Ph.D. Honorees

  • Prof. Peter Jenni

    Switzerland

    An experimental particle physicist-turned spokesperson, Prof. Peter Jenni is best known as one of the ATLAS experiment's 'founding fathers' at the CERN Large Hadron Collider (LHC), being centrally involved in discoveries of some of the most fundamental ingredients of the Standard Model of Particle Physics.

    An experimental particle physicist-turned spokesperson, Prof. Peter Jenni is best known as one of the ATLAS experiment's 'founding fathers' at the CERN Large Hadron Collider (LHC), being centrally involved in discoveries of some of the most fundamental ingredients of the Standard Model of Particle Physics.

    Jenni was born in Switzerland. An insatiable curiosity and fascination with the fundamental laws of physics drove him to study the field at the University of Bern (graduating, 1973). He continued on to pursue a PhD at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zürich (ETHZ), receiving his degree in 1976.

    He first came to CERN as a summer student in the early 1970s, participating in experiments at the Synchrocyclotron, at the Proton Synchrotron, and later, as an ETHZ research associate, at the Intersecting Storage Rings – the first high-energy hadron collider. Following a term as a research associate at the Stanford Linear Accelerator Centre, he joined the CERN staff in the UA2 experiment at the super proton synchrotron in 1980. From 1991, he acted as the unofficial spokesperson of a LHC proto-collaboration, which developed a general- purpose detector concept. In 1995, he became the A Toroidal LHC Apparatus (ATLAS) official project leader – a position he was re-elected to several times thereafter

    Launched in 1992, the ATLAS experiment is an international collaboration involving some 3,000 physicists from 182 institutions in 38 countries. ATLAS is one of two large detectors at the particle accelerator that succeeded in delivering experimental evidence of the existence of the Higgs particle and is indispensable for the future research of the boson. Jenni was a moving force in the ATLAS project from its very start until 2009, as collaboration leader and spokesperson, and was directly involved in the experimental work leading to the discoveries of the W and Z bosons in the 1980s and the Higgs boson in 2012.

    Jenni's major contributions to the field of experimental particle physics are reflected, among other achievements, by the approximately 800 publications he has co-authored. He also played an important role in accepting Israel as the first non- European member state of CERN.

    Jenni holds honorary doctorates from the University of Stockholm, the University of Copenhagen, ETH Zurich, the University of Nova Gorica (Slovenia), the University of Bern (Switzerland), Aix-Marseille University (France), Universidad Catolica de Chile (Chile), and Tbilisi State University (Georgia). His numerous honors and awards further include the Swiss Greinacher Prize (1998), the Slovak Gold Medal of the Comenius University (1999), the Charles University Silver Medal (2001), the Czech Academy of Sciences Ernst Mach Honorary Medal (2012), and the Julius Wess Award (2013). He also won a share of the 2013 Special Fundamental Physics Prize, a share of the 2013 European Physical Society High Energy Physics Prize, and a share of the W.K.H. Panofsky Prize in Experimental Particle Physics by the American Physical Society in 2017. Jenni used his award earnings to co-create the ATLAS PhD Grant, which sponsors a one-year study program for three PhD students at CERN.

    Read More » about Prof. Peter Jenni

    Prof. Peter Jenni

    Switzerland

    An experimental particle physicist-turned spokesperson, Prof. Peter Jenni is best known as one of the ATLAS experiment's 'founding fathers' at the CERN Large Hadron Collider (LHC), being centrally involved in discoveries of some of the most fundamental ingredients of the Standard Model of Particle Physics.

    Jenni was born in Switzerland. An insatiable curiosity and fascination with the fundamental laws of physics drove him to study the field at the University of Bern (graduating, 1973). He continued on to pursue a PhD at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zürich (ETHZ), receiving his degree in 1976.

    He first came to CERN as a summer student in the early 1970s, participating in experiments at the Synchrocyclotron, at the Proton Synchrotron, and later, as an ETHZ research associate, at the Intersecting Storage Rings – the first high-energy hadron collider. Following a term as a research associate at the Stanford Linear Accelerator Centre, he joined the CERN staff in the UA2 experiment at the super proton synchrotron in 1980. From 1991, he acted as the unofficial spokesperson of a LHC proto-collaboration, which developed a general- purpose detector concept. In 1995, he became the A Toroidal LHC Apparatus (ATLAS) official project leader – a position he was re-elected to several times thereafter

    Launched in 1992, the ATLAS experiment is an international collaboration involving some 3,000 physicists from 182 institutions in 38 countries. ATLAS is one of two large detectors at the particle accelerator that succeeded in delivering experimental evidence of the existence of the Higgs particle and is indispensable for the future research of the boson. Jenni was a moving force in the ATLAS project from its very start until 2009, as collaboration leader and spokesperson, and was directly involved in the experimental work leading to the discoveries of the W and Z bosons in the 1980s and the Higgs boson in 2012.

    Jenni's major contributions to the field of experimental particle physics are reflected, among other achievements, by the approximately 800 publications he has co-authored. He also played an important role in accepting Israel as the first non- European member state of CERN.

    Jenni holds honorary doctorates from the University of Stockholm, the University of Copenhagen, ETH Zurich, the University of Nova Gorica (Slovenia), the University of Bern (Switzerland), Aix-Marseille University (France), Universidad Catolica de Chile (Chile), and Tbilisi State University (Georgia). His numerous honors and awards further include the Swiss Greinacher Prize (1998), the Slovak Gold Medal of the Comenius University (1999), the Charles University Silver Medal (2001), the Czech Academy of Sciences Ernst Mach Honorary Medal (2012), and the Julius Wess Award (2013). He also won a share of the 2013 Special Fundamental Physics Prize, a share of the 2013 European Physical Society High Energy Physics Prize, and a share of the W.K.H. Panofsky Prize in Experimental Particle Physics by the American Physical Society in 2017. Jenni used his award earnings to co-create the ATLAS PhD Grant, which sponsors a one-year study program for three PhD students at CERN.

  • Milvia Perinot

    Switzerland

    Milvia Perinot is the president of the Fondazione Henry Krenter, which she founded in memory of her beloved life-long partner, who passed away   in 2008. In recent years, through the Foundation, she has undertaken a magnanimous commitment for the benefit of Israeli science, forming a close association with the Weizmann Institute and many of its scientists, who cherish her partnership in their progress.

    Milvia Perinot is the president of the Fondazione Henry Krenter, which she founded in memory of her beloved life-long partner, who passed away in 2008. In recent years, through the Foundation, she has undertaken a magnanimous commitment for the benefit of Israeli science, forming a close association with the Weizmann Institute and many of its scientists, who cherish her partnership in their progress.
    Perinot, who was born and raised in Italy, met Henry Chanoch Krenter in 1961 in Italy, where he was working for a local company whose customer base he expanded throughout Europe. Krenter had been born in pre-World War II Germany, which he fled with his family to Yugoslavia and later to Palestine. In 1948, too young to be enlisted, he lied about his age to fight in Israel's War of Independence. After the State was established, he lived in Tel Aviv until 1956, when, at his parents' beckoning, he joined them in Trieste.
    Throughout the years and decades that followed, Krenter remained deeply connected to Israel, to which he longed to return. Perinot, who travelled with him across Europe and supported his business ventures, became intimately familiar with his love and attachment to the country in which he had spent his youth and fought to establish. It was always his wish to “do something for Israel.” He died after a battle with lung cancer, and Perinot took it upon herself to fulfill his unrealized wish. She has worked towards this goal ever since.
    The Fondazione Henry Krenter she created out of Lugano, Switzerland, where the couple lived, promotes and supports, both directly and indirectly, academic research and teaching in the fields of human medicine, chemistry, and physics in order to improve human life and health conditions. The Foundation places special emphasis on supporting Israeli institutions and facilities in these areas, with particular focus on the Weizmann Institute of Science.
    Perinot's first visit to the Institute took place in 2012, and she has returned many times, striking a warm companionship with many in its community. That same year, the Foundation established on campus the Henry Chanoch Krenter Institute for Biomedical Imaging and Genomics, which is tasked with enabling the convergence of high-resolution bioimaging and genomics techniques, towards gaining a coherent picture of cancer’s ability to function, grow, evade treatment, and respond to therapy.
    The Krenter Foundation has also supported the Moross Integrated Cancer Center (MICC). Through both these entities, the Foundation is making a significant impact on the Institute's ability to ensure its researchers have access to groundbreaking imaging technologies and tools in their investigations of the biological basis of disease.

    Read More » about Milvia Perinot

    Milvia Perinot

    Switzerland

    Milvia Perinot is the president of the Fondazione Henry Krenter, which she founded in memory of her beloved life-long partner, who passed away in 2008. In recent years, through the Foundation, she has undertaken a magnanimous commitment for the benefit of Israeli science, forming a close association with the Weizmann Institute and many of its scientists, who cherish her partnership in their progress.
    Perinot, who was born and raised in Italy, met Henry Chanoch Krenter in 1961 in Italy, where he was working for a local company whose customer base he expanded throughout Europe. Krenter had been born in pre-World War II Germany, which he fled with his family to Yugoslavia and later to Palestine. In 1948, too young to be enlisted, he lied about his age to fight in Israel's War of Independence. After the State was established, he lived in Tel Aviv until 1956, when, at his parents' beckoning, he joined them in Trieste.
    Throughout the years and decades that followed, Krenter remained deeply connected to Israel, to which he longed to return. Perinot, who travelled with him across Europe and supported his business ventures, became intimately familiar with his love and attachment to the country in which he had spent his youth and fought to establish. It was always his wish to “do something for Israel.” He died after a battle with lung cancer, and Perinot took it upon herself to fulfill his unrealized wish. She has worked towards this goal ever since.
    The Fondazione Henry Krenter she created out of Lugano, Switzerland, where the couple lived, promotes and supports, both directly and indirectly, academic research and teaching in the fields of human medicine, chemistry, and physics in order to improve human life and health conditions. The Foundation places special emphasis on supporting Israeli institutions and facilities in these areas, with particular focus on the Weizmann Institute of Science.
    Perinot's first visit to the Institute took place in 2012, and she has returned many times, striking a warm companionship with many in its community. That same year, the Foundation established on campus the Henry Chanoch Krenter Institute for Biomedical Imaging and Genomics, which is tasked with enabling the convergence of high-resolution bioimaging and genomics techniques, towards gaining a coherent picture of cancer’s ability to function, grow, evade treatment, and respond to therapy.
    The Krenter Foundation has also supported the Moross Integrated Cancer Center (MICC). Through both these entities, the Foundation is making a significant impact on the Institute's ability to ensure its researchers have access to groundbreaking imaging technologies and tools in their investigations of the biological basis of disease.

  • Yoni Rechter

    Israel

    Photo: Ilan Besor

    Yoni Rechter is one  of  Israelʼs  leading  musicians, a versatile composer, gifted performer of wide acclaim and popularity, producer, and arranger. The captivatingly beautiful music he has composed for beloved songs, with their complex harmonies and memorable tunes, as well as his sophisticated- yet-unpretentious pieces for the theater and film, have become the soundtrack of modern Israeli culture for over four decades.

    Yoni Rechter is one of Israelʼs leading musicians, a versatile composer, gifted performer of wide acclaim and popularity, producer, and arranger. The captivatingly beautiful music he has composed for beloved songs, with their complex harmonies and memorable tunes, as well as his sophisticated- yet-unpretentious pieces for the theater and film, have become the soundtrack of modern Israeli culture for over four decades.

    Rechter was born and raised in Tel Aviv. His father, Yakov Rechter, was an architect, who designed several Weizmann Institute campus buildings, including the Maurice and Gabriela Goldschleger Life Sciences Library, the Lunenfeld-Kunin Residences for Visiting Scientists, and Europe House.

    He began to play the piano at age eight. At sixteen, he composed the music for the iconic song "Tears of Angels" written by his classmate Dan Minster. He later served in the IDFʼs Artillery Corps band and went on to study at the Music Academy in Tel Aviv. During this period, he joined Kaveret, one of Israelʼs most successful rock bands, widely considered a breakthrough in Israeli rock and pop history. Together with Avner Kenner, he started the Fourteen Octaves ensemble (1975), creating and performing music inspired by progressive rock, jazz, and classical music.

    Separately and combined, these three musical realms would find their expression in Rechterʼs unique talent for composing, arranging, and performing classical and contemporary music for children and adults alike. Injecting elements of classical and jazz music into the Israeli songs he composes, and arranging their rock-inspired rich orchestration, he is responsible for a large number of musical hits. He has collaborated with some of Israelʼs popular music giants, including Arik Einstein, Yossi Banai, Esther Ofarim, Matti Caspi, Gidi Gov, Yehudit Ravitz, and songwriter Eli Mohar. His long-lived cooperation with the latter began with Rechterʼs debut solo album (“Intending,” 1979), and continued through his second (“Eye Level,” 1986), third (“Thoughts and Options,” 1995), and fourth (“Another Story,” 2002) solo albums. His latest solo album, "Around Us," was released in 2017, with songs he composed over a decade. Other albums include several live performances and collections, and he has also participated in other artistsʼ albums.

    Rechterʼs distinctive creative pieces also include the composition of works of Israeli poets (Avraham Halfi, Dalia Ravikovitch, Yehuda Amichai, and others), popular music, children songs, opera, and jazz. His original works and arrangements were performed by the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra, the Israeli Opera, accompanied dance performances, as well as many theatrical plays.

    Rechterʼs musical achievements were recognized by several prestigious prizes, including the ACUM (Israeli Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers) Composer of the Year award (1990), Lifetime Achievement Award (1992), and Award for Special Contribution to Works for Children (2014). He was awarded the Holon Theatre Prize (2003), the EMET Prize for his contribution to Israeli music (2008), received an honorary doctorate from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem (2009), and won the 2011 Israeli Theatre Prize for Best Music Composer for “Private Investigator” by the Khan Theatre.

    Read More » about Yoni Rechter

    Yoni Rechter

    Israel

    Photo: Ilan Besor

    Yoni Rechter is one of Israelʼs leading musicians, a versatile composer, gifted performer of wide acclaim and popularity, producer, and arranger. The captivatingly beautiful music he has composed for beloved songs, with their complex harmonies and memorable tunes, as well as his sophisticated- yet-unpretentious pieces for the theater and film, have become the soundtrack of modern Israeli culture for over four decades.

    Rechter was born and raised in Tel Aviv. His father, Yakov Rechter, was an architect, who designed several Weizmann Institute campus buildings, including the Maurice and Gabriela Goldschleger Life Sciences Library, the Lunenfeld-Kunin Residences for Visiting Scientists, and Europe House.

    He began to play the piano at age eight. At sixteen, he composed the music for the iconic song "Tears of Angels" written by his classmate Dan Minster. He later served in the IDFʼs Artillery Corps band and went on to study at the Music Academy in Tel Aviv. During this period, he joined Kaveret, one of Israelʼs most successful rock bands, widely considered a breakthrough in Israeli rock and pop history. Together with Avner Kenner, he started the Fourteen Octaves ensemble (1975), creating and performing music inspired by progressive rock, jazz, and classical music.

    Separately and combined, these three musical realms would find their expression in Rechterʼs unique talent for composing, arranging, and performing classical and contemporary music for children and adults alike. Injecting elements of classical and jazz music into the Israeli songs he composes, and arranging their rock-inspired rich orchestration, he is responsible for a large number of musical hits. He has collaborated with some of Israelʼs popular music giants, including Arik Einstein, Yossi Banai, Esther Ofarim, Matti Caspi, Gidi Gov, Yehudit Ravitz, and songwriter Eli Mohar. His long-lived cooperation with the latter began with Rechterʼs debut solo album (“Intending,” 1979), and continued through his second (“Eye Level,” 1986), third (“Thoughts and Options,” 1995), and fourth (“Another Story,” 2002) solo albums. His latest solo album, "Around Us," was released in 2017, with songs he composed over a decade. Other albums include several live performances and collections, and he has also participated in other artistsʼ albums.

    Rechterʼs distinctive creative pieces also include the composition of works of Israeli poets (Avraham Halfi, Dalia Ravikovitch, Yehuda Amichai, and others), popular music, children songs, opera, and jazz. His original works and arrangements were performed by the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra, the Israeli Opera, accompanied dance performances, as well as many theatrical plays.

    Rechterʼs musical achievements were recognized by several prestigious prizes, including the ACUM (Israeli Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers) Composer of the Year award (1990), Lifetime Achievement Award (1992), and Award for Special Contribution to Works for Children (2014). He was awarded the Holon Theatre Prize (2003), the EMET Prize for his contribution to Israeli music (2008), received an honorary doctorate from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem (2009), and won the 2011 Israeli Theatre Prize for Best Music Composer for “Private Investigator” by the Khan Theatre.

  • Heather Reisman

    Canada

    Heather Reisman is one of North America's leading businesswomen, ranked by the Financial Times as one of the world's top 50 businesswomen in 2009. She is equally known for her generosity and commitment to philanthropic causes, and together with her husband, Gerald Schwartz, has made transformative gifts to the Weizmann Institute of Science.

    Heather Reisman is one of North America's leading businesswomen, ranked by the Financial Times as one of the world's top 50 businesswomen in 2009. She is equally known for her generosity and commitment to philanthropic causes, and together with her husband, Gerald Schwartz, has made transformative gifts to the Weizmann Institute of Science.

    Reisman was born in Montreal, Quebec, and educated at McGill University. In 1979, she co-founded Paradigm Consulting, a pioneering strategic change consultancy, serving as its managing director for 17 years. In 1996, she founded what was to become Canada's largest book and lifestyle company, Indigo Inc. She currently serves as the company's Chair and CEO.

    In 2001, she established the Indigo Love of Reading Foundation which has to date provided millions of books to high needs schools across Canada. Under the aegis of The Indigo Love of Reading Foundation, Reisman has produced two documentaries on Literacy: Writing on the Wall and Read Between the Lines. In 2009, Indigo founded Kobo, a global e-reading company which was later sold to Japan’s leading e-commerce company, Rakuten.

    Reisman has served as a governor of the Toronto Stock Exchange and McGill University, and is currently a Director of Onex Corporation and Mt. Sinai Hospital in Toronto.

    Together with her husband, Reisman endowed The Heather Reisman Chair in Perinatal Research at the University of Toronto; and funded the Gerald Schwartz/Heather Reisman Centre for Jewish Learning at Holy Blossom Temple; the Schwartz Reisman Jewish Community Centre, and the Schwartz Reisman Emergency Centre at Mt Sinai Hospital, all in Toronto.

    In 2005, the couple founded the HESEG Foundation in Tel Aviv. The Foundation provides scholarships to former lone soldiers (servicemen and servicewomen without family in Israel) who have served in the IDF.

    The couple's desire to make a significant impact on science education in Israel—as a precursor for scientific achievement and a robust industry— spurred them in 2015 to make a major gift to establish the Schwartz/Reisman Science Education Centers in Israel, which aim to provide high-quality science education for future generations of Israeli citizens and scientists. These centers build upon a successful model that was developed in a similar center in Tel Aviv, which Heather and Gerald also supported over the years. Most recently, they established the Schwartz/Reisman Institute for Theoretical Physics at the Weizmann Institute, which encourages open scientific discussion and interaction between Institute physicists and the international physics community by attracting leading theoreticians to campus and creating the personal connections that lead to fruitful international collaborations. They also support the research of Prof. Victor Malka in the Schwartz/Reisman Intense Laser Physics Lab in the Institute's Department of Physics of Complex Systems.

    Reisman is a member of the Order of Canada and the recipient of honorary doctorates from McGill University, Ryerson University, Wilfrid Laurier University, Mount Allison University, St. Francis Xavier University, and the University of Manitoba. Other awards include the Retail Council of Canada Retailer of the Year, the Waterloo Regional Entrepreneur Hall of Fame 2006 Visionary Award, the International Distinguished Entrepreneur Award from the Asper School of Business of the University of Manitoba, and the John Molson School of Business Award of Distinction from Concordia University. In 2015, she was inducted into the Canadian Business Hall of Fame.

    Read More » about Heather Reisman

    Heather Reisman

    Canada

    Heather Reisman is one of North America's leading businesswomen, ranked by the Financial Times as one of the world's top 50 businesswomen in 2009. She is equally known for her generosity and commitment to philanthropic causes, and together with her husband, Gerald Schwartz, has made transformative gifts to the Weizmann Institute of Science.

    Reisman was born in Montreal, Quebec, and educated at McGill University. In 1979, she co-founded Paradigm Consulting, a pioneering strategic change consultancy, serving as its managing director for 17 years. In 1996, she founded what was to become Canada's largest book and lifestyle company, Indigo Inc. She currently serves as the company's Chair and CEO.

    In 2001, she established the Indigo Love of Reading Foundation which has to date provided millions of books to high needs schools across Canada. Under the aegis of The Indigo Love of Reading Foundation, Reisman has produced two documentaries on Literacy: Writing on the Wall and Read Between the Lines. In 2009, Indigo founded Kobo, a global e-reading company which was later sold to Japan’s leading e-commerce company, Rakuten.

    Reisman has served as a governor of the Toronto Stock Exchange and McGill University, and is currently a Director of Onex Corporation and Mt. Sinai Hospital in Toronto.

    Together with her husband, Reisman endowed The Heather Reisman Chair in Perinatal Research at the University of Toronto; and funded the Gerald Schwartz/Heather Reisman Centre for Jewish Learning at Holy Blossom Temple; the Schwartz Reisman Jewish Community Centre, and the Schwartz Reisman Emergency Centre at Mt Sinai Hospital, all in Toronto.

    In 2005, the couple founded the HESEG Foundation in Tel Aviv. The Foundation provides scholarships to former lone soldiers (servicemen and servicewomen without family in Israel) who have served in the IDF.

    The couple's desire to make a significant impact on science education in Israel—as a precursor for scientific achievement and a robust industry— spurred them in 2015 to make a major gift to establish the Schwartz/Reisman Science Education Centers in Israel, which aim to provide high-quality science education for future generations of Israeli citizens and scientists. These centers build upon a successful model that was developed in a similar center in Tel Aviv, which Heather and Gerald also supported over the years. Most recently, they established the Schwartz/Reisman Institute for Theoretical Physics at the Weizmann Institute, which encourages open scientific discussion and interaction between Institute physicists and the international physics community by attracting leading theoreticians to campus and creating the personal connections that lead to fruitful international collaborations. They also support the research of Prof. Victor Malka in the Schwartz/Reisman Intense Laser Physics Lab in the Institute's Department of Physics of Complex Systems.

    Reisman is a member of the Order of Canada and the recipient of honorary doctorates from McGill University, Ryerson University, Wilfrid Laurier University, Mount Allison University, St. Francis Xavier University, and the University of Manitoba. Other awards include the Retail Council of Canada Retailer of the Year, the Waterloo Regional Entrepreneur Hall of Fame 2006 Visionary Award, the International Distinguished Entrepreneur Award from the Asper School of Business of the University of Manitoba, and the John Molson School of Business Award of Distinction from Concordia University. In 2015, she was inducted into the Canadian Business Hall of Fame.

  • Gerald W. Schwartz

    Canada

    A brilliant entrepreneur with a strong sense of public service, Gerald W. Schwartz is one of Canada’s most respected business leaders. He has shared his success by supporting charitable causes in North America and Israel, together with his wife, Heather Reisman.

    A brilliant entrepreneur with a strong sense of public service, Gerald W. Schwartz is one of Canada’s most respected business leaders. He has shared his success by supporting charitable causes in North America and Israel, together with his wife, Heather Reisman.

    Schwartz was born in Winnipeg, Manitoba, and received his BA in commerce (1962) and LLB (1966) degrees from the University of Manitoba, and an MBA degree from Harvard University (1970). He began his business career on Wall Street in the 1970s. After he returned to Canada in 1983, he started Onex Corporation, a private equity firm in Toronto, where he serves as Chairman and Chief Executive Officer. Through his outstanding leadership, the company has become one of North America’s largest, with some 150,000 employees globally. In 1987, Onex became a public company. It has since made hundreds of acquisitions and built dozens of operating businesses; its activities span diverse industries on several continents. The company's success was due, in large part, to Schwartz's entrepreneurial and collaborative style of management.

    Gerry and Heather married in 1982. Acting out of their individual and joint commitment to Israel and the Jewish community worldwide, the couple have made generous contributions to many causes, including education, innovation, and aspirations for peace. Schwartz has generously provided his time, energy, acumen, and financial support to help build and sustain institutions like the University of Toronto, Mount Sinai Hospital and the Schwartz/Reisman Centre at the JCC in Toronto, and St. Francis Xavier University. Together, Gerry and Heather established the HESEG Foundation, which to date has provided full academic scholarships and living expenses to more than 1,500 former lone soldiers who initially came to Israel to volunteer in the IDF and have decided to make Israel their home.

    The couple's support of the Weizmann Institute is rooted in their emphasis on science education as a precursor for scientific achievement and robust industry, both of which are essential for Israel's future. In 2015, they made a major gift to establish the Schwartz/Reisman Science Education Centers, which aim to provide high-quality science education for future generations of Israeli citizens and scientists. These centers are based on the successful model center in Tel Aviv that the couple also supports.

    In 2016, the couple made a second gift to the Weizmann Institute, to establish the Schwartz/ Reisman Institute for Theoretical Physics, with the hope and expectation that it becomes the pre- eminent institute for the study of theoretical physics worldwide. They also support the world-renowned research of Prof. Victor Malka in the Schwartz/ Reisman Intense Laser Physics Lab in the Weizmann Institute's Department of Physics of Complex Systems.

    Schwartz is a director, governor, or trustee of a number of organizations. His business achievements and philanthropic endeavors have earned him numerous honors and awards, including the International Distinguished Entrepreneur Award, University of Manitoba Faculty of Management, 2003; the Canadian Business Hall of Fame; the 2005 Ernst & Young Entrepreneur and Ontario Lifetime Achievement Award; appointment as an Officer of the Order of Canada in 2006; honorary doctorates from four universities, and the 2016 Horatio Alger Award.

    Read More » about Gerald W. Schwartz

    Gerald W. Schwartz

    Canada

    A brilliant entrepreneur with a strong sense of public service, Gerald W. Schwartz is one of Canada’s most respected business leaders. He has shared his success by supporting charitable causes in North America and Israel, together with his wife, Heather Reisman.

    Schwartz was born in Winnipeg, Manitoba, and received his BA in commerce (1962) and LLB (1966) degrees from the University of Manitoba, and an MBA degree from Harvard University (1970). He began his business career on Wall Street in the 1970s. After he returned to Canada in 1983, he started Onex Corporation, a private equity firm in Toronto, where he serves as Chairman and Chief Executive Officer. Through his outstanding leadership, the company has become one of North America’s largest, with some 150,000 employees globally. In 1987, Onex became a public company. It has since made hundreds of acquisitions and built dozens of operating businesses; its activities span diverse industries on several continents. The company's success was due, in large part, to Schwartz's entrepreneurial and collaborative style of management.

    Gerry and Heather married in 1982. Acting out of their individual and joint commitment to Israel and the Jewish community worldwide, the couple have made generous contributions to many causes, including education, innovation, and aspirations for peace. Schwartz has generously provided his time, energy, acumen, and financial support to help build and sustain institutions like the University of Toronto, Mount Sinai Hospital and the Schwartz/Reisman Centre at the JCC in Toronto, and St. Francis Xavier University. Together, Gerry and Heather established the HESEG Foundation, which to date has provided full academic scholarships and living expenses to more than 1,500 former lone soldiers who initially came to Israel to volunteer in the IDF and have decided to make Israel their home.

    The couple's support of the Weizmann Institute is rooted in their emphasis on science education as a precursor for scientific achievement and robust industry, both of which are essential for Israel's future. In 2015, they made a major gift to establish the Schwartz/Reisman Science Education Centers, which aim to provide high-quality science education for future generations of Israeli citizens and scientists. These centers are based on the successful model center in Tel Aviv that the couple also supports.

    In 2016, the couple made a second gift to the Weizmann Institute, to establish the Schwartz/ Reisman Institute for Theoretical Physics, with the hope and expectation that it becomes the pre- eminent institute for the study of theoretical physics worldwide. They also support the world-renowned research of Prof. Victor Malka in the Schwartz/ Reisman Intense Laser Physics Lab in the Weizmann Institute's Department of Physics of Complex Systems.

    Schwartz is a director, governor, or trustee of a number of organizations. His business achievements and philanthropic endeavors have earned him numerous honors and awards, including the International Distinguished Entrepreneur Award, University of Manitoba Faculty of Management, 2003; the Canadian Business Hall of Fame; the 2005 Ernst & Young Entrepreneur and Ontario Lifetime Achievement Award; appointment as an Officer of the Order of Canada in 2006; honorary doctorates from four universities, and the 2016 Horatio Alger Award.

  • Mortimer B. Zuckerman

    United States

    Mortimer B. Zuckerman is the Chairman and Editor-in-Chief of U.S. News & World Report, the benefactor of the Zuckerman Mind Brain Behavior Institute of Columbia University, and the co-founder and Chairman Emeritus of Boston Properties, Inc.

    Mortimer B. Zuckerman is the Chairman and Editor-in-Chief of U.S. News & World Report, the benefactor of the Zuckerman Mind Brain Behavior Institute of Columbia University, and the co-founder and Chairman Emeritus of Boston Properties, Inc.

    He is a trustee of Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center and a member of the Bank of America Global Wealth and Investment Management Committee. He is a sponsor of the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University, a former Associate Professor of City and Regional Planning at the Harvard Graduate School of Design, a former lecturer of City and Regional Planning at Yale University, a past president of the Board of Trustees of the Dana Farber Cancer Institute in Boston, and the former Chairman of the Principal’s International Advisory Board of McGill University. He is a former trustee of New York University, the Institute for Advanced Studies at Princeton, the Council on Foreign Relations, the Washington Institute for Near East Studies, and a former Vice Chair and Treasurer of the International Peace Institute. He is a former Chairman of the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations and served as President of the America-Israel Friendship League.

    Mr. Zuckerman is a graduate of McGill University in Montreal, where he received an undergraduate degree in 1957 with first class honors, a degree in law in 1961 and an honorary LLD in 2011. He received an MBA with distinction from the Wharton Graduate School, University of Pennsylvania, in 1961 and an LLM from Harvard University in 1962.

    He has received honorary degrees from Colby College, Southampton College, Hebrew College, Berkeley College, the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, Tel Aviv University, and the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, and an honorary Doctorate of Laws, from both McGill University and Columbia University. Mr. Zuckerman was awarded the Commandeur De L'Ordre des Arts et des Lettres by the government of France, the Lifetime Achievement Award from Guild Hall, the Gold Medal from the American Institute of Architecture in New York, the Sy Syms Humanitarian award from Yeshiva University, and a Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal from the Canadian government.

    Read More » about Mortimer B. Zuckerman

    Mortimer B. Zuckerman

    United States

    Mortimer B. Zuckerman is the Chairman and Editor-in-Chief of U.S. News & World Report, the benefactor of the Zuckerman Mind Brain Behavior Institute of Columbia University, and the co-founder and Chairman Emeritus of Boston Properties, Inc.

    He is a trustee of Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center and a member of the Bank of America Global Wealth and Investment Management Committee. He is a sponsor of the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University, a former Associate Professor of City and Regional Planning at the Harvard Graduate School of Design, a former lecturer of City and Regional Planning at Yale University, a past president of the Board of Trustees of the Dana Farber Cancer Institute in Boston, and the former Chairman of the Principal’s International Advisory Board of McGill University. He is a former trustee of New York University, the Institute for Advanced Studies at Princeton, the Council on Foreign Relations, the Washington Institute for Near East Studies, and a former Vice Chair and Treasurer of the International Peace Institute. He is a former Chairman of the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations and served as President of the America-Israel Friendship League.

    Mr. Zuckerman is a graduate of McGill University in Montreal, where he received an undergraduate degree in 1957 with first class honors, a degree in law in 1961 and an honorary LLD in 2011. He received an MBA with distinction from the Wharton Graduate School, University of Pennsylvania, in 1961 and an LLM from Harvard University in 1962.

    He has received honorary degrees from Colby College, Southampton College, Hebrew College, Berkeley College, the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, Tel Aviv University, and the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, and an honorary Doctorate of Laws, from both McGill University and Columbia University. Mr. Zuckerman was awarded the Commandeur De L'Ordre des Arts et des Lettres by the government of France, the Lifetime Achievement Award from Guild Hall, the Gold Medal from the American Institute of Architecture in New York, the Sy Syms Humanitarian award from Yeshiva University, and a Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal from the Canadian government.