IAS Director Prof. Marek Karliner appointed Chairman of Israel High Energy Physics Committee and Member of the CERN Council

Israel National Academy of Sciences and the Ministry of Science and Technology have announced the appointment of Marek Karliner, Professor of Physics at the Raymond and Beverly Sackler School of Physics and Astronomy and Director of The Mortimer and Raymond Sackler Institute of Advanced Studies (IAS), to chair Israel High Energy Physics Committee and to represent Israel at the Council of CERN, European Center for Nuclear Research.

Israel became a full member of CERN in 2014. The mandate of Israel High Energy Physics Committee is to coordinate all CERN-related activities in Israel. In his new role, Prof. Karliner will monitor the utilization of the resources allocated to Israeli research at CERN and will maintain strong ties with the relevant funding agencies. He will also promote the integration of the Israeli high-tech industry in CERN tenders and expansion of CERN-centered educational activities in Israel.

In addition to organizing research activities, Israel High Energy Physics Committee promotes outreach and educational activities. In cooperation with the Ministry of Education, the Committee organizes educational tours of CERN for high school students (currently frozen, due to the covid). Prof. Karliner emphasizes the importance of such tours. "These tours are an unforgettable experience which leaves a deep impression on the students, often influencing their choice of the future field of study. Because of this I attach great importance to restarting and expanding this activity as soon as feasible", he explains.

In this capacity Prof. Karliner will also strive to expand the number of Israeli researchers and research-supporting employees at CERN. There are many talented Israelis who can contribute greatly not only to CERN research, but also to research-supporting areas, such as engineering, industrial medicine, safety, finance and economic analysis, comptrolling, human resource management, translation, etc.

Prof. Karliner is a theoretical physicist who works in the field of elementary particles. His research focuses on forces between quarks, the building blocks of protons and neutrons which are the constituents of atomic nuclei.