Today he specializes in the Weizmann Institute of Science in the physics of condensed matter with an emphasis on electronic systems and has many publications in prominent scientific journals. His plan is to return to an academic position in Israel and educate the new generation of scientists and engineers.
Omri Azenkot is a researcher at the Technion doing interdisciplinary research that combines computer science, mathematics and physics. His research is considered unique in Israel because he specializes in physics-based simulations in computer graphics. Omri collaborates with similar laboratories abroad, for example at Stanford University in California, Ecole Polytechnique in Paris and the Numerological Simulation Institute in Bonn. He intends to develop the field in Israel and this can attract companies and lead to cooperation between academia and industry and the establishment of research centers within high-tech companies in Israel.
Ido Sagi is an outstanding student from the upper division at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, and he is doing a doctorate in a fascinating field of genetics - the use of stem cells. His research in this exciting area of science focuses on the potential of stem cells to be used in regenerative medicine to replace destroyed human tissue. Ido has publications in four prominent journals in the field.
Michael Kaluzheny is the son, grandson and nephew of scientists. Immigrated from Russia at the age of five and grew up on the Carmel in Haifa, where he developed a love for nature and the open spaces. From a young age he was interested in science and even participated in science camps. He decided to study biology at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem and is currently a doctoral student in ecology there.
Yanon Spinka is a PhD student in mathematics at Tel Aviv University. Participated in the Bar-Ilan math program since his studies in middle school. He graduated in the XNUMXth grade, and after military service he continued his studies at Tel Aviv University and graduated with honors. Currently he concentrates on statistical mechanics models and collaborates with researchers in Israel and abroad.
Strict selection process
The ceremony will take place during the traditional Adams seminar, which this year will host Academy member Prof. Haim Sider, who will lecture on "Footnotes of the Book of Life". The daughter and son of Mr. Marcel Adams, the founder of the scholarship program, attorney Linda Adams from Jerusalem and Mr. Sylvain Adams from Montreal, will present the scholarships on behalf of their father.
Marcel Adams from Montreal founded the scholarship fund named after him at the Israel National Academy of Sciences in 2005, and so far 102 promising young Israeli researchers have received the prestigious scholarship. Mr. Adams is an ardent Zionist who celebrates his 95th birthday this year. Adams was born in Romania in 1920. During World War II he was in a labor camp set up by the Nazis, but escaped from it and immigrated to Israel, and even fought in the War of Independence. In 1951 he immigrated to Canada. In 1958 he founded his real estate company, and it grew and expanded over the years. Despite his age, he is still active and arrives at the company's offices every day at 8 am.
The scholarships will be awarded as part of the annual Adams Seminar that will be held at the Academy House. This year the seminar will host the member of the Academy Prof. Haim Sider, who will lecture on "Footnotes of the Book of Life". The daughter and son of Mr. Marcel Adams, the founder of the scholarship program, attorney Linda Adams from Jerusalem and Mr. Sylvain Adams from Montreal, will present the scholarships on behalf of their father.
The president of the Israel National Academy of Sciences, Prof. Ruth Arnon, said that "the rigorous screening process of the universities and the academy's professional committee for the scholarship program ensures that the winners of the scholarships, for the 11th year in a row, represent the cutting edge of the future researchers of the State of Israel in scientific fields Nature, mathematics, computer sciences, life sciences and engineering".
The president also said that "graduates of the scholarship program go on to do post-doctoral internships at the most prestigious universities in the world; And we are proud and satisfied that out of the 72 graduates of the scholarship program to date - 23 have already been accepted into senior positions in the academic staff at universities, 9 in hi-tech companies and 2 in hospitals. The Adams Foundation's investment in these young and talented scientists is bearing fruit and guarantees the future of science in Israel."
The article is based on a press release from the National Academy of Sciences
