Israel Prize Awarded to TAU Scientist for Innovations in Water Research
Friday, January 18, 2013

TAU's Prof. Emeritus Gideon Dagan wins Israel's top honor

Prof. Emeritus Gideon Dagan of Tel Aviv University's School of Mechanical Engineering is the recipient of the 2012 Israel Prize for Earth Science. The prize, which will be awarded at a April 2013 ceremony on the eve of Israel's Independence Day, honors his outstanding career and groundbreaking research in the field of hydraulics.

The Israel Prize Committee called Prof. Dagan one of the forefathers of the discipline of Stochastic Hydrology, which uses statistical methods to analyze and predict various field scale processes including groundwater pollution.

Education Minister Gideon Sa'ar praised Prof. Dagan's scientific contributions, saying that his work aids in Israel's understanding of available groundwater resources. Prof. Dagan's research will help scientists develop models to better manage Israel's precious groundwater in the years to come.

The future of water security

Prof. Dagan's stochastic models and analysis aid in the understanding of how groundwater moves across the Earth's topsoil layer. This data can be used to prevent groundwater contamination as well as contribute to water conservation efforts in Israel and across the globe. The situation is especially dire in the Middle East, says Israel's Energy and Water Minister Uzi Landau, who predicts that water in the region will become more valuable than oil considering the rapid population growth.

A prolific author, Prof. Dagan has published over 165 scientific articles over his career and has more than 6,000 citations. He has also lectured at top academic institutions worldwide.

Tel Aviv University is proud to number 73 recipients of the Israel Prize among its faculty. The prizes are given every year by the state of Israel to those who have displayed excellence in their fields of study or made a strong contribution to Israeli culture.

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