Prof. Shimon Yankielowicz of Tel Aviv University's School of Physics and Astronomy and former rector of the school was 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 goal of Prof. Yankielowicz's field of research is to understand the physics of the most elementary particles from which matter is built, all the basic forces (including gravity) between them, and to build a unified quantum theory of all the fundamental particles and the basic laws of nature. An expert in quantum field theories, in particular gauge theories, and in string theory, Prof. Yankielowicz is being honored for his unique and novel contributions to quantum gauge and super-symmetric field theories, to string theory, and for his most influential works on the duality between gauge and gravity theories.
The prize was established in 1944 and has been awarded to leading Israeli scientists ever since. This year's prize will be awarded at a ceremony in November, presided over by Tel Aviv Mayor Ron Huldai and the selection jury.
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