Zvi Ben-Avraham | |
|---|---|
צבי בן-אברהם | |
| Born | (1941-11-16)16 November 1941 (age 83) |
| Nationality | Israeli |
| Alma mater | Hebrew University of Jerusalem (BSc),Massachusetts Institute of Technology andWoods Hole Oceanographic Institution (PhD) |
| Occupation | Scientist |
| Awards | Israel Prize (2003) |
Zvi Ben-Avraham (Hebrew:צבי בן-אברהם; born 16 November 1941) is an Israeli earth scientist, specializing in geophysics of theMediterranean Sea and theDead Sea Transform. He is currently a professor of Geophysics atTel Aviv University. Ben-Avraham was awarded theIsrael Prize in 2003. He is member of several national academies and fellow of geological societies.
Ben-Avraham was born on 16 November 1941 inJerusalem.[1] He studied geology at theHebrew University of Jerusalem and obtained a BSc with honors there in 1969. He subsequently obtained a PhD at theMassachusetts Institute of Technology andWoods Hole Oceanographic Institution in 1973. He shortly continued as a post-doc at the latter institution before moving on to the Israel Oceanographic and Limnological Research to work as senior research fellow.[2]
In 1975 he started as researcher at the department of mathematics of theWeizmann Institute of Science. The next year he became senior researcher and in 1981 he became associate professor. From 1979 to 1982 Ben-Avraham was visiting associate professor at the department of geophysics atStanford University, and subsequently worked there as professor until 1989. In 1982 he also started as associate professor of geophysics atTel Aviv University, in 1986 he became a full professor. Since 1989 Ben-Avraham has been Max Sonnenberg Professor of Marine Geoscience at theUniversity of Cape Town.[2]
In 2007 Ben-Avraham started as the first director of theLeon H. Charney School of Marine Sciences at theUniversity of Haifa. Five years later he also became head of the Mediterranean Sea Research Center of Israel.[2][3] He also works at the Minerva Dead Sea Research Center.[4] In this capacity a team under his guidance has taken samples from the sea bottom to determine its history.[5] He has helped in setting up a Dead Sea Research center inJordan with help of itsroyal family.[6]
In 2011 Ben-Avraham discovered that fault-finding coral reefs could provide indications on where future earthquakes could take places.[7]
In 2015 Ben-Avraham and Emanuele Lodolo discovered an at least 9,350 year-oldmonolith of the coast ofSicily.[8]
Ben-Avraham's field of expertise lies in the geophysics of theMediterranean Sea and theDead Sea Transform.[9] He frequently combines his study of geophysics withoceanography.[6] Ben-Avraham has worked as a chief scientist on boardEVNautilus during its explorations.[9]
In 1981 Ben-Avraham became a fellow of theGeological Society of America.[10] In 1996 he became a foreign member of theAcademia Europaea.[11] Ben-Avraham was elected a fellow of theAmerican Geophysical Union in 1999.[12] He became a corresponding member of theHeidelberg Academy of Sciences and Humanities in 2000.[13]
In 2000 Ben-Avraham was elected a member of theIsrael Academy of Sciences and Humanities.[14] In 2003 he was awarded theIsrael Prize in earth sciences. The jury praised him for his exploring skills, knowledge of innovative research methods and data-collecting and management capabilities.[6] Ben-Avraham was elected a foreign member of theRoyal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences in 2006.[15] Ben-Avraham has won several awards from theIsrael Geological Society, in 2014 he became an honorary member of the society.[2] Ben-Avraham was elected foreign member of theRussian Academy of Sciences in 2019.[16][17]
