Honorary PhD

The Weizmann Institute of Science awards honorary doctorates (Doctor Honoris Causa) every year in a festive ceremony held as part of the Annual General Meeting of the International Board in November. Recipients of the degree are nominated by the Steering Committee according to proposals of the members of the council and are approved by both the assembly of the scientific council and the Honors Committee of the Board.

Honorary doctorates are usually awarded according to the following criteria:

  • Eminent Scientists with broad international recognition who, by accepting this degree, honor the institute and its work and contribute to the advancement of Israeli science.
  • Excellent and prominent scientists, with close ties to the institute or its researchers, who have made significant contributions to the institute's scientific activities.
  • Active supporters of the Institute, in Israel or abroad, who have made important and unique contributions to the institute's promotion and scientific mission, including philanthropists who have made significant financial contributions to the Institute’s development or have supported scientific research. The Institute’s management usually nominate candidates from this group.
  • Public figures active in various fields such as health, law, education, industry, etc., who have made unique contributions to the Israeli Society.
  • Intellectuals and artists from the fields of culture, music, literature and theater, with notable achievements and influence that goes beyond their areas of artistic practice.
  • People who have made significant contributions to society in the areas such as education, social inequality, economy, social mobility and human rights.

 

2022

2021

2020

  • Dr. Uriel Arnon
  • Cathy Beck
  • Prof. Sir Marc Feldmann
  • Shirin Natour Hafi
  • Gideon Hamburger
  • Prof. Dame Carol V. Robinson
  • Meir Shalev

2019

  • Rebecca Boukhris
  • Prof. Jonathan Dorfan
  • Mario Fleck
  • Alex Levac
  • Prof. Raphael Mechoulam
  • Prof. Martha C. Nussbaum
  • President Reuven Rivlin
  • Rabbi Adin Steinsaltz

2018

  • Ido Dissentshik
  • Dr. Fabiola Gianotti
  • Ellen Merlo
  • Sir Paul Nurse
  • Eric Stupp
  • Prof. Marc Van Montagu

2017

  • Peter Jenni
  • Milvia Perinot
  • Yoni Rechter
  • Heather Reisman
  • Gerald W. Schwartz
  • Mortimer B. Zuckerman

2016

  • Jean-Pierre Changeux
  • Stephen Grand
  • Agi Mishol
  • Michael O. Rabin
  • Sami Sagol
  • Laura Wolfson Townsley

2015

  • Shlomo Bar
  • Miel de Botton
  • Claude Cohen-Tanoudji
  • Serge Haroche
  • Pascal Olivier Mantoux
  • Lord Winston

2014

  • Marvin Cohen
  • Stanley Fischer
  • Lia Koenig
  • Jesse Roth
  • Simon Schama
  • Herbert Winter

2013

  • David Azrieli
  • Daniel Barenboim
  • Harry B. Gray
  • Bertrand J. Halperin
  • David Lopatie
  • Helga Nowotny
  • Luis Stillmann

2012

  • Justice Dorit Beinisch 
  • René Braginsky
  • Ronald Daniel
  • Shimshon Harel
  • George Klein

2011

  • Chava Alberstein
  • Klaus von Klitzing
  • Martin D. Paisner
  • Murray Perahia
  • Alexander Pines
  • Baroness Ariane de Rothschild

2010

  • Pennie Abramson
  • Shlomo Avineri
  • Patricia Gruber
  • Yossie Hollander
  • Hannah Kehat
  • Abraham B. Yehoshua

2009

  • Gila Almagor
  • Abraham Ben-Naftali
  • Solo Dwek
  • Michael E. Fisher
  • David Grossman
  • Hilda Lewis
  • Shimon Peres
  • Stef Wertheimer

2008

  • Dvora Ben Dror
  • Aaron Ciechanover
  • Ernst Cramer
  • Robert Drake
  • Peter Goldreich
  • Rabbi David Hartmen 
  • Donald Kirk
  • Lorry I. Lokey
  • Helmut Schwarz
  • Joshua (Yehoshua) Sobol
  • Elie Wiesel

2007

  • Arie Lova Eliav
  • Avram Hershko
  • Eric R. Kandel 
  • Christiane Nüsslein-Volhard
  • Jehuda Reinharz

2006

  • Yevgeny Arye
  • Joseph Gurwin
  • Prof. Herbert Jäckle
  • Morris Kahn
  • Jeanne Nissim
  • Amos Oz

2005

  • L. Yehuda Bronicki
  • Prof. Charles A. Dinarello, MD
  • Sir Harry Djanogly, CBE 
  • Justice Dalia Dorner
  • Prof. Joshua Jortner

2004

  • Robert A. Belfer
  • Justice Miriam Ben-Porat
  • Stanley Chais
  • Prof. Sir Alan R. Fersht, FRS
  • Prof. Richard M. Karp
  • Senator Mitch McConnell
  • Ohad Naharin

2003

  • Eli Amir
  • Prof. Allen J. Bard
  • Prof. Sir Michael V. Berry
  • Prof. Mildred S. Dresselhaus
  • Alan Fischer
  • Prof. Albert J. Libchaber

2002

  • Dr. Rita R. Colwell
  • Abraham M. Goldwasser
  • Dani Karavan
  • Joshua Maor
  • Hubert S. Markl
  • Theodore H. Teplow

2001

  • Robert H. Asher
  • Lawrence S. Blumberg
  • William M. Davidson
  • Sidney D. Drell
  • Maurizio M. Dwek
  • Rabbi Abraham E. Firer
  • Arnold J. Levine
  • Maxime Schwartz
  • Alice Shalvi
  • Evelyn Tenenbaum

2000

  • Yehuda Amichai
  • Erica Drake Mayer
  • Lea Nikel
  • Raoul de Picciotto
  • Wolf Bernhard Servatius

1999

  • Shulamit Aloni
  • Akito Arima
  • Nella Benoziyo
  • Maks Birnbach
  • Stuart Eizenstat
  • Helmut Kohl
  • Riccardo Muti
  • Bert Sakmann
  • Leon Schidlow
  • Naomi Shemer

1998

  • David D. Baltimore
  • Edith Cresson
  • Jean-Marie Lehn
  • Manfred D. Moross
  • Alexandra Poljakoff-Mayber
  • Albert Willner

1997

  • Josef Burg
  • Shoshana Damari
  • Martin S. Kimmel
  • Walter Kohn
  • Sara Mayer
  • Robert Neter

1996

  • Ted Arison
  • Berthold Beitz
  • Sir Aaron Klug 
  • Orna Porat
  • Hans Zacher

1995

  • Gershon Kekst
  • Melvin Schwartz S.
  • Maxine Singer
  • Donald Sussman

1994

  • Y. Leon Benoziyo
  • Samy Cohn
  • Eli Hurvitz
  • Simone Mallah
  • Rowland Schaefer
  • Ezer Weizman
  • Alejandro Zaffaroni

1993

  • George S. Hammond
  • James Heineman
  • Ilse Katz
  • Charles Mérieux
  • Shalom Rosenfeld
  • The Hon. David Sieff

1992

  • Norman D. Cohen
  • Jack D. Dunitz
  • Martha Laub
  • Alexander Rich
  • Harry Zvi Tabor
  • The Baroness Thatcher of Kesteven

1991

  • Azaria Alon
  • H. Thomas Beck
  • Hurbert Curien
  • Jean Dausset
  • Uzia Galil
  • Lilian Hertzberg
  • Dan Mayer
  • Hans A. Weidenmüller

1990

  • Lester Crown
  • Adolf Ebner
  • Henny Gestetner
  • Abraham Ginzburg
  • Maurice Goldschleger
  • N. Avrion Mitchison
  • Sir David C. Phillips
  • Yizhar Smilanski

1989

  • Aharon Barak
  • John Polyani
  • Baruj Benacerraf
  • Heinz F. Riesenhuber
  • Robert W. Kasten

1988

  • Mildred Cohn
  • Israel Pollak
  • Pierre-Gilles de Gennes
  • Earl R. Stadman
  • Chaim Gvati
  • Lord Wolfson
  • Francois Mitterand

1987

  • Victor Brailovsky
  • Sir James Lighthill
  • Ilona Feher
  • George P. Schultz
  • Martin D. Kamen
  • Meir Shamgar
  • Helen Kimmelman (Kimmel)
  • Frank H. Westheimer

1986

  • Teddy Kollek
  • Moshe Porath
  • Leo Picard
  • Bernard Pullman

1985

  • Ayala Zacks Abramov
  • Samuel W. Lewis
  • Vivien Clore Duffield
  • Charles Lubin
  • Francois Gros
  • Benjamin Mazar
  • Hans Hilger Haunschild
  • Vladimir Prelog
  • Chaim Herzog
  • Ronald Reagan
  • Niels K. Jerne
  • Steven Weinberg
  • James F. Kay
  • Richard von Weizsacker

1984

  • Abraham Harman
  • Frank Press
  • Ludwig Jesselson
  • John Ross
  • Daniel Koshland
  • Heinz Staab
  • Yitzhak Navon
  • Lewis Thomas

1983

  • Mordecai Ardon
  • Zubin Mehta
  • Raymond Aron
  • Francis H. Ruddle
  • Ezra Danin
  • Andrei Dimitrievich Sakharov
  • Ernest I. Japhet

1982

  • Yehuda Assia
  • Elvin A. Kabat
  • Haim Cohen
  • Alfred Kastler
  • Regina Feigl
  • Severo Ochoa
  • Francois Jacob
  • Shmuel Sambursky

1981

  • Angel Faivovich

1980

  • Rudolf M. Bloch
  • Ephraim Urbach
  • Jimmy Carter
  • Veit Wyler
  • Morris L. Levinson

1979

  • Sir Derek Barton
  • Derrick Kleeman
  • Menachem Begin
  • Hermann Mayer
  • Josef Cohn
  • Joseph Meyerhoff
  • Aryeh Dvoretzky
  • Sol Spiegelman
  • Sir Bernard Katz

1978

  • Hans A. Bethe
  • Rita Levi-Montalcini
  • Aage Bohr
  • Abraham Levin
  • Adolpho Bloch
  • Marshall W. Nirenberg

1977

  • Marc Chagall
  • Harold Wilson
  • Henry Kissinger

1976

  • Maurice Boukstein
  • Murray B. Koffler
  • Paul J. Flory
  • Artur Rubinstein
  • Gerhard Herzberg
  • Ada Sereni
  • Ephraim Katzir
  • Simone Veil

1975

  • Arnold R. Meyer

1973

  • Willy Brandt

1964

  • Meyer W. Weisgal