Multidisciplinary research on physics of 'living systems' earns prestigious prize

Prof. Eshel Ben-Jacob of Tel Aviv University's Department of Physics and Astronomy has been awarded the 2013 Weizmann Prize in Exact Sciences. The distinguished prize, designed to encourage and stimulate research in the natural sciences, is awarded yearly by the municipality of Tel Aviv in memory of Dr. Chaim Weizmann, former president of the World Zionist Organization and the first president of Israel.

The award will be presented in November at a ceremony attended by Tel Aviv Mayor Ron Huldai, the prize jury, and several former laureates. Among the latter are many of the prominent scientists of Israel, including Nobel Prize-winning chemists Prof. Avrahm Hershko and Prof. Dan Shechtman.

Prof. Ben-Jacob will receive the prize for his innovative application of physical methods to the study of biological communities such as bacteria colonies, neural networks, and tumors, said the prize jury. They also noted that Prof. Ben-Jacob's "out-of-the-box" and "innovative" thinking contributed to the establishment of a new discipline.

Honored by the commendation of his work, Prof. Ben-Jacob says that he is most gratified by the jury's recognition of these novel multidisciplinary studies.

Provided by Tel Aviv University