Prof. Jared Diamond, author of the book Guns, Germs and Steel, won the Wolf Prize in the field of agriculture

Diamond is one of the eight winners of this year's award. Among the other winners: two theorists who specialize in quantum theory (physics), and two mathematicians who deal with advanced issues in mathematics, the announcement of the awards was given to the winners by the chairman of the Wolf Foundation, Nobel and Wolf Prize laureates, Prof. Dan Shechtman

The Wolf Prize The five prizes, totaling 100 dollars, will be divided this year between 8 winners from 4 countries: the United States, Germany, Austria and Portugal. The prizes will be awarded in five fields: in the sciences in the fields of physics, mathematics, agriculture and chemistry. In the field of arts it will be given in the field of architecture. The awarding of the award will take place on May 5, 2013 in a ceremony at the Knesset in the presence of President Shimon Peres and Minister of Education and Chairman of the Wolf Foundation, Gideon Sa'ar. Yesterday, the winners received phone messages from the vice chairman of the Wolf Foundation, and Nobel Wolf Prize laureate, Prof. Dan Shechtman.

The Wolff Prize Committee in Agriculture recommended the awarding of the prize to two exceptional scientists who made a complementary and original contribution to the fundamental challenges facing agriculture, namely domestication and efficient utilization of diverse biophysical resources to develop sustainable production systems and agricultural crops: Prof. Jared Diamond, (Jared Diamond) from the University of California in Los Angeles, USA (born 1938, USA): and Prof. Joachim Messing from Rutgers University, New Jersey, USA, (born 1946, USA)

About Diamond, the award committee writes that it: "operates at the macro level of societies, continents, plant and animal systems, and has contributed to the understanding of domestication processes and their importance in shaping the evolution of agricultural and social systems, while emphasizing the introduction of sustainable management systems of agricultural and natural resources, which recognize In the interaction between agriculture and the environment. Professor Diamond has developed a multidisciplinary approach, incorporating knowledge and methods from the biophysical and social sciences, to analyze the historical development of human societies around the world. In his book, "Bacterial Guns and Steel", his multidisciplinary approach shows how ecological and geographic differences between societies affected habitat opportunities, their agricultural trajectory and other aspects of human development: the spread of languages, the evolution of infectious diseases and the collapse, survival and prosperity of societies. In his book "Collapse" he uses case studies to document that short-term decision-making that ignores the dynamics of natural resources could lead to the collapse of agriculture. The book presents a compelling intellectual argument for policy making that emphasizes sustainability considerations. Diamond's publications and contributions to research earned him the National Medal of Science in 1999, awarded by the National Science Foundation in the USA. The extensive and impressive scope of Prof. Jared's knowledge, which focuses on the role of agriculture in the development of human society, deserves recognition as part of the Wolf Prize for Agriculture; More importantly, this recognition promotes the application of lessons, learned from the history of agriculture, to ensure success in agriculture's primary goal: a continuous food supply while conserving our natural resources.”

The award committee writes about Prof. Messing: "Prof. Joachim Messing's work emphasizes the micro level; The functioning of the garden, gene cloning, garden sequencing - all of which are intended to promote understanding of the subject of GDS (field crops) and to improve agriculture. This work not only contributed to the recognition of the importance of revealing plant genomes, but also led to the development of tools available to the public and proven to be essential for conducting this type of research. Methods have been developed to harness the biological diversity of genes in plants for the purpose of improving the use of plants as suppliers of food, feed and nutritional fiber. Prof. Messing developed a unique method for DNA sequencing, a pioneering cloning technology that served as a basis for analyzing large-scale genomes as found in Gdash plants. The resulting technological innovations made it possible to sequence the genomes of complex organisms, especially those important to agriculture. More importantly, Messing's work was freely available to the public, thus he directly contributed to plant production, improved agronomic traits and food safety, and developed the necessary tools for genetic analyzes used by many researchers. His contribution was essential to the development of pest-resistant corn and cotton varieties that were extremely successful and are still widely used. Prof. Messing, who recognized the importance of corn in many diets and its relatively low protein content, sought to improve the protein value of corn by developing improved corn varieties with increased levels of methionine and lysine. These improvements were also distributed without monetary compensation. As the founder of the Plant Genome Initiative at Rutgers University, he contributed directly to the sequencing of the genomes of rice, sorghum and maize. The Wolff Award for Agriculture is a fitting recognition of Professor Messing's contribution to the production of more nutritious and safer food, and this recognition fully fits the spirit of the award."

physics
Prize Winners in Physics Professor Juan Ignacio Sirac from the Max Planck Institute, Germany (born 1965, Spain)
Professor Peter Zoller (Peter Zoller) from the University of Innsbruck, Austria (born 1952, Austria):
"Undoubtedly among the most prominent theorists in quantum optics, quantum information science and the theory of quantum gases. Their influence on these fields of research is immeasurable, and it is evident in all the means used to evaluate them.
Among their many common works, two specific works that opened up new areas of research are evident. In 1995, Sirac and Zoler proposed a model for a quantum computer, which could be practically implemented using trapped ions. The practical nature of their proposal led many groups in the world to successful experiments and inspired many researchers, both in the theoretical and experimental fields. Such a quantum computer would be able to solve problems that are currently beyond the capabilities of classical computers, such as factoring large numbers, which currently requires exponential computing time.
Their second notable contribution resulted from the realization of gaseous Einstein bouse condensation. They proposed using such cold atoms as a general and versatile toolbox to explore new regimes of many-body physics and to simulate condensed matter problems, such as strongly correlated electron systems. In their most famous work, Sirac and Zoler showed that an optical lattice can simulate a tight bonding regime where the interaction energy at a site becomes similar to the tunneling energy between neighboring sites. This paper had an enormous impact, and was soon accompanied by an experimental realization of this quantum phase transition from a superfluid to a rod insulator. Since then a whole new interdisciplinary community has sprung up investigating other condensed matter problems, such as superconductivity, quantum magnetism, quantum Hall effects, and Anderson localization. There is no doubt that these quantum simulations using cold atoms will have, and already have, a huge impact on the fields of quantum physics, condensed matter physics, and material science.”
Mathematics

Professor George D. Mostow (George d. Mostow), born 1923, USA:
"He made a substantial and pioneering contribution to geometry and to Lee bunch theory. His most famous achievement in this field is the discovery of the completely new stiffness phenomenon in geometry: the laws of strong stiffness. These theorems are some of the greatest achievements in mathematics in the second half of the 20th century. This created a deep connection between continuous and discrete bundles, or equally, an extraordinary connection between topology and geometry. Musto's rigorous methods and techniques led to a wealth of investigations and results in many related areas of mathematics. Musto's emphasis on "action at infinity" was developed by many mathematicians in a variety of directions. This had a huge impact on the theory of geometric bundles, on the study of Kleinian groups, and on the topology of a small number of dimensions, in the work connecting ergodic theory with Lee bundles. Musto's contribution to mathematics is not limited to the theorems of strong rigidity. His work on Li groups and their discrete subgroups carried out during the years 1948-1965 was enormously influential. Mosto's work on examples of non-arithmetic lattices in complex hyperbolic spaces in two and three dimensions (in partial collaboration with P. Delinia) is brilliant, and led to many important developments in mathematics. Musto's work includes a dizzying variety of mathematical fields. Few mathematicians can compete with the breadth, depth and originality of his work."

Professor Michael Artin (Michael Artin), from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, USA (born 1934, Germany):
"He is one of the main architects of modern algebraic geometry. His fundamental contributions encompass an incredible number of areas in this science. First, the theory of Atel cohomology was introduced by Michel Artin jointly with Alexander Grothendieck. Their vision resulted in the creation of one of the essential tools of modern algebraic geometry. Using Ettel cohomology, Artin showed that the finiteness of the Brewer group of a surface constructed of curves is the same as the Birch and Swinnerton-Dyer conjecture for the Jacobian of a general fiber. In a very original paper Artin and Swinnerton-Dyer proved the assumption of an elliptic K3 surface.
He also collaborated with Barry Mazor in defining Atal homotopy - another important tool in algebraic geometry - and more generally in applying the ideas of algebraic geometry in the study of diffomorphisms of a compact sheet.
We also owe Michael Artin to a great extent the discovery of algebraic spaces and algebraic stacks. These objects are the appropriate category for most algebraic-geometric structures, and this category appears everywhere in module theory and modern node theory. Artin discovered a simple set of conditions for representing a functor in an algebraic space. The "Approximation Theorem" and the "Existence Theorem" are the starting points of modern research on module problems. Artin's contributions to the theory of singular surface points are of paramount importance. In this theory, he introduced several concepts that immediately became fundamental in the field, such as the concepts of rational singularity and fundamental cycle.
In another example of his highly original thinking, Artin expanded his field of work to lay solid foundations for the theory of deformations. It is one of the main tools of classical algebraic geometry, which forms the basis of the local theory of modules of algebraic varieties.
Finally, his contribution to non-commutative algebra was enormous. The whole field changed after Artin introduced algebraic-geometric methods in this scientific branch. His characterization of Azumi algebras in terms of polynomial identities, which is the content of the Artin-Prosezi theorem, is one of the cornerstones of non-commutative algebra. The Artin-Stafford theorem, which states that every integral projective curve is commutative, is one of the most important achievements in non-commutative algebraic geometry. Artin's mathematical achievements are amazing in their depth and scope. He is one of the greatest experts in the 20th century in geometry."
chemistry
Professor Robert S. Langer, from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, USA (born 1948, USA):
"Mainly responsible for innovations in polymer chemistry that have a profound impact in medicine, especially in the areas of drug release and tissue engineering.
The last 40 years have seen a rapid increase in the availability of sophisticated macromolecular drugs, such as oligopeptides, proteins, polysaccharides, and nucleic acids, with high potency but limited stability, which often survive for only a few minutes under physiological conditions. The promise inherent in these materials, both for biological research and for medical applications - from vaccines to gene therapy to the treatment of brain cancer and schizophrenia - was limited as a result of the difficulty of supplying them in their entirety to the tissues where they were needed, at the proper rate, and for the required period of time, which should continue for many months.
Langer was convinced that it would be possible to design entirely new biodegradable polymers that could meet the daunting simultaneous challenges of protecting a sensitive drug until it was needed, delivering it to the target tissue, and releasing it slowly and steadily over an extended period of time. Of course, it was essential that both these new polymers and their degradation products be biocompatible.
After long cycles of planning and basic experiments, Langer was able to achieve this goal by developing new polymers with extremely low affinity for water, connected by bonds that can be cleaved by water, but not by enzymes whose activity varies from patient to patient and not over time in the same patient. A low water affinity is used both to protect the macromolecular charge from decomposition, and to ensure surface erosion of the particle at a programmable rate, according to its degree of affinity to water and according to its shape. He succeeded in creating a new type of polyanhydrides with aromatic heads and aliphatic tails, in developing the initial procedures for the synthesis of these polymers, and in designing polymeric drug aggregates to achieve appropriate therapeutic release. For example, Lupron Depo is injected as a suspension of tiny particles to achieve a steady supply of hormones for a period of up to four months in the treatment of prostate cancer and endometriosis, while Gliadel discs are surgically implanted in the area of ​​a brain tumor for long-term, short-term release of a highly toxic drug."
Langer built on this success to design and implement polymeric drug delivery systems that effect controlled drug release in response to magnetic, ultrasonic, or biological stimuli.
In addition to his pioneering work in the design of polymers for drug delivery, Langer was a leader in the design of bioabsorbable polymers to be used as scaffolds to hold mammalian cells in place during tissue regeneration. This work led to the development of the first artificial skin based on synthetic polymers approved by the US Food and Drug Administration."
agriculture
architecture
Ladoardo Soto de Mora (born 1952, Portugal):
"For the significant development and promotion of architectural knowledge and his exceptional abilities as a designer. In his multifaceted international work, both in size and form, Eduardo Soto de Mora shows how buildings can philosophically, conceptually and experientially conduct a deep and unique dialogue with the sustainable natural world."

The Minister of Education and Chairman of the Wolf Foundation, Gideon Sa'ar, announced the selection of the winners and congratulated: "The announcement of the 2013 Wolf Prize winners is a day of celebration for the science and arts community in Israel and the world. Today's winners join a distinguished line of the best scientists and artists who have won this prestigious award. The activities of the Wolf Foundation and its international status express Israel's place as a leader in science and advanced research. In the current term, we are investing in the promotion of research excellence out of a determination to maintain and even strengthen our position at the forefront of global research, which is essential for Israel's future. The State of Israel has been contributing over the years and is making a significant contribution to scientific and intellectual excellence."
The Wolf Prize is awarded annually by the Wolf Foundation in five areas. Four in the fields of science and one in the field of arts according to a regular rotation. The award is given to well-known scientists and artists "for a unique contribution to humanity and to friendly relations between peoples, without distinctions of citizenship, race, color, religion, gender or political view". To date, 282 award recipients from 23 countries have been selected.

The Wolf Prize has a very prestigious international reputation. In the fields of exact sciences, he is considered the second most important in the world after the Nobel Prize. In the field of arts, the award is considered the most important. Over 33 percent of the Wolf Prize winners were later crowned Nobel Prize winners in the field of exact sciences, which coincide with the two prizes (medicine, physics and chemistry). Among the winners of the Wolf Prize in the field of exact sciences are Prof. Avraham Hershko, Prof. Ada Yonat and Prof. Dan Shechtman, who was recently appointed as chairman of the Wolf Foundation. Among the winners of the Wolf Prize in the field of arts: Maestro Placido Domingo, Zubin Mehta, the conductor Issik Stern, Daniel Birnbaum and Riccardo Motti.