A wonderful tradition of planting trees by Nobel Prize winners, promotes values of preserving nature and its continuity. Who is on the distinguished list of planters? The answers in this article.
Planting a tree is accompanied by great symbolism. Whether it’s our contribution to the cycle of nature’s renewal, or whether it’s the idea that the tree will “grow” with us, symbolizing our visit to the same site. It is also possible that there is a kind of promise in planting, that one day we will return to the same place.
The first tree planter on the Technion campus was none other than Prof. Albert Einstein. Together with his wife, they planted two palm trees, in the yard of the old Technion, in Hadar in Haifa, in 1923. The trees exist there to this day.
This green initiative has since been joined by many personalities who left their mark by planting a tree, which added to the formation of the special character of nature that surrounds the campus. Some personalities have a unique common denominator – winning the Nobel Prize.
The avenue of trees planted by the Nobel laureates exists on the Technion campus, in Carmel, since 2007, and thanks to the achievements of those who plant it, it has been named “Nobel Avenue”. Every Nobel laureate who comes to the Technion honors the Technion by planting a tree called “Kalil Horosh”, in Lockey Park, which is located in front of the Technion’s Senate building.
The President of the country, Shimon Peres, winner of the Nobel Peace Prize, joined 17 Nobel Prize winners, and planted another tree on this boulevard, on the occasion of the Tu of Shvet, during a special visit to the Technion that took place on Wednesday, January 8, 2014.
During the visit, the President participated in a discussion about the future of science, with the three Nobel laureates from the Technion: Professor Dan Shechtman, Professor Aharon Chakhanover and Professor Avraham Hershko. The panel was moderated by Dr. Yossi Vardi.
The list of 23 planters on Nobel Avenue includes the following personalities:
| 1 | 2008 | Prof. David Gross, USA | Physics 2004 |
| 2 | 2008 | Prof. Elie Wiesel, USA | Peace, 1986 |
| 3 | 2008 | Prof. Rita Levi-Montalcini, Italy | Medicine, 1986 |
| 4 | 2008 | Prof. Kurt Wüthrich, Switzerland | Chemistry, 2002 |
| 5 | 2008 | Prof. Tim Hunt, UK | Medicine, 2001 |
| 6 | 2008 | Prof. Aaron Ciechanover, Israel | Chemistry, 2004 |
| 7 | 2008 | Prof. Ferid Murad, USA | Medicine, 1998 |
| 8 | 2008 | Prof. Jean-Marie Lehn, France | Chemistry, 1987 |
| 9 | 2008 | Prof. Avram Hershko, Israel | Chemistry, 2004 |
| 10 | 2008 | Prof. Günter Blobel, USA | Medicine, 1999 |
| 11 | 2010 | Prof. Claude Cohen-Tannoudji, France | Physics, 1997 |
| 12 | 2010 | Prof. Ada Yonath, Israel | Chemistry, 2009 |
| 13 | 2010 | Prof. Linda B. Buck, USA | Physiology/Medicine, 2004 |
| 14 | 2011 | Prof. Venkatraman Ramakrishnan, UK | Chemistry, 2009 |
| 15 | 2013 | Prof. Roald Hoffmann, USA | Chemistry, 1981 |
| 16 | 2013 | Prof. Alvin E. Roth, USA | Economic Sciences, 2012 |
| 17 | 2013 | Prof. Dan Shechtman, Israel | Chemistry, 2011 |
| 18 | 2014 | Shimon Peres, President of State of Israel | Peach Nobel Prize, 1994 |
| 19 | 2018 | Prof. Fraser Stoddart, USA | Chemistry, 2016 |
| 20 | 2019 | Prof. Frances H. Arnold, USA | Chemistry, 2018 |
| 21 | 2023 | Prof. Ben Feringa, Netherlands | Chemistry, 2016 |
| 22 | 2024 | Prof. Drew Weissman, USA | Physiology or Medicine, 2023 |
| 23 | 2026 | Prof. Reinhard Genzel | Physics 2020 |
Nobel Prize brides and grooms, upon winning, become a symbol of striving for excellence and values. Their inclusion in the distinguished list of planters indicates above all the importance of the synergy between the scientists and researchers, and the promotion of the values of preserving the environment, and the world we live in.
Watch this video about the story of Nobel Avenue.
