Where Behavior and Brain Intersect

TEL AVIV UNIVERSITY REVIEW
Summer 2010
New Exhibitions
The Michel Kikoïne Foundation of
TAU in collaboration with the Genia
Schreiber University Art Gallery
exhibited the work of four Israeli
artists who were inspired by French
artist Gustave Doré’s famous biblical
images. The exhibition included 60
works of photography, engravings
and paintings by Rafi Lavi, Michal
Heiman, Etti Yaakobi and Yoseph
Krispal. Support came from the
Carlo and Karin Giersch Chair for
Research in Modern Painting and
the Jeanette and Yasha Pomernick
Foundation.
Another exhibition, put on by the
Conservation Studio at the David
Azrieli School of Architecture, presented
the long and illustrious history
of Jerusalem Boulevard in Jaffa.
The exhibition,
entitled “The
First Boulevard,”
included
architectural
surveys of
buildings dating
from the
time of the British
mandate.
Turkish Post-Doc Student Overcomes
Hurdles To Study At Tau
When Turkish Muslim student Eda Cetinorgu, 35, first told her supervisors
at Cukurova University that she wanted to take a break from her studies to
pursue her PhD at Tel Aviv University in Israel, they were astounded. The year
was 2004, at the height of the second Palestinian intifada against Israel, and
the security situation was tense. Eda aspired to join the laboratory of Prof.
Raymond (Reuven) Boxman, a world-renowned expert in semiconductors at
TAU’s Iby and Aladar Fleischman Faculty of Engineering.
Eda’s determination eventually paid off and she joined the TAU laboratory in
2005 as a PhD student with funding from the Israeli government.
For Eda, the payoff was not only academic. She also found herself being
drawn close to Israel and Judaism. “I fell in love with the country,” says Eda.
“I was fascinated by the warm family life here and I loved the Shabbat dinners
and religious festivals.”
During that time Eda published 15 scientific papers together with mentors
Prof. Boxman and the late Prof. Shmuel Goldschmith, and presented her work
at prestigious international conferences. Eda’s work dealt with the development
of new and less expensive coatings for flat panel TVs and computer
screens – known technically as plasma deposition of transparent conductive
coatings. Prof. Boxman, who holds the Kranzberg Chair in Plasma Engineering,
describes Eda as “one of the
best PhD students I have seen
anywhere. She learns fast, takes
the initiative and brings enormous
enthusiasm and energy to every
project.”
The path to conversion
After completing her PhD studies
at TAU, Eda spent two years as a
post-doctoral student in Montreal.
There, she explored the different
religious streams of Judaism, eventually deciding to undergo a Reform conversion,
a step that disappointed family members back in Turkey. “I was raised
as a Muslim but I felt more comfortable with Judaism and with the status of
women in Judaism,” says Eda.
After two years in Montreal, Eda was drawn back to Israel. “When you convert,
you accept a nation as your nation. I accepted the Jewish people as my
people,” she says.
Today, Eda is back in Prof. Boxman’s laboratory as a post-doctoral student
working on a project sponsored by the European Union to develop low-cost,
domestic solar-activated water purification units for countries that lack safe
central water supplies.
Meanwhile, Eda keeps kosher, attends synagogue regularly and celebrates
Jewish festivals. She’s now hoping to find a Jewish partner with whom she can
share her traditional values and love of Israel.
Rafi Lavi,
Untitled, 1998.
Collection of
Benno Kadav,
Tel Aviv.
Dr. Eda
Cetinorgu
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