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Prof. Ephraim Katzir was born in Kiev in 1916. His family immigrated to
British-ruled Palestine when he was six years old, and he grew up in
Jerusalem. Following high school in Jerusalem, he enrolled in the Hebrew
University of Jerusalem where he studied botany, zoology and bacteriology
before finally concentrating on biochemistry and organic chemistry.
In 1941 he completed his Ph.D. thesis on simple synthetic polymers of
amino acids, and continued his education at the Polytechnic Institute
of Brooklyn, Columbia University and Harvard University.
Like other students at the time, Ephraim Katzir was a member of the
Haganah, the underground Jewish defense organization. Later Katzir became
deeply involved in the Israel Army's Science Corps, Hemed, founded at
the start of the 1948 War of Independence, and for a time commanded
it.
Professor Katzir was one of the founding scientists of the Weizmann
Institute of Science in 1949, an institution with which he was associated
throughout his professional career, both before and after serving as
President. As founder and head of the Institute's Biophysics Department,
his pioneering studies in proteins contributed to the deciphering of
the genetic code, the production of synthetic antigens, and the clarification
of the various steps of immune responses.
Katzir also developed a method for binding enzymes, which speed up numerous
chemical processes, to a variety of surfaces and molecules. This method
laid the foundation for what is now called enzyme engineering, which
plays an important part in the food and pharmaceutical industries. His
pioneering work on immobilized enzymes used in oral antibiotics, for
which he received the Japan Prize in 1985, has revolutionized a number
of industries as well as medical research.
Along with his scientific research, Professor Katzir was profoundly
involved in the social and educational aspects of science. He headed
a governmental committee for the formulation of a national scientific
policy, trained a generation of younger scientists, translated important
material into Hebrew, and helped to establish a popular science magazine.
He served as Chief Scientist of the Israel Defense Ministry, Chairman
of the Society for the Advancement of Science in Israel, the Israel
Biochemical Society, the National Council for Research and Development,
and the Council for the Advancement of Science Education. He headed
the National Biotechnology Council, and was President of the World ORT
Union - a network of vocational schools.
In 1973 Katzir was elected by the Knesset to serve as fourth President
of the State of Israel. His term in office began in May just four months
prior to the outbreak of the Yom Kippur War. Additionally, it was exactly
a year after the tragic death of his brother, Professor Aharon Katzir,
who was murdered in the May 1972 terrorist attack at Ben-Gurion Airport.
In November 1977 he hosted President Anwar Sadat of Egypt in the first-ever
official visit of an Arab head of state.
Ephraim Katzir retired from the Presidency in May 1978 to return to
scientific research at the Weizmann Institute and was named Institute
Professor, a prestigious title awarded by Weizmann faculty and administration
to outstanding scientists who made significant and meaningful contributions
to science or to the State of Israel. He also devoted himself to the
promotion of biotechnological research in Israel, and founded the Department
of Biotechnology at Tel-Aviv University.
Prof. Katzir was a member of the Israeli Academy of Sciences and Humanities,
and of numerous other learned bodies in Israel and abroad, including
The Royal Institution of Great Britain, The Royal Society of London,
the National Academy of Sciences of the United States, the Academie
des sciences in France, the Scientific Academy of Argentina, and the
World Academy of Art and Science. He was visiting professor at Harvard
University, Rockefeller University, University of California at Los
Angeles, and Battelle Seattle Research Center.
Furthermore, Katzir was awarded the Rothschild and Israel Prizes in
Natural Sciences, the Weizmann Prize, the Linderstrom Land Gold Medal,
the Hans Krebs Medal, the Tchernikhovski Prize for scientific translations,
the Alpha Omega Achievement Medal, and the Engineering Foundation's
International Award in Enzyme Engineering. He was the first recipient
of the Japan Prize, and was appointed to France's Order of Legion of
Honor. He received honorary doctorates from more than a dozen institutions
of higher learning in Israel and worldwide, including Harvard University,
Northwestern University, McGill University, University of Oxford and
the Technion-Israel Institute of Technology. |
