News Release       

Hebrew University to Inaugurate Einstein Center With 1-million euro gift from German Government

Jerusalem, December 7, 1005 – The Hebrew University of Jerusalem will inaugurate its Einstein Center, a project made possible with a one-million euro gift from the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research.

The center is headed by Hanoch Gutfreund, the Andre Aisenstadt Professor of Theoretical Physics. Its establishment, he said, “represents the culmination of cooperation between the Hebrew University, the German Ministry of Education and Research and German academic institutions to mark the 100th anniversary of Albert Einstein’s ‘miracle year’ of 1905 in which the renowned scientist published three of his revolutionary theories of theoretical physics.”  The center, said Gutfreund, “will explore over the next five years Einstein’s legacy in present-day perspective.”  In doing so, it will reflect the multi-faceted interests of  Einstein’s scientific and public life.  

Research groups, incorporating senior scholars from the Hebrew University, Germany and elsewhere, will deal with topics related to physics (focusing on implications of Einstein’s work in contemporary physics), humanities (examining the cultural impact of scientific achievements) and the social sciences (dealing with ethical issues in public life). An academic committee, chaired by Itamar Pitowsky, the Eleanor Roosevelt Professor of the History and Philosophy of Science, is guiding the activities of the center.