Gedeon Dagan
Encyclopedia
Gedeon Dagan is a professor Emeritus of Hydrology
, School of Mechanical Engineering
, Faculty of Engineering, Tel Aviv University
, Israel
.
, Romania
. His father, David Drimmer, was a Civil engineer
who grew up in Chernowitz, studied in Vienna
and moved to Romania after marrying Janette Shechter. Romania was allied to Germany during the Second World War and though Jews
underwent persecution, they were not sent to extermination camps, unlike those living in countries under German occupation. After the war he was active in a Zionist youth movement
, striving to emigrate to Israel
, but the borders were closed by the communist regime
.
With the desire to study in a field of relevance to Israel, he graduated in 1956 in Hydraulic Engineering at the Bucharest Institute of Civil Engineering. Being attracted by research, he also studied in parallel Applied Mathematics
at Bucharest University. Subsequently, he worked as a research engineer at the national Hydraulic Laboratory in Bucharest and published a few articles in a local professional journal. In 1959 he was arrested and detained for eight months by the Securitate
for alleged political Zionist activity.
In 1962 he was allowed to immigrate to Israel, where he changed his name from the previous one (Guido Drimmer) to Gedeon Dagan and married Ora (ne'e Sneh). He started to work as a Research Engineer at the Technion, Israel Institute of Technology, in a project of groundwater hydrology, which is the area of his research since. In 1965 he was granted a D. Sc. degree and joined the academic staff of the faculty of Civil Engineering
, attaining the rank of Full Professor in 1974. His daughters Cigal and Noga were born in 1965, to be followed by Adi in 1971.
In 1976 he joined the academic staff of the newly founded Faculty of Engineering, Tel Aviv University, where he taught various courses in Fluid Mechanics
, Hydrology and Environment, becoming a Professor Emeritus in 2000.
During the years 1994-2003 he was the incumbent of the Klachky Chair of Groundwater Hydrology.
Gedeon Dagan spent his first Sabbatical leave (1967) at the research company Hydronautics in USA. He was a visiting Professor at University of Iowa
(1974), at Delft University in Netherlands
(1975), at Princeton University
(1979), at the University of California, Santa Barbara
(1986), at Berkeley
(1991), at Pierre and Marie Curie University
in Paris
(1991) and at Imperial College in London
(1995). A few of the graduate students he advised became leading scientists, e.g. Prof. Yoram Rubin (Berkeley), Prof. Michael Stiassnie (Technion), Prof. Yhezkiel Mualem (Hebrew University).
, Applied Mechanics
, Fluid Mechanics
and Naval Hydrodynamics. His main field of research is Groundwater
Hydrology; he developed quantitative models, theoretical and applied, of water flow and contaminant transport in porous media (soil and aquifers).
The models serve for the better understanding and prediction of processes occurring in the upper soil layer (irrigation
, drainage
) and in aquifers (exploitation
, pollution
).
He is one of the founders, in the late seventies, of the new discipline of Stochastic Hydrology. Previously, soil and aquifers properties, mainly the permeability, were regarded as spatially homogeneous or well ordered. However, field measurements and even superficial observations, reveal that natural formations are generally heterogeneous. The spatial variability of permeability has a significant impact on water flow and contaminant spreading. Since medium properties vary in a seemingly erratic manner and measurements are generally scarce, their spatial distribution is subjected to uncertainty. Stochastic Hydrology quantifies uncertainty with the aid of statistical models, used for analyzing and predicting various field scale processes.
This approach has generated considerable interest due to its impact on modeling groundwater pollution, a process which increasingly affects deterioration of water qualify in different parts of the world. The new research field has attracted a large number of scientists, leading to the emergence of an active community.
The ISI (Institute of Scientific Information) Web of Knowledge
shows that his papers were cited by more than 6000 articles. His monograph
(cited more than 1100 times) serves also as a graduate text book.
ISI has identified him as one of the 250 most cited scientists in the fields of Engineering and Ecology/Environment.
, Vadose Zone Journal, Journal of Hydrology
, Journal of Contaminant Hydrology, Stochastic Hydrology and Hydraulics, Journal of Hydraulics Research, Multiscale Modeling and Simulation.
He lectured at tens of international meetings and was among the organizers of an Unesco
Symposium in Paris (1996) and an advanced workshop in Monte Verita
, Ascona
(2010).
He served on various committees of the Israel Ministry of Science and Water Authority. In 1999 he initiated the Stockholm Junior Water Prize Competition in Israel
and serves as its Academic Director since. Students from tens of high schools participate in the national competition and the winners attend the annual world competition in Stockholm.
Applied Mechanics
Groundwater Hydrology
Stochastic hydrology
Hydrology
Hydrology is the study of the movement, distribution, and quality of water on Earth and other planets, including the hydrologic cycle, water resources and environmental watershed sustainability...
, School of Mechanical Engineering
Mechanical engineering
Mechanical engineering is a discipline of engineering that applies the principles of physics and materials science for analysis, design, manufacturing, and maintenance of mechanical systems. It is the branch of engineering that involves the production and usage of heat and mechanical power for the...
, Faculty of Engineering, Tel Aviv University
Tel Aviv University
Tel Aviv University is a public university located in Ramat Aviv, Tel Aviv, Israel. With nearly 30,000 students, TAU is Israel's largest university.-History:...
, Israel
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
.
Biography
Gedeon Dagan was born in GalatzGalati
Galați is a city and municipality in Romania, the capital of Galați County. Located in the historical region of Moldavia, in the close vicinity of Brăila, Galați is the largest port and sea port on the Danube River and the second largest Romanian port....
, Romania
Romania
Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeastern Europe, on the Lower Danube, within and outside the Carpathian arch, bordering on the Black Sea...
. His father, David Drimmer, was a Civil engineer
Civil engineer
A civil engineer is a person who practices civil engineering; the application of planning, designing, constructing, maintaining, and operating infrastructures while protecting the public and environmental health, as well as improving existing infrastructures that have been neglected.Originally, a...
who grew up in Chernowitz, studied in Vienna
Vienna
Vienna is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.723 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre...
and moved to Romania after marrying Janette Shechter. Romania was allied to Germany during the Second World War and though Jews
Jews
The Jews , also known as the Jewish people, are a nation and ethnoreligious group originating in the Israelites or Hebrews of the Ancient Near East. The Jewish ethnicity, nationality, and religion are strongly interrelated, as Judaism is the traditional faith of the Jewish nation...
underwent persecution, they were not sent to extermination camps, unlike those living in countries under German occupation. After the war he was active in a Zionist youth movement
Zionist youth movement
A Zionist youth movement is an organization formed for Jewish children and adolescents for educational, social, and ideological development, including a belief in Jewish nationalism as represented in the State of Israel...
, striving to emigrate to Israel
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
, but the borders were closed by the communist regime
Communist Romania
Communist Romania was the period in Romanian history when that country was a Soviet-aligned communist state in the Eastern Bloc, with the dominant role of Romanian Communist Party enshrined in its successive constitutions...
.
With the desire to study in a field of relevance to Israel, he graduated in 1956 in Hydraulic Engineering at the Bucharest Institute of Civil Engineering. Being attracted by research, he also studied in parallel Applied Mathematics
Applied mathematics
Applied mathematics is a branch of mathematics that concerns itself with mathematical methods that are typically used in science, engineering, business, and industry. Thus, "applied mathematics" is a mathematical science with specialized knowledge...
at Bucharest University. Subsequently, he worked as a research engineer at the national Hydraulic Laboratory in Bucharest and published a few articles in a local professional journal. In 1959 he was arrested and detained for eight months by the Securitate
Securitate
The Securitate was the secret police agency of Communist Romania. Previously, the Romanian secret police was called Siguranţa Statului. Founded on August 30, 1948, with help from the Soviet NKVD, the Securitate was abolished in December 1989, shortly after President Nicolae Ceaușescu was...
for alleged political Zionist activity.
In 1962 he was allowed to immigrate to Israel, where he changed his name from the previous one (Guido Drimmer) to Gedeon Dagan and married Ora (ne'e Sneh). He started to work as a Research Engineer at the Technion, Israel Institute of Technology, in a project of groundwater hydrology, which is the area of his research since. In 1965 he was granted a D. Sc. degree and joined the academic staff of the faculty of Civil Engineering
Civil engineering
Civil engineering is a professional engineering discipline that deals with the design, construction, and maintenance of the physical and naturally built environment, including works like roads, bridges, canals, dams, and buildings...
, attaining the rank of Full Professor in 1974. His daughters Cigal and Noga were born in 1965, to be followed by Adi in 1971.
In 1976 he joined the academic staff of the newly founded Faculty of Engineering, Tel Aviv University, where he taught various courses in Fluid Mechanics
Fluid mechanics
Fluid mechanics is the study of fluids and the forces on them. Fluid mechanics can be divided into fluid statics, the study of fluids at rest; fluid kinematics, the study of fluids in motion; and fluid dynamics, the study of the effect of forces on fluid motion...
, Hydrology and Environment, becoming a Professor Emeritus in 2000.
During the years 1994-2003 he was the incumbent of the Klachky Chair of Groundwater Hydrology.
Gedeon Dagan spent his first Sabbatical leave (1967) at the research company Hydronautics in USA. He was a visiting Professor at University of Iowa
University of Iowa
The University of Iowa is a public state-supported research university located in Iowa City, Iowa, United States. It is the oldest public university in the state. The university is organized into eleven colleges granting undergraduate, graduate, and professional degrees...
(1974), at Delft University in Netherlands
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
(1975), at Princeton University
Princeton University
Princeton University is a private research university located in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. The school is one of the eight universities of the Ivy League, and is one of the nine Colonial Colleges founded before the American Revolution....
(1979), at the University of California, Santa Barbara
University of California, Santa Barbara
The University of California, Santa Barbara, commonly known as UCSB or UC Santa Barbara, is a public research university and one of the 10 general campuses of the University of California system. The main campus is located on a site in Goleta, California, from Santa Barbara and northwest of Los...
(1986), at Berkeley
University of California, Berkeley
The University of California, Berkeley , is a teaching and research university established in 1868 and located in Berkeley, California, USA...
(1991), at Pierre and Marie Curie University
Pierre and Marie Curie University
The Paris VI University , or the Pierre and Marie Curie University , is a university located on the Jussieu Campus in the Latin Quarter of the 5th arrondissement of Paris, France....
in Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
(1991) and at Imperial College in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
(1995). A few of the graduate students he advised became leading scientists, e.g. Prof. Yoram Rubin (Berkeley), Prof. Michael Stiassnie (Technion), Prof. Yhezkiel Mualem (Hebrew University).
Research Topics
Gedeon Dagan’s research covers a variety of subjects in HydrologyHydrology
Hydrology is the study of the movement, distribution, and quality of water on Earth and other planets, including the hydrologic cycle, water resources and environmental watershed sustainability...
, Applied Mechanics
Applied mechanics
Applied mechanics is a branch of the physical sciences and the practical application of mechanics. Applied mechanics examines the response of bodies or systems of bodies to external forces...
, Fluid Mechanics
Fluid mechanics
Fluid mechanics is the study of fluids and the forces on them. Fluid mechanics can be divided into fluid statics, the study of fluids at rest; fluid kinematics, the study of fluids in motion; and fluid dynamics, the study of the effect of forces on fluid motion...
and Naval Hydrodynamics. His main field of research is Groundwater
Groundwater
Groundwater is water located beneath the ground surface in soil pore spaces and in the fractures of rock formations. A unit of rock or an unconsolidated deposit is called an aquifer when it can yield a usable quantity of water. The depth at which soil pore spaces or fractures and voids in rock...
Hydrology; he developed quantitative models, theoretical and applied, of water flow and contaminant transport in porous media (soil and aquifers).
The models serve for the better understanding and prediction of processes occurring in the upper soil layer (irrigation
Irrigation
Irrigation may be defined as the science of artificial application of water to the land or soil. It is used to assist in the growing of agricultural crops, maintenance of landscapes, and revegetation of disturbed soils in dry areas and during periods of inadequate rainfall...
, drainage
Drainage
Drainage is the natural or artificial removal of surface and sub-surface water from an area. Many agricultural soils need drainage to improve production or to manage water supplies.-Early history:...
) and in aquifers (exploitation
Exploitation
This article discusses the term exploitation in the meaning of using something in an unjust or cruel manner.- As unjust benefit :In political economy, economics, and sociology, exploitation involves a persistent social relationship in which certain persons are being mistreated or unfairly used for...
, pollution
Pollution
Pollution is the introduction of contaminants into a natural environment that causes instability, disorder, harm or discomfort to the ecosystem i.e. physical systems or living organisms. Pollution can take the form of chemical substances or energy, such as noise, heat or light...
).
He is one of the founders, in the late seventies, of the new discipline of Stochastic Hydrology. Previously, soil and aquifers properties, mainly the permeability, were regarded as spatially homogeneous or well ordered. However, field measurements and even superficial observations, reveal that natural formations are generally heterogeneous. The spatial variability of permeability has a significant impact on water flow and contaminant spreading. Since medium properties vary in a seemingly erratic manner and measurements are generally scarce, their spatial distribution is subjected to uncertainty. Stochastic Hydrology quantifies uncertainty with the aid of statistical models, used for analyzing and predicting various field scale processes.
This approach has generated considerable interest due to its impact on modeling groundwater pollution, a process which increasingly affects deterioration of water qualify in different parts of the world. The new research field has attracted a large number of scientists, leading to the emergence of an active community.
Scientific Publications
Gedeon Dagan has published above 165 articles in leading international journals.The ISI (Institute of Scientific Information) Web of Knowledge
shows that his papers were cited by more than 6000 articles. His monograph
Monograph
A monograph is a work of writing upon a single subject, usually by a single author.It is often a scholarly essay or learned treatise, and may be released in the manner of a book or journal article. It is by definition a single document that forms a complete text in itself...
(cited more than 1100 times) serves also as a graduate text book.
ISI has identified him as one of the 250 most cited scientists in the fields of Engineering and Ecology/Environment.
Public Professional Activity
Gedeon Dagan served as associate editor of a few international journals: Water Resources ResearchWater Resources Research
Water Resources Research is a peer-reviewed scientific journal published by the American Geophysical Union. AGU states that WRR is an "interdisciplinary journal integrating research in the social and natural sciences of water."...
, Vadose Zone Journal, Journal of Hydrology
Journal of Hydrology
Journal of Hydrology is a peer-reviewed academic journal about hydrological sciences including water based management and related policy issues....
, Journal of Contaminant Hydrology, Stochastic Hydrology and Hydraulics, Journal of Hydraulics Research, Multiscale Modeling and Simulation.
He lectured at tens of international meetings and was among the organizers of an Unesco
UNESCO
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations...
Symposium in Paris (1996) and an advanced workshop in Monte Verita
Monte Verita
Monte Verità is a hill in Ascona , which has served as the site of many different Utopian and cultural events and communities since the beginning of the twentieth century.-History:...
, Ascona
Ascona
Ascona is a municipality in the district of Locarno in the canton of Ticino in Switzerland.It is located on the shore of Lake Maggiore.The town is a popular tourist destination, and holds a yearly jazz festival, the Ascona Jazz Festival....
(2010).
He served on various committees of the Israel Ministry of Science and Water Authority. In 1999 he initiated the Stockholm Junior Water Prize Competition in Israel
and serves as its Academic Director since. Students from tens of high schools participate in the national competition and the winners attend the annual world competition in Stockholm.
Honors and Awards
- 2006 - Elected member of the Israel Academy of Sciences and HumanitiesIsrael Academy of Sciences and HumanitiesThe Israel Academy of Sciences and Humanities, based in Jerusalem, was set up in 1961 by the State of Israel to foster contact between scholars from the sciences and humanities in Israel, to advise the government on research projects of national importance, and to promote excellence. It comprises...
- 2006 - Rothschild Prize
- 2006 - Doctor Honoris Causa of Bucharest University
- 2005 - The Horton MedalRobert E. Horton MedalThe Robert E. Horton Medal is given out by the American Geophysical Union to recognize "outstanding contributions to the geophysical aspects of hydrology". The award was created in 1974 and named after Robert E. Horton to honor his contributions to the study of the hydrologic cycle. The Horton...
of the American Geophysical UnionAmerican Geophysical UnionThe American Geophysical Union is a nonprofit organization of geophysicists, consisting of over 50,000 members from over 135 countries. AGU's activities are focused on the organization and dissemination of scientific information in the interdisciplinary and international field of geophysics... - 2002 - Member of the ISI Highly Cited list of scientists in Engineering and Ecology/Environment
- 1998 - The Stockholm Water Prize
- 1997 - Doctor Honoris Causa of Pierre and Marie Curie UniversityPierre and Marie Curie UniversityThe Paris VI University , or the Pierre and Marie Curie University , is a university located on the Jussieu Campus in the Latin Quarter of the 5th arrondissement of Paris, France....
- 1989 - Fellow of American Geophysical UnionAmerican Geophysical UnionThe American Geophysical Union is a nonprofit organization of geophysicists, consisting of over 50,000 members from over 135 countries. AGU's activities are focused on the organization and dissemination of scientific information in the interdisciplinary and international field of geophysics...
- 1984 - Horton Award of the Hydrology section, American Geophysical UnionAmerican Geophysical UnionThe American Geophysical Union is a nonprofit organization of geophysicists, consisting of over 50,000 members from over 135 countries. AGU's activities are focused on the organization and dissemination of scientific information in the interdisciplinary and international field of geophysics...
A few Selected Articles
Fluid Mechanics and Water Waves- Dagan G. and M.P. Tulin, Two-dimensional gravity free-surface flow past blunt bodies, Journ. Fluid Mech., 51(3), 529-543, 1972.
- Dagan G., Taylor instability of free-surface nonuniform flows, Journ. Fluid Mech., 67, 113-124, 1975.
- Dagan G., Waves and wave resistance of thin bodies moving at low speed: the free-surface nonlinear effect, Journ. Fluid Mech., 69, 405-417, 1975.
Applied Mechanics
- Fiori, I. Jankovic and Dagan G., Effective conductivity of heterogeneous multiphase media with circular inclusions, Phys. Rev. Let., Art. No. 224502, doi: 0.1103, 94(22), June 10, 2005.
Groundwater Hydrology
- Dagan G., A method of determining the permeability and effective porosity of unconfined anisotropic aquifers, Water Resour. Res., 3 (4), 1059-1071, 1967.
- Dagan G. and E. Bresler, Unstaurated flow in spatially variable fields 1. Derivation of models of infiltration and redistribution, Water Resour. Res., 19(2), 413-420, 1983.
- Paster and Dagan G., Mixing at the interface between two fluids in porous media: a boundary layer solution, J. Fluid Mech. 584, 455-472, 2007.
Stochastic hydrology
- Dagan G. and E. Bresler, Solute dispersion in unsaturated heterogeneous soil at field scale I: Theory, Soil Science Soc. Am. Journ., 43(3), 461-467, 1979.
- Dagan G., Solute transport in heterogeneous porous formations, Journ. Fluid. Mech., 145, 151-177, 1984.
- Dagan G. Statistical theory of groundwater flow and transport: pore to laboratory, laboratory to formation and formation to regional scale, Water Resour. Res., Special Anniversary Edition, 22(9), 120S-135S, 1986.
- Dagan G. and C. Cvetkovic, Reactive transport and immiscible flow in geological media. I. General theory, Proc. Roy. Soc. London, Series A, 452(1945), 285-301, 1996.