Yuval Ne'eman(Hebrew:יובל נאמן, 14 May 1925 – 26 April 2006) was an Israelitheoreticalphysicist,military scientist, and politician. He wasMinister of Science and Developmentin the 1980s and early 1990s.[1]He was the President ofTel Aviv Universityfrom 1971 to 1977. He was awarded theIsrael Prizein the field of exact sciences (which he returned in 1992 in protest of the award of the Israel Prize toEmile Habibi), theAlbert Einstein Award,theWigner Medal,and theEMET Prizefor Arts, Sciences and Culture.
Yuval Ne'eman | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Ministerial roles | |
| 1982–1984 | Minister of Science & Development |
| 1990–1992 | Minister of Science & Technology |
| 1990–1992 | Minister of Energy & Infrastructure |
| Faction represented in theKnesset | |
| 1981–1992 | Tehiya |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 14 May 1925 Tel Aviv,Mandatory Palestine |
| Died | 26 April 2006(aged 80) Tel Aviv,Israel |
| Alma mater | Technion – Israel Institute of Technology |
Biography
editYuval Ne'eman was born inTel Aviv[2]during theMandate era,graduated from high school at the age of 15, and studiedmechanical engineeringat theTechnion.
At the age of 15, Ne'eman also joined theHaganah.During the1948 Arab-Israeli WarNe'eman served in theIsrael Defense Forces(IDF) as battalion deputy commander, then as Operations Officer of Tel Aviv, and commander ofGivati Brigade.
Later (1952–54) he served as Deputy Commander of Operations Department of General Staff, Commander of the Planning Department of the IDF. In this role, he helped organize the IDF into areservist-based army, developed the mobilization system, and wrote the first draft of Israel's defense doctrine.
Between 1958 and 1960 Ne'eman was IDF Attaché in Great Britain, where he also studied for a PhD inphysicsunder the supervision of1979 Nobel Prize in Physics winnerAbdus SalamatImperial College London.In 1961, he was demobilized from the IDF with a rank ofcolonel.
In 1981, Ne'eman became a founding member of theWorld Cultural Council.[3]
Between 1998 and 2002 Ne'eman was the head of the Israeli Engineer Association.[4][5]
He died at age 80,[6]on 26 April 2006 in theIchilov Hospital,Tel Aviv, from a stroke.[7]He was survived by a wife, Dvora; a son and a daughter; and a sister,Ruth Ben-Yisrael(1931-2020).
Scientific career
editOne of his greatest achievements in physics was his 1961 discovery of the classification ofhadronsthrough theSU(3)flavour symmetry,now named theEightfold Way,which was also proposed independently byMurray Gell-Mann.This SU(3) symmetry laid the foundation of thequark model,independently proposed by Gell-Mann andGeorge Zweigin 1964.
Ne'eman was founder and director of the School of Physics and Astronomy atTel Aviv Universityfrom 1965 to 1972, President of Tel Aviv University from 1971 to 1977 (followingGeorge S. Wise,and succeeded byHaim Ben-Shahar),[8]and director of its Sackler Institute of Advanced Studies from 1979 to 1997. He was also the co-director (along with Sudarshan) of the Center for Particle Theory at theUniversity of Texas, Austinfrom 1968 to 1990. He was a strong believer in the importance of space research and satellites to Israel's economic future and security, and thus founded theIsrael Space Agencyin 1983, which he chaired almost until his death. He also served on theIsrael Atomic Energy Commissionfrom 1965 to 1984 and held the position of scientific director in itsSoreqfacility. Nee'man was chief scientist of the Defense Ministry from 1974 to 1976.
He was described as "one of the most colorful figures of modern science"[9]and co-authoredThe Particle Hunters,which was published in English in 1986.The TimesLiterary Supplementhailed this book as "the best guide to quantum physics at present available".[6]
Political career
editIn the late 1970s, Ne'eman foundedTehiya,aright-wingbreakaway fromLikud,formed in opposition toMenachem Begin's support for theCamp David talksthat paved the way for peace withEgyptand the evacuation ofYamit.He was elected to theKnessetin the1981 electionsin which Tehiya won three seats. The party joined Begin's coalition about a year after the elections and Ne'eman was appointedMinister of Science and Development,the role later changed to Minister of Science and Technology.
He retained his seat in the1984 elections,but Tehiya were not included in the grand coalition formed by theAlignmentandLikud.After the1988 elections,Tehiya were again excluded from the governing coalition. Ne'eman resigned from the Knesset on 31 January 1990 and was replaced byGershon Shafat.However, Tehiya joined the government in June after the Alignment had left, and he was appointedMinister of Energy and Infrastructureand Minister of Science and Technology despite not retaking his seat in the Knesset. He lost his ministerial position following the1992 electionsand did not return to politics.
Awards and recognition
edit- In 1969, Ne'eman received theIsrael Prize[10]in the field of exact sciences (which he returned in 1992 in protest of the award of the Israel Prize toEmile Habibi).
- In 1970, he received theAlbert Einstein Award[10]for his unique contribution in the field of physics.
- In 1972, he was elected to theNational Academy of Sciences.
- In 1984, he received theWigner Medal,which is awarded every 2 years for "outstanding contributions to the understanding of physics through group theory."
- In 2003, he received theEMET Prizefor Arts, Sciences and Culture for his pioneering contribution in the deciphering of the atomic nucleus and its components, and for his enormous scientific contribution to the development of sub-atomic physics in Israel.
He was also awarded with the College de France Medal and the Officer's Cross of the French Order of Merit (Paris, 1972), the Wigner Medal (Istanbul-Austin, 1982), Birla Science Award (Hyderabad, 1998) and additional prizes and honorary doctorates from universities in Europe and USA.[11]
See also
editReferences
edit- ^"In Remembrance of Yuval Ne'eman"ArchivedOctober 7, 2007, at theWayback Machine,Teddy Ne'eman (son of Yuval Ne'eman), PhysicaPlus (פיזיקהפלוס), online magazine of the Israel Physical Society, Issue No. 7
- ^Watson, Andrew."Yuval Ne'eman Dies at 80 - ScienceNOW".sciencemag.org. Archived fromthe originalon 14 March 2012.Retrieved27 August2011.
- ^"About Us".World Cultural Council.RetrievedNovember 8,2016.
- ^"מהנדסים, אדריכלים, אקדמאים במקצועות טכנולוגיים".Archived fromthe originalon November 8, 2014.RetrievedNovember 8,2014.
- ^"יובל נאמן בן 80 - הראיון האחרון. פורסם בגלילאו, מאי 2005".2006-05-31.
- ^abLawrence Joffe (14 May 2006)."Obituary: Yuval Ne'eman | Science".The Guardian.London.Retrieved27 August2011.
- ^Nadav Shragai (26 April 2006)."Professor, veteran politician Yuval Ne'eman dies at 81".Haaretz.Retrieved27 August2011.
- ^Basch_Interactive (1980-01-01)."Presidents of Tel Aviv University | Tel Aviv University | Tel Aviv University".English.tau.ac.il.Retrieved2020-02-11.
- ^Yuval Ne'eman Dies at 80 – Watson 2006 (426): 1. ScienceNOW
- ^ab"Yuval Ne'eman".Utexas.edu.Retrieved27 August2011.
- ^Yuval NeemanIsrael Science and Technology
External links
edit
Media related toYuval Ne'emanat Wikimedia Commons- Yuval Ne'emanon the Knesset website
- Jerusalem Post obituary[permanent dead link]
- Yuval Ne'eman's papers in the INSPIRE-HEP database
- Jewish Physicists list
