Haas, Georg

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HAAS, GEORG

HAAS, GEORG (1905–1981), Israel zoologist. Born in Vienna, Haas studied zoology and paleontology. From 1931 to 1932 he was a visiting investigator at the Kaiser Wilhelm Institute in Berlin, where he did research on protozoan cytology. In 1933 he immigrated to Israel and joined the staff of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. He was appointed professor in 1954.

Although Haas chief interest was the functional anatomy and evolution of reptiles, he also published extensively on the mollusks of Israel and on fossil reptiles and mammals of the region. A dedicated teacher, he had a seminal influence on the growth of zoological science in Israel, and many of Israel's outstanding zoologists were trained in his laboratory.

[Mordecai L. Gabriel]