Eli Barkai is a professor of physics at
Bar-Ilan University, located in
Ramat-Gan, Israel.
Education
Barkai studied physics in
Tel Aviv University
Tel Aviv University (TAU) ( he, אוּנִיבֶרְסִיטַת תֵּל אָבִיב, ''Universitat Tel Aviv'') is a public research university in Tel Aviv, Israel. With over 30,000 students, it is the largest university in the country. Locate ...
, completing his Ph.D. in 1998. He then joined Bob Silbey at
MIT for his post-doctoral studies. In 2002 he joined the faculty of
Notre Dame University
The University of Notre Dame du Lac, known simply as Notre Dame ( ) or ND, is a private Catholic research university in Notre Dame, Indiana, outside the city of South Bend. French priest Edward Sorin founded the school in 1842. The main campus ...
and in 2004 returned to Israel to Bar Ilan University where he became a full professor in 2010.
Research
His main research is in the field of non-equilibrium
statistical mechanics
In physics, statistical mechanics is a mathematical framework that applies statistical methods and probability theory to large assemblies of microscopic entities. It does not assume or postulate any natural laws, but explains the macroscopic be ...
. In particular he helped develop the theory of
fractional kinetic equations for anomalous
diffusion
Diffusion is the net movement of anything (for example, atoms, ions, molecules, energy) generally from a region of higher concentration to a region of lower concentration. Diffusion is driven by a gradient in Gibbs free energy or chemical p ...
and relaxation, theory of single molecule
spectroscopy
Spectroscopy is the field of study that measures and interprets the electromagnetic spectra that result from the interaction between electromagnetic radiation and matter as a function of the wavelength or frequency of the radiation. Matter wa ...
, and weak
ergodicity breaking.
Among the physical systems he studied are blinking of quantum dots, the diffusion of cold atoms in atomic traps and the diffusion of single molecules within a live cell.
Honors and awards
Barkai has received several prizes: the Krill prize (2006, selected by the Wolf foundation), the Michael Bruno Memorial award (2009, selected by Yad Hanadiv)
and the Friedrich Wilhelm Bessel Research award (2011, selected by the Alexander von Humboldt foundation).
Family
Married to Adina Alster, daughter of
Jonas Alster. Barkai has three children
References
External links
Eli Barkaiin Bar Ilan University's website
Eli Barkai's Page*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Barkai, Eli
Israeli physicists
Israeli Jews
Tel Aviv University alumni
1964 births
Living people
Jewish physicists