AUGUST 1ST 2000

IN ISRAEL

Dr. Colin Price of the Department of Geophysics and Planetary Sciences at the Sackler Faculty of Exact Sciences found that upper-tropospheric water vapor, a key element in the earth's climate which has direct effects as a greenhouse gas, is closely linked with easily measured lightning activity. His paper "Evidence for a Link between Global Lightning Activity and Upper Tropospheric Water Vapor" was published in the magazine Nature of July 20, 2000.

The Inter-University Computation Center (IUCC) at TAU acquired a Silicon Graphics parallel computer that provides five times the computational ability of the previous IBM and Crey super computers. The system will be able to create virtual reality models for research ranging from weather prediction and thermodynamics to economics.

The Eduarda and Dr. Moshe Ishay Institute for the Study of the Effect of Natural Food on the Quality of Life and Human Health was inaugurated at the Sackler Faculty of Medicine. The event was moderated by Vice President Yehiel Ben-Zvi. Major General (ret.) Aharon Doron, a former TAU Vice President, delivered an address in memory of Dr. Moshe Ishay. Dean Menahem Fainaru, Head of the Institute, delivered a lecture entitled "The Influence of Natural Food Components on Human Health."

CONFERENCES

The 55th General Meeting of the International New Testament Research Society (Studiorum Novi Testamenti Societas) was held at TAU, the first secular non-Christian university to host the group. The Meeting, hosted by the Religious Studies Program of TAU's Entin Faculty of Humanities, was organized by Prof. Ithamar Gruenwald.
The conference included a tour tracing the path of Jesus in the Galilee and a colloquium at Bethlehem University, hosted by President and Vice Chancellor Br. V. Malham. The Meeting opened with a prayer for peace written by Prof. Gruenwald and an address by the Society's President Prof. Francois Bovon.

TAU's Mediterranean Civilizations Project held a two week-long workshop entitled "Mediating Literatures: Mediterranean Literatures in the Twentieth-Century," directed by Dr. Nissim Calderon and Prof. Irad Malkin, Head of the Project. "Mediterranean Sailing," a panel discussion on the Mediterranean and literary creation was held with the cooperation of the City of Tel Aviv-Jaffa. Guest speakers included Egyptian playwright Ali Salem; French-Tunisian writer Albert Memmi; and Israeli author A.B. Yehoshua.

APPOINTMENTS AND AWARDS

Prof. Nava Zisapel of the George S. Wise Faculty of Life Sciences was appointed Director of the Adams Super-Center for Brain Studies. Prof. Zisapel will take office on October 1st.

Asher Rotkop was appointed Deputy Director-General for Information Technologies (CIO). The Computation Center and Information System Division were merged under his directorship. Mr. Rotkop will assume office on September 1st.

Irit Kassif was appointed Director of Alumni Relations at the Faculty of Management - Leon Recanati School of Business Administration.

Prof. Gideon Toury, incumbent of the Bernstein Chair of Translation Theory, was awarded an Honorary Doctorate of Middlesex University, London.

Prof. David Menashri was elected the incumbent of the Parvis and Pouran Nazarian Chair in Modern Iranian Studies.

ABROAD

French Minister of Industry and Commerce Christian Pierret was guest of honor at a dinner held by the TAU French Friends and organized by the Friends President Hugo Ramniceanu. The Minister presented industrialist Mrs. Laurence Six with the National Merit Award.

OBITUARIES

TAU mourns the passing away of Dr. Wolf Cegla, Honorary Member of the Board of Governors and donor of the Cegla Institute of Comparative and Private International Law at the Buchmann Faculty of Law.

Tel Aviv University mourns the death under tragic circumstances of Prof. Rene G. Favaloro, Bueno Aires. Prof. Favaloro, a TAU Honorary Doctor of Philosophy and a world renowned heart surgeon, pioneered bypass surgery. Millions owe him their lives.

Mr. Paul Safro, a member of the TAU Board of Governors, passed away. He was one of the founders of the American Friends and a benefactor of a number of TAU projects, including the Paul and Rose Safro Scholarship in Business Accounting.

COMING EVENTS

The International Convention "Sefarad 2000" will take place in Madrid, Granada and Seville on 22-26 October, 2000. Registration is closed.

The 10th European Regional Meeting will be held in St. Moritz, Switzerland from 25-29 January, 2001.

The 2001 Annual Meeting of the BOG will take place from 11-18 May, 2001.