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Aharon Katzir (Aharon Katzir-Katchalsky) (1914 –
1972) was an Israeli pioneer in the study of the electrochemistry of
biopolymers.
Born 1914 in Lodz, Poland, he moved to Israel in 1925, where
he taught at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem. In 1948 he was invited
by Chaim Weizmann to join the Weizmann Institute of Science in Rehovot
as head of the Department of Polymer Research, and in 1952 became a
professor of physical chemistry at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem.
His areas of interest included the use of polyelectrolytes as models
for macromolecular substances in the living organism, membranes, and
network thermodynamics.
Aharon Katzir was a pioneer in the study of the electrochemistry of
biopolymers. He received the Israel Prize in 1961 and was president of
the Israel Academy of Arts and Sciences, 1962-1968. His lectures and
writings were very popular.
Professor Aharon Katzir was killed on May 30, 1972, by a Japanese
terrorist at Ben-Gurion Airport.
A series of Hebrew lectures is held at Tel Aviv University in memory of
Katzir. It is named "In the Crucible of the Revolution" (BeKur
HaMahapecha), alluding to a popular book Katzir wrote about scientific
progress. It has featured lectures by Nobel Prize laureates Daniel
Kahneman and Aaron Ciechanover, and renowned philosopher Hilary Putnam.
A center at the Weizmann Institute of Science, and a scholarship
program of the Israeli Ministry of Defense are named after him as well.
