Eyal Veldman shares his feelings about the disqualification of the Israel Prize in the Knesset/Knesset Channel
The Minister of Education, Yoav Kish, announced today (Thursday) that Professor Zvi Maza, a researcher at Tel Aviv University in the field of theoretical astrophysics and observational astronomy, is the recipient of the Israel Prize in the field of physics research for the year 2018.
Zvi Maza said wow! Following the win: I am very excited and proud. I still can't digest. I am 78 years old, 40 years ago I started doing these things. This is the most important award in Israel. I am glad that the award committee recognized the achievements and the things I found. I was lucky to be in the right places and at the right time, and a little effort.
Prof. Maza has been a researcher of planets outside the solar system since 1984, when the idea of looking for extrasolar planets was considered esoteric at the time, and even bordered on science fiction. He was one of the few who estimated that giant planets might be found very close to their parent stars. Throughout his career His research, Zvi Maza led to the development of computational methods and advanced research tools for double stars and extrasolar planets.
The award committee stated in its reasoning that Professor Maza's methodological synthesis led to the discovery of extrasolar planets while developing flattening analysis, which became standard methods in the field. The committee also stated in its reasoning that these achievements give Professor Maza global recognition as one of the founding fathers of the field of exoplanets Shamshiyot, which is at the forefront of global research in astrophysics.
The final list of winners includes 13 men and two women. This is the lowest ratio since 2015, when one winner was chosen compared to eight men.