Jacob Bekenstein wins 2012 Wolf Prize
Israeli physicist to receive prestigious international award thanks to contribution to foundation of black hole thermodynamics; 33% of recipients have gone on to win Nobel Prize
Will physicist Jacob Bekenstein, one of the winners of the 2012 Wolf Prize go on to win the prestigious Nobel as well? Time will tell.
The Wolf Prize is an international award granted in Israel every year for achievements in the fields of science and art, and is considered the second most important award after the Nobel Prize.
The prize has been granted since 1978 for "achievements in the interest of mankind and friendly relations among peoples ... irrespective of nationality, race, color, religion, sex or political views."
As many as 33% of Wolf Prize recipients have gone on to win the Nobel Prize as well.
The list of winners for 2012 was announced Monday in a festive ceremony at the Israel Museum by Education Minister Gideon Sa'ar and the chairman of the Wolf Foundation.
Apart from Bekenstein, the award will be granted in May at the Knesset to Spanish tenor Plácido Domingo, Berlin Philharmonic Conductor Simon Rattle, and two Mathematicians, two chemists, and a medical researcher – all from the United States.
The Wolf Foundation said Tuesday that Domingo was the first vocal artist to ever win its prize. From 1962 to 1965, at the beginning of his career, he sang with the Israeli opera company
Prof. Bekenstein of Hebrew University's Racah Institute of Physics will receive the prize for his breakthrough contribution to foundation of black hole thermodynamics. He discovered that black holes cannot just swallow light but also emit light.
At the time Stephen Hawking, one of the world's greatest physicist, set out to prove Bekenstein wrong, but after exhausting calculations for several months he nobly admitted, "I was wrong, Israeli physicist Jacob Bekenstein was right."
Since then, one of the physical laws regarding black holes has been named the Bekenstein-Hawking entropy.
Bekenstein told Yedioth Ahronoth on Monday, "I'm surprised, happy and proud. I didn't expect to receive the award now, as there are many people in the world of science who have made great contributions."
Wolf Foundation Director-General Liat Ben-David said Monday, "The Wolf Foundation heritage proves that each of the recipients dedicated his or her life to one thing: Excellence aimed at advancing humanity.
"Through this prize, the State of Israel salutes the crème de la crème in the fields of science and art around the world."
