The Bentor Award and The Bentor Lecture

 

Yaakov Bentor was born in 1910 as Kurt Winter in Konigsberg (then Germany, presently Russia). He studied Law, Linguistics and Physics and in 1933 he moved to Jerusalem, changed his name to Bentor and joined Prof. Y.L. Picard in the first years of the Geology Department. He returned to Europe for further studies and investigated the volcanic rocks of the Massif Central. World War II broke out just before he was awarded his Ph.D (which he received Summa cum Laude in 1945). Back in Jerusalem, he completed a second Ph.D on the dolomites of the Jerusalem Mountains, and became the first Ph.D in Geology of the Hebrew University.

In 1948 Bentor first joined the Science Unit of the IDF (HEMED) and studied the Timna copper deposit and the Negev Phosphorites as part of his studies that grew into the Geological Mapping of the Negev, for which Bentor and Vroman were awarded the Israel Prize in 1955. In 1953, Bentor was appointed as the Chief of the Geological Survey and later as the chairman of the Department of Geology at the Hebrew University. After the Six-Day War, he embarked on the second major project of his life: mapping the Sinai Peninsula.

After retirement Bentor moved to La Jolla, California, where he joined his wife Prof. Miriam Kastner. He died in La Jolla in 2002 and was buried in Jerusalem.

Yaakov Bentor guided several tens of graduate students many of which became leading figures in Israeli Geology. He was an inspiring teacher and a superb scientific leader. The mineral Bentorite was named in his honor.

 

 

Year	Bentor Lecturers	Bentor Awards Recipients
2018	Dr. Richard W. Carlson	Mr. Ido Sirota
2017	Prof. Claude Jaupart	Dr. Shahar Shani-Kadmiel
2016	Prof. Roberta Rudnick	Dr. Shalev Siman-Tov
2015	Prof. Gideon Henderson	Dr. Uri Ryb
2014	Prof. John Valley	Dr. Yael Kiro
2013	Prof. Marc Hirschmann	Dr. Yoav Rosenberg
2012	Prof. Jay Quade	Dr. Navot Morag
2011	Prof. Wolf Berger	Dr. Onn Crouvi
2010	Prof. Wally Broecker	Dr. Adi Torfstein
2009	Prof. Xavier Le Pichon	Dr. Yaron Beeri
2008	Dr. Gideon Steinitz	Dr. Yoram Katz
2007	Prof. Robert Garrison	Dr. Uri Schattner
2006		Dr. Revital Bookman
2005		Dr. Tsafrir Levi
2004		Dr. Yuval Bartov
2003		Dr. Ari Matmon

 

 

 

 

זוכי הפרס:

 

 

  

 

 

2019	בן דור יואב + ויינר שלומי
2018	מלצר עמית + דרבסי יניב
2017	סירוטה עידו
2016	אלעזר עודד
2015	עבו אבישי
2014	רינת יאיר + שלו נטע
2013	שלו סימן טוב
2012	זלטקין אולגה
2011	יקי וייס
2010	קורזון איתי – דוק 2000
2009	רון שער – דוק
2008	אליסה קייגן - דוק
2007	אורי ריב + תמי זילברמן
2006	מורג נבות + עפרה שטרן
2005	איתי חביב + ירדן מקייטן
2004	קרן קולודנר + עפרה קליין
2003	יורם כץ + אמיר שגיא
2002	כרובי און + קן-תור רויטל
2001	שקד יוני + ברטוב יובל
2000	זפרן שרה + מושקין עמית
1999	מטמון ארי + סטניסלבסקי איל
1998	אבלסון מאיר
1997	לנסקי נדב