Recipients 2005
Future Time Dimension - Materials Science
French Timothy
Personal Details:Department of Chemistry - Yale University, USA
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Title of Research:
"Investigation of Librational Coupling in Crystalline L-Alanine Using Two-Dimensional Terahertz Spectroscopy "
January 2006
My research uses terahertz (far-infrared) spectroscopy to study molecular motions in solid-state amino acids. Intermolecular motions have signatures in this energy regime. Presently, we are looking at the various enantiomers (D, L, and DL) of tryptophan. We've seen that peaks in the terahertz spectrum are dependent upon enantiomer. In the case of tryptophan, L and its mirror image D show peaks, whereas a 50-50 mixture of D and L (appropriately known as DL) does not. Since we're probing such low energies, these data imply that their crystal structures are different. By studying how intermolecular motions and crystal configurations manifest themselves in the terahertz regime we hope to have a better handle of how more complex motions act (eg. coupled motions found in numerous biomolecules, which may have a hand in protein folding).
In the past few months, I have been focused mainly on the theoretical/computational aspect of this project. The xray structure is completely solved for DL Tryptophan, whereas only the space group (ie symmetry) of the other two are known. Using the well-known molecular mechanics program CHARMM, I hope to determine the structures of crystalline L and D Tryptophan that are consistent with the spectra we have collected. So far, I am trying to reproduce the known values for DL Tryptophan. Very recently, in fact, I have been able to reproduce qualitatively the low-energy DL spectrum. This bolsters our faith in the reliability of the computational methods used and their ability to predict structures that are not fully known. We plan on publishing this research in the months to come.
I am midway through my fourth year of the PhD program in chemistry at Yale University. I hope to attain my PhD during the 2007-2008 academic year, after which I will apply for a Science and Public Policy Fellowship offered by the US government. These fellowships are put in place for PhD scientists to work in the public sector for a year in order to get a better feel for the interplay between these two realms. One that sparks my interest is in "threat reduction", specifically the bookkeeping/collection of WMDs and loose nukes in the former USSR. If I enjoy this line of work, I will look for a permanent position in government; if not, I will most likely join the faculty of a college and focus on teaching and science education research.
I am extremely grateful for being awarded a 2005 Dan David Prize Scholarship recognizing the research that I do.
GOLDSMITH Randall
Department of Chemistry, Northwestern University, USA"Electron Transfer Through Novel Donor-Bridge-Acceptor Molecules"
HASPEL Nurit
Department of Computer Science, Tel Aviv University, Israel"Designing New Nano-Materials Based on Repetitive Motifs Taken from Beta-Helical Proteins"
Landau Arie
Personal Details:Department of Chemistry - TAU
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Title of Research:
"Theoretical and Computational Study of Molecular Conduction Junctions"
Summary of Research, January 2006
POKROY Boaz
Department of Materials Engineering, Technion, Israel"Interaction between the Organic and Inorganic Phases in Biogenic CaCO3 Crystals"
RECHES Meital
Department of Molecular Microbiology and Biotechnology, Tel Aviv University, Israel"Molecular Self-Assembly: From Amyloid Fibrils to Peptide Nanostructures"
Present Time Dimension - The Performing Arts
Aronson-Lehavi Sharon
Personal Details:Department of Comparative Literature, Bar Ilan University
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Title of Research:
"Modern Mysteries: The Bible on the Contemporary Stage"
Dr. Sharon Aronson-Lehavi is assistant professor of theatre studies at the Department of Comparative Literature, Bar Ilan University. Her book Street Scenes: Late Medieval Acting and Performance is forthcoming by Palgrave Macmillan. She is editing an anthology of contemporary Israeli drama in English translation that will be published by Seagull Press, and she is a member of a German-Israeli research project "Poetics and Politics of the Future" that is founded by GIF (German Israeli Foundation). Her current research project focuses on avant-garde performances of the Bible in modern and postmodern theatre.
BINYAMINI Raz
Department of Musicology, Faculty of Arts, Tel Aviv University, Israel"The Birth of Opera, Theories of Language and the 16th-Century Florentine Politics"
HARARI Dror
Department Of Theatre, University of Haifa, Israel"Inter-Medial Performance in Israel"
Li Zhongling
Personal Details:School of Music - Boston University, USA
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Title of Research:
"Performance - Violin Rendition"
Bio & Future Plans, December 2005
SHALGO-EGER Shlomit Alexandra
Department of Theatre Arts, Tel Aviv University, Israel"Pacifist Syntax in 20th Century Drama: Structural Principles in the Dramatic Design of Anti-War Messages"
YERUSHALMI Dorit
Department of Theatre Arts, Tel Aviv University, Israel"Actresses Write Their Life Stories Between the Personal and the Public Domain"
Zer-Zion Shelly
Personal Details:Department of Theatre - Hebrew University, Israel
Title of Research:
"Imprints of German Jewish Culture in Hebrew Repertory Theatre 1918-1931"
December 2005
Ph.D. Dissertation:
I am working of the last chapter of the dissertation. I intend to submit the dissertation this summer.
Participation in Conferences and Presentation of Articles:
June 2005: "The Dybbuk - the Emergence of a Jewish symbol between East and West" in a working group "Jewish intercultural performance" held at FIRT (International Federation for theatre Research) annual conference, Maryland, USA.
August 2005: "The TAI (Eretz-Israeli Theatre): A Hebrew Theatre between Moscow and Berlin" at The World Congress for Jewish Studies, Jerusalem.
Preparation of Articles for Publication:
"From a Hebrew studio to a National Theatre - The transformation of Habima in Berlin". In: Moshe Zimmermann und Hotam Hotam Eds. Between Two Homelands - The Yekkes. (Jerusalem: The Zalman Shazar Centre for Jewish History and The Koebner Institute for German History) 2006. pp. 69-78 (Hebrew)
"The Birth of "Habima" and the Art Yiddish Theatre Movement". In: eds. Ahuva Belkin and Gad Kaynar. Jewish Theatre. (Tel-Aviv: Assaph).
"The Dybbuk Reconsidered - The Emergence of a Modern Jewish Symbol between East and West." Leipziger Beitr?ge zur j?dischen Geschichte und Kultur no. 3 (2005).
"Hebrew Theatre in Eastern Europe". In: YIVO encyclopedia of Jews in Eastern Europe.
Future Plans:
I am currently searching for a post-doctorate position on the United States. After finishing my dissertation I would like to pursue further the theme of Jewish theatre and to study the relevant materials available in Archives in New York.
Past Time Dimension - Archaeology
Ben-Shlomo David
Personal Details:Institute of Archaeology - Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Israel
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Title of Research:
"Pottery Production Centers in Iron Age Philistia: An Archaeological and Archaeometric Study"
Research Activity, July 2006
Beyin Amanuel
Personal Details:Dept. of Anthropological Sciences - State University of New York at Stony Brook, NY, USA
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Title of Research:
"Survey of Paleolithic Sites Along the Red Sea Coast of Eritrea"
Research Photos
August 2006
Accept my warm greetings from Asmara, Eritrea. I am happy to let you know that my research is going well here as planned.
I have conducted survey and excavation works last February and March along the coast and has been productive. Attached is a pdf file with a few photos of my fieldwork.
I have about 4-months left to finish my fieldwork in Eritrea before I return to Stony Brook University next December for write-up of my dissertation.
As a recipient of the Young Researchers in Archaeology Fellowship from the Dan David Prize, I am grateful to the Foundation for approving me the award. The Dan David support has been so vital to overcome many critical situations in my ongoing research activities. I wish to extend my deep gratitude to all staff at the Dan David Prize.
FANTALKIN Alexander
Department of Archaeology and Ancient Near East Cultures, Tel Aviv University, Israel"Contacts between the Greek World and the Southern Levant, ca. 1000-538 B.C.E."
FULMINANTE Francesca
Dept. of Archaeology, Cambridge University, United Kingdom"The Ager Romanus Antiquus from Bronze Age to Republican Period"
Namdar Dvory
Personal Details:Post-Doctoral Reseach Fellow, The British Museum, London, United Kingdom
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Title of Research:
"Reconstruction of the Economy of the Chalcolithic Period in Israel by Assessment of Preservation and Degradation Processes of Organic Substances Adsorbed to Archaeological Ceramic Vessels"
Summary of Research, December 2007
SALOMON Helene
Institute for Quaternary Geology and Prehistory, Bordeaux, France"Origins, Transformations and Functions of Colouring Matter During the Early Upper Palaeolithic"
SUMAKA'I FINK Amir
Department of Archaeology and Ancient Near East Cultures, Tel Aviv University, Israel"Hittite Alalakh, Reexamined in the Light of Past and Current Excavations"
