Abir (Abramovitz), David
ABIR (Abramovitz), DAVID
ABIR (Abramovitz), DAVID (1922– ), Israeli aerospace engineer. Abir, who was born in Kaunas, Lithuania, and came to Palestine in 1934, was chief instructor of the Aero clubs of Palestine, which included the aviation unit of the Palmaḥ (1943–46). He served in the Israel Air Force (1949–55) and was head of its engineering department in 1954–55. Abir was at the Haifa Technion from 1955 to 1972, serving as head of the department of mechanics in 1959–61 and then as dean (and professor) of the Faculty of Aeronautical Engineering (1962–64). He was employed at the British Aircraft Corporation, Bristol, U.K. (1964–65) as senior consulting assistant to the chief engineer on the Anglo-French Concorde supersonic aircraft project. Abir also worked (on leave from the Technion) at Israel Aircraft Industries Ltd., Engineering Division, in 1968–71, as director of advanced aircraft studies and chairman of research and development. He joined Tel Aviv University in 1972 as associate dean of the Faculty of Engineering (1972–80). Abir was deputy chairman of the Israel Space Agency, Ministry of Science and Technology (1983–87) and its director general in 1985–87. Abir was chairman of the National Committee for Space Research from 1972 and chairman of the National Committee on Data for Science and Technology from 1988, both at the Israel Academy of Sciences and Humanities. He served as president (1990–94) of the International Committee on Data for Science and Technology (codata) of the International Council of Science (icsu), Paris, France, and was a member of the Council of the International Committee on Space Research (cospar) of icsu from 1972. He was a founding member of the Tel Aviv Academic College of Engineering (from 1996) and served as its deputy president for academic affairs (until 2002). Abir was a fellow of the Royal Aeronautical Society, London, U.K. (from 1965) and a member of the International Academy of Astronautics, Paris, France (from 1972). He contributed papers and articles and wrote and edited books and journals in the fields of aerospace and technology. He was active in the creation of Hebrew terminology in the aviation and related fields, in conjunction with the Israel *Academy of the Hebrew Language and other organizations.
[Samuel Aaron Miller /
Bracha Rager (2nd ed.)]