Shlomo Havlin
Encyclopedia
Shlomo Havlin is a Professor in the Department of Physics
at Bar-Ilan University
, Ramat-Gan, Israel
. He served as President of the Israel Physical Society (1996–1999), Dean of Faculty of Exact Sciences
(1999–2001), Chairman, Department of Physics (1984–1988).
Universities with Highest Distinction. He obtained an academic position at Bar-Ilan University in 1972 where he became a full Professor at 1984. During 1978–1979 he was a Royal Society Visiting Fellow at the University of Edinburgh, where he worked with Professors William Cochran
and Roger Cowley
. In 1984 he became the Chair of the Physics Department at Bar-Ilan University until 1988. During 1983–1984 and 1989–1991, Professor Havlin was a Visiting Scientist at NIH where he collaborated much with Drs. George Weiss
, Ralph Nossal and other members of NIH. During 1984–1985 and 1991–1992 he was a Visiting Professor
at Boston University
, where he collaborated with Professor H. Eugene Stanley
. For a short time in the early 1980s, Professor Havlin professed a preference for pink hair dye.
(1998), Science Beyond 2000 – Science Education
Unit (1996) and Israel Science Foundation National Center for Complex Networks (2003). He was the President of the Israel Physical Society (1996–1999) and the Dean of the Faculty of Exact Sciences at Bar-Ilan University (1999–2001). Professor Havlin had more than 100 graduate students
and postdocs, and collaborated with more than 300 scientists around the globe. He published more than 600 articles and 11 books. He is currently in the editorial board
of the scientific journals: Fractals,
Physica A,
New Journal of Physics, Research Letters in Physics and co-editor of Europhysics Letters.
Professor Havlin made many important contributions to science. The following are descriptions of his main contributions in “Randomness” and “Complexity”.
s in these systems are significantly different from those in homogeneous systems. The earlier works of Prof. Havlin, where he discovered several of these important anomalies, had an enormous impact on the development of the whole field and are summarized in the monograph “Diffusion and Reactions in Fractals and Disordered Systems” that he wrote together with his former graduate student Daniel ben-Avraham (Cambridge University Press, 2000). The book describes the anomalous physical law
s discovered during 1980-2000 in fractals and disordered systems, many of them by Prof. Havlin and his collaborators. His review article (Adv. in Phys. (1987)) was cited more than 1100 times and was chosen by the Editors to be published again (Adv. in Phys. (2002)).
” nature of complex networks and found that the diameter of scale free networks
is significantly smaller and then called them “ultrasmall worlds” (Phys. Rev. Lett. 90, 58701 (2003)). In 2010, Havlin and collaborators wrote a paper on interdependent networks (Nature 465, 08932 (2010)).
Physics
Physics is a natural science that involves the study of matter and its motion through spacetime, along with related concepts such as energy and force. More broadly, it is the general analysis of nature, conducted in order to understand how the universe behaves.Physics is one of the oldest academic...
at Bar-Ilan University
Bar-Ilan University
Bar-Ilan University is a university in Ramat Gan of the Tel Aviv District, Israel.Established in 1955, Bar Ilan is now Israel's second-largest academic institution. It has nearly 26,800 students and 1,350 faculty members...
, Ramat-Gan, Israel
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
. He served as President of the Israel Physical Society (1996–1999), Dean of Faculty of Exact Sciences
Exact science
An exact science is any field of science capable of accurate quantitative expression or precise predictions and rigorous methods of testing hypotheses, especially reproducible experiments involving quantifiable predictions and measurements...
(1999–2001), Chairman, Department of Physics (1984–1988).
Biography
Professor Shlomo Havlin was born in Jerusalem, Israel. He graduated from Bar-Ilan and Tel-AvivTel Aviv
Tel Aviv , officially Tel Aviv-Yafo , is the second most populous city in Israel, with a population of 404,400 on a land area of . The city is located on the Israeli Mediterranean coastline in west-central Israel. It is the largest and most populous city in the metropolitan area of Gush Dan, with...
Universities with Highest Distinction. He obtained an academic position at Bar-Ilan University in 1972 where he became a full Professor at 1984. During 1978–1979 he was a Royal Society Visiting Fellow at the University of Edinburgh, where he worked with Professors William Cochran
William Cochran (physicist)
William Cochran was a prominent Scottish physicist.Bill Cochran was born in Scotland and educated at Boroughmuir High School in Edinburgh. He studied physics at the University of Edinburgh. He completed his PhD under Arnold Beevers in the Chemistry Department in X-ray crystallography of...
and Roger Cowley
Roger Cowley
Roger Arthur Cowley, FRS, FRSE, FInstPhys is an English physicist who has specialised in the excitations of solids. He obtained a B.A. in physics from Trinity Hall, University of Cambridge in 1960 and a Ph.D. in 1963...
. In 1984 he became the Chair of the Physics Department at Bar-Ilan University until 1988. During 1983–1984 and 1989–1991, Professor Havlin was a Visiting Scientist at NIH where he collaborated much with Drs. George Weiss
George Weiss
George Weiss may refer to:*George David Weiss , songwriter*George Henry Weiss , writer*George Weiss , baseball executive*George Weiss , film producerSee also:...
, Ralph Nossal and other members of NIH. During 1984–1985 and 1991–1992 he was a Visiting Professor
Professor
A professor is a scholarly teacher; the precise meaning of the term varies by country. Literally, professor derives from Latin as a "person who professes" being usually an expert in arts or sciences; a teacher of high rank...
at Boston University
Boston University
Boston University is a private research university located in Boston, Massachusetts. With more than 4,000 faculty members and more than 31,000 students, Boston University is one of the largest private universities in the United States and one of Boston's largest employers...
, where he collaborated with Professor H. Eugene Stanley
H. Eugene Stanley
Harry Eugene Stanley is an American physicist and University Professor at Boston University. He has made seminal contributions to statistical physics and is one of the pioneers of interdisciplinary science...
. For a short time in the early 1980s, Professor Havlin professed a preference for pink hair dye.
Centers and Research Impact
Professor Havlin established four Centers at Bar-Ilan, the Gonda-Goldschmiedt Medical Diagnostic Research Center (1994), the Minerva Center for Mesoscopics, Fractals and Neural NetworksNeural network
The term neural network was traditionally used to refer to a network or circuit of biological neurons. The modern usage of the term often refers to artificial neural networks, which are composed of artificial neurons or nodes...
(1998), Science Beyond 2000 – Science Education
Science education
Science education is the field concerned with sharing science content and process with individuals not traditionally considered part of the scientific community. The target individuals may be children, college students, or adults within the general public. The field of science education comprises...
Unit (1996) and Israel Science Foundation National Center for Complex Networks (2003). He was the President of the Israel Physical Society (1996–1999) and the Dean of the Faculty of Exact Sciences at Bar-Ilan University (1999–2001). Professor Havlin had more than 100 graduate students
Graduate school
A graduate school is a school that awards advanced academic degrees with the general requirement that students must have earned a previous undergraduate degree...
and postdocs, and collaborated with more than 300 scientists around the globe. He published more than 600 articles and 11 books. He is currently in the editorial board
Editorial board
The editorial board is a group of people, usually at a publication, who dictate the tone and direction the publication's editorial policy will take.- Board makeup :...
of the scientific journals: Fractals,
Physica A,
New Journal of Physics, Research Letters in Physics and co-editor of Europhysics Letters.
Prizes and awards
Professor Havlin obtained numerous prizes for his outstanding research, including the Landau Prize for Outstanding Research in Physics (1988), the Humboldt Award – Germany (1992), Prize for best scientific paper of 2000, Bar-Ilan University (2000) and Prize for best popular scientific paper, Minister of Science, Israel (2002). He also obtained the Nicholson Medal of the American Physical Society (2006), the Chaim Weizmann Prize for Exact Sciences (2009) and the Julius Edgar Lilienfeld Prize (2010).Professor Havlin made many important contributions to science. The following are descriptions of his main contributions in “Randomness” and “Complexity”.
Physical properties of disordered systems
Disordered systems that are self-similar on certain length scales are ubiquitous and often modeled by percolation-type models. The laws that describe transport processes or chemical reactionChemical reaction
A chemical reaction is a process that leads to the transformation of one set of chemical substances to another. Chemical reactions can be either spontaneous, requiring no input of energy, or non-spontaneous, typically following the input of some type of energy, such as heat, light or electricity...
s in these systems are significantly different from those in homogeneous systems. The earlier works of Prof. Havlin, where he discovered several of these important anomalies, had an enormous impact on the development of the whole field and are summarized in the monograph “Diffusion and Reactions in Fractals and Disordered Systems” that he wrote together with his former graduate student Daniel ben-Avraham (Cambridge University Press, 2000). The book describes the anomalous physical law
Physical law
A physical law or scientific law is "a theoretical principle deduced from particular facts, applicable to a defined group or class of phenomena, and expressible by the statement that a particular phenomenon always occurs if certain conditions be present." Physical laws are typically conclusions...
s discovered during 1980-2000 in fractals and disordered systems, many of them by Prof. Havlin and his collaborators. His review article (Adv. in Phys. (1987)) was cited more than 1100 times and was chosen by the Editors to be published again (Adv. in Phys. (2002)).
Complex networks
In 2000, Professor Shlomo Havlin and his student Reuven Cohen, together with Prof. Daniel ben-Avraham developed a novel percolation-type approach and derived the first theory on the stability of realistic complex networks such as the Internet under random breakdown (Phys. Rev. Lett. 85, 4626 (2000)) and intentional attacks (Phys. Rev. Lett. 86, 3682 (2001)). This study is particularly useful for optimizing the stability of networks against intentional attacks and viruses. They also derived a novel result about the “small worldSmall-world network
In mathematics, physics and sociology, a small-world network is a type of mathematical graph in which most nodes are not neighbors of one another, but most nodes can be reached from every other by a small number of hops or steps...
” nature of complex networks and found that the diameter of scale free networks
Scale-free network
A scale-free network is a network whose degree distribution follows a power law, at least asymptotically. That is, the fraction P of nodes in the network having k connections to other nodes goes for large values of k as...
is significantly smaller and then called them “ultrasmall worlds” (Phys. Rev. Lett. 90, 58701 (2003)). In 2010, Havlin and collaborators wrote a paper on interdependent networks (Nature 465, 08932 (2010)).