2012 Honorary Doctorate Recipients

Ronald Raphael Coifman

Ronald Coifman is the Phillips Professor of Mathematics and a professor of computer science at Yale University. Coifman gained his PhD from the University of Geneva in 1965, and joined the Yale faculty in 1980. He is a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, the Connecticut Academy of Science and Engineering, and the US National Academy of Sciences. He is largely credited for formulating wavelet theory, the applications of which now appear in a broad range of scientific fields, including compression, signal and image processing, noise removal from images and the solving of differential equations. Coifman is a recipient of the 1996 DARPA Sustained Excellence Award, the 1996 Connecticut Science Medal, the 1999 Pioneer Award of the International Society for Industrial and Applied Science, and the 1999 National Medal of Science. He has had strong ties with Tel Aviv University since the 1970s, as both a visiting scientist and a supporter of young TAU researchers and graduate students.

Yehoram Gaon

Born in Jerusalem in 1939, Yehoram Gaon embarked on his artistic career in 1957 when he joined the IDF Nahal Troupe as a singer and actor. He continued on this path in the Ha’Tarnegolim Troupe and later in the Gesher Ha’Yarkon Trio, one of the most successful vocal ensembles in Israel’s history. In 1966, while studying television directing and acting in the United States, Gaon was called upon to return to Israel and play the role of Kazablan in the musical of the same name – an iconic role that cemented his place in Israel’s cultural annals. Gaon has recorded 62 albums featuring hundreds of songs by Israel’s top poets and composers, and has played a key role in the revival of liturgical Ladino poetry. He also edits and hosts radio shows, appears as a television personality and performs public service and community work. He was awarded the Israel Prize in 2004 for his contribution to Israeli song, and is a Distinguished Citizen and a former City Council Member of Jerusalem.

Jörg Hacker

Jörg Hacker was elected President of the Leopoldina, Germany’s National Academy of Sciences, in March 2010. Born in Germany in 1952, Hacker studied biology at Martin Luther University, specializing in genetics and microbiology. After completing post-doctoral research at the University of Würzburg in 1986, Hacker remained there, becoming director of the Institute for Molecular Infection Biology in 1993. He is best known for his research on the genomics of pathogenic bacteria, and was the first to discover “pathogenicity islands,” groups of genes in the bacterial genome that are responsible for the ability of microorganisms to cause disease. He is a former Vice President of the German Research Foundation and former President of the Robert Koch Institute in Berlin. Hacker is a member of numerous professional societies, including the exclusive European Molecular Biology Organization, and is a former president of the European Academy of Microbiology. He holds honorary degrees from Umeå University, Sweden; the University of Hyderabad, India; and the University of Pecs, Hungary. He has been a visiting researcher at the Pasteur Institute, France, and a guest lecturer at Tel Aviv University’s Mortimer and Raymond Sackler Institute of Advanced Studies.

Maureen Lipman
Maureen Lipman was born in Yorkshire, England, to a family of Jewish immigrants. After completing her studies at the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art, she embarked on her stage career in 1967. Since then, she has participated in countless films, plays and television series, including serving as a member of the Royal National Theatre for a period under the artistic direction of Sir Laurence Olivier. Lipman has been both host and regular guest on radio shows, has written columns and articles published in The Guardian and other British newspapers, and is a member of the editorial board of Jewish Renaissance magazine. She has engaged in philanthropic work on behalf of Myeloma UK and a number of political organizations, and is particularly known for her contribution to the UK campaign for the democratization of Burma and her support of scholarships for Burmese students. She has received numerous accolades for her work, most notably the Commander of the British Empire (CBE) in 1999.

Miles S. Nadal
Entrepreneur and philanthropist Miles Nadal is the founder, chairman and CEO of MDC Partners Inc., one of the world’s largest international marketing and communications conglomerates with over 35 holdings. Other companies he has founded include First Asset Management Inc., one of Canada’s largest independent asset management firms, and Peerage Capital, a private equity firm. Nadal is an active member of G100, a private group of chief executive officers of the world's largest and most significant companies. He is active in many organizations within the Toronto Jewish community, and is a major benefactor of health, education and child welfare causes. Nadal has received dozens of awards for his contributions to society, among them the Human Relations Award (2001) and the UJA Federation of Greater Toronto Harold Lederman Award for Outstanding Community Service and Philanthropic Leadership (2007). Nadal is frequently invited to give guest lectures on entrepreneurship at universities throughout North America, and was recently keynote speaker at a Harvard Business School event. His recent commitment to supporting technological R&D at Tel Aviv University will enable speedier translation of scientific discoveries into life-improving products. 

Miki Nevo
Miki Nevo is the founder and director of Ma’ase–The Center for Young Volunteers in Israel’s Periphery. Born in Tel Aviv, Nevo gained undergraduate degrees from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem in mathematics, computer science and biology, and then attended the Mandel School for Educational Leadership in Jerusalem. He served as principal of the Misgav High School in the Galilee for six years, before becoming active in a range of educational projects in the north of Israel that opened his eyes to the widespread socio-economic hardship of the local residents. This spurred him to establish Ma’ase as a means of creating a sense of solidarity among the various groups that make up Israeli society based on a shared value of volunteerism. Ma’ase enables young Israelis from all backgrounds to work for a year within the community, study a variety of fields and develop their leadership skills. The organization employs 80 people and coordinates the service of 1,000 volunteers annually.

Robert D. Putnam
Robert Putnam is the Peter and Isabel Malkin Professor of Public Policy at Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government, where he also served as Dean and Director of the Center for International Affairs, among other roles. Putnam is best known for his book, Bowling Alone: The Collapse and Revival of American Community, which earned him broad recognition and popularity within the academic, public and political spheres. He is a member of the US National Academy of Sciences, a fellow of the British Academy, a member of the Council on Foreign Relations and a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. He is also a former staff member of the US National Security Council and former president of the American Political Science Association. Putnam has authored 12 books and numerous academic articles that have been published in 20 languages and are cited in scientific papers around the world.

Saviona Rotlevy
Born and raised in Israel, Saviona Rotlevy pursued legal studies at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. She was selected as a judge on the Tel Aviv and Central District Juvenile Court in 1978 and, in 1993, was appointed to the Tel Aviv District Court, eventually being appointed as vice president of that institution. In 1996, she was selected to chair the Rotlevy Committee, a public commission charged with reexamining Israeli legislation on children’s rights and ensuring Israel’s compliance with the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child. Rotlevy has established various forums that give a voice to the vulnerable and disempowered, among them the ELEM organization for at-risk youth in both Israel and the US, and serves as president of the Israeli Center for Rights of Crime Victims. She also founded the Israel Chapter of the International Association of Women Judges. She developed Israel’s first academic courses for child investigators and child protection officers at Tel Aviv University’s Bob Shapell School of Social Work, and has recently been involved in the curriculum of the MA Program in Child and Youth Culture at TAU’s Lester and Sally Entin Faculty of Humanities. Rotlevy received TAU’s Renata Adler Memorial Award for 2011 and was a 2011 Fellow of the Israel Bar Association.

Sami Sagol

Sami Sagol is one of Israel’s most prominent industrialists and philanthropists. Under his leadership, the Keter Group, which was founded by his father Joseph Sagol, has grown from a small workshop to a network of global companies and a world leader in the home improvement consumer products industry. The Group in general, and Sami personally, have garnered numerous awards for innovation, progress, social responsibility and exceptional achievements, among them Israel’s “Industry Prize” and the French Légion d'Honneur medal. In addition to his business activities, Sami, together with his wife, Tova, continue to enhance Israeli society through supporting initiatives that promote higher education, scientific excellence, coexistence and the bridging of social and economic gaps. Among these are “Mifalot,” a high-impact program that promotes youth development through sport and social education of 20,000 children, and “d-Vision,” a initiative that is nurturing excellence and developing the next generation of exceptional entrepreneurs, engineers and designers. In recent years, Sagol has focused some of his philanthropic endeavors on promoting brain research in Israel, supporting a range of major projects at Israeli universities, medical centers and corporations.

Helen Sarah Steyer
Helen Steyer grew up in Caracas, Venezuela, before pursuing her higher education in the United States, where she gained bachelor and master’s degrees in Spanish language and literature. Steyer has lived in San Francisco for the past 30 years, working as a principal translator, editor and proposal coordinator for an international civil engineering design firm. She has also served as a university lecturer and freelance interpreter. Steyer has been a Tel Aviv University Governor since 1990, although her ties with the University began in 1984, along with her late father, Stanley. Together with her brother, Thomas, Helen is an active and committed philanthropist who supports a broad range of projects in the US and Israel, including at Tel Aviv University.

Thomas Mark Steyer

Thomas Steyer grew up in Caracas, Venezuela, moving to the United States to pursue an undergraduate degree in business from Adelphi University and an MBA from the City University of New York. Steyer then returned to Caracas, where he spent the next 30 years as General Manager of the family businesses, Vista CA and Inmobiliaria Toladis CA. In 1999, he relocated to Florida to run the family’s international real estate corporation. Steyer is an engaged philanthropist who, together with his sister, Helen, has adopted a hands-on approach to his involvement in a broad range of projects in the US and Israel, including at Tel Aviv University. He has been a member of the TAU Board of Governors since 1990, although his ties with the University began in 1984 together with his late father, Stanley, in whose name TAU’s School of Health Professions is dedicated.