2010 Dan David Prizes Awarded; Three $1 Million Awards Presented

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May 11, 2010, 06:38 ET

TEL AVIV, Israel, May 10, 2010 /PRNewswire/ -- The Dan David Prize award ceremony took place yesterday at Tel Aviv University, in the presence of Mr. Isaac Herzog, Minister of Welfare and Social Services, Prof. Joseph Klafter, President of Tel Aviv University and Chairman of the Board Dan David Prize, Mr. Dan David, Founder of the Dan David Prize, the 2010 Dan David Prize laureates, foreign ambassadors, and prominent academic and business figures from Israel and abroad.

To view the multimedia press release, please click:

http://multivu.prnewswire.com/mnr/prne/dandavidprize/42425/

Awards were presented to:

Mr. Giorgio Napolitano, President of the Republic of Italy, for his dedication to the cause of parliamentary democracy.

Ms. Margaret Atwood (Canada) and Mr. Amitav Ghosh (India), for their compelling literary works exploring the history and social issues of twentieth-century society.

Prof. Leonard Kleinrock (University of California, LA, USA) , Dr. Gordon E. Moore (Chairman Emeritus of the board, Intel) and Prof. Michael O. Rabin (Harvard University, USA) for their seminal research and groundbreaking innovations in computer technology.

The Dan David Prize has been awarded since the year 2002 to individuals or institutions with proven, exceptional and distinct excellence in the sciences, arts, and humanities who have made an outstanding contribution to humanity, in each of the three time dimensions: past, present, and future. (One million dollars is awarded to each laureate for the three time dimensions.)

The ceremony included artistic performances by the Vertigo Dance Association, which translated the concept of time into motion and depicted advanced computer technology through its original choreography; the Ruth Kanner Theater Group, which made the characters of Amitav Ghosh's "Sea of Poppies" come alive for the audience, and the Raanana Symphonette Orchestra, which performed the overture of the opera Forza del Destino by Verdi and the Coronation March from Giacomo Meyerbeer's opera "The Prophet".

As in past years, the laureates donate 10% of their prize money towards 20 scholarships for outstanding doctoral and post doctoral students from all over the world.

The Dan David Prize seeks to impact on the next generation of leaders and involves high school students through the "Name Your Hero" Essay Competition. Students submit essays proposing candidates they consider worthy of the Dan David Prize. Selected students participate in an advanced writing workshop at Tel Aviv University and the winning students are awarded monetary prizes.

Varied attendant events are taking place this week at Tel Aviv University within the framework of the Dan David Prize:

    'Views of India - History, Ethnography and Fiction'
    An event with Amitav Ghosh

    Dan David Prize Chess 'Simul' Game
    Garry Kasparov Plays Against 30

    'Contemporary Writers Portray the 20th Century'
    A symposium with Margaret Atwood and Amitav Ghosh

    'Computers and Telecommunications'
    A symposium with Prof. Leonard Kleinrock and Prof. Michael Rabin


    The ceremony can be viewed at
http://video.tau.ac.il/General/Dan_David/2010 .

    For more information visit http://www.dandavidprize.org.

    Media Consultant:
    Ms. Orly Fromer
    Director of Media Relations Spokesperson
    Tel Aviv University and Dan David Prize
    Tel: +972-3-6424020, +972-3-6408741
    Fax: +972-3-6408355
    Cell: +972-52-4737373
    Email: [email protected]

SOURCE Dan David Prize