Prof. Avishai Henik was officially awarded the FENS-Kavli Mentoring Prize yesterday (July 12, 2020) by the Federation of EuropeanNeuroscience Societies (FENS) which represents 44 European neuroscience
societies from 33 European countries. He was nominated by his students. There
is only one prize recipient a year. Dr. Pirta Hotulainen, Chair of the 2020
Selection Committee wrote, “We were overwhelmed with excellent applications and
although it was really tough to select only one, after many scoring rounds and
long discussion, we were all convinced that you are the one who should be
awarded.” She continued, “Congratulations….. Your commitment and efforts in
mentoring in neuroscience is an excellent model to others and greatly
appreciated.”
Prof. Avishai Henik is a world-renowned expert in psychology and cognitive
neuroscience. A former student of Nobel Laureate Prof. Daniel Kahneman, he is
one of the founders of the Zlotowski Center for Neuroscience and former Dean of
the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences. He studies numerical processing,
attention, word processing, and synesthesia with the aim to elucidate the basic
mental operations and brain structures involved in these processes.
In 2014, he was awarded the title "Distinguished Professor" by
the Rector and Senate of BGU and was only the third to be so recognized by the
University. The degree is bestowed upon someone who is renowned in the
international community in his field and who has contributed with ongoing
original research. He also received the BGU President's award for excellence in
research and was elected a fellow of the American Psychological Society.
He is the author of more than 250 scientific articles and has won many
competitive research grants including awards from the Alexander von Humboldt
Foundation, Israel Science Foundation and the European Research Council (ERC).
