Avigad Vonshak

Avigad Vonshak
File:AvigadVonshak.jpg Avigad Vonshak
Born	Germany
Nationality	Israeli
Alma mater	Ben-Gurion University of the Negev
Scientific career
Fields	Microalgae
Institutions	Ben-Gurion University of the Negev
Doctoral advisor	Amos Richmond

Avigad Vonshak is a professor at the  the French Associates Institute for Agriculture and Biotechnology of Drylands at the Jacob Blaustein Institutes for Desert Research at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Israel.

Biography

Professor Avigad Vonshak was born in Germany in 1947 and immigrated to Israel with his parents in 1948. He received his Ph.D from Ben-Gurion University in 1980 and did his post-doctoral studies in the Plant Research Laboratory in Michigan State University. Upon his return to Israel he has joint the faculty of the Jacob Blaustein Institutes for Desert Research (BIDR) at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev as a member of the Algal Biotechnology lab.   

In 1997 he was asked to establish the graduate school for Desert Studies. As such he served as the first director of the Albert Katz international school for Desert Studies ( AKIS ) (1998- 2003). He was nominated to be the director of the Jacob Blaustein Institutes for Desert Research BIDR ( 2002 -2010). At that time the BIDR was restructured to its current form, consisting of three research institutes, dealing with Agriculture and Biotechnology, Water research and Dryland Environment, with AKIS serving as the teaching arm of the BIDR.

He also had few other administrative roles in BGU including serving as the director of the Ben Gurion Research Institute for the Study of Israel and Zionism ( 2007-13) As well as Dean for international Academic affairs (2010-12).

His research interests include the study of environmental stress in algae.  The main goal of these studies is to try to understand the mechanisms involved in the adaptation of dense algal cultures to the extreme environment existing in many drylands. Prof. Vonshak is known internationally mainly for his contribution to the development of the biotechnology for mass culturing of the blue-green algae (cyanobacteria) Spirulina under large-scale conditions.  The concept was developed as part of the approach that sustainable development of drylands requires the need to develop new innovative biotechnologies that will make use of the environmental condition of drylands and increase the water use efficiency as compared to conventional agriculture methodologies.

Professor Vonshak served as President of the Asian Pacific Society for Applied Phycology. He has been involved in many international training programs organized by UNEP, UNESCO and other international agencies. 

Professor Vonshak his involved in few activities outside of the University serving as the director of the Ben-Gurion Heritage institute, he is the academic advisor for the Ramat-Negev International training center for Desert-Agriculture. He is also serving as a special advisor to the Bona-Terra charity foundation devoted to help farmers in the Negev and also serving in the advisory board to the Israeli national lottery “Mifal HaPayis”

Research interests

The work is trying to understand the different steps associated in the response of the photosynthetic apparatus and mainly PSII to an environmental stress.

In a nutshell the work so far points out that our original approach taken some 25 years ago of treating algal growth outdoors in terms of light limitation or a process governed by one main limiting factor was a naive attempt to simplify things. Our findings point out that in many cases the system is down regulated or even photoinhibited not necessarily because of exposure to high light intensity but rather due to other environmental stress that reduce the photosynthetic activity be it temperature or salinity. As a result the ability of the cells to utilize light by the photosynthetic machinery is reduced and thus light levels that are considered as harmless under optimal growth conditions are turning to be over-saturating levels and result in down regulating and photoinhibiting the photosynthetic apparatus. Based on this working hypothesis we are also reviewing some of our old data related to the role of light and temperature in outdoor cultures and getting a better understanding that algal cultures are shifted during the day from light limitation to light inhibition in a relatively very fast cycle.

Books

• Vonshak, A. (Ed.) Spirulina platensis (Arthrospira): Physiology, Cell-biology and Biotechnology. Taylor & Francis, London UK, 1997, 233 pp.

Selected articles

• Tuvia Friling, 1992, "The Emotional Elements in Ben-Gurion's Relation to the Diaspora during the Holocaust", in: Organizing Rescue: National Jewish Solidarity in the Modern Period, I. Troen and B. Pinkus (eds.), Frank Cass, London, pp. 191–221. (English).
• Tuvia Friling, 1995, "The Zionist Movement's March of Folly and The Seventh Million", The Journal of Israeli History, vol. 16, no.2, pp. 133–158 (English).
• Tuvia Friling, autumn 1989, "Meeting the Survivors: Ben-Gurion's Visit to Bulgaria December 1944", Studies in Zionism, vol. 10, no. 2, pp. 175–195 (English).
• Tuvia Friling, 2002, "Between Friendly and Hostile Neutrality: Turkey and the Jews during World War II", in: The Last Ottoman Century and Beyond: the Jews in Turkey and the Balkans (1808–1945), Minna Rozen (ed.), Diaspora Research Center, Tel Aviv University, pp. 309–423.
• Tuvia Friling, fall 2003, "The New Historians and the Failure of Rescue Operations during the Holocaust", Israel and the Holocaust, Israel Studies, a Series Subject, vol. 8, no. 3, pp. 25–64.
• Tuvia Friling, 2004, "Introduction. Développements de maturation d'une identité fissurée", in: Critique du post-sionisme, Reponse aux "nouveaux historiens" Israeliens, Tuvia Friling (ed.), Editions in Press, France, pp. 15–79 (French).
• Tuvia Friling, 2004, "David Ben-Gourion et la Shoah - Racines et évolution d'un stéréotype négatif", in : Critique du post-sionisme, Reponse aux 'nouveaux historiens' Israeliens, Tuvia Friling (ed.), Editions in Press, France, pp. 485–542 (French).
• Tuvia Friling, 2006, The Jewish Agency Executive in Jerusalem's Response to the News about the Iassy Massacre – as a Prologue to Its Response to the "Transnistria Ransom Offer", "The June 28–30, 1941 Iassy Pogrom – the Prologue of the Holocaust in Romania" [Reactia coducerii Agentiei Evreiesti din Jerusalim la stirea privind masacrul de la Iasi – prolog al raspunsului la "Oferata de rascumparare a eveilor din Transnistria"]. Pogromul de la Iasi, George Voicu (ed.), The Elie Wiesel National Institute For The Study Of The Holocaust in Romania, The University of Iassy, Polirom, Iassy, Romania, pp. 111–122.
• Tuvia Friling & Ilan Troen, 1998, "Proclaiming Independence: Five Days in May from Ben-Gurion's Diary", Israel Studies, vol. 3, no. 1, pp. 170–195 (English).
• Tuvia Friling, winter 1999, "Nazi-Jewish Negotiations in Istanbul in mid-1944", Holocaust and Genocide Studies, vol. 13, no. 3, pp. 405–436 (English).
• Tuvia Friling, 2003, "The 'King of the Jews' in Bulgaria, David Ben-Gurion's Diary, December 1944", Shvut, vol. 10 (26), pp. 182–279 (English).
• Tuvia Friling, fall 2003, "The New Historians and the Failure of Rescue Operations during the Holocaust", Israel and the Holocaust, Israel Studies, a Series Subject, vol. 8, no. 3, pp. 25–64 (English).
• Tuvia Friling, February 2007, book review of Uri Bialer's, "Cross on the Star of David—The Christian World in Israel's Foreign Policy, 1948–1967", The American Historical Review, Vol. 112, No. 1, Indiana University press, USA, pp. 314–316.
• Tuvia Friling, 2006, "Istanbul 1942–1945: The Kollek-Avriel and Berman-Ofner networks", Secret Intelligence and the Holocaust, D. Bankier (ed.), (English), Enigma books and Yad Vashem, NY, pp. 105– 156.
• Tuvia Friling, 3 December 2000, "The Negev as a leading Idea", The Jerusalem Post.
• Tuvia Friling, March 2009, "A Blatant Oversight? The Right-Wing in Israeli Holocaust Historiography?" Israel Studies, pp. 123–169.
• Tuvia Friling, March 2009, "Scars cry out for healing" – Introduction to a special issue, The Israelis and the Holocaust, Israel Studies, Tuvia Friling (Guest Editor), Indiana University Press, (English), pp. V–XVII.

• Tuvia Friling, (2012), Ben Gourion, Un Leader Hors Normes (French), in: David Ben-Gourion, Journal 1947-1948, Les Secrets de la Creation De L'etat D'Israel, Tuvia Friling and Denis Peschanski (eds.), (French) La Martinière, Paris, pp. XLII – LXXII. • Tuvia Friling, (2014) “Organizing Jewish Resistance: The Decision-Making and executive array in the Yishuv Rescue Operations During the Holocaust”, in: Jewish Resistance against the Nazis, Patrick Henry [ed.], Catholic University Press, Washington D.C, pp. 245–278. • The Evolution of Holocaust Memory in Israel- What to Remember? What to Forget? Israel Studies, Summer 2014, vol. 19, Issue 2, Indiana University Press, (English), pp. 51–69.

External links

• Tuvia Friling Site, at Ben-Gurion University
• list of Tuvia Friling Books, in Jewish National & University Library, Hebrew University
• Frilling Books, at Amazon
• Tuvia Frilling and Radu Ioanid Book, at ishop
• Tuvia Filing Articles, at Rambi (list of articles about Judaism Science)
• Tuvia Friling, The New Historians and the Failure of Rescue Operations During the Holocaust, Fall 2003, Vol. 8, No. 3, Pages 25–64, Indiana University
• Tuvia Friling, Nazi-Jewish Negotiations in Istanbul in Mid-1944, article adapted from the book, Arrow in the Dark