Dan David Prize
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Dan David Prize is an annual award of $1 million each to three individuals who have made an outstanding contribution in the fields of science, technology, culture or social welfare. There are three prize categories - past, present and future. Prize laureates donate 10 percent of their prize money to outstanding doctoral students and researchers in their own field from around the world.[1]
[edit] History
The Dan David Foundation, which awards the prize, was founded in 2000 with a $100 million endowment by international businessman and philanthropist Dan David.[2] The first awards ceremony took place at Tel Aviv University on May 2001. The First Founding Director of the Dan David Prize was Professor Gad Barzilai and the foundation is now chaired by Itamar Rabinovich, former president of Tel Aviv University. In 2007, the ceremony was held at Opéra de Paris.
Dan David (1929-) was born to a Jewish family in Bucharest, Romania. He joined a Zionist youth movement at the age of 16. After studying economics at university, he switched to photography and worked for Romanian television. He began to work for a newspaper, which fired him upon discovering his Zionist past. He left the country for Paris, and in August 1960, immigrated to Israel. In 1961, he travelled to Europe and, with a $200,000 loan from a cousin, he won the franchise for Photo Me International automated photography booths in certain countries. He opened branches in Israel, Spain, Romania and Italy, and eventually took over the company. [3]
[edit] Laureates
| Year | Theme | Laureate |
|---|---|---|
| 2002 | Past - History | Warburg Library |
| Present - Technology, information and society | Daniel Hillis | |
| Future - Life sciences | Sydney Brenner, John Sulston, Robert Waterston | |
| 2003 | Past - Paleoanthropology | Michel Brunet |
| Present - Print & electronic media | James Nachtwey, Frederick Wiseman | |
| Future - cosmology & astronomy | John Bahcall | |
| 2004 | Past - Cities: Historical legacy | Rome, Istanbul, Jerusalem |
| Present - Leadership: Changing our World | Klaus Schwab | |
| Future - Brain sciences | Robert Wurtz, Amiram Grinvald, William Newsome | |
| 2005 | Past- Archaeology | Graeme Barker, Israel Finkelstein |
| Present - The Performing Arts: Film, Theater, Dance, Music | Peter Brook | |
| Future - Materials science | Robert Langer, George Whitesides,C.N.R. Rao | |
| 2006 | Past - Music | Yo-Yo Ma |
| Present - Journalism | Magdi Allam, Monica Gonzalez, Adam Michnik, Goenawan Mohamad | |
| Future - Treatment of cancer | John Mendelsohn, Joseph Schlessinger | |
| 2007 | Past - Historians | Jacques Le Goff |
| Present - Contemporary Music | Pascal Dusapin, Zubin Mehta | |
| Future - Quest for Energy | James Hansen, Jerry Olson, Sarah Kurtz | |
| 2008 | Past - Creative Rendering of the Past | Amos Oz, Tom Stoppard, Atom Egoyan |
| Present - Social Responsibility | Al Gore[4] | |
| Future - Geosciences | Ellen Mosley - Thompson & Lonnie Thompson, Geoffrey Eglinton |
