Prize for excellence in science for researchers from the Technion and Ben-Gurion

This year the France-Israel Foundation will award the Science Excellence Award to Prof. Uri Lahav from the Technion, Dr. Moshe Herzberg from Ben Gurion University and Dr. Lamanel Landa from the National Center for Scientific Research of France. The committee of judges that chose the prize winners was headed by Prof. Uri Shamir from the Technion.

The prizes will be awarded in a special ceremony that will take place on November 24.11.2010, 18 at 00:XNUMX PM in the amphitheater of the Scientific Institute for Agricultural Research in Paris in the presence of Ms. Nicole Gedez, President of the France Israel Foundation, Edith Carson, former Prime Minister of France and Prof. Ilan Mark of the Technion, Chairman of the Committee the foundation's scientist and Avi Anati, deputy director at the Ministry of Science.

France Israel Foundation Founded in 2005 with the aim of bringing about a change in the image of Israel in France and of France in Israel by deepening the ties between the two peoples in all fields of activity: science, culture, economics and communication. One of the goals of the fund is to bring together scientists from the two countries working in the same fields and thereby contribute to the development of scientific relations between the two countries.

This is the third time that the France-Israel Foundation has awarded young Israeli and French scientists the prize for excellence in science for their achievements in the fields of science. After in 2008 the prize was awarded for excellence in the field of life sciences and in 2009 in the field of alternative energies, it was decided to focus on the issue of water this year.

Dina Sorek, vice president of the France Israel Foundation: "Turning water into a scarce resource is a global problem. In addition, there is a constant deterioration in water quality as a result of salinization and pollution. Therefore, it was decided to award this year's prize to researchers in the field of water as an expression of the importance of scientific research in finding sustainable solutions to this serious problem. The scientific cooperation with France is an example of a fruitful cooperation that the two countries are building from."

Prof. Uri Lahav and his research group are pioneers in the development of processes for supplementary treatment of desalinated water, an issue of critical importance with the increasing amounts of desalinated water put into systems in Israel and with the need to adjust the water quality to the strict quality requirements of the consumers. Prof. Lahav's group established the quality criteria required for desalinated water in Israel, and developed three innovative processes for the required complementary treatment, which were published and echoed in the world's leading professional press.

Dr. Moshe Herzberg and his research group are developing methods for testing and improving the performance of membranes, which are the core component of seawater desalination facilities and advanced wastewater treatment facilities. The research focuses on preventing organic and biological contamination (contamination) on the surface of the membranes and increasing their efficiency. The main goal of the research is to keep the membranes clean and reduce the operating costs of the facilities by using advanced equipment and improving the structure of the membranes.