Emmanuel David Tannenbaum (June 28, 1978 – May 28, 2012) was an Israeli/American biophysicist and applied mathematician. He worked as a professor and researcher in the Department of Chemistry at the Ben-Gurion University of the Negev and the Department of Biology at the

Georgia Institute of Technology The Georgia Institute of Technology, commonly referred to as Georgia Tech or, in the state of Georgia, as Tech or The Institute, is a public research university and institute of technology in Atlanta, Georgia. Established in 1885, it is part of ...

, specializing in the fields of

mathematical biology Mathematical and theoretical biology, or biomathematics, is a branch of biology which employs theoretical analysis, mathematical models and abstractions of the living organisms to investigate the principles that govern the structure, development a ...

systems biology Systems biology is the computational modeling, computational and mathematical analysis and modeling of complex biological systems. It is a biology-based interdisciplinary field of study that focuses on complex interactions within biological syst ...

, and

quantum physics Quantum mechanics is a fundamental theory in physics that provides a description of the physical properties of nature at the scale of atoms and subatomic particles. It is the foundation of all quantum physics including quantum chemistry, qua ...

. Tannenbaum's initial work was in quantum chemistry as part of his Harvard University doctoral thesis where he developed a novel

partial differential equation In mathematics, a partial differential equation (PDE) is an equation which imposes relations between the various partial derivatives of a Multivariable calculus, multivariable function. The function is often thought of as an "unknown" to be sol ...

approach to the EBK quantization of nearly separable Hamiltonians in the quasi-integrable regime. Emmanuel Tannenbaum subsequently devoted his research to studying various problems in evolutionary dynamics using

quasispecies The quasispecies model is a description of the process of the Darwinian evolution of certain self-replicating entities within the framework of physical chemistry. A quasispecies is a large group or "cloud" of related genotypes that exist in an en ...

models. His seminal work centered on the key question of the evolutionary advantages of sexual reproduction. Tannenbaum demonstrated a strong selective advantage for sexual reproduction with fewer and much less restrictive assumptions than previously considered. Closely related to this line of reasoning, was the original work by Tannenbaum and James Sherley on the immortal strand hypothesis. Tannenbaum also proposed a pioneering theory of why higher organisms need sleep. Towards the end of his life, he proposed a new approach to anti-

stealth technology Stealth technology, also termed low observable technology (LO technology), is a sub-discipline of military tactics and passive and active electronic countermeasures, which covers a range of methods used to make personnel, aircraft, ships, subm ...

based on the theory of Bose–Einstein condensate. Emmanuel Tannenbaum received a number of honors including the Robert Karplus Prize in Chemical Physics from Harvard University, the prestigious

Alon Fellowship Alon or ALON may refer to: * Alon (name), an Israeli given name and surname * Alon, Mateh Binyamin, an Israeli settlement in the West Bank * Alon Inc, an American airplane builder, known for the Alon A-4 * Alon USA, an American energy company * A ...

from the Israel Academy of Sciences and Humanities, and a National Institutes of Health research fellowship.National Institutes of Health Fellowship: E.D. Tannenbaum (Harvard University). http://report.nih.gov/award/index.cfm?ot=&fy=2005&state=&ic=NIGMS&fm=&orgid=3212901&distr=&rfa=&view=data&pil=T#tabpi Dr. Tannenbaum is the son of mathematician

Allen Tannenbaum Allen Robert Tannenbaum (born January 25, 1953) is an American/ Israeli applied mathematician and presently Distinguished Professor of Computer Science and Applied Mathematics & Statistics at the State University of New York at Stony Brook. He is ...

and chemist

Rina Tannenbaum Rina (Irena) Tannenbaum (born December 13, 1953) is an Israelis, Israeli/United States, American materials scientist and chemical engineer and presently professor in the program of chemical and molecular engineering in the department of materials ...

. His sister, Sarah Tannenbaum-Dvir, is an oncologist/hematologist.

References

External links

Link to Emmanuel Tannenbaum's Homepage
{{DEFAULTSORT:Tannenbaum, Emmanuel 1978 births 2012 deaths Israeli mathematicians American people of Israeli descent Israeli biologists Israeli physicists Academic staff of Ben-Gurion University of the Negev Systems biologists Harvard University alumni Jewish physicists