I am a professor of marine geophysics and co-founder of the Dr. Moses Strauss Department of Marine Geosciences at the University of Haifa, Israel. I am also Head of the Laboratory for Applied Geophysics. I obtained my PhD in Geophysics and Planetary Sciences from Tel Aviv University in 2004 on active tectonics of the northern Dead Sea basin. My main research direction of the last few years has been centered on the connection between geological processes occurring in the marine and lacustrine environment and how they potentially affect human populations. Seafloor currents lead to sand transport and affect the coastline. Gas seeps release methane from the seafloor driving climate change and increasing sea levels. Both processes leave their mark on the geology and history of the coastal environment. My work revolves around examination of the shallow subsurface through high-resolution geophysical methods to detect, analyze and interpret Holocene-recent effects of tectonics and geology on the environment and on human populations. I am interested not only in how natural geological processes shaped human settlement patterns in the past (tsunamis, sea level rise, etc), but also how ancient settlers shaped their natural environment and in doing so, changed geological process (quarrying stone along the coast increased coastal erosion and created beaches where there were none; redirecting river patterns; etc.).
In addition, to my academic career I am also a professional multidisciplinary artist with over 25 years’ experience, more recently focused on exploring the art-science interface. My work is exhibited worldwide and can be found in many important private collections and public institutions. This duality has strengthened my feeling that as scientists it is our job not only to conduct high-quality research, but also to disseminate our knowledge to the general public. I have dedicated efforts to bridge the gap between science and art and through the latter, make science more accessible to various communities. Over the last few years, along with teaching my scientific courses, I have also begun to teach in the School of Arts. This began with a course entitled “Sound and Environment in Arts and Science”, which used sound as a way to explore scientific and artistic concepts. My new course - “An Interdisciplinary Approach to Environmental Problems (or Climate Change for Artists)”, provides students of the arts with the basic scientific background on environmental change they need to deepen their artistic research. In 2021, I co-curated an online artistic exhibition at COP-26 together with the UN’s Race to Zero (entitled Echoes of the Future). Since 2022, I have co-chaired a special session at the European Geosciences Union (EGU) annual meeting on the art-science interface, and am currently guest editor for a special collection of papers on the topic in Cell Press’s prestigious journal iScience. I also beginning to publish articles on artistic research in leading peer-reviewed journals.