2011 Dan David Prizes Awarded; Three $1 Million Awards Presented

TEL AVIV, Israel, May 16, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- The Dan David Prize award ceremony took place yesterday at Tel Aviv University, in the presence of Mr. Shimon Peres, President of the State of Israel, Mr. Giorgio Napolitano, President of the Republic of Italy, 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 2011 Dan David Prize laureates, foreign ambassadors, and prominent academic and business figures from Israel and abroad.

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Awards were presented to:

Prof. Marcus Feldman (Stanford University) for his groundbreaking research in the domain of animal and plant evolution.

Joel and Ethan Coen (USA) for their original and creative partnership unique in the history of filmmaking.

Prof. Cynthia Kenyon (University of California, SF) and Prof. Gary Ruvkun (Harvard Medical School) for their research, which established that ageing is genetically regulated and that a hormone similar to human insulin is key to longevity.

The Dan David Prize has been awarded since the year 2002 to individuals or institutions with proven, exceptional excellence in the sciences, arts, and humanities within each of the three time dimensions: past, present, and future. ($1Million is awarded in each time dimension).

The ceremony included artistic performances by Sally-Anne Friedland Dance Drama Company in a dance trilogy exploring the past, present and future; The Chamber Choir of the Buchmann-Mehta School of Music, Tel Aviv University, conducted by Ronen Borshevsky, which performed Miserere, by Gregorio Allegri; and the GILA Dance Troupe, composed of 15 venerable ladies in an exciting performance about facing life's everyday challenges.

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.

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

    
    New Frontiers in Evolution
    A symposium with Prof. Marcus Feldman

    Accept the Mystery
    A symposium with Joel and Ethan Coen

    On Genes and Ageing
    A symposium with Prof. Cynthia Kenyon and Prof. Gary Ruvkun

The ceremony and attendant events can be viewed at: http://video.tau.ac.il/DanDavid-Prize-11

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

    
    Contact:

    Ms. Orly Fromer
    Director of Media Relations
    Dan David Prize
    +972-52-4737373
    fromer@post.tau.ac.il