Zvi Galil
- See also Wikipedia's article about "Zvi Galil".
Zvi Galil earned his bachelor’s and master’s degrees (both summa cum laude) at Tel Aviv University, an institution his father helped establish. After completing his doctorate at Cornell University, he joined Tel Aviv University’s computer science department in 1976, becoming department chair in 1979 and a full professor in 1981.
Columbia Career
He joined Columbia’s computer science department in 1982, became the Julian Clarence Levi Professor of Mathematical Methods and Computer Science in 1987, and chaired the department from 1989 to 1994. He became dean and the Morris A. and Alma Schapiro Professor of Engineering in 1995.
His tenure as dean was among most accomplished in the School’s history. He increased the number of engineering faculty from 95 to 150, established the biomedical engineering department, and expanded the range and scope of other departments.
Under his leadership, the School’s endowment grew dramatically. One of his notable actions was renaming the school the Fu Foundation School of Engineering and Applied Science, following a $26 million gift from The Z. Y. Fu Foundation.
For students, he became a model of wise, accessible, and caring leadership. He cheerfully described himself as the “e-mail dean”, known for late-night electronic missives. Uncharacteristically for a Columbia employee, Galil seemed to actually care about students; he helped students find the right advisors, held regular fireside chats, and inspired students to broaden their educations and become involved in the community. Moreover, he had an excellent sense of humor.
Of Galil, students are on record as saying that “We have the best and most interesting dean at Columbia,” and that “No dean … is as well known and respected by the students as Dean Galil,” among other things. [1]
While he was dean, the School’s national ranking shot up, graduate applications more than doubled, and undergraduate selectivity more than tripled. When he announced his decision to take up the presidency of Tel Aviv University beginning in 2007, students started wearing shirts mourning his departure, the Engineering Student Council established a new annual award in his honor, and the Class of 2007 rallied with a 100 percent participation rate to the senior fund, a feat not accomplished before or since.
His research contributions place him at the top of his field. In 1983, the Committee of Science Policy of the American Mathematical Society listed his work on optimal statistical designs as one of five "significant recent achievements" in mathematical sciences. He was elected to the National Academy of Engineering not simply for his contributions to the design and analysis of algorithms but also for his leadership in computer science and engineering. The American Academy of Arts and Sciences selected him as a Fellow. Zvi have authored more than 200 papers, edited five books, and delivered more than 150 lectures in 20 countries.
In 2009 the Society of Columbia Graduates presented him with the 61st annual Great Teacher Award.
| Preceded by David H. Auston |
Dean of SEAS 1995 - 2007 |
Succeeded by Gerald Navratil |
