Alexander Lubotzky ( he, אלכסנדר לובוצקי; born 28 June 1956) is an Israeli mathematician and former politician who is currently a professor at the

Weizmann Institute of Science The Weizmann Institute of Science ( he, מכון ויצמן למדע ''Machon Vaitzman LeMada'') is a public research university in Rehovot, Israel, established in 1934, 14 years before the State of Israel. It differs from other Israeli univ ...

and an adjunct professor at

Yale University Yale University is a Private university, private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the List of Colonial Colleges, third-oldest institution of higher education in the United Sta ...

. He served as a member of the

Knesset The Knesset ( he, הַכְּנֶסֶת ; "gathering" or "assembly") is the unicameral legislature of Israel. As the supreme state body, the Knesset is sovereign and thus has complete control of the entirety of the Israeli government (with ...

for

The Third Way The Third Way ( he, הדרך השלישית, ''HaDerekh HaShlishit'') was a political party in Israel in the 1990s. Background The party was formed on 7 March 1996 towards the end of the thirteenth Knesset's term when two MKs, Avigdor Kahalan ...

party between 1996 and 1999. In 2018 he won the Israel Prize for his accomplishments in mathematics and computer science.

Biography

Alexander (Alex) Lubotzky was born in

Tel Aviv Tel Aviv-Yafo ( he, תֵּל־אָבִיב-יָפוֹ, translit=Tēl-ʾĀvīv-Yāfō ; ar, تَلّ أَبِيب – يَافَا, translit=Tall ʾAbīb-Yāfā, links=no), often referred to as just Tel Aviv, is the most populous city in the G ...

Holocaust survivor Holocaust survivors are people who survived the Holocaust, defined as the persecution and attempted annihilation of the Jews by Nazi Germany and its allies before and during World War II in Europe and North Africa. There is no universally accep ...

s. His father, Iser Lubotzky was a

Partisan Partisan may refer to: Military * Partisan (weapon), a pole weapon * Partisan (military), paramilitary forces engaged behind the front line Films * ''Partisan'' (film), a 2015 Australian film * '' Hell River'', a 1974 Yugoslavian film also kno ...

Irgun Irgun • Etzel , image = Irgun.svg , image_size = 200px , caption = Irgun emblem. The map shows both Mandatory Palestine and the Emirate of Transjordan, which the Irgun claimed in its entirety for a future Jewish state. The acronym "Etzel" i ...

officer and the legal advisor of

Herut Herut ( he, חֵרוּת, ''Freedom'') was the major conservative nationalist political party in Israel from 1948 until its formal merger into Likud in 1988. It was an adherent of Revisionist Zionism. History Herut was founded by Menachem Be ...

. After school, Lubotzky did his IDF national service as a captain officer in a special intelligence and communication unit. He studied mathematics at

Bar-Ilan University Bar-Ilan University (BIU, he, אוניברסיטת בר-אילן, ''Universitat Bar-Ilan'') is a public research university in the Tel Aviv District city of Ramat Gan, Israel. Established in 1955, Bar Ilan is Israel's second-largest academic ...

during highschool, gaining a BA (summa cum laude) and continuing directly with studying for his

PhD PHD or PhD may refer to: * Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), an academic qualification Entertainment * '' PhD: Phantasy Degree'', a Korean comic series * ''Piled Higher and Deeper ''Piled Higher and Deeper'' (also known as ''PhD Comics''), is a newsp ...

under the supervision of Hillel Furstenberg. Lubotzky married Yardenna (daughter of Murray Roston), a lecturer in

Art History Art history is the study of aesthetic objects and visual expression in historical and stylistic context. Traditionally, the discipline of art history emphasized painting, drawing, sculpture, architecture, ceramics and decorative arts; yet today, ...

and

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national id ...

, in 1980. The couple had six children; the oldest,

Asael Lubotzky Asael Lubotzky ( he, עשהאל לובוצקי; born 21 January 1983) is an Israeli physician, author, and molecular biologist. Formerly he served as an IDF officer and is a combat veteran of the Second Lebanon War. Military service Asael Lub ...

, was injured severely in the Battle of Bint Jbeil in Lebanon, while serving as an

officer An officer is a person who has a position of authority in a hierarchical organization. The term derives from Old French ''oficier'' "officer, official" (early 14c., Modern French ''officier''), from Medieval Latin ''officiarius'' "an officer," ...

in the IDF in the 2006 Lebanon war and after his rehabilitation became a physician.

Academic career

He worked as a professor of mathematics at the

Hebrew University The Hebrew University of Jerusalem (HUJI; he, הַאוּנִיבֶרְסִיטָה הַעִבְרִית בִּירוּשָׁלַיִם) is a public university, public research university based in Jerusalem, Israel. Co-founded by Albert Einstein ...

, becoming head of the department (1994–1996). He has been a visiting professor at the

Institute for Advanced Study The Institute for Advanced Study (IAS), located in Princeton, New Jersey, in the United States, is an independent center for theoretical research and intellectual inquiry. It has served as the academic home of internationally preeminent scholar ...

Princeton Princeton University is a private research university in Princeton, New Jersey. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and one of the ni ...

Stanford Stanford University, officially Leland Stanford Junior University, is a private research university in Stanford, California. The campus occupies , among the largest in the United States, and enrolls over 17,000 students. Stanford is consider ...

, and the

University of Chicago The University of Chicago (UChicago, Chicago, U of C, or UChi) is a private university, private research university in Chicago, Illinois. Its main campus is located in Chicago's Hyde Park, Chicago, Hyde Park neighborhood. The University of Chic ...

, with visits at

Columbia Columbia may refer to: * Columbia (personification), the historical female national personification of the United States, and a poetic name for America Places North America Natural features * Columbia Plateau, a geologic and geographic region in ...

Yale Yale University is a private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and among the most prestigious in the wo ...

, NYU and

ETH Zurich (colloquially) , former_name = eidgenössische polytechnische Schule , image = ETHZ.JPG , image_size = , established = , type = Public , budget = CHF 1.896 billion (2021) , rector = Günther Dissertori , president = Joël Mesot , a ...

. Lubotzky holds a Maurice and Clara Weil Chair in mathematics at the

Einstein Institute of Mathematics The Einstein Institute of Mathematics () is a centre for scientific research in mathematics at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, founded in 1925 with the opening of the university. A leading research institute, the institute's faculty has incl ...

of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. He is known for contributions to

geometric group theory Geometric group theory is an area in mathematics devoted to the study of finitely generated groups via exploring the connections between algebraic properties of such groups and topological and geometric properties of spaces on which these group ...

, the study of lattices in

Lie group In mathematics, a Lie group (pronounced ) is a group that is also a differentiable manifold. A manifold is a space that locally resembles Euclidean space, whereas groups define the abstract concept of a binary operation along with the addit ...

s, representation theory of discrete groups and Kazhdan's property (T), the study of

subgroup growth In mathematics, subgroup growth is a branch of group theory, dealing with quantitative questions about subgroups of a given group. Let G be a finitely generated group. Then, for each integer n define a_n(G) to be the number of subgroups H of in ...

and applications of group theory to

combinatorics Combinatorics is an area of mathematics primarily concerned with counting, both as a means and an end in obtaining results, and certain properties of finite structures. It is closely related to many other areas of mathematics and has many a ...

and

computer science Computer science is the study of computation, automation, and information. Computer science spans theoretical disciplines (such as algorithms, theory of computation, information theory, and automation) to practical disciplines (includin ...

(

expander graphs In graph theory, an expander graph is a sparse graph that has strong connectivity properties, quantified using vertex, edge or spectral expansion. Expander constructions have spawned research in pure and applied mathematics, with several appl ...

) and

error correcting codes In computing, telecommunication, information theory, and coding theory, an error correction code, sometimes error correcting code, (ECC) is used for controlling errors in data over unreliable or noisy communication channels. The central idea is ...

. Lubotzky received the

Erdős Prize The Anna and Lajos Erdős Prize in Mathematics is a prize given by the Israel Mathematical Union to an Israeli mathematician (in any field of mathematics and computer science), "with preference to candidates up to the age of 40." The prize was ...

in 1990. In the years 1994–1996 Lubotzky was the chairman of Einstein Institute of Mathematics at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. In 1992 Lubotzky was a recipient of the Sunyer i Balaguer Prize from the Institut d'Estudis Catalans for his book "Discrete Groups Expanding Graphs and Invariant Measures" and again in 2002 with Dan Segal for their book "Subgroup Growth". In 2002 he has received the

Rothschild Prize Yad Hanadiv (The Rothschild Foundation) is a Rothschild family philanthropic foundation in Israel. Goals and objectives Yad Hanadiv defines its mission as: Dedicated to creating resources for advancing Israel as a healthy, vibrant, democratic so ...

in mathematics. Lubotzky is listed as an

ISI highly cited researcher The Institute for Scientific Information (ISI) was an academic publishing service, founded by Eugene Garfield in Philadelphia in 1956. ISI offered scientometric and bibliographic database services. Its specialty was citation indexing and analys ...

in mathematics since 2003. Lubotzky was elected a foreign member of the

American Academy of Arts and Sciences The American Academy of Arts and Sciences (abbreviation: AAA&S) is one of the oldest learned societies in the United States. It was founded in 1780 during the American Revolution by John Adams, John Hancock, James Bowdoin, Andrew Oliver, ...

in 2005. In 2005-6 He led in the

a year long program on "Pro-finite groups and the congruence subgroup problem". In 2006, he got an honorary degree from the

for his contribution to Modern mathematics. In 2008 Lubotzky received the

European Research Council The European Research Council (ERC) is a public body for funding of scientific and technological research conducted within the European Union (EU). Established by the European Commission in 2007, the ERC is composed of an independent Scientif ...

(ERC) advanced grant for exceptional established research leaders. In 2011 Lubotzky was chosen to be the keynote speaker at the joint meeting of the

American Mathematical Society The American Mathematical Society (AMS) is an association of professional mathematicians dedicated to the interests of mathematical research and scholarship, and serves the national and international community through its publications, meetings ...

(AMS) and the Mathematical Association of America (MAA) in New Orleans. Lubotzky's keynote address in front of the conference's 6,000 attendees marked the first time that an Israeli was the keynote speaker at one of these conferences. In 2012 he was a visiting researcher at

Microsoft Research Center Microsoft Research (MSR) is the research subsidiary of Microsoft. It was created in 1991 by Richard Rashid, Bill Gates and Nathan Myhrvold with the intent to advance state-of-the-art computing and solve difficult world problems through technolog ...

. In 2021 he became a professor at the

Political career

A founding member of The

Third Way The Third Way is a centrist political position that attempts to reconcile right-wing and left-wing politics by advocating a varying synthesis of centre-right economic policies with centre-left social policies. The Third Way was born f ...

in March 1996, he chaired its secretariat and was elected to the Knesset in the May 1996 elections. He served as a member of the Knesset's Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee; Constitution, Law and

Justice Justice, in its broadest sense, is the principle that people receive that which they deserve, with the interpretation of what then constitutes "deserving" being impacted upon by numerous fields, with many differing viewpoints and perspective ...

Committee; Status of Women Committee and the Science and Technology Committee, and chaired the subcommittee on the Y2K Bug. As an MK, Lubotzky was mainly known for his compromise proposals on religious issues and pluralism. He was actively involved in setting up a solution to the conversion bill crisis via the Ne'eman Commission, working to avoid a conflict between

Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...

and the

Jewish Diaspora The Jewish diaspora ( he, תְּפוּצָה, təfūṣā) or exile (Hebrew: ; Yiddish: ) is the dispersion of Israelites or Jews out of their ancient ancestral homeland (the Land of Israel) and their subsequent settlement in other parts of ...

. Lubotzky also co-drafted a comprehensive proposal for a new

covenant Covenant may refer to: Religion * Covenant (religion), a formal alliance or agreement made by God with a religious community or with humanity in general ** Covenant (biblical), in the Hebrew Bible ** Covenant in Mormonism, a sacred agreement b ...

for religion-state affairs in Israel with MK

Yossi Beilin Yosef "Yossi" Beilin ( he, יוסף "יוסי" ביילין, born 12 June 1948) is an Israeli politician who has served in multiple ministerial and leadership positions in the Israeli government. Much of his political career was in the Labour Pa ...

Awards and recognition

In 2014, he was elected to the

Israel Academy of Sciences and Humanities Israel Academy of Sciences and Humanities, based in Jerusalem, was established in 1961 by the State of Israel to foster contact between Israeli scholars in the sciences and humanities and create a think tank for advising the government on r ...

. In 2015 Lubotzky received the

(ERC) advanced grant for exceptional established research leaders, becoming one of the only researchers receiving the grant twice. In honor of Lubotzky's sixtieth birthday The

Israel Institute for Advanced Studies The Israel Institute for Advanced Studies (; IIAS, or IAS in Israel) is a research institute in Jerusalem, Israel, devoted to academic research in physics, mathematics, the life sciences, economics, and comparative religion. It is a self-govern ...

hosted a conference (Midrasha) from 5 November through 11 November 2016, with scholars from around the world convening to celebrate his work, impact, and collaborations. In 2018 Lubotzky received the Israel Prize, for mathematics. Lubotzky gave a Plenary lecture in the 2018

International Congress of Mathematicians The International Congress of Mathematicians (ICM) is the largest conference for the topic of mathematics. It meets once every four years, hosted by the International Mathematical Union (IMU). The Fields Medals, the Nevanlinna Prize (to be rename ...

Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro ( , , ; literally 'River of January'), or simply Rio, is the capital of the Rio de Janeiro (state), state of the same name, Brazil's List of Brazilian states by population, third-most populous state, and the List of largest citi ...

, Brazil. In 2021 Lubotzky received the European Research Council (ERC) advanced grant for exceptional established research leaders, becoming the only researcher receiving the advanced grant three times. In 2014, he was elected to the

. In 2015 Lubotzky received the

(ERC) advanced grant for exceptional established research leaders, becoming one of the only researchers receiving the grant twice. In 2018 Lubotzky received the Israel Prize, for mathematics. Lubotzky gave a Plenary lecture in the 2018

for the best Israeli mathematician/computer scientist under the age of 40 * 1993: Ferran Sunyer i Balaguer Prize for the book ''Discrete groups, Expanding Graphs and Invariant Reassures'' * 2002: The Rothschild Prize * 2002: Ferran Sunyer i Balaguer Prize for the book ''Subgroup growth'' * 2003: ISI list of Highly Cited Researchers * 2005: Elected Foreign Honorary Member of the

* 2006:

Honorary doctoral degree An honorary degree is an academic degree for which a university (or other degree-awarding institution) has waived all of the usual requirements. It is also known by the Latin phrases ''honoris causa'' ("for the sake of the honour") or ''ad hono ...

from the

* 2014: Elected to the

* 2018: Israel Prize for mathematics

Published works

* * * * *''מבנים אלגבריים: חבורות, חוגים ושדות'', 2018

References

External links

*
Alexander Lubotzky's webpage

*
Alexander Lubotzky
at the

Mathematical Reviews ''Mathematical Reviews'' is a journal published by the American Mathematical Society (AMS) that contains brief synopses, and in some cases evaluations, of many articles in mathematics, statistics, and theoretical computer science. The AMS also ...

author summary {{DEFAULTSORT:Lubotzky, Alexander 1956 births Scientists from Tel Aviv 20th-century Israeli mathematicians 21st-century Israeli mathematicians Bar-Ilan University alumni Jewish scientists Hebrew University of Jerusalem faculty Fellows of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences Members of the Israel Academy of Sciences and Humanities Israel Prize in mathematics recipients Israeli Orthodox Jews Living people Third Way (Israel) politicians Centre Party (Israel) politicians Jewish Israeli politicians Israeli settlers Members of the 14th Knesset (1996–1999) Yale University faculty Institute for Advanced Study visiting scholars Erdős Prize recipients