Aharon Katzir

Aharon Katzir
אַהֲרֹן קָצִיר‎
Born	Aharon Katchalsky (1914-09-15)September 15, 1914 Łódź,Congress Poland,Russian Empire
Died	May 30, 1972(1972-05-30)(aged 57) Lod Airport,Central District,Israel
Cause of death	Gunshot wounds
Citizenship	Israeli
Occupation	Pioneer in the study of theelectrochemistryofbiopolymers
Relatives	Ephraim Katzir(brother)
Awards	1950Weizmann Prize 1961Israel Prize

Aharon Katzir(Hebrew:אַהֲרֹן קָצִיר;bornAharon Katchalsky;September 15, 1914 – May 30, 1972)was an Israeli scientist who was known as a pioneer in the study of theelectrochemistryofbiopolymers.

Biography

Born 1914 inŁódź,Poland, he moved toMandatory Palestinein 1925, where he taught at theHebrew UniversityinJerusalem.There, he adopted hisHebrewsurnameKatzir.He was a faculty member at the Weizmann Institute of Sciences, Rehovot, Israel as well as at the department of medical physics and biophysics atUC Berkeley,California.

He was murdered in aterrorist attackatBen Gurion International Airportin 1972 in which 26 people were killed and 80 injured.His younger brother,Ephraim Katzir,became thePresidentofIsraelin 1973.

Awards and commemoration

• In 1961, Katzir was awarded theIsrael Prize,in life sciences, together with his pupil,Ora Kedem.
• The State of Israel issued apostage stampin memory of Katzir.
• TheKatchalskycrater on theMoonis named after him.
• A series of Hebrew lectures is held atTel Aviv Universityin memory of Katzir, organized by his son Avrahm, a professor of physics. It is named:In the Crucible of the Revolution(BeKur HaMahapecha), alluding to a popular book Katzir wrote about scientific progress. It has featured lectures byNobel PrizelaureatesDaniel KahnemanandAaron Ciechanover,and philosopherHilary Putnam.
• A center at theWeizmann Institute of Scienceis named after Katzir, as well as public schools in Tel Aviv and elsewhere.
• A scholarship program of theIsraeli Ministry of Defenseis also named after him.

Textbooks

• Katchalsky, Aharon; Curran, Peter F. (1965).Nonequilibrium Thermodynamics in Biophysics.Harvard University Press.

See also

• List of Israel Prize recipients
• Science and technology in Israel