Isaac Berzin (born December 12, 1967) is an Israeli

scientist A scientist is a person who conducts Scientific method, scientific research to advance knowledge in an Branches of science, area of the natural sciences. In classical antiquity, there was no real ancient analog of a modern scientist. Instead, ...

and entrepreneur.

Academic and professional life

Berzin is a scientist and

entrepreneur Entrepreneurship is the creation or extraction of economic value. With this definition, entrepreneurship is viewed as change, generally entailing risk beyond what is normally encountered in starting a business, which may include other values th ...

in the field of sustainable

microalgae Microalgae or microphytes are microscopic algae invisible to the naked eye. They are phytoplankton typically found in freshwater and marine systems, living in both the water column and sediment. They are unicellular species which exist indiv ...

. During his early career years, his research was focused on

biofuels Biofuel is a fuel that is produced over a short time span from biomass, rather than by the very slow natural processes involved in the formation of fossil fuels, such as oil. According to the United States Energy Information Administration (E ...

, and in recent years his focus shifted to sustainable aquafeed, nutrition and human health products. Berzin is currently the Founder and Chief Technology Officer of VAXA Technologies LTD, producing

Omega-3 Omega−3 fatty acids, also called Omega-3 oils, ω−3 fatty acids or ''n''−3 fatty acids, are polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) characterized by the presence of a double bond, three atoms away from the terminal methyl group in their chem ...

and

protein Proteins are large biomolecules and macromolecules that comprise one or more long chains of amino acid residues. Proteins perform a vast array of functions within organisms, including catalysing metabolic reactions, DNA replication, respo ...

rich

for feed and food applications. The microalgae are sustainably cultivated in an integrated process within one of the world's largest geothermal power plants, located in Hellisheiði,

Iceland Iceland ( is, Ísland; ) is a Nordic island country in the North Atlantic Ocean and in the Arctic Ocean. Iceland is the most sparsely populated country in Europe. Iceland's capital and largest city is Reykjavík, which (along with its s ...

.
He is a co-author, together with

Nobel Prize The Nobel Prizes ( ; sv, Nobelpriset ; no, Nobelprisen ) are five separate prizes that, according to Alfred Nobel's will of 1895, are awarded to "those who, during the preceding year, have conferred the greatest benefit to humankind." Alfr ...

Laureate,

William Moomaw William R. Moomaw is the Professor Emeritus of International Environmental Policy at the The Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy, Fletcher School, Tufts University. Moomaw has worked at the intersection of science and policy, advocating for inter ...

, of the Industrial Biotechnology cover paper “Cutting out the Middle Fish”, positioning sustainably cultivated microalgae as next generation superfood. In 2012 Isaac Berzin Founded Qualitas Health Inc. He was Chief Technology Officer of The company that produces and markets the first FDA-approved Omega-3 dietary ingredient ever produced from photosynthetic algae. Berzin founded in 2001 the first algae-to-biofuel company in the world, GreenFuel Technologies Corporation, that aimed to use

algae Algae (; singular alga ) is an informal term for a large and diverse group of photosynthetic eukaryotic organisms. It is a polyphyletic grouping that includes species from multiple distinct clades. Included organisms range from unicellular mic ...

to eat up

carbon emissions Greenhouse gas emissions from human activities strengthen the greenhouse effect, contributing to climate change. Most is carbon dioxide from burning fossil fuels: coal, oil, and natural gas. The largest emitters include coal in China and larg ...

and to produce

renewable energy Renewable energy is energy that is collected from renewable resources that are naturally replenished on a human timescale. It includes sources such as sunlight, wind, the movement of water, and geothermal heat. Although most renewable energy ...

. This company has been closed down in May 2009. Prof. Berzin is an Affiliated Scientist at

MIT The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is a private land-grant research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Established in 1861, MIT has played a key role in the development of modern technology and science, and is one of the m ...

, where he worked at the Center for Space Research on a

NASA The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA ) is an independent agency of the US federal government responsible for the civil space program, aeronautics research, and space research. NASA was established in 1958, succeeding t ...

sponsored project, developing bioreactors for the

International Space Station The International Space Station (ISS) is the largest modular space station currently in low Earth orbit. It is a multinational collaborative project involving five participating space agencies: NASA (United States), Roscosmos (Russia), JAXA ...

. He completed his Post-Doctoral research at

biomedical engineering Biomedical engineering (BME) or medical engineering is the application of engineering principles and design concepts to medicine and biology for healthcare purposes (e.g., diagnostic or therapeutic). BME is also traditionally logical sciences ...

lab of Prof. Robert S. Langer lab at MIT. Isaac is a faculty member at the Department of Engineering, Reykjavik University,

and the Faculty for

Marine Sciences Oceanography (), also known as oceanology and ocean science, is the scientific study of the oceans. It is an Earth science, which covers a wide range of topics, including ecosystem dynamics; ocean currents, waves, and geophysical fluid dynamics ...

Ruppin Academic Center Ruppin Academic Center (), also known as Ruppin College, is a college in Israel, which has the status of an institutional settlement. It was established in 1949, is named after Arthur Ruppin, and is located near the moshav Kfar Monash, and withi ...

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 ...

. Berzin was a senior faculty member at the

Interdisciplinary Center Reichman University ( he, אוניברסיטת רייכמן) is Israel's only private university, located in Herzliya, Tel Aviv District. It was founded in 1994 as the IDC Herzliya private college, before being rebranded in 2021. It receives no ...

Herzliya Herzliya ( ; he, הֶרְצְלִיָּה ; ar, هرتسليا, Hirtsiliyā) is an affluent city in the central coast of Israel, at the northern part of the Tel Aviv District, known for its robust start-up and entrepreneurial culture. In it h ...

and established an Israel-based international institute to formulate alternative energy policies. In June 2008, Berzin addressed 130 members of the "Cleantech Israel" business network. He discussed his experience at GreenFuel Technologies and Israel's potential to be a world leader in renewable energy. As a senior fellow at the

Van Leer Jerusalem Institute The Van Leer Jerusalem Institute (VLJI) is a center for the interdisciplinary study and discussion of issues related to philosophy, society, culture, and education. The Institute was established in to create a body of knowledge and discourseto ...

, Berzin led the Solar-Ketchup Project in 2011: A team of

Israeli Israeli may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to the State of Israel * Israelis, citizens or permanent residents of the State of Israel * Modern Hebrew, a language * ''Israeli'' (newspaper), published from 2006 to 2008 * Guni Israeli ...

Palestinian Palestinians ( ar, الفلسطينيون, ; he, פָלַסְטִינִים, ) or Palestinian people ( ar, الشعب الفلسطيني, label=none, ), also referred to as Palestinian Arabs ( ar, الفلسطينيين العرب, label=non ...

and

Jordan Jordan ( ar, الأردن; tr. ' ), officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan,; tr. ' is a country in Western Asia. It is situated at the crossroads of Asia, Africa, and Europe, within the Levant region, on the East Bank of the Jordan Rive ...

ian researchers, working together to explore the techno-economics of semi-transparent photovoltaic cells for co-production of solar electricity and tomato farming.

Honors and awards

Berzin was named one the 100 most influential people in politics, business and science in 2008 by the

Time Magazine ''Time'' (stylized in all caps) is an American news magazine based in New York City. For nearly a century, it was published weekly, but starting in March 2020 it transitioned to every other week. It was first published in New York City on Mar ...

for his work in alga-culture. Prof. Berzin's work in sustainable alga-culture has won awards, including the Frost and Sullivan Award, Platts Global Energy Award and American Society of Competitiveness (ASC) Awards.

References

External links

Qualitas Health Inc.GreenFuel Technologies CorporationBerzin sets up new Renewable Energy consortiumBerzin on Green ProphetIsaac Berzin to enlist Israelis into the business of green
{{DEFAULTSORT:Berzin, Isaac Ben-Gurion University of the Negev alumni Israeli chemical engineers Israeli scientists Living people 1967 births Reichman University faculty