The other recipients of the award for 2012 are: Robert Conquest and Martin Gilbert in the field of history/biography and William Kentridge in the field of visual arts
The Dan David International Prize, which annually awards three prizes of one million dollars each, for extraordinary achievements, announced today the names of the prize winners for 2012.
The Dan David Award is named after the businessman and international philanthropist Dan David who passed away this year. The award is administered by Tel Aviv University. Prof. Yosef Klefter, president of Tel Aviv University, serves as the chairman of the board of directors of the award. Each year, the topics are chosen in the three dimensions of time, by the board of directors of the award. The winners donate 10% of the award funds to 20 scholarships intended for young researchers in the doctoral and postdoctoral stages in Israel and in the world.
The winners of the Dan David Prize will receive the prize in a festive ceremony to be held on June 10, 2012 at Tel Aviv University.
The recipients of the Dan David Prize for 2012 are:
Past - on the subject of history/biographies
Dr. Robert Conquest
Known as the only historian who managed to reveal the reality of the Stalinist regime in his books, books that are considered a milestone in understanding this regime; managed to describe Soviet politics in the 30s with almost perfect accuracy. His writing revealed the horror of starvation that came as a result of the share life policy.
Sir Martin Gilbert
Wrote one of the most impressive biographies on the life of Sir Winston Churchill published in our time. For 20 years, he researched and wrote 6 volumes of biographies, which are accompanied by several volumes that include many documents and testimonies. In addition, Gilbert published influential books on the subjects of the Holocaust, and the history of the twentieth century.
Present - on the subject of plastic arts
William Kentridge
An internationally acclaimed artist whose work deals with political issues related to his country of origin South Africa. With his unique skills, he succeeded in making these issues international and proving that nationalism has the power to create change. In his works, Kintridge creates animated films, paintings, prints, video art works and represents.
Future - on the topic of genome research
Prof. David Botstein
Belongs to the international scientific leadership in genome research since its inception, a pioneer in human genome research, contributed significantly to the development of technologies for evaluating gene expression (microarrays) and fostered the field of systems biology.
Dr. Craig Venter
Breakthrough in publishing the human genome sequence and in the pioneering research fields of metagenomics and especially synthetic biology. He recently created an active bacterial genome from synthetic genetic building blocks (oligo-nucleotides).
Prof. Eric Lander
He established quantitative foundations of genome research, developed algorithms used for genetic mapping, utilized innovative methods for genetic mapping of the mouse, rat and man, a pioneer in the utilization of knowledge about the human genome in the study of human diseases.
Dan David Award - Events:
The award ceremony will be held at Tel Aviv University on June 10, 2012.
On June 11 and 12, there will be seminars on history/biography, visual arts, and genome research with the participation of the award winners.
