Prof. Arie Zaban, flanked by Board of Trustees Chairman Michael Jesselson and Council of Trustees Chairman Dr. Lipa Meir, was presented with a scroll upon his installation as the eighth president of Bar-Ilan University. In his inaugural speech Prof. Zaban outlined the five pillars that will serve as the basis of BIU’s mission over the coming years: achieving higher international ranking, establishing multidisciplinary “Impact Centers,” revitalizing and modernizing academic instruction, expanding international activities, and transforming the university into the most relevant, diverse, lively, and exciting academic center of Judaism in Israel and the world.
“I hope that I will succeed in leading the university, hand in hand with all of you, in a way that will fulfill the expectations of its first president, Prof. Pinchas Churgin, as he wrote in a letter to David Ben-Gurion: ‘It will be an institution that will contribute immensely to the spiritual, cultural and scientific development of the country, and to strengthening the soul of our nation in the Diaspora,'” said Zaban.
The academic ceremony was held at the Leslie and Susan Gonda (Goldschmied) Nanotechnology Triplex, home of the Institute of Nanotechnology and Advanced Materials (BINA). Prof. Zaban is among the founders of BINA and served as its Director for seven years.
Born in 1961 Prof. Zaban served as a Phantom pilot in the Israel Air Force. He graduated with honors in chemistry from Bar-Ilan University and completed his doctorate with honors in 1995. Following his post-doctoral studies at the National Alternative Energy Laboratory in Denver, Colorado, Zaban returned to Bar-Ilan as a senior lecturer and served as the founding Director of BINA.
Until his appointment as President, he served as the university’s Vice President for Research. He has published hundreds of articles in leading scientific journals around the world and has garnered numerous awards for his scientific achievements. His research, mainly in the field of energy, has brought about the establishment of four start-up companies implementing eight of his patented inventions.
