In Memory of Prof. Tom Berman of IOLR
Prof. Tommy Berman of IOLR, an aquatic scientist held in high regard around the world, was found dead in the Galapagos Islands on April 14, 2013, at age 79. He appears to have fallen from a cliff while hiking alone.
In 1968 Tommy Berman established the Kinneret Limnological Laboratory on the shores of Lake Kinneret. A microbiologist trained at MIT, he was a much-loved member of the IOLR faculty who mentored generations of researchers.
He was born in Czechoslovakia before World War II and, through the Kindertransport, was evacuated to Scotland, where he grew up. In his youth he made aliyah and went on to become a lifelong member of Kibbutz Amiad.
IOLR supporters join his family, friends and colleagues in grieving this sudden loss. Below you will find links to an article reprinted from Haaretz.com and to several eulogies for Tommy delivered by IOLR colleagues and by the head of Kibbutz Amiad.
- Tommy Berman, by Alon Sadeh, General Secretary Kibbutz Amiad
- Professor Tommy Berman - In Memoriam, by Prof. Barak Herut, Director General IOLR
- In Memoriam - Tommy Berman, by Yuval Cohen, former Director General IOLR
- In Memoriam - Tommy Berman, by Dr. Tamar Zohary, Director Kinneret Limnological Laboratory
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Prof. Tom Berman's legacy lives on through the Kinneret Limnological Laboratory he founded and the researchers he mentored at IOLR. The eulogies linked above offer personal tributes from colleagues and from Kibbutz Amiad, where he made his home.