The “Topology and Physics on Mount Carmel” conference was dedicated to Prof. Emeritus Joshua Zak, winner of the 2022 Israel Prize and a member of the Faculty of Physics. As part of the event, a special session was held in Prof. Zak’s honor. The Technion’s Faculty of Physics organized the conference. According to the organizers, Prof. Eric Akkermans and Prof. Ari Turner, topology is an elegant field of mathematics that allows one to describe geometrical forms, wherever they occur, and the conference is designed to bring together many of the physicists who contribute creatively to the topology revolution in condensed matter physics, a field in which Prof. Zak is one of the leading pioneers.
Technion President Prof. Uri Sivan told Prof. Zak from the stage that “This is a very special moment for me. When I joined the Technion in 1991, one of my first scientific conversations was with you, in your office. Last year, when you won the Israel Prize, I had the privilege of participating in the ceremony as the Technion’s president.” The president of the Technion told the audience that Prof. Zak is a scientific scion of a distinguished line of physicists: “He did his doctorate at the faculty under the guidance of the late Prof. Nathan Rosen, who was the assistant of Prof. Albert Einstein, so Zak is Einstein’s scientific grandson. Happily, we also have a fourth generation in the faculty – Prof. Yosi Avron, who completed his doctorate under the guidance of Prof. Rosen and is therefore Einstein’s scientific great-grandson.” The Israel Prize was given to Prof. Zak last year for ““the development of mathematical tools such as the Zak Transform and the Zak Phase for the study of quantum phenomena in crystalline solids. These tools allow for the prediction of materials with unique properties to build electronic devices.” The prize committee further emphasized that “his scientific contributions serve, and will continue to serve, in gaining an understanding of materials physics.” The dean of the Faculty of Physics, Prof. Adi Nusser, thanked Prof. Zak for his work and said that he is the second researcher from the Faculty of Physics to receive the Israel Prize.
Joshua Zak, who celebrated his 93rd birthday in September, was born in Vilna in June 1929. When he was 12 years old, he was sent to the ghetto and later spent time in concentration camps, years during which he lost both of his parents and two of his siblings. Later he began studying physics at the University of Vienna and graduated with honors in 1955. In 1957 he had the opportunity to immigrate to Israel, an opportunity he refused to miss. After a short time, he was accepted to the Technion and continued his studies here. In 1960, Zak earned a Doctor of Science degree, spent time at MIT, then returned to the Technion and began teaching in the Faculty of Physics. Ten years later he was one of the founders of the Technion’s Solid State Institute, which he headed.
Prof. Joshua Zak from the Faculty of Physics received the Israel Prize for “the development of mathematical tools such as the Zak Transform and the Zak Phase for the study of quantum phenomena in crystalline solids. These tools allow for the prediction of materials with unique properties to build electronic devices… His scientific contributions serve, and will continue to serve, in gaining an understanding of materials physics.” He is also known worldwide for his Magnetic Translation Group research.