Dan Shechtman

Professor Dan Shrectman is the Philip Tobias Professor of Materials Science at Technion-Israel Institute of Technology, Associate at the US Department of Energy's Ames Laboratory, and Professor of Materials Science at Iowa State University. In 1981-1983, he was on Sabbatical at the Johns Hopkins University, where he studied rapidly solidified aluminum transition metal alloys (joint program with NBS). During this study he discovered the Icosahedral Phase which opened the new field of quasiperiodic crystals. He is known for his discovery of quasi-crystalline matter for which he was awarded the Noble Prize in Chemistry (2011). His current research includes deformation mechanisms in ductile B2 intermetallic compounds; development of novel magnesium alloys for various applications; microstructure and mechanical properties of titanium aluminides; microstructure and properties of rapidly solidified metallic alloys; the discovery of the Icosahedral Phase, the first quasi-periodic phase, its crystallography and some of its properties; nucleation and growth of CVD diamond films; development of new magnesium alloys. He initiated and taught a course on entrepreneurialship for many years, with a colleague, Shlomo Maital. This course attracts hundreds of students per year and brings in entrepreneurs from industry to lecture. The course has resulted in the book Technological Entrepreneurship in Israel (1996). Additionally, Shrectman is a promoter of science education in Israel, which led him to speak with Prime Minister Netanyahu about the importance of financial support for science at the university level. His honors include the Wolf Prize in Physics (1999), elected member of the European Academy of Sciences (2004), elected member of the American National Academy of Engineering, and elected member of the Israel Academy of Sciences (1996).