Ellen Graber

Ellen Graber is an American-Israeli research scientist in the field of environmental sciences. She is a senior scientist at the Volcani Agricultural Research Center (full professor equivalent), and is known for her work on biochar, for which she received the "Scientist of the Year Award" in 2013. Her work was interrupted by the October 7 Hamas attack on Israel and the subsequent Gaza war, which led her to abandon some of her seedlings for five months to the elements of the Negev Desert. Some of the samples survived, and were studied for their resilient properties. 70% of the surviving plants were able to subsequently develop normally, and further research showed that they were all from the same genetic group.