Dear friends, colleagues, and students,
On August 1, 2020, Prof. Naftali Lazarovitch replaced me as the head of the French Associates Institute for Agriculture and Biotechnology of Drylands, after the three years during which I had the privilege of being the director of this institute.
During the last three years, several activities were undertaken to promote the institute. We recruited two new researchers: Dr. Ilya Gelfand, who has been with us for three years, and Dr. Nina Kamenaya, who will start her position on October 1, 2020. In addition, we published a new call for a faculty member who will hopefully arrive at the beginning of 2021. We still have several open faculty positions, and I hope that they will be filled soon. We began, during my term, to re-organize the technicians in our institute, an action that I assume will continue in the near future. In addition, the institute purchased sophisticated equipment, which benefits all of us and strengthens the quality of our research. On the curriculum front, our institute is developing a new academic program that will enable us to offer degrees in more specific disciplines (such as agriculture, biotechnology, etc.).
I would like to take this opportunity to thank you all, the faculty and administrative and technical staff, for the support and help I received from you throughout my term. Despite some arguments and disagreements on several issues I very much enjoyed managing the institute, and I look back with a great deal of satisfaction about what was achieved during the last three years. There is no doubt that without your help, many of the initiatives that we started would not have come to fruition. Some of these will probably continue in the upcoming period, and I hope that they will promote all of our research.
I would like to express special thanks to the administrative staff members of our institute, Ilana and Dina, and to the Assistant to the Director of the Institute, Yammit, for their devoted work in coordinating all the FAAB’s activities, including seminars, conferences, and student matters, and for their willingness to be involved in every event organized by our institute.
Many thanks to our outstanding technical staff who enable us to perform excellent research. This high quality group of people helps us move to the forefront of science. I would like to take this opportunity to thank Yossi Goldstein and Shlomo Feingold who just retired after three decades of working in our institute. I wish them success in their retirement.
There is no doubt that the coming future has its challenges. The financial difficulties of our university due to the coronavirus, in addition to structural and academic changes, will affect the BIDR as a whole and our institute in particular. I hope that we will be able to smoothly adapt to these changes.
Dear Naftali: In the many conversations we have had recently, while transferring the job to you, I could see how many things you want to change and improve, and the projects you wish to initiate. I have known you for many years, and I am confident that the task you have taken upon yourself is very important to you. I have no doubt that you will do your job in an excellent and professional manner and with a great deal of motivation. I would like to wish you all the best, and I will be glad to offer my help at any time.
Prof. Jhonathan Ephrath