Dan Shechtman (elior)

The Nobel Prize in Chemistry is awarded every year, starting in 1901, to people who have made a unique contribution or have undertaken outstanding research in the field of chemistry. The prize is awarded by the Swedish Royal Academy of Sciences.

In 1901-2013 there were eight times in which the prize was not distributed, 22 times in which it was given simultaneously to two winners and 14 times in which it was awarded to three winners. As of 2017, 177 people were awarded the prize, of whom four were women (about 2.25%). Six Israelis won the prize, all in the twenty-first century.

Link to another presentation: https://www.mada.org.il/education/shechtman

In December 2011, the Nobel Prize in Chemistry is awarded to Prof. Dan Shechtman for the discovery of the quasi- crystal and for its determination that caused a shock to the science of crystal exploration.

Shechtman was born in Tel Aviv and grew up in Ramat Gan and Petah Tikva. His grandfather (the father of his mother) was a member of the Second Aliya, Ze’ev Asher, one of the first Poalei Zion.

He was a member of Hashomer Hatza’ir and a sportsman in the Hapoel Petah Tikva association. He studied at Brenner High School in Petah Tikva and in 1962 began studying at the Technion, where he received a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering from the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering in 1966. He continued his studies at the Technion in the field of materials engineering in the Department of Materials Engineering, where he received his master’s degree in 1968 and his doctorate in 1972. He then specialized in the US Air Force Laboratory in Ohio for three years and was particularly involved in studying the structure of the materials of a titanium-aluminum compound. In 1975 he joined the faculty of the Department of Materials Engineering at the Technion. Served at the Technion as head of the Department of Materials Engineering and since 1986 he is a full professor. Over the years he has served as visiting professor at the University of Maryland and at Johns Hopkins University.

Shechtman heads the Wolfson Research Center at the Technion. In addition, he serves as a professor at the Iowa State University, a member of the Israel Academy of Sciences and Humanities, a member of the National Academy of Engineering of the United States and a member of the European Academy of Sciences. In 5772 he served as a judge in the Israel Prize Selection Committee.

On January 17, 2014, in an interview with Ayala Hasson, which was broadcast on Channel One’s “Diary” program, Shechtman announced his intention to run for the presidency of the State of Israel. His decision to contend stemmed from his concern for the future of Israeli society, in view of the low level of education, the violence in society, and the difficulties of integrating large populations into the labor market. Throughout the presentation of the candidacy, Shechtman emphasized that he was apolitical and party-oriented, an advantage that would enable him to serve as a state president and unify, he said, better. After obtaining the ten Knesset signatures required for the candidacy, at the end of the vote on the day of the presidential elections, it emerged that he had won only one vote, the voice of Ruth Calderon.

In April of that year, Israeli educational television began broadcasting the program “Being a Scientist with Professor Dan”. In the program, intended for children, Shechtman, along with actress Nati Kluger, presents various issues in science.

He is married to Prof. Zipora Shechtman, head of the group facilitation course at the Department of Counseling and Human Development at the Faculty of Education of the University of Haifa. The couple has three daughters and a son.