Israel Celebrates Flourishing Scientists at Dynamic Ceremony

On the evening of April 7, 2019, the Blavatnik Family Foundation, in collaboration with the New York Academy of Sciences and The Israel Academy of Sciences and Humanities (IASH), hosted its second Ceremony and Gala for the Blavatnik Awards for Young Scientists in Israel at the Israel Museum in Jerusalem.

Celebrations started earlier that day at the official residence of the President of Israel with a reception hosted by Israel’s President Reuven Rivlin. Guests included the three Blavatnik Award Laureates, representatives from IASH and the Blavatnik Family Foundation, Dr. Marcia McNutt, President of the US National Academy of Sciences, and Dr. Brooke Grindlinger from the New York Academy of Sciences. The official meeting was followed by a brunch hosted by IASH at their Jerusalem headquarters.

Later in the evening, ceremony festivities at the Israel Museum began with IASH President Professor Nili Cohen opening the ceremony. She highlighted how even before the formation of the state of Israel, the region’s focus on science and culture has led to many success stories including the Blavatnik Awards in Israel. Her remarks were followed by a short opening film highlighting the history of the Blavatnik Awards.

Israeli TV News Host, Ms. Dana Weiss, Chief Political Analyst for Israel’s “Saturday Night with Dana Weiss,” served as the evening’s Master of Ceremonies, ushering in a fanfare processional introducing the three Laureates, who were chosen by a distinguished panel of judges from across Israel and selected from 33 nominations submitted by seven of Israel’s top universities and independent research institutions.

After the processional, guests were entertained with a live vocal performance by the Holy Land Singers singing “A Kind of Magic” while an original film highlighted the history of transformative inventions by Israel’s top scientists. Dr. Brooke Grindlinger, Chief Scientific Officer from the New York Academy of Sciences thanked the Israel Academy of Sciences and Humanities as their Blavatnik Awards partner in Israel, the larger scientific community of Israel, and the Awards’ Jury and Scientific Advisory Council who made the Awards possible. Mr. Len Blavatnik presented medals to the 2019 Laureates, which was followed by films dedicated to the lives of each Laureate and short talks given by the Laureates on their research. Dr. Marcia McNutt, President of the US National Academy of Sciences, was the keynote speaker. She commented that the ceremony was “a wonderful celebration of science, and of Israel and America’s shared commitment to encourage young people to bring hope to a struggling world through science.” The evening concluded with an exciting, interactive presentation by world-renowned master mentalist, Lior Suchard.

A photo album from the evening’s festivities can be found here. To read more details about the 2019 Blavatnik Awards ceremony in Israel click here or visit the Blavatnik Awards website at blavatnikawards.org.