Technion Harvey Prize

פרופסור פול קורקם בטקס הענקת הפרס.צילום: יוסי שרם, דוברות הטכניון.

Technion’s Prestigious Harvey Prize was awarded to Professors Paul B. Corkum and Jon M. Kleinberg

Technion’s prestigious Harvey Prize was awarded last week, on Tuesday April 8, to Professors Paul B. Corkum and Jon M. Kleinberg.

Professor Paul Corkum, of the Joint Laboratory for Attosecond Science, University of Ottawa, has been a leader and pioneer in the field of ultrafast laser spectroscopy. For two decades he has been the main source of the powerful insights which lie behind many of the recent advances in this field. He is known primarily for his remarkable contributions to the field of high harmonic generation and for his ability to create intuitive models for very complex phenomena which enabled him to make the advances that created the exciting field of attosecond spectroscopy.

Professor Jon M. Kleinberg from Cornell University was awarded the prize for his seminal contributions and leadership in the newly emerging science of information networks, including his groundbreaking work on characterizing the structure of the World Wide Web in terms of hubs and authorities, his analysis of the “small-world” phenomena, and his work on influence propagation in networks.

פרופסור ג’ון קליינברג בטקס הענקת הפרס. צילום: יוסי שרם, דוברות הטכניון.

The Harvey Prize was first awarded in 1972 by the Foundation established by the late Leo M. Harvey from Los Angeles, to recognize significant contributions in the advancement of humankind in the areas of science and technology, human health and peace in the Middle East. Each year it awards prizes in the amount of $75,000 to each award winner.

An article he published in the February 2014 Issue of CSCW raised much debate. It discussed the question: Is it possible to identify through our social network profile on Facebook who would be our partner?

The prestigious Harvey Prize has been awarded to scientists from the United States, Britain, Russia, Sweden, France and Israel, among them Nobel Laureate Mikhail Gorbachev, former leader of the USSR, awarded the Harvey Prize in appreciation of his seminal initiatives and policies to lessen regional tensions; Nobel Laureate in Medicine, Professor Bert Sakmann; Nobel Laureate in Physics, Professor Pierre-Gilles de Gennes, Professor Edward Teller for his discoveries in solid state physics, atomic and nuclear energy; and Professor William J. Kolff  for his invention of the artificial kidney.

Harvey Prize winners are selected by a council of world-renowned scientists and personalities from Israel and around the world. Award winners are chosen by the Harvey Prize Committee following a rigorous selection process at the Technion.

In the photos:

[cover slide] Professor Paul Corkum (right) and Professor Jon M. Kleinberg (left) at the awards ceremony.

Professor Paul Corkum.

Professor Jon Kleinberg.

Photo credit: Yossi Sharem, Technion Spokesperson’s Office