Other recipients of the award: the writer Ronit Matlon, the world-renowned psychologist Walter Michel and the senior economist, Peter A. Diamond
In a festive ceremony to be held as part of the 73rd session of the Board of Trustees of the Hebrew University on Sunday, June 6, 2010, the university will award honorary doctorate degrees to ten people, including: Supreme Court President Dorit Beinish, writer Ronit Matlon, attorney Ira Lee Sorkin, economist Prof. Peter A. Diamond, the musician Yevgeny Kissin, the psychologist Prof. Walter Michel, the astrophysicist Prof. Donald Linden-Bell and the writer and thinker Dr. Marcus Aginis.
Astrophysicist Donald Linden-Bell is world-renowned for his original and influential ideas that have shaped our understanding of the forces and processes operating within stars and galaxies. He is an old friend and devoted to Israel's scientific community. He developed deep theoretical insights related to many aspects of astronomy, including black holes, the structure of galaxies, dark matter, astrophysical jets, and the theory of relativity. Asteroid 18235 is named after him.
In 1962, he and his colleagues theorized that galaxies such as our Milky Way were formed by the collapse of gas clouds. He also suggested that most galaxies should contain black holes, and predicted that it would be possible to locate them based on the effect of their gravity on nearby stars. Linden-Bell holds many titles, including Knight of the British Empire CBE. According to the president of the Hebrew University Prof. Menachem Ben-Shashon, the title is awarded to Prof. Linden-Bell "in recognition of his outstanding contribution to the science of astrophysics, and as a sign of gratitude for his generous friendship and his firm support for science in Israel and the Hebrew University".
The honorary doctorate awarding ceremony will take place on Sunday, June 6, 2010, at 17:30 pm in the amphitheater on the Mount Scopus campus of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.
