Margaret Atwood, Giorgio Napolitano and Leonard Kleinrock Among 2010 Dan David Prize Winners
Monday, February 22, 2010

Three $1 million awards to be presented in May ceremony at TAU

Renowned Canadian novelist Margaret Atwood, President of the Republic of Italy Giorgio Napolitano, and "Father of the Internet" Leonard Kleinrock are among the winners of the 2010 Dan David Prize, which annually awards three prizes of $1 million each for outstanding achievement.

The laureates, who donate 10% of their prize money towards 20 doctoral and postdoctoral Tel Aviv University scholarships, will be honoured at a ceremony on May 9, 2010, at the university, in the presence of Shimon Peres, the President of the State of Israel.

The Dan David Prize is named after international businessman and philanthropist Dan David. Its international headquarters are located at Tel Aviv University.

The 2010 Dan David Prize laureates, in the Past, Present and Future Time Dimensions, are:

Past — in the field of "March Towards Democracy":

Giorgio Napolitano, President of the Republic of Italy, for his dedication to the cause of Parliamentary democracy, thereby contributing to a strengthening of democratic values and institutions in Italy and Europe; and for his courage and intellectual integrity which have been crucial in healing the wounds of the Cold War in Europe, as well as the scars left in Italy in the wake of fascism.

Present — in the field of "Literature — Rendition of the 20th Century":

Margaret Atwood, for being a versatile and prolific writer who in her novels has explored both Canadian and transnational issues of the twentieth century, such as colonization, feminism, structures of political power and oppression, and the violation and exploitation of nature.

Amitav Ghosh, for his novels which offer a panoramic treatment of twentieth-century history from a postcolonial perspective and a transnational understanding of the self seen as the intersection of the many identities produced by the collision of languages and cultures.

Future — in the field of "Computers and Telecommunications":

Prof. Leonard Kleinrock (University of California, Los Angeles, USA), for his seminal research contributions in communication networks, establishing the fundamental principles upon which many of the most important aspects of information communications and the Internet are based.

Prof. Michael Rabin (Harvard University, USA/Hebrew University, Israel), for his major research results, which have had a significant impact on the shape of computer and communication technology today and in the years to come, and in particular for his work on ways to improve privacy and create unbreakable ways to encrypt data, making secrecy, privacy and protection ever more crucial to society.

Dr. Gordon Moore (Woodside, California, USA), for his remarkable intuition leading him to proclaim "Moore's Law," which has become the guiding principle for the semiconductor industry to deliver ever-more-powerful chips while decreasing the cost of electronics, and for his co-founding of the outstanding microprocessor pioneer, Intel.