Our new Doctors of Philosophy, honoris causa

In a special session of the Annual General Meeting, the Weizmann Institute recognized the achievements of six people whose contributions to society resonate beyond their own fields of activity, by bestowing on them the Institute’s highest honor, the degree of Doctor of Philosophy honoris causa.

Shlomo Bar is an Israeli composer, drummer, and social activist and a pioneer of ethnic music in Israel. He has created musical continuity between past and present, in his words, “a link in the chain that connects my parents to my children.” He was born in Rabat, Morocco, in 1943 and came to Israel at the age of six. He founded one of Israel’s most innovative musical bands, HaBrera HaTiveet (The Natural Choice).

Prof. Claude Cohen-Tannoudji is known for developing the theoretical framework that explains the laser-cooling of atoms. This work has enabled their study with great detail and paved the way toward ever-smaller electronic components, improved space navigation, and more precise measurement of gravitational forces. He received the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1997 with Steven Chu and William Daniel Phillips. He was born in Constatine, Algeria, and has spent his life in France.

Miel de Botton is a clinical psychologist, a contemporary art collector, a munificent philanthropist, and a singer-songwriter. She was born in Zurich and lives in London. Her father, Gilbert de Botton, was a strong supporter of the Weizmann Institute. At the Weizmann Institute, Ms. Botton established the de Botton Institute for Protein Profiling at the Nancy and Stephen Grand Israel National Center for Personalized Medicine, and the de Botton Center for Marine Science.

Prof. Serge Haroche is a quantum physicist who actualized Albert Einstein’s dream of isolating and studying individual protons without destroying them. By enabling quantification and control of fragile quantum states, he has tested the field of quantum mechanics at its most fundamental level, opening the way to harnessing it for applications in quantum computing. A citizen of France, he received the Nobel Prize in Physics in 2012.

Pascal Olivier Mantoux has held various senior management positions for several global corporations and lives in France and Israel. He is a member of the Executive and International Boards of the Weizmann Institute and serves on several management committees. With his wife, Ilana, he has given generously to the Weizmann Institute, including establishing the Ilana and Pascal Mantoux Institute for Bioinformatics at the Nancy and Stephen Grand Israel National Center for Personalized Medicine, supporting scientific collaborations with Sheba Medical Center, and funding the research of Dr. Jacob Hanna of the Department of Molecular Genetics.

Prof. Lord Winston is a world-renowned fertility expert, an acclaimed author, and one of Britain’s best-known faces of science. He is a pioneer of in-vitro fertilization and treatment of female reproductive diseases. And he is a passionate believer in science education and a gifted communicator of science to the public, through popular science books, TV programs, and lectures. He was born and grew up in England. He was made Baron Winston of Hammersmith in 1995 and is an active member of the House of Lords. He is a Professor of Science and Society and Emeritus Professor of Fertility Studies at Imperial College London. He is chancellor of Sheffield Hallam University and chairman of the Council of the Royal College of Music.