David Faiman of the Ben-Gurion National Solar Energy Center

David Faiman (born 1944 in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

) is a British and

Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...

physicist A physicist is a scientist who specializes in the field of physics, which encompasses the interactions of matter and energy at all length and time scales in the physical universe. Physicists generally are interested in the root or ultimate caus ...

Background

Faiman was educated at

Willesden Willesden () is an area of northwest London, situated 5 miles (8 km) northwest of Charing Cross. It is historically a parish in the county of Middlesex that was incorporated as the Municipal Borough of Willesden in 1933, and has formed ...

County Grammar School and the

University of London The University of London (UoL; abbreviated as Lond or more rarely Londin in post-nominals) is a federal public research university located in London, England, United Kingdom. The university was established by royal charter in 1836 as a degree ...

, and received his Ph.D from the

University of Illinois The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (U of I, Illinois, University of Illinois, or UIUC) is a public land-grant research university in Illinois in the twin cities of Champaign and Urbana. It is the flagship institution of the University ...

in 1969. After post-doctoral appointments in Oxford and

CERN The European Organization for Nuclear Research, known as CERN (; ; ), is an intergovernmental organization that operates the largest particle physics laboratory in the world. Established in 1954, it is based in a northwestern suburb of Gene ...

he arrived in Israel in September 1973, to take up an appointment in theoretical physics at the

Weizmann Institute of Science The Weizmann Institute of Science ( he, מכון ויצמן למדע ''Machon Vaitzman LeMada'') is a public research university in Rehovot, Israel, established in 1934, 14 years before the State of Israel. It differs from other Israeli unive ...

. However, as a result of the energy crisis that followed the

Yom Kippur War The Yom Kippur War, also known as the Ramadan War, the October War, the 1973 Arab–Israeli War, or the Fourth Arab–Israeli War, was an armed conflict fought from October 6 to 25, 1973 between Israel and a coalition of Arab states led by Egy ...

, he re-directed his research interests from elementary particles into

solar energy Solar energy is radiant light and heat from the Sun that is harnessed using a range of technologies such as solar power to generate electricity, solar thermal energy (including solar water heating), and solar architecture. It is an essenti ...

. In 1976 he was recruited by Amos Richmond to assist in founding the

Jacob Blaustein Institutes for Desert Research The Jacob Blaustein Institutes for Desert Research (BIDR) constitute one of the academic faculties of Ben-Gurion University of the Negev (BGU), and are located on BGU's Sede Boqer Campus in Midreshet Ben-Gurion in the heart of the Negev Desert ...

at the Sede Boqer campus of

Ben-Gurion University of the Negev Ben-Gurion University of the Negev (BGU) ( he, אוניברסיטת בן-גוריון בנגב, ''Universitat Ben-Guriyon baNegev'') is a public research university in Beersheba, Israel. Ben-Gurion University of the Negev has five campuses: the ...

. Faiman created the Institutes’ Department of Solar Energy & Environmental Physics, which he headed concurrently with the Ben-Gurion National Solar Energy Center until his retirement in 2013 at the rank of Professor Emeritus. Faiman lives in Sede Boqer, Israel, in a passive solar house where almost all of the heating and cooling needs are taken care of by the sun. His hobbies include biblical geography, and the music of

Giacomo Meyerbeer Giacomo Meyerbeer (born Jakob Liebmann Beer; 5 September 1791 – 2 May 1864) was a German opera composer, "the most frequently performed opera composer during the nineteenth century, linking Mozart and Wagner". With his 1831 opera ''Robert le di ...

Career

Faiman’s theoretical physics research focused on

hadron spectroscopy Hadron spectroscopy is the subfield of particle physics that studies the masses and decays of hadrons. Hadron spectroscopy is also an important part of the new nuclear physics. The properties of hadrons are a consequence of a theory called quantum c ...

using the

quark A quark () is a type of elementary particle and a fundamental constituent of matter. Quarks combine to form composite particles called hadrons, the most stable of which are protons and neutrons, the components of atomic nuclei. All commonly o ...

model and various associated symmetries. His solar energy research spanned studies of

solar radiation Solar irradiance is the power per unit area (surface power density) received from the Sun in the form of electromagnetic radiation in the wavelength range of the measuring instrument. Solar irradiance is measured in watts per square metre (W/m ...

energy conversion Energy transformation, also known as energy conversion, is the process of changing energy from one form to another. In physics, energy is a quantity that provides the capacity to perform work or moving, (e.g. Lifting an object) or provides heat. ...

devices, and power-producing systems. His most celebrated work was the development, in collaboration with the

Zenith Solar Zenith Solar was an Israeli solar energy company based in Ness Ziona. History Zenith Solar was founded in 2006 by Roy Segev, David Faiman and Bob Whelen.Reflective mirrors seen raising solar potential
Ari Rabinovitch, ''

Reuters Reuters ( ) is a news agency owned by Thomson Reuters Corporation. It employs around 2,500 journalists and 600 photojournalists in about 200 locations worldwide. Reuters is one of the largest news agencies in the world. The agency was estab ...

'', August 29, 2007. Under full sunshine, this system generated 2 kW of electric power and 5 kW of thermal power, the latter in the form of hot water at 80oC.Israel Pushes Solar Energy Technology

Linda Gradstein Linda Gradstein is the Israel bureau chief for The Media Line news agency. Gradstein was the Israel correspondent for NPR News from 1990 until 2009. As a freelance reporter she has reported for PRI's ''The World'' and AOL News and other venues s ...

, ''

National Public Radio National Public Radio (NPR, stylized in all lowercase) is an American privately and state funded nonprofit media organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., with its NPR West headquarters in Culver City, California. It differs from other n ...

'', October 22, 2007. Faiman was Israel’s representative on solar energy to

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international cooperation in education, arts, sciences and culture. It ...

, the

FAO The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO)french: link=no, Organisation des Nations unies pour l'alimentation et l'agriculture; it, Organizzazione delle Nazioni Unite per l'Alimentazione e l'Agricoltura is an intern ...

and Tasks 2 and 8 of the

International Energy Agency The International Energy Agency (IEA) is a Paris-based autonomous intergovernmental organisation, established in 1974, that provides policy recommendations, analysis and data on the entire global energy sector, with a recent focus on curbing carb ...

. Within the latter framework he co-authored the series of books ''Energy from the Desert''.

References

External links

Faculty biography
{{DEFAULTSORT:Faiman, David 1944 births Living people Alumni of the University of London Ben-Gurion University of the Negev faculty British emigrants to Israel British Jews Israeli Jews Israeli people of British-Jewish descent Israeli physicists Jewish physicists People associated with solar power Solar power in Israel University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign alumni

Background

Career

See also

References

External links