cover 2006 14/8/06 7:11 pm Page 1 C M Y CM MY CY CMY K Composite inside cover 18/8/06 11:14 am Page 1 C M Y CM MY CY CMY K Associates Organizations Ben-Gurion ARGENTINA JAPAN MIDLANDS BRANCH Lic. Osvaldo Schvartzer, President Koji Akatsuka, President c/o Dr. Esther Barnett, Chair University 2 Belle Walk, Moseley ASOCIACIÓN ARGENTINA FRIENDS OF BGU JAPAN CHAPTER Birmingham B13 9DF of the Negev DE AMIGOS DE LA UNIVERSIDAD 75-1, Otobe, Tsu BEN GURIÓN DEL NEGUEV 514-0016MIE UNITED STATES Roy J. Zuckerberg Suipacha 531 piso 9 MEXICO Carol Saal, President Message From The President 1 Chairman, Board of Governors C-1008 AAM Ciudad Autónoma Prof. Amos Drory, de Buenos Aires Ing. Pedro Dondisch, President Executive Vice-President Robert H. Arnow ASOCIACIÓN MEXICANA DE AABGU NATIONAL OFFICE & 36th Annual Board Of Governors Meeting 2 Chairman Emeritus, BELGIUM AMIGOS DE LA UNIVERSIDAD GREATER NEW YORK REGION Board of Governors Irene Evens, President BEN GURIÓN EN EL NEGUEV 1430 Broadway A Peaceful Environment 14 (AMAUBG) Lord Weidenfeld of Chelsea BRAZIL 8th Floor Río Tiber 78 New York, NY 10018 Demise Of The Dinosaurs 16 Honorary Chairman, Dr. Claudio Luiz Lottenberg, President Colonia Cuauhtémoc Board of Governors Av. Albert Einstein, 627 / 701, 3er andar C.P. 06500 México, D.F. AABGU NEW ENGLAND REGION 05651-901 Morumbi 1318 Beacon Street Optics For Diagnostics 18 Vice-Chairpersons, Sao Paulo SP THE NETHERLANDS Suite 8 Board of Governors Paul A. Nouwen, President Brookline, MA 02446 CONTENTS Zvi Alon CANADA Committed To The Community 20 DUTCH ASSOCIATES BGU AABGU MID-ATLANTIC REGION Milada Ayrton Barry D. Lipson, Q.C., The Pavilion at Jenkintown National President Postbus 488 Eric A. Benhamou 2501 CL The Hague 261 Old York Road at Wyncote Road An Early Start 22 Sir Ronald Cohen Leo Marcus, Executive Vice-President Suite 417A Dr. Heinz-Horst Deichmann NATIONAL OFFICE & Republic of PANAMA P.O. Box 1128 Exploding The Myths 24 Bertram Lubner TORONTO CHAPTER Moises A. Mizrachi, President Jenkintown, PA 19046 Michael W. Sonnenfeldt 1000 Finch Avenue West AABGU WASHINGTON / Suite 506 Apartado 7347 Dr. Felix Zandman Panama 5 BALTIMORE REGION Honorary Degrees And Dedications 26 North York, ON M3J 2V5 c/o Hessel and Aluise, P.C. Suzanne Zlotowski MONTREAL CHAPTER Republic of SOUTH AFRICA 1050 17th Street, Suite 900 Illness Report 28 David Brodet 376 Victoria Avenue Bertram Lubner, President Washington, D.C. 20036 Chairman, Suite 250 Herby Rosenberg, Chairman AABGU GREATER Westmount, QUE H3Z 1C3 Project Dedications 30 Executive Committee NATIONAL & JOHANNESBURG BROWARD/DADE REGION WINNIPEG CHAPTER 3900 Hollywood Boulevard Vice-Chairpersons, OFFICE # 220 – 2025 Corydon Avenue P.O. Box 895 PH - E An Enterprising Magician Executive Committee 32 Winnipeg, MB R3P ON5 Saxonwold 2132 Hollywood, FL 33021 Dvora Tomer WESTERN CAPE CHAPTER AABGU SOUTHEAST REGION Aharon Yadlin FRANCE A Passion For Balance 34 P.O. Box 2350 Mission Bay Office Plaza Gérard Worms, Chairman 20283 State Road 7 Prof. Rivka Carmi Cape Town 8000 Les Amis Français Suite 300 Dedications and Honorary Degrees President 36 de l'Université Ben-Gourion SWITZERLAND Boca Raton, FL 33498 Prof. Jimmy Weinblatt 16, rue de la Pierre Levée Michel Halpérin, Président AABGU GREAT LAKES REGION Win Some, Lose Some 38 75011 Paris Rector AMIS DE SUISSE DE L’UNIVERSITE 4238B N. Arlington Heights Road GERMANY BEN-GOURION DU NEGUEV Suite 346 Prof. Moti Herskowitz Arlington Heights, IL 60004 Peptides & Polymers 40 Dr. Mathias Döpfner, President 5, avenue Léon-Gaud Vice-President and Dean for AABGU GREATER TEXAS REGION Klaus Kröne, Chairman CH-1206 Geneva BGU Now is published by Research and Development 24 Greenway Plaza Johannes G. Locher, Deputy-Chairman the Department of Public Affairs Food For Thought 42 UNITED KINGDOM Suite 550 Prof. Yael Edan Förderer der BGU des Negev E.V. BEN GURION UNIVERSITY Houston, TX 77046 Director: Yoram Hurvitz Deputy-Rector Axel Springer AG Publishing House Going Global 44 FOUNDATION AABGU NORTHWEST REGION Editor: Angie Zamir Büro Dr. Mathias Döpfner David Bareket 220 Montgomery Street Axel Springer Strasse 65 Lord Weidenfeld of Chelsea, President Suite 498 Assistant Editor: Yael Balaban Fitting The Pieces Together 46 Director-General D-10888 Berlin Suzanne Zlotowski, Vice-President Harold Paisner, Chairman San Francisco, CA 94104 Contributors: Sandra Bloom ISRAEL AABGU SOUTHWEST REGION Ellen Dlott, Patricia Golan, Into Unchartered Territory 48 NATIONAL AND LONDON REGION Raya Strauss Bendror, President ORT House 9911 West Pico Boulevard Roberta Neiger, Yocheved Miriam Russo Suite 710 ISRAELI FRIENDS OF BGU 126 Albert Street A Kreitman Fellow Los Angeles, CA 90035 Photos: Dani Machlis 50 3 Shaul Avigur Street London NW1 7NE Additional Photos: Ezorei Chen, Tel Aviv BRIGHTON BRANCH c/o Sam Barsam, Chair Wolfgang Motzafi-Haller, Ziv Volk Excellence Recognized 52 47 Hove Park Road Design: Shai Zauderer Summer Celebrations 54 Hove, East Sussex BN3 6LH Vol. 4, No. 1, Fall 2006 ISSN 0793-7393 Alumni In Action 56 Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, P.O. Box 653, Beer-Sheva 84105, Israel | Fax: 972-8-6472937 | E-mail: [email protected] | Website: www.bgu.ac.il Composite 56-1 Ext 13/8/06 4:08 pm Page 2 C M Y CM MY CY CMY K From The President August 6, 2006 At this writing, our nation is under duress, with Israeli citizens under attack and several of our soldiers held captive. Ben-Gurion University of the Negev is reaching out to students and staff who have been called up for army reserve duty and we have opened our facilities and hosted summer camps for children from frontline communities. During this extremely tense time, we are all working together to ensure that Israel’s academic endeavors continue, and that all Israelis have a safe haven for their children. This is the spirit of BGU. It is this spirit of caring that first brought me to BGU thirty years ago. Few of my medical school classmates chose to work in the Israeli periphery and those of us who did so shared the strong conviction of making a difference. I have had the opportunity to visit many universities both in Israel and abroad, but I have never encountered such a group of people who care so much and are so proud of their institution. From academic faculty to administrative staff to students, everyone here has a “neshama yetera” – or added spirit – that characterizes BGU. This spirit of BGU, which combines open thinking, creativity and strong social awareness, has led me to suspend my medical and research career and take upon myself the responsibilities of President, with the goal of leading our institution from good to great. The challenges which lie before us are tremendous, particularly now in light of the changes in national priorities. We are committed to being an excellent research university while at the same time spearheading the development of the Negev. These dual missions detract from our competitive edge in terms of resource allocation. In order to achieve a leading position as a research institution, we need to be stronger and better than our counterparts. During the next decade, we will pursue excellence in research and place BGU among the top universities in the world. To have a meaningful scientific impact, we must focus on our strengths and uniqueness in areas where we have a competitive edge over others and where we have proven expertise. It is hoped that BGU’s scientific achievements will eventually translate into valuable intellectual property, enabling greater independence and growth. Thanks in part to our generous friends, we are attracting the best and brightest young researchers from top universities in the United States and Europe – Harvard, Yale, Princeton, Max Plank, Oxford – by offering them, beyond material support, open-mindedness, enthusiasm, commitment, collegiality and a warm atmosphere that others may have lost, but which we have succeeded in nurturing at BGU. It is contagious, invigorating and it marks our future. David Ben-Gurion’s strength as a leader was to forge ahead despite the many obstacles. The current national crisis only reinforces his dream of a safe Israel, anchored by a strong Negev with its flourishing population, science and industry. With your help, we will be able to realize this dream and our wish for a better future for Israel and the Jewish people. In friendship, Prof. Rivka Carmi, M.D. Composite open Bog 22/10/06 11:45 am Page 1 C M Y CM MY CY CMY K Composite 2-3 Bog 13/8/06 3:45 pm Page 1 C M Y CM MY CY CMY K The 36th Annual Board of Governors Meeting Members of the Board, friends and guests from President of BGU was officially ratified by the Israel and around the world came to Ben-Gurion members of the Board. University of the Negev for the 36th Annual Board During the Session, awards marking the centennial of Governors Meeting and to celebrate the 100th of David Ben-Gurion’s aliyah to Israel were presented anniversary of David Ben-Gurion’s aliyah to Israel. to friends of BGU who have devoted their time and At various opportunities throughout the week, guests efforts to furthering the development of the and University staff bade farewell to outgoing University and the Negev. The recipients were Lord President, Prof. Avishay Braverman, who concluded Weidenfeld of Chelsea, UK; Edgard D. de Picciotto, 16 years in office, and welcomed the new President, Switzerland; Prof. Sir Aaron Klug OM FRS, UK; Prof. Rivka Carmi. The visitors took part in the numerous events, including the committee meetings, which covered the spectrum of University activities in the financial, student, academic and Associates arenas.