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Chaim Elata

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Chaim Elata
חיים אילתה
Born1929
NationalityIsraeli
Alma materTechnion Israel Institute of Technology (Master's Degree '57; Doctorate of Science '61)
OccupationProfessor of mechanical engineering
Known forPresident of Ben-Gurion University of the Negev; Chairman of the Israel Public Utility Authority for Electricity

Chaim Elata (חיים אילתה) is an Israeli professor emeritus of mechanical engineering, and former president of Ben-Gurion University of the Negev. He is also the former chairman of the Israel Public Utility Authority for Electricity.

Biography

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When Elata was 13 years old and living in the Netherlands, the Nazis invaded.[1] They took away his father and stepmother.[1] Elata immigrated to Palestine in the late 1940s and worked as a kibbutz truck driver.[2]

Elata graduated from the Technion Israel Institute of Technology, receiving a master's degree in 1957, and a Doctorate of Science in 1961.[3] In 1973, he married Gerda Elata-Alster [de].

Academic career

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Elata is a professor emeritus of mechanical engineering, and former president of Ben-Gurion University of the Negev.[4][5][6] In 1961 he became an associate professor at the Technion.[3] He then joined Ben-Gurion University of the Negev in 1974 as the head of the Mechanical Engineering Department and the dean of the Faculty of Engineering Sciences.[3] He left Ben-Gurion University for a short period of time in order to serve as the chief scientist for the Israeli Ministry of Energy and Infrastructure.[3] In 1984 he returned to Ben-Gurion University to serve as Rector.[3] He was then elected president in 1985, following Shlomo Gazit, serving until 1990 when he was succeeded by Avishay Braverman.[3]

Public positions

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Elata was the head of the Israel Public Utility Authority for Electricity's administration from 1995 until 1996, and chairman of the authority from 1996 until 2001.[7] He was the chief scientist of the Energy Ministry and founder of Hydronautics.[8]

References

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  1. ^ a b Stump, Eleonore (2012). Wandering in Darkness: Narrative and the Problem of Suffering. OUP Oxford. ISBN 978-0-19-105631-4 – via Google Books.
  2. ^ "Zionism's Pioneer Spirit Lost in the Vast Negev". Los Angeles Times. June 14, 1986.
  3. ^ a b c d e f "Ben-Gurion University of the Negev - Former Presidents". in.bgu.ac.il. Archived from the original on 2021-01-21. Retrieved 2020-01-07.
  4. ^ "Northern California Jewish Bulletin". San Francisco Jewish Community Publications, Incorporated. April 7, 1990 – via Google Books.
  5. ^ "Grapevine: New president at BGU". The Jerusalem Post.
  6. ^ "Chaim Elata | Ben Gurion University of the Negev". bgu.academia.edu.
  7. ^ "The Chairperson of the Public Utility Authority – Electricity," pua.gov.il.
  8. ^ When Israel Housed Top Scientists in a Transit Camp Deep in the Woods, Haaretz
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