Ora Kedem
Encyclopedia
Ora Kedem is professor emerita at the Weizmann Institute of Science
and a recipient of the Israel Prize
.
. She wrote her M.Sc. thesis on the absorption of bromine by ammonium bromides, used for safe transport of bromine.
In 1949, she joined the Department of Polymer Research at the Weizmann Institute of Science, headed by the late Prof. Aharon Katzir
, and was involved in the research of membrane biophysics, which later became the basis for her activity in modern desalination techniques.
In the late 1960s, Kedem became interested in desalination. In 1967/8 she spent a year in Beer-Sheva, working at the Nuclear Research Center Negev, organizing courses and teaching at the Institute for Higher Education in Beer-Sheva, that later became Ben-Gurion University of the Negev
.
In 1973, her mentor and partner, Aharon Katzir, was killed in a terror attack. With support and encouragement from the international scientific community, Kedem founded and chaired the department of membrane research at the Weizmann Institute, to continue Katzir’s research of membrane biophysiscs. The department brought together scientists from different disciplines, focusing on different aspects of transport in living systems.
Kedem headed the Department for Desalination and Water Treatment at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev
from 1995 to 2003.
In 2005, she was named a foreign associate to the U.S. National Academy of Engineering
(NAE) that works to promote the technological welfare of the United States by marshaling the knowledge and insights of eminent members of the engineering profession. Kedem was recognized "for contributions to the thermodynamics of irreversible transport processes and the development of separation processes for the treatment of water and waste water."
Kedem is Professor emerita at the Weizmann Institute and Adjunct Professor at Ben Gurion University. She continues to be involved in desalination research at BGU, specifically in improved nanofiltration membranes and in concentrate disposal by enhanced evaporation. At the Weizmann Institute she cooperates in research on the emergence of order in model systems which may be relevant to the origin of life.
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....
and a recipient of the Israel Prize
Israel Prize
The Israel Prize is an award handed out by the State of Israel and is largely regarded as the state's highest honor. It is presented annually, on Israeli Independence Day, in a state ceremony in Jerusalem, in the presence of the President, the Prime Minister, the Knesset chairperson, and the...
.
Biography
Kedem studied chemistry at the Hebrew University of JerusalemHebrew University of Jerusalem
The Hebrew University of Jerusalem ; ; abbreviated HUJI) is Israel's second-oldest university, after the Technion – Israel Institute of Technology. The Hebrew University has three campuses in Jerusalem and one in Rehovot. The world's largest Jewish studies library is located on its Edmond J...
. She wrote her M.Sc. thesis on the absorption of bromine by ammonium bromides, used for safe transport of bromine.
In 1949, she joined the Department of Polymer Research at the Weizmann Institute of Science, headed by the late Prof. 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 was involved in the research of membrane biophysics, which later became the basis for her activity in modern desalination techniques.
In the late 1960s, Kedem became interested in desalination. In 1967/8 she spent a year in Beer-Sheva, working at the Nuclear Research Center Negev, organizing courses and teaching at the Institute for Higher Education in Beer-Sheva, that later became Ben-Gurion University of the Negev
Ben-Gurion University of the Negev
Ben-Gurion University of the Negev is a university in Beersheba, Israel, established in 1969. Ben-Gurion University of the Negev has a current enrollment of 17,400 students, and is one of Israel's fastest growing universities....
.
In 1973, her mentor and partner, Aharon Katzir, was killed in a terror attack. With support and encouragement from the international scientific community, Kedem founded and chaired the department of membrane research at the Weizmann Institute, to continue Katzir’s research of membrane biophysiscs. The department brought together scientists from different disciplines, focusing on different aspects of transport in living systems.
Kedem headed the Department for Desalination and Water Treatment at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev
Ben-Gurion University of the Negev
Ben-Gurion University of the Negev is a university in Beersheba, Israel, established in 1969. Ben-Gurion University of the Negev has a current enrollment of 17,400 students, and is one of Israel's fastest growing universities....
from 1995 to 2003.
In 2005, she was named a foreign associate to the U.S. National Academy of Engineering
National Academy of Engineering
The National Academy of Engineering is a government-created non-profit institution in the United States, that was founded in 1964 under the same congressional act that led to the founding of the National Academy of Sciences...
(NAE) that works to promote the technological welfare of the United States by marshaling the knowledge and insights of eminent members of the engineering profession. Kedem was recognized "for contributions to the thermodynamics of irreversible transport processes and the development of separation processes for the treatment of water and waste water."
Kedem is Professor emerita at the Weizmann Institute and Adjunct Professor at Ben Gurion University. She continues to be involved in desalination research at BGU, specifically in improved nanofiltration membranes and in concentrate disposal by enhanced evaporation. At the Weizmann Institute she cooperates in research on the emergence of order in model systems which may be relevant to the origin of life.
Awards
- In 1961, Kedem was awarded the Israel Prize, in life sciences, together with Prof. Aharon Katzir, for her contribution to the life sciences and is a recognized leader in desalination technologies worldwide.
- In 2007, the University of Twente, in the Netherlands, conferred on Kedem an honorary doctorate.