Yitzhak Apeloig

Yitzhak Apeloig was born in 1944 in Bukhara

Apeloig was born in Bukhara in the Uzbek SSR on 1 September 1944. His family had fled the Nazis after the invasion of Poland in September 1939. In 1947 the family immigrated to Israel.

He served in the Nahal Brigade and the paratroopers from 1962 to 1964. At the Hebrew University of Jerusalem he earned a BA in physics and chemistry in 1967, a master's degree in 1969 and a Ph.D. in chemistry in 1974. He then did postdoctoral research at Princeton University with Paul v. R. Schleyer.

He joined the Technion faculty in 1976 and became a professor in 1983. His research used quantum mechanical calculations to predict the properties of unknown silicon compounds and to suggest ways to prepare them. He served as dean of the Faculty of Chemistry and was named Teacher of the Year 3 times.

From 2001 to 2009 he was president of the Technion, succeeding Amos Lapidot and followed by Peretz Lavie. During this time he set up interdisciplinary centers, including the Russell Berrie Nanotechnology Institute. He died in Haifa on 28 May 2026 and was survived by his wife Tzipi and 2 children.