Zvy Dubinsky

Zvy Dubinsky (b. 1934, Barcelona) is an emeritus Professor at Bar Ilan University, Ramat Gan, Israel, where he obtained his Ph.D. in 1978, working on the photosynthesis of Lake Kinneret (Israel) phytoplankton. In that pioneering study he developed the theoretical and experimental tools for the in situ determination of photosynthetic quantum yields. As a postdoctoral fellow at Queens College, NY, he worked on the physiology and biochemistry of algal lipids and on their potential in biofuel production. During a sabbatical with Paul Falkowski at Brookhaven National Laboratories he studied the photo-acclimation of phytoplankton, where he changed the field markedly. Subsequently, he developed a strong interest in coral ecology and photobiology, formulating the first integrated views unifying energy and nutrient fluxes in zooxanthellate corals. These views helped us understand the detrimental effects of anthropogenic eutrophication on coral reefs. Additional projects were the ecophysiology of desert invertebrates and the physiology of mangroves. Prof. Dubinsky spent sabbaticals at Brookhaven National Laboratories, Rockefeller University, and three periods at the Research Center for Advanced Science and Technology, Tokyo University. He participated in several research expeditions to the coral reefs of Sinai, Antarctica, Eritrea, and the Seychelles, and worked on research projects at the Australian Institute of Marine Science, Hawaii Institute of Marine Biology, and the University of the Ryukyus, Okinawa. Professor Dubinsky has sponsored over 30 M.Sc. and 30 Ph.D. students and has published over 200 scientific papers. He edited the volume Coral Reefs (vol 25, Ecosystems of the World, Elsevier, 1990). He is co- editor of the Springer volumes: Coral Reefs: An Ecosystem in Transition (2010), All Flesh Is Grass: Plant-Animal Interrelationships (2010), and The Mediterranean Sea: Its history and present challenges (2013). Professor Dubinsky is the recipient of several grants, the most recent current ones are the prestigious ERC CORALWARM € 3,300,000 to study global climate change effects on coral reefs, and a series of current grants to study various aspects of the photosynthesis of algae for the production of biodiesel and fine chemicals. Professor Dubinsky teaches a course Man and the Biosphere at the Faculty of Life Sciences at Bar Ilan university and is the Head of the MBA in Management of Natural Resources Program at the Netanya academic College. Zvy Dubinsky is an avid art photographer who exhibited his work in several galleries in Israel and had published many scientific journal covers.