Josef Klafter

Joseph (Yossi) Klafter (; born May 7, 1945) is an Israeli chemical physics professor who is the Heineman Chair of Physical Chemistry at Tel Aviv University, and was the eighth President of Tel Aviv University from 2009 to 2019. He won the 2020 Israel Prize in the fields of Chemistry and Physics.

Biography

Joseph Klafter was born in Tel Aviv in Mandatory Palestine in 1945 to Slovak immigrant parents who came to Israel illegally in 1939 as part of Aliyah Bet. He attended elementary and high school in Rishon LeZion. He fought in the Six Day War.

Klafter was the eighth president of Tel Aviv University, for two terms from 2009 to 2019, when he was succeeded by Ariel Porat. The previous president was Zvi Galil.

In 2011, The American Academy of Arts and Sciences elected Klafter an honorary member.

Klafter won the 2020 Israel Prize in the fields of Chemistry and Physics.