Technion's Harvey Prize Awarded to Professors Paul B. Corkum and Jon M. Kleinberg
Monday, April 28, 2014
By: Jennifer Frey

The Technion-Israel Institute of Technology's prestigious Harvey Prize was awarded on Tuesday April 8, to Professors Paul B. Corkum and Jon M. Kleinberg.

Professor Paul Corkum, of the Joint Laboratory for Attosecond Science, University of Ottawa, has been a leader and pioneer in the field of ultrafast laser spectroscopy. For two decades he has been the main source of the powerful insights that lie behind many of the recent advances in this field. He is known primarily for his remarkable contributions to the field of high harmonic generation and for his ability to create intuitive models for very complex phenomena, which enabled him to make the advances that created the exciting field of attosecond spectroscopy.

(l to r) Harvey Prize recipients Professor Paul Corkum of the University of Ottawa and Professor Jon. M Kleinberg of Cornell University with Technion Professor Wayne Kaplan, Dean of the Department of Materials Science and Engineering, who served as the evening's Master of Ceremonies.

Professor Jon M. Kleinberg from Cornell University was awarded the prize for his seminal contributions and leadership in the newly emerging science of information networks, including his groundbreaking work on characterizing the structure of the World Wide Web in terms of hubs and authorities, his analysis of the “small-world” phenomena, and his work on influence propagation in networks.

A message was read at the ceremony from American Technion Society President Scott Leemaster congratulating the honorees. “The Harvey Prize rewards not just our Technion scientists, but scientists around the world. It applauds the partnership and collaboration between disciplines and researchers that make the breathtaking scientific progress we’re witnessing possible. Professors Paul B. Corkum and Jon M. Kleinberg are among those who share the gifts of science — achieved through decades of hard, tenacious work — with the world.”

The Harvey Prize was first awarded in 1972 by the Foundation established by the late Leo M. Harvey from Los Angeles, to recognize significant contributions in the advancement of humankind in the areas of science and technology, human health and peace in the Middle East. Each year it awards prizes in the amount of $75,000 to each award winner.

An article he published in the February 2014 Issue of CSCW (Computer-Supported Cooperative Work) raised much debate. It discussed the question: Is it possible to identify through our social network profile on Facebook who would be our partner?

The prestigious Harvey Prize has been awarded to scientists from the United States, Britain, Russia, Sweden, France and Israel, among them Nobel Laureate Mikhail Gorbachev, former leader of the USSR, awarded the Harvey Prize in appreciation of his seminal initiatives and policies to lessen regional tensions; Nobel Laureate in Medicine, Professor Bert Sakmann; Nobel Laureate in Physics, Professor Pierre-Gilles de Gennes, Professor Edward Teller for his discoveries in solid state physics, atomic and nuclear energy; and Professor William J. Kolff  for his invention of the artificial kidney.

Harvey Prize winners are selected by a council of world-renowned scientists and personalities from Israel and around the world. Award winners are chosen by the Harvey Prize Committee following a rigorous selection process at the Technion.

The Technion-Israel Institute of Technology is a major source of the innovation and brainpower that drives the Israeli economy, and a key to Israel’s renown as the world’s “Start-Up Nation.” Its three Nobel Prize winners exemplify academic excellence. Technion people, ideas and inventions make immeasurable contributions to the world including life-saving medicine, sustainable energy, computer science, water conservation and nanotechnology. The Joan and Irwin Jacobs Technion-Cornell Innovation Institute is a vital component of Cornell NYC Tech, and a model for graduate applied science education that is expected to transform New York City’s economy.

American Technion Society (ATS) donors provide critical support for the Technion—more than $1.9 billion since its inception in 1940. Based in New York City, the ATS and its network of chapters across the U.S. provide funds for scholarships, fellowships, faculty recruitment and chairs, research, buildings, laboratories, classrooms and dormitories, and more.