Congratulations to David Benisty, a Ph.D. student in BGU's Department of Physics, who has been awarded the prestigious Blavatnik and Rothschild scholarships. Benisty will complete his Ph.D. studies under the supervision of Prof. Eduardo Guendelman.
Benisty's research deals with finding corrections to Einstein's theory of gravity, which can explain the expansion of the universe. A year ago, Benisty and Guendelman proposed a unification of the dark energy and the inflation mechanisms, which was awarded 2nd prize in the Awards for Essays for 2020 from the Gravity Research Foundations. In addition, Benisty was awarded the Dean's Award in his second year of studies.
The Rothschild Postdoctoral Fellowship is intended for outstanding doctoral students who are residents of Israel, for the purpose of research at institutions of higher education abroad. The scholarship provides significant financial support for the first year.
The Rothschild Fellowship was established in 1979 to help young scholars of outstanding academic merit and potential to advance in their respective fields. The first Selection Committee was chaired by Sir Isaiah Berlin. More than 650 Fellowships have been awarded to date. The majority of Fellows have pursued academic careers in Israel, with many becoming leading figures in their fields. Numerous Fellows can be found in positions of academic leadership in Israel.
The Blavatnik Postdoctoral Fellowship Programme is designed to further strengthen British-Israeli scientific relations by developing the academic capacities of Israel's brightest young scientists and creating connections that will last through their whole academic careers. It enables Israel's most outstanding young scientists working in the fields of life sciences, physical sciences, and engineering to study with world-leading research groups in one of the world's best universities, the University of Cambridge.
Blavatnik fellows are selected through an annual call for proposal and receive a stipend and research costs for each year of their two-year fellowship. Fellows are expected to return to Israel and establish themselves as lab leaders using the knowledge and links they have made in the UK.
The Blavatnik Postdoctoral Fellowships is administered by the British Council in Israel on behalf of the Blavatnik Family Foundation.
