Amos de-Shalit ( he, עמוס דה-שליט; September 29, 1926 – September 2, 1969Article entitled Amos de-Shalit (in Hebrew)
Davar newspaper, September 3, 1969) was an Israeli

nuclear physicist Nuclear physics is the field of physics that studies atomic nuclei and their constituents and interactions, in addition to the study of other forms of nuclear matter. Nuclear physics should not be confused with atomic physics, which studies the ...

and

Israel Prize The Israel Prize ( he, פרס ישראל; ''pras israél'') is an award bestowed by the State of Israel, and regarded as the state's highest cultural honor. History The Israel Prize is awarded annually, on Israeli Independence Day, in a state cer ...

laureate.

Biography

Amos de-Shalit was born in

Jerusalem Jerusalem (; he, יְרוּשָׁלַיִם ; ar, القُدس ) (combining the Biblical and common usage Arabic names); grc, Ἱερουσαλήμ/Ἰεροσόλυμα, Hierousalḗm/Hierosóluma; hy, Երուսաղեմ, Erusałēm. i ...

in the

British Mandate of Palestine British Mandate of Palestine or Palestine Mandate most often refers to: * Mandate for Palestine: a League of Nations mandate under which the British controlled an area which included Mandatory Palestine and the Emirate of Transjordan. * Mandatory P ...

(now Israel). He grew up in

Tel Aviv Tel Aviv-Yafo ( he, תֵּל־אָבִיב-יָפוֹ, translit=Tēl-ʾĀvīv-Yāfō ; ar, تَلّ أَبِيب – يَافَا, translit=Tall ʾAbīb-Yāfā, links=no), often referred to as just Tel Aviv, is the most populous city in the G ...

and graduated from

Gymnasia Balfour Ironi Alef High School ( he, תיכון עירוני א'), previously Gymnasia Balfour (), is a notable high school located in Tel Aviv, Israel. Also known as Aleph High School of Arts Tel Aviv-Yafo. History Gymnasia Balfour The Gymnasia Balf ...

. In 1949, de-Shalit earned his master's degree in physics at the

Hebrew University of Jerusalem The Hebrew University of Jerusalem (HUJI; he, הַאוּנִיבֶרְסִיטָה הַעִבְרִית בִּירוּשָׁלַיִם) is a public research university based in Jerusalem, Israel. Co-founded by Albert Einstein and Dr. Chaim Weiz ...

under the guidance of

Giulio Racah Giulio (Yoel) Racah ( he, ג'וליו (יואל) רקח; February 9, 1909 – August 28, 1965) was an Italian–Israeli physicist and mathematician. He was Acting President of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem from 1961 to 1962. The crater ...

. During the

1947–1949 Palestine war The 1948 Palestine war was fought in the territory of what had been, at the start of the war, British-ruled Mandatory Palestine. It is known in Israel as the War of Independence ( he, מלחמת העצמאות, ''Milkhemet Ha'Atzma'ut'') and ...

, he served in the

IDF IDF or idf may refer to: Defence forces * Irish Defence Forces * Israel Defense Forces *Iceland Defense Force, of the US Armed Forces, 1951-2006 * Indian Defence Force, a part-time force, 1917 Organizations * Israeli Diving Federation * Interac ...

Science Corps. De-Shalit and his fellow students wrote a letter to Israeli Prime Minister

David Ben-Gurion David Ben-Gurion ( ; he, דָּוִד בֶּן-גּוּרִיּוֹן ; born David Grün; 16 October 1886 – 1 December 1973) was the primary national founder of the State of Israel and the first prime minister of Israel. Adopting the name ...

to point out the vital importance of

nuclear physics Nuclear physics is the field of physics that studies atomic nuclei and their constituents and interactions, in addition to the study of other forms of nuclear matter. Nuclear physics should not be confused with atomic physics, which studies the ...

for Israel's future. In 1951, he earned his doctorate from the

ETH Zurich (colloquially) , former_name = eidgenössische polytechnische Schule , image = ETHZ.JPG , image_size = , established = , type = Public , budget = CHF 1.896 billion (2021) , rector = Günther Dissertori , president = Joël Mesot , ac ...

in Switzerland. De-Shalit died before his 43rd birthday from acute pancreatitis. He was married to Nechama. Their sons, Ehud and Avner are professors of

mathematics Mathematics is an area of knowledge that includes the topics of numbers, formulas and related structures, shapes and the spaces in which they are contained, and quantities and their changes. These topics are represented in modern mathematics ...

and

political science Political science is the scientific study of politics. It is a social science dealing with systems of governance and power, and the analysis of political activities, political thought, political behavior, and associated constitutions and la ...

, respectively, at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. De-Shalit's sister, Tamar, was married to

Arthur Goldreich Arthur Goldreich (25 December 1929 – 24 May 2011) was a South African-Israeli abstract painter and a key figure in the anti-apartheid movement in the country of his birth and a critic of the form of Zionism practiced in Israel. Early life Gold ...

Academic and scientific career

From 1952 to 1954, he was a research fellow at

Princeton University Princeton University is a private university, private research university in Princeton, New Jersey. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth, New Jersey, Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the List of Colonial Colleges, fourth-oldest ins ...

and

Massachusetts Institute of Technology 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 ...

and spent some time at the Saclay Atomic Research Institute in France. In 1954, de-Shalit was asked to establish the Department of Nuclear 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 ...

, which he headed for ten years. While working at the Weizmann Institute, he also served as a consultant to the

Israel Ministry of Defense The Ministry of Defense ( he, מִשְׂרַד הַבִּטָּחוֹן, Misrad HaBitahon, Ministry of Security, acronym: he, משהב"ט) of the government of Israel, is the governmental department responsible for defending the State of Isra ...

. In 1957/58 de-Shalit spent a sabbatical year at

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 ...

as a Ford Foundation Fellow. From 1961 to 1963, de-Shalit served as science director of the Weizmann Institute and from 1966 to 1969, he served as the institute's Chief Executive/General Manager.

Awards and recognition

* In 1962, de-Shalit was elected as a member of the

Israel Academy of Sciences and Humanities Israel Academy of Sciences and Humanities, based in Jerusalem, was established in 1961 by the State of Israel to foster contact between Israeli scholars in the sciences and humanities and create a think tank for advising the government on re ...

. * In 1965, he was awarded the

in exact sciences, together with his colleague Professor

Igal Talmi Igal Talmi (Hebrew: יגאל תלמי) (born January 31, 1925) is an Israeli nuclear physicist. Biography Igal Talmi was born in 1925 in Kiev, Ukraine, then part of the Soviet Union. His family immigrated to Mandate Palestine later that year an ...

, for their work on "shell model" in nuclear physics. * The De Shalit High School and two junior sister high schools in

Rehovot Rehovot ( he, רְחוֹבוֹת ''Rəḥōvōt'', ar, رحوڤوت ''Reḥūfūt'') is a city in the Central District of Israel, about south of Tel Aviv. In it had a population of . Etymology Israel Belkind, founder of the Bilu movement, ...

were renamed after him. * In 1974, In conjunction with the Weizmann Institute, the "Amos de-Shalit Foundation" was founded to foster an increased awareness of the important role of science among Israeli youth, and "Amos de-Shalit Summer School program" was launched in his name.De-Shalit reunion
Weizmann Institute website

Published works

''Nuclear Shell Theory'', co-author Igal Talmi (1963) Academic Press, (reprinted by Dover Publications)
* Theoretical Nuclear Physics: Nuclear Structure v. 1, Amos de-Shalit (Author), Herman Feshbach (Author) John Wiley and Sons

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:De-Shalit, Amos 1926 births 1969 deaths Jews in Mandatory Palestine 20th-century Israeli Jews Hebrew University of Jerusalem alumni Israeli physicists Israeli nuclear physicists Academic staff of Weizmann Institute of Science Israel Prize in exact science recipients Israel Prize in exact science recipients who were physicists Members of the Israel Academy of Sciences and Humanities Jewish physicists People associated with CERN

Biography

Academic and scientific career

Awards and recognition

Published works

See also

References