Leadership

Past Leadership

In 1968, the Hebrew University of Jerusalem inaugurated the Marine Biology Laboratory (MBL) in Eilat, led by Prof. Heinz Steinitz, who conceived, initiated, and carried out its establishment. From its inauguration until 1984, the site operated as the Hebrew University’s Marine Biology Laboratory. Since 1984, its research and teaching infrastructures have functioned as the Interuniversity Institute for Marine Sciences in Eilat (IUI).

Directors of the Marine Biology Laboratory, 1968–1984

1968–1971 – The Marine Biology Laboratory was managed by its founder, Prof. Heinz Steinitz. Following his passing in April 1971, the laboratory was named in his memory.

1971–1984 – The “H. Steinitz Marine Biology Laboratory” was managed by faculty members of the Hebrew University and a resident scientist in Eilat, who oversaw daily operations:

• From 1971–1982, the position rotated among Profs. Dov Por, Moshe Shilo, Zeev Reiss, and briefly Dov Koller. The role of local director was held in sequence by Drs. Ilan Paperna, Yehuda Cohen, and Jonathan Erez.
• In 1982–1984, management shifted to Prof. Itzhak Parnas, who appointed Avi Baranes as local director.

Leadership of the Interuniversity Institute, from 1984

In 1984, the Hebrew University and the Planning and Budgeting Committee (PBC) decided to change the status of the H. Steinitz Marine Biology Laboratory from a university-based laboratory to an interuniversity institute jointly shared by all Israeli research universities. To ensure proper representation, the IUI was structured with three leadership roles:

• Scientific Director – a professor from the Hebrew University.
• Chair of the Managing Board – a professor from another Israeli university.
• Administrative Director – a resident manager.

Chairs of the Managing Board

 

Name	Period	Institution
Prof. Yoel Gat (the late)	[dates missing]	Weizmann Institute of Science
Prof. Yossi Loya	1996–1999	Tel Aviv University
Prof. Zvi Dubinsky (the late)	2000–2008	Bar-Ilan University
Prof. Shlomo (Steve) Brenner	2008–2012	Bar-Ilan University
Prof. Daniel Weihs	2012–2019	Technion – Israel Institute of Technology
Prof. Shmuel (Shmulik) Marco	2019–2023	Tel Aviv University
Prof. Yitzhak Mastai	2024–Present	Bar-Ilan University

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Scientific Directors

Name	Period
Prof. Micha Spira	1984–1986
Prof. Boaz Luz	1986–1989
Prof. Micha Spira	1989–1996
Prof. Jonathan Erez	1996–2001
Prof. Michael Ottolenghi (the late)	2001–2006
Prof. Aaron Kaplan	2006–2012
Prof. Amatzia Genin	2012–2018
Prof. Jaap van Rijn	2018–2021
Prof. Nir Keren	2021–Present

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Administrative Directors

 

Name	Period
Dr. Avi Baranes	1984–2004
Prof. Danny Chernov	2004–2009
Dr. Efrat Fine	2009–2019
Mr. Modi Pillersdorf, MBA, M.Sc.	2019–Present