Yitzhak Apeloig (יצחק אפלויג; born 1 September 1944 in Uzbekistan[2]) is a pioneer in the computational chemistry field of the Ab initio quantum chemistry methods for predicting and preparing the physical and chemical properties of materials.[3] He was the president of the Technion from 2001 until 2009 where the position was handed off to Peretz Lavie. Distinguished Prof. Apeloig currently holds the Joseph Israel Freund Chair in Chemistry and is the co-director of the Lise Meitner Minerva Center for Computational Quantum Chemistry at the Technion. He served as dean of the Faculty of Chemistry from 1995 to 1999, where he was named Teacher of the Year at three occasions.
During his Technion presidency, Apeloig recruited more than 150 elite scholars and scientists worldwide to the Technion.[4] He also established a number of interdisciplinary research centers such as the Russell Berrie Nanotechnology Institute. He also established the Lorry I. Lokey Interdisciplinary Center for Life Sciences and Engineering. In 2010 was inducted to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.[4] The same year he also became a recipient of the Frederic Stanley Kipping Award in Silicon Chemistry.[5]
Apeloig was born in Bukhara, Uzbekistan[2][6] after his family fled from the Nazis after the invasion of Poland in September 1939. In 1947, when he was three years old, the family immigrated to Israel.[6] He served in the Nahal Brigade and the paratroopers between 1962 and 1964. He studied chemistry and physics at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, and completed his undergraduate (receiving his BA in physics and chemistry in 1967, and his masters in 1969) and graduate education there, including a Ph.D. in chemistry in 1974.[6] He conducted postdoctoral research at Princeton University with Paul v. R. Schleyer and collaborated with Nobel Laureate John A. Pople.[6] Apeloig joined the faculty of the Technion in 1976 and in 1983 he was appointed professor. He became the dean of the Faculty of Chemistry in 1995 until 2001 when he became the president of the Technion, replacing Amos Lapidot.[7] In 2009 he was followed as President by Peretz Lavie.[7]
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