Zvi Arad

Zvi Arad was born in 1942 in Petah Tikva

Zvi Arad was born on April 16, 1942, in Petah Tikva, and grew up there. His original family name was Erdinast. He finished high school at Midreshiat Noam in Pardes Hanna.

He studied mathematics at Bar-Ilan University through the academic reserve program and earned his first degree in 1964. After his army service, he completed his master's and doctoral studies in mathematics at Tel Aviv University. He received his doctorate in 1974.

Arad joined the Bar-Ilan faculty in 1968 and became a full professor in 1983. He headed the mathematics and computer science department, served as dean of natural sciences and mathematics, and became rector and president of the university. With Bernard Pinchuk he founded the Gelbart Institute and the Emmy Noether Institute.

He wrote Products of Conjugacy Classes with Marcel Herzog, a work linked to the field of table algebras. He took part in developing Bar-Ilan's regional colleges in Safed, Ashkelon and the Jordan Valley, and joined Israel's first official delegation to the Soviet Union, led by Ezer Weizman. He also signed many research cooperation agreements with institutions abroad.

At the request of Netanya's mayors, he founded Netanya Academic College and served as its president. He ended that term on October 29, 2017, and became the college's chancellor. He died on February 4, 2018.