Dvoretzky, Aryeh

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DVORETZKY, ARYEH

DVORETZKY, ARYEH (1916– ), Israeli mathematician. Born in Chorol, Russia, Dvoretzky went to Palestine in 1922 and studied at the Hebrew University, Jerusalem, where he became professor of mathematics in 1951. As dean of the faculty of science (1955–56) and as vice president (1959–61) he adopted a policy of fostering basic research designed to keep pace with advances in contemporary mathematics. He was also chief scientist to the Israel Defense Forces. His special fields of study were mathematical statistics, the theory of probability, and functional analysis. In 1973 Dvoretzky was awarded the Israel Prize in exact sciences, and in 1974 he was appointed president of the Israel Academy of Sciences and Humanities, after serving as chairman of its science section (1963–68) and vice president (1968–74). In 1975 he established the Institute for Advanced Studies at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and from 1985 to 1988 he was president of the Weizmann Institute.

[Bracha Rager (2nd ed.)]