Born in Kfar Saba, Prof. Eran Bouchbinder completed his BA in physics and philosophy at Tel Aviv University (1999). He earned his MSc (2002) and PhD (2007) in theoretical physics from the Weizmann Institute of Science under the guidance of Prof. Itamar Procaccia. After conducting postdoctoral research for two years in the Racah Institute of Physics at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, he joined the faculty of the Weizmann Institute late in 2009. In 2018, he became the first director of the Ben May Center for Chemical Theory and Computation.
Prof. Bouchbinder is a theoretical physicist who is interested in various non-equilibrium problems in condensed-matter physics, materials physics, geophysics, and biophysics. He aims at answering some everyday questions such as, "How do things break?", “How do things slide?”, "How do solids deform?" and “How do cells sense their environment?” He does this by using the tools of statistical and continuum physics and through interactions with experimental and computational groups. Examining the mechanics of macroscopic systems, he develops predictive theories, such as his theory of cracks, called the “Weakly Nonlinear Theory of Dynamic Fracture”.
His awards and honors include the Wolf Foundation’s Krill Prize for Excellence in Scientific Research (2014), the Weizmann Institue’s Scientific Council Prize (2013), the Alon Fellowship, the Council for Higher Education, Israel (2010), the Weizmann Institute’s Sir Charles Clore Prize (2009), an appointment to the `International Achievement Summit at the Academy of Achievement, Washington D.C. (2007), and the Feinberg Graduate School’s John F. Kennedy Prize for Outstanding Achievement (2006). In 2015, he was elected as a member of the Israel Young Academy, where he served as chair until the end of his Academy term in 2019.
Prof. Bouchbinder is married to Michal and has four children. He is deeply interested in literature and education.