Famous Israeli Scientists

Vote for Your Favourite Israeli Scientists

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 1 
Judea Pearl
(Computer Scientist)
Judea Pearl
4
Birthdate: September 4, 1936
Sun Sign: Virgo
Birthplace: Tel Aviv, Israel

A.M. Turing Award-winning Israeli-American computer scientist Judea Pearl is known for his work on artificial intelligence and for creating the Bayesian network. He has penned several books on causality, too. He is also known as the father of Daniel Pearl, the journalist who was beheaded by Islamic terrorists in Pakistan.

 2 
Adi Shamir
(Mathematician, Cryptologist, Computer scientist)
Adi Shamir
5
Birthdate: July 6, 1952
Sun Sign: Cancer
Birthplace: Tel Aviv

Turing Award-winning Israeli cryptographer Adi Shamir is one of the co-inventors of RSA encryption. He also owns patents to more than a dozen more inventions. He has been associated with the University of Warwick and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and has also taught at the Weizmann Institute.

 3 
Natan Sharansky
(Politician, Writer, Mathematician, Human rights activist)
Natan Sharansky
4
Birthdate: January 20, 1948
Sun Sign: Aquarius
Birthplace: Donetsk

A well-known human rights activist, Natan Sharansky not just campaigned for the rights of the Jews and spent 9 years in a prison in Siberia, but was also a chess prodigy, who was a champion at age 14. He has also penned books and won multiple awards.

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 4 
Shafi Goldwasser
(university teacher, cryptographer, mathematician, computer scientist)
Shafi Goldwasser
3
Birthdate: 1958 AD
Birthplace: New York City

Shafi Goldwasser is a computer scientist who serves as the chief scientist of Duality Technologies which she co-founded in 2016. In 1997, she started serving as RSA Professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), becoming the institute's first holder of the professorship. In 2012, she was honored with the Turing Award for her work in the field of cryptography.

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 5 
Dan Shechtman
(Israeli Scientist and Winner of the 2011 Nobel Prize in Chemistry)
Dan Shechtman
4
Birthdate: January 24, 1941
Sun Sign: Aquarius
Birthplace: Tel Aviv-Yafo, Israel

Dan Shechtman is a scientist currently serving as the Philip Tobias Professor of Materials Science at the Technion – Israel Institute of Technology. He is best known for his work in the field of quasiperiodic crystals. He received the  Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 2011. He unsuccessfully ran for the post of president of Israel in 2014.

 6 
Ada Yonath
(Scientist)
Ada Yonath
3
Birthdate: June 22, 1939
Sun Sign: Cancer
Birthplace: Jerusalem, Isreal

Ada Yonath is an Israeli crystallographer. She is best known for her work on the structure of the ribosome, for which she received the 2009 Nobel Prize in Chemistry along with Venkatraman Ramakrishnan and Thomas A. Steitz. The first Israeli woman to win the Nobel Prize, she occupies the Martin S. and Helen Kimmel Professorial Chair at the Weizmann Institute.  

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 7 
Daniel Lewin
(American-Israeli Mathematician and Entrepreneur Who Co-founded Internet Company Akamai Technologies)
Daniel Lewin
3
Birthdate: May 14, 1970
Sun Sign: Taurus
Birthplace: Denver, Colorado, United States
Died: September 11, 2001

Daniel M. Lewin was an American–Israeli entrepreneur and mathematician best remembered for co-founding the popular internet company Akamai Technologies. On September 11, 2001, Lewin became the first victim of the September 11 attacks when he was stabbed to death onboard American Airlines Flight 11 by one of the hijackers.

 8 
Michael O. Rabin
(Israeli Mathematician and Computer Scientist Known for Creating the 'Rabin–Karp String Search Algorithm')
Michael O. Rabin
2
Birthdate: September 1, 1931
Sun Sign: Virgo
Birthplace: Wrocław, Poland

Michael O. Rabin is an Israeli computer scientist and mathematician. He is best known for creating the popular Rabin–Karp string search algorithm. In 1976, Michael O. Rabin was honored with the prestigious Turing Award for a paper written in 1959. In 2010, Rabin was presented with the Tel Aviv University Dan David Prize.

 9 
Robert Aumann
(Israeli-American Mathematician Known for His Work on Conflict and Cooperation Through Game Theory Analysis)
Robert Aumann
3
Birthdate: June 8, 1930
Sun Sign: Gemini
Birthplace: Frankfurt, Germany

Robert Aumann is an Israeli-American mathematician. He is a professor at the Center for the Study of Rationality in the Hebrew University of Jerusalem in Israel and a member of the United States National Academy of Sciences. A founding member of the Stony Brook Center for Game Theory, he received the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences in 2005. 

 10 
Moshé Feldenkrais
(Ukrainian-Israeli Engineer and Physicist Known as the Founder of the Feldenkrais Method)
Moshé Feldenkrais
4
Birthdate: May 6, 1904
Sun Sign: Taurus
Birthplace: Slavuta, Ukraine
Died: July 1, 1984

Moshé Feldenkrais was a Ukrainian-Israeli physicist and engineer. He founded the Feldenkrais Method of physical exercise that aims to improve mind-body coordination. He earned his Doctor of Science in Physics at the University of Paris, where he studied under Marie Curie. He earned a black belt in judo and became a co-founding member of the Ju-Jitsu Club de France. 

 11 
Jacob Bekenstein
(Theoretical Physicist Known for His Contributions to the Foundation of 'Black Hole Thermodynamics')
Jacob Bekenstein
3
Birthdate: May 1, 1947
Sun Sign: Taurus
Birthplace: Mexico City, Mexico
Died: August 16, 2015

Jacob Bekenstein was born to Polish Jew immigrant parents in Mexico. The Rothschild Prize-winning physicist later also gained both American and Israeli citizenships. He is best remembered for his discovery of thermodynamic properties in black holes. The Princeton alumnus and Technion professor was also quite a religious man.

 12 
Nathan Rosen
(Theoretical physicist, University teacher)
Nathan Rosen
3
Birthdate: March 22, 1909
Sun Sign: Aries
Birthplace: Brooklyn
Died: December 18, 1995

Physicist Nathan Rosen was born tom Jewish parents in New York. The MIT alumnus later gained recognition in the scientific circle for co-authoring a paper with Albert Einstein, which laid down what is now known as the wormhole, or the Einstein-Rosen bridge. He was also instrumental in establishing various institutes.

 13 
Ephraim Katzir
(4th President of Israel)
Ephraim Katzir
3
Birthdate: May 16, 1916
Sun Sign: Taurus
Birthplace: Kiev, Ukraine
Died: May 30, 2009

Ephraim Katzir was an Israeli politician and biophysicist. He is best remembered for his service as the President of Israel from 24 May 1973 to 29 May 1978. Ephraim Katzir, who served as the Israel Defense Forces' Chief Scientist from 1966 to 1968, made important contributions in the scientific field as well. He was the recipient of several prestigious awards.

 14 
Yigael Yadin
(Anthropologist, Archaeologist, Politician, Military personnel)
Yigael Yadin
2
Birthdate: March 20, 1917
Sun Sign: Pisces
Birthplace: Jerusalem
Died: June 28, 1984

Yigael Yadin was an Israeli archeologist, soldier, and politician. From 1977 to 1981, he served as the second chief of staff of the Israel Defense Forces and deputy prime minister. He had an extensive career in the army, following which he joined politics. He was also a brilliant archeologist and received the Israel Prize in Jewish studies. 

 15 
Elon Lindenstrauss
(Israeli Mathematician)
Elon Lindenstrauss
2
Birthdate: August 1, 1970
Sun Sign: Leo
Birthplace: Jerusalem, Israel

Elon Lindenstrauss is an Israeli mathematician who has been serving as a professor at Princeton University since 2004. He is best known for his research work in the area of ergodic theory. In 1988, Elon Lindenstrauss participated in the International Mathematical Olympiad where he won a bronze medal. He has also received several other awards, including the 2010 Fields Medal.

 16 
Aaron Ciechanover
(Israeli Biologist Known for Characterizing the Method That Cells Use to Degrade and Recycle Proteins Using Ubiquitin)
Aaron Ciechanover
2
Birthdate: October 1, 1947
Sun Sign: Libra
Birthplace: Haifa, Israel

Nobel Prize-winning biochemist Aaron Ciechanover is best known for his research on the mechanism that allows cells to destroy unwanted proteins. Part of the faculty at Technion, he is also part of Patient Innovation’s advisory board and has also been associated with companies such as Rosetta Genomics.

 17 
Mathilde Krim
(Geneticist, Physician)
Mathilde Krim
2
Birthdate: July 9, 1926
Sun Sign: Cancer
Birthplace: Como

Mathilde Krim was an Israeli medical researcher best known for her association with amfAR, an international nonprofit organization that aims at supporting AIDS research; she was the founding chairman of the organization. For her immense contribution to the field of AIDS research, Mathilde Krim was honored with the prestigious Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2000.

 18 
Henry Markram
(Israeli Neuroscientist)
Henry Markram
3
Birthdate: March 28, 1962
Sun Sign: Aries
Birthplace: South Africa
Born in South Africa, Henry Markram completed his PhD in Israel and then moved to the U.S. as a Fulbright scholar. The acclaimed neuroscientist and Brain Mind Institute founder now teaches at the EPFL in Switzerland. His now-famous Blue Brain Project was aimed at digitally reconstructing the mouse brain.
 19 
Mario Livio
(Israeli-American Astrophysicist)
Mario Livio
2
Birthdate: June 19, 1945
Sun Sign: Gemini
Birthplace: Bucharest, Romania
 20 
Avram Hershko
(Biochemist, Educationist, University teacher)
Avram Hershko
2
Birthdate: December 31, 1937
Sun Sign: Capricorn
Birthplace: Karcag

Born to Jewish teacher parents in Hungary, Avram Hershko spent a few years in a concentration camp during World War II. He and his family managed to escape and settled in Israel, where he became a renowned chemist, later winning the Nobel Prize for discovering how cells remove unwanted proteins.

 21 
Arieh Warshel
(Israeli-American Biochemist and Biophysicist Known for His Work on Computational Biochemistry and Biophysics)
Arieh Warshel
2
Birthdate: November 20, 1940
Sun Sign: Scorpio
Birthplace: Kibbutz Sde-Nahum, Israel

Born in Israel, Arieh Warshel had been part of the Israeli Army before he moved to the U.S. for his PhD at Harvard University. His research on computational enzymology helped him create computer models of chemical reactions and earned him a Nobel Prize. He later established a computational biology institute.

 22 
Andi Gutmans
Andi Gutmans
2

Swiss-born programmer Andi Gutmans holds the citizenships of 4 countries, including that of the US, Britain, Israel, and his home country, Switzerland. The Google VP is a co-creator of PHP and a co-founder of Zend Technologies. Surprisingly, he wasn’t academically brilliant and took 4.5 years to complete a 3-year Technion degree.

 23 
Marcus Klingberg
(epidemiologist, university teacher, spy, officer)
Marcus Klingberg
3
Birthdate: October 7, 1918
Sun Sign: Libra
Birthplace: Warsaw
Died: November 30, 2015
 24 
Amir Pnueli
(Israeli Computer scientist)
Amir Pnueli
2
Birthdate: April 22, 1941
Sun Sign: Taurus
Birthplace: Nahalal, Israel
Died: November 2, 2009

Turing Award-winning Israeli computer scientist Amir Pnueli established the Tel Aviv University’s computer science department and was the son of Prof. Shay Pnueli, one of the founders of the university. He is best known for his research on temporal logic in computing and also co-founded the AdCad software.

 25 
Yuval Ne'eman
(Former Minister of Innovation, Science and Technology of Israel, Theoretical Physicist and Military Scientist)
Yuval Ne'eman
2
Birthdate: May 14, 1925
Sun Sign: Taurus
Birthplace: Tel Aviv-Yafo, Israel
Died: April 26, 2006

Israeli theoretical physicist Yuval Ne'eman grew up in Egypt and was gearing up to be an engineer and take over his family business of pumps. He also fought wars for Israel’s independence but later joined military intelligence. He is said to have inspired a character in Frederick Forsyth's The Odessa File.

 26 
Amir Aczel
(Mathematician)
Amir Aczel
2
Birthdate: November 6, 1950
Sun Sign: Scorpio
Birthplace: Haifa
Died: November 26, 2015
 27 
Ghada Karmi
(Doctor of medicine)
Ghada Karmi
1
Birthdate: 1939 AD
Birthplace: Jerusalem

Palestinian doctor of medicine, author and academic Ghada Karmi is associated with the Institute of Arab and Islamic Studies at the University of Exeter as research fellow and lecturer. A Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts, Karmi has penned several articles on Palestinian issues in Wayback Machine and in newspapers and magazines like Journal of Palestine Studies and The Guardian.

 28 
Alex Biryukov
(Israeli Cryptographer)
Alex Biryukov
0
Birthplace: Luxembourg
 29 
Daniela Schiller
(Neuroscientist)
Daniela Schiller
1
Birthdate: October 26, 1972
Sun Sign: Scorpio
Birthplace: Rishon LeẔiyyon, Israel
 30 
Sophia Getzowa
(Pathologist)
Sophia Getzowa
1
Birthdate: January 23, 1872
Sun Sign: Aquarius
Birthplace: Belarus, Russian Empire
Died: July 11, 1946

Sophia Getzowa had lost her mother at 8. A prominent Zionist, she studied medicine and became known for her research on solid cell nests and for being the first woman to teach at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. She was also engaged to Chaim Weizmann, who later became Israel’s first president.

 31 
Cyril Domb
(Theoretical Physicist)
Cyril Domb
3
Birthdate: December 9, 1920
Sun Sign: Sagittarius
Birthplace: London, UK
Died: February 15, 2012

Though given a strict Jewish education, British-Israeli physicist Cyril Domb turned out to be a math prodigy. He also worked on radars during World War II and later taught at Cambridge and King’s College London. He also formed an association of Jewish scientists and penned books such as Maaser Kesafim.

 32 
Michal Schwartz
(Israeli Neuroimmunologist Who Pioneered Research on the Relationship Between the Brain and the Immune System)
Michal Schwartz
0
Birthdate: January 1, 1950
Sun Sign: Capricorn
Birthplace: Tel Aviv–Yafo, Israel

Michal Schwartz is an Israeli neuroimmunologist who is currently a professor of neuroimmunology at the Weizmann Institute of Science. She also holds the Ilse Katz Professorial Chair in Neuroimmunology. Her works helped to expand the field of immunology in neuroscience, and she discovered new roles for immune cells in neurogenesis.  

 33 
Avraham Trahtman
(Mathematician)
Avraham Trahtman
1
Birthdate: February 10, 1944
Sun Sign: Aquarius
Birthplace: Nev'yanskiy Rayon, Russia
 34 
Amnon Freidberg
(Entomologist)
Amnon Freidberg
1
Birthdate: September 18, 1945
Sun Sign: Virgo
Birthplace: Haifa, Israel
Died: October 10, 2020