Mara Beller

Mara Beller was born in 1945 in Chernivtsi

Mara Beller was born Mara Baruch in Chernivtsi, in the Soviet Union, in 1945. She moved to Israel in 1964.

She studied physics and mathematics at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and then earned a master's degree in the history and philosophy of science there in 1976. In 1983 she received a doctorate in history from the University of Maryland. Her dissertation dealt with the early interpretations of quantum physics between 1925 and 1927.

In 1984 she joined the Hebrew University's program in the history and philosophy of science. She became a senior lecturer in 1990 and a full professor in 1998, and served as pro-rector from 2001 to 2004. Her 1999 book Quantum Dialogue examined how the debate over quantum mechanics was shaped, with a critical view of the role of Niels Bohr.

She took part in the public debate around the Sokal affair and argued for teaching alternatives to the Copenhagen interpretation. In her later years she wrote a play about an imagined love affair between Marina Tsvetaeva and Albert Einstein. She was married to Aharon and had a son and a daughter. She died in 2004, and her play was staged at the Hebrew University in 2005.