Yigal  currently lives in Beersheva, Israel where he is a Full Professor and  Chairman of the Physics Department – his third tenure as  elected chairman (2 year periods) which  means that  he is an astute politician, aside from being a world-reknowned physicist. He intends to retire in 2009 after returning  from a two year sabbatical starting March 2007 (one year at Columbia University,  the other at Wollongong University in Australia (near Sydney). For those interested in following the exquisitely boring details of his scientific career, they are welcome to visit the web page of Ben Gurion University and follow the links. 

Yigal and Atara Horowitz

Yigal does still have some connections to Canada. His two brothers, Gad and Asher are professors of Political Science at the Universities of Toronto and York respectively. Yigal also spend a sabbatical year at Chalk River Nuclear laboratories and Ontario Hydro in 1992/93. Yigal had a research project with CANDU (Canadian owned group of Nuclear reactors) to study the energy distribution of radioactive beta particles (little itsy bitsy pieces of electricity for those of you with a scientific bent) in the workplace. A highly applied project which, however, paid well.

Yigal returned to McGill Univesity in 1963 to receive his PhD in 1968 in experimental Nuclear Physics.  He studied Biophysics  from 1961-1963 at the University of Chicago but failed in competitive cards (major in   bridge /minor in poker) as well as a few other courses and had to return home due to a lack of funds. He lived in a small room in a famous professor’s house (Prof. Daniel Boorstin –I’m not sure that I spelled the name correctly – it was 45 years ago) and did the supper dishes for his board. His wife was very disturbed when I left/penniless in the middle of the semester since it meant that she had nobody to do the dishes for a few days.

Yigal is married to Atara (since 1971) and this is certainly the best thing that has happened to him  - ever. She won the “most-beautiful legs belonging to a  student” award at the Hebrew University in 1967. Atara is a highly successful PhD chemist/ crystal grower (for scientific applications not spiritual healing and various other mumbo-jumbo). Yigal has three grown daughters and five grandchildren – the oldest is 8, the youngest a few months. His son, David Michael, died at the age of 13 in 1990 following a liver transplant in Pittsburgh at the age of six. He succumbed to a mysterious blood disorder following a dosage of experimental anti-rejection drugs.

Yigal’s hobbies (in the order of his proficiency)  are scrabble (where he has a built-in advantage over Atara since he speaks English better  than she for obvious reasons); pool (which he plays with  the husbands of his daughters (is there a word for that ? )-where he has an advantage since they let him win out of respect), gardening (since Atara is an avid gardener), traveling, wine and women.

Yigal will not send a picture of  himself because he looks exceptionally well (although he was always bald –from the age of five, he  recalls)  for his 67 years and does not want to make the pot-bellied/flabbyhairy  golden/age seniors,  with whom   he graduated,  green/apoplectic  with envy.