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Moshe Levy (chemist)
Encyclopedia
Moshe Levy is an Israeli professor of Chemistry at the Weizmann Institute of Science
in Rehovot, Israel.
, Greece. In 1933 his father, Eliyahu, decided to immigrate to Palestine, then under British occupation. He grew up in the southern part of Tel-Aviv and attended the Alliance Elementary School and the Balfour High School. After graduating from high school, he went to work as a laboratory assistant at the Zeiff Institute in Rehovot. There, with the help of Chaim Weizmann
(later the first president of the State of Israel) he obtained a scholarship to attend the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. Shortly after enrolling at the Hebrew University, he was called, as a member of the Haganah
, to fight in the Israeli War of Independence in Jerusalem, and only returned to the university in September 1949. He received a Masters degree in Physical Chemistry in 1952. He finished his Ph.D. in 1955 after two years at the College of Forestry, State University of New York, Syracuse, SUNY-ESF, under the supervision of Michael Szwarc
. He has been married to Joan Dvora Sugerman since 1955, and has two children, Sharona T. Levy and Alon Yitzchak Halevy
, and has four grandchildren, Danielle and Itamar Menuhin, and Karina and Kasper Halevy. He lives in Rehovot, Israel.
for this work in 1987, acknowledging Moshe Levy for many of the breakthroughs leading to it. After a few years at the Technion and another year as a Research Fellow in Syracuse, he joined the Weizmann Institute of Science
, in Rehovot, Israel. At the Weizmann Institute, he initially worked with Aharon Katzir
, and later moved to the Plastics Research Department, which he headed from 1977 to 1983.
In 1982 he started working on solar energy. His worked focused on creating a chemical reaction that enables storing the energy produced by the sun so it can be transported to a user site, and then (after the reverse reaction) be used upon request. With several colleagues, he built the solar tower at the Weizmann Institute that is a center for solar-energy research. In 1993 he became an Emeritus Professor, but has remained active in research and service, including serving as the President of the Israeli Polymer and Plastics Society in 1993-1995 and Editor of Bulletin of the Israeli Chemical Society, "Chemistry in Israel". Moshe Levy has also spent time as a visiting scientist in a number of institutions, including Xerox Research Center (Rochester, New York), DuPont Central Research
Center (Wilmington, Delaware), the University of Florida at Gainsville, and the University of Minnesota, Minneapolis.
Weizmann Institute of Science
The Weizmann Institute of Science , known as Machon Weizmann, is a university and research institute in Rehovot, Israel. It differs from other Israeli universities in that it offers only graduate and post-graduate studies in the sciences....
in Rehovot, Israel.
Birth and Education
Moshe Levy was born on December 8, 1927 in ThessalonikiThessaloniki
Thessaloniki , historically also known as Thessalonica, Salonika or Salonica, is the second-largest city in Greece and the capital of the region of Central Macedonia as well as the capital of the Decentralized Administration of Macedonia and Thrace...
, Greece. In 1933 his father, Eliyahu, decided to immigrate to Palestine, then under British occupation. He grew up in the southern part of Tel-Aviv and attended the Alliance Elementary School and the Balfour High School. After graduating from high school, he went to work as a laboratory assistant at the Zeiff Institute in Rehovot. There, with the help of Chaim Weizmann
Chaim Weizmann
Chaim Azriel Weizmann, , was a Zionist leader, President of the Zionist Organization, and the first President of the State of Israel. He was elected on 1 February 1949, and served until his death in 1952....
(later the first president of the State of Israel) he obtained a scholarship to attend the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. Shortly after enrolling at the Hebrew University, he was called, as a member of the Haganah
Haganah
Haganah was a Jewish paramilitary organization in what was then the British Mandate of Palestine from 1920 to 1948, which later became the core of the Israel Defense Forces.- Origins :...
, to fight in the Israeli War of Independence in Jerusalem, and only returned to the university in September 1949. He received a Masters degree in Physical Chemistry in 1952. He finished his Ph.D. in 1955 after two years at the College of Forestry, State University of New York, Syracuse, SUNY-ESF, under the supervision of Michael Szwarc
Michael Szwarc
Michael Szwarc was a British and American polymer chemist who discovered and studied ionic living polymerization.- Biography :...
. He has been married to Joan Dvora Sugerman since 1955, and has two children, Sharona T. Levy and Alon Yitzchak Halevy
Alon Y. Halevy
Alon Yitzchack Halevy is a renowned Israeli-American computer scientist and a leading researcher in the area of data integration. He is currently a research scientist at Google, Inc. Until 2006, he was a professor of computer science at the University of Washington...
, and has four grandchildren, Danielle and Itamar Menuhin, and Karina and Kasper Halevy. He lives in Rehovot, Israel.
Academic career
As a post-doctoral fellow under Michael Szwarc, Moshe Levy was a member of the team who discovered "Living Polymers", which was a major breakthrough in the field of Polymers Science. The work was published as a one-page communication in the Journal of the American Chemical Society. Michael Szwarc received the Kyoto PrizeKyoto Prize
The has been awarded annually since 1985 by the Inamori Foundation, founded by Kazuo Inamori. The prize is a Japanese award similar in intent to the Nobel Prize, as it recognizes outstanding works in the fields of philosophy, arts, science and technology...
for this work in 1987, acknowledging Moshe Levy for many of the breakthroughs leading to it. After a few years at the Technion and another year as a Research Fellow in Syracuse, he joined the Weizmann Institute of Science
Weizmann Institute of Science
The Weizmann Institute of Science , known as Machon Weizmann, is a university and research institute in Rehovot, Israel. It differs from other Israeli universities in that it offers only graduate and post-graduate studies in the sciences....
, in Rehovot, Israel. At the Weizmann Institute, he initially worked with Aharon Katzir
Aharon Katzir
Aharon Katzir was an Israeli pioneer in the study of the electrochemistry of biopolymers. He was killed in the Lod Airport Massacre in 1972.-Biography:...
, and later moved to the Plastics Research Department, which he headed from 1977 to 1983.
In 1982 he started working on solar energy. His worked focused on creating a chemical reaction that enables storing the energy produced by the sun so it can be transported to a user site, and then (after the reverse reaction) be used upon request. With several colleagues, he built the solar tower at the Weizmann Institute that is a center for solar-energy research. In 1993 he became an Emeritus Professor, but has remained active in research and service, including serving as the President of the Israeli Polymer and Plastics Society in 1993-1995 and Editor of Bulletin of the Israeli Chemical Society, "Chemistry in Israel". Moshe Levy has also spent time as a visiting scientist in a number of institutions, including Xerox Research Center (Rochester, New York), DuPont Central Research
DuPont Central Research
In 1957, the research organization of the Chemicals Department of E. I. du Pont de Nemours and Company was renamed Central Research Department, beginning the history of the premier scientific organization within DuPont and one of the foremost industrial laboratories devoted to basic science...
Center (Wilmington, Delaware), the University of Florida at Gainsville, and the University of Minnesota, Minneapolis.