Israeli doctoral students to share $1m. Adams Fellowship

Fellows receive over $100,000 and tuition for studies.

By JUDY SIEGEL-ITZKOVICH
Adams Fellowship 311 (photo credit: The Israel Academy of Sciences and Humanities Arch)
Adams Fellowship 311
(photo credit: The Israel Academy of Sciences and Humanities Arch)
Montreal entrepreneur Marcel Adams will mark his 91st birthday this year by boosting the careers of 10 up-and-coming scientific researchers.
On Wednesday, the energetic Holocaust survivor will present prestigious Adams Fellowships worth a total of $1 million to 10 top doctoral students from around the country.
The fellows will each receive a stipend of over $100,000 during a ceremony at the Israel Academy of Sciences and Humanities in Jerusalem. They are also exempt from paying tuition during their maximum of four years of doctoral study.
According to the academy, the rigorous selection process headed by the universities and the Adams Fellowship Fund’s professional selection committee, ensure that this year’s recipients stand at the forefront in the fields of natural sciences, mathematics, computer science, life sciences and engineering.
Fellow Daphna Nachmani of Jerusalem, whose research on the prevention of the herpes virus has been published in prestigious scientific journals, also teaches science to 14-yearolds.
Nachmani was chosen to present her work at the Second European Congress of Immunology in Berlin in 2009.
Recipient Sophia Buhbut from Ashkelon, whose research focuses on photoelectrochemical solar cells, developed a device that scatters light in preferred orientations, acting like an optical antenna. Her product is being used by the New 3G Solar company.
She plans to do her postdoctoral work abroad in the field of renewable energy, focusing on green energy, and then return to Israel.
Doron Puder has loved math since kindergarten. In the army, the Jerusalemnative served in a technological- mathematical unit in the Intelligence Corps, winning the Israel Defense Prize several times.
After working two years at a New York-based hedge fund, Puder returned to Israel to complete his doctoral studies and is conducting fruitful research at the Einstein Institute.
Israel Air Force pilot Avi Braun, another Adams Fellow, serves as a reserve pilot over 70 days a year and dreams of inventing a new source of energy.
His state-of-the-art research deals with the basic and practical aspects of bringing photovoltaic–solar energy converted into current electricity– to a state where it can serve as a wide-scale source of energy.
Upon graduation, recipient Amir Nevet began working as a systems engineer at a start-up medical company, where he conducted and managed a project to acoustically communicate through a pulmonary implant in heartfailure patients. The company was bought by Boston Scientific.
Marcel Adams began as a penniless survivor from Romania who fought in the War of Independence.
He eventually became a successful real estate developer and entrepreneur in Canada, and launched his fellowship program in 2005.