In memoriam
Moshe studied at the Department of Aeronautical Engineering at the Technion. Already as an undergraduate, he excelled in his studies, and began to collaborate with senior faculty members in the Department, Prof. Arens and Prof. Kogan among them. He completed his M.Sc. studies with high honors.
After receiving his M.Sc. degree, he began his doctorate at the prestigious MIT in Boston, Massachusetts. His thesis subject was numerical solutions of rotational flows, and Prof. Harvey Greenspan was his thesis advisor. At that time, the 1960s, computers were still complex and complicated to use, and unpredictable as far as their performance was concerned. Moshe overcame all the challenges with elegance.
After receiving his doctorate, Moshe was offered positions in prestigious institutions in the USA, the Department of Meteorology at Harvard University among those, but Moshe chose to return to Israel to the Technion. In the beginning, he joined the Department of Applied Mathematics. Following that, he joined the Department of Computer Science, which had just been established.
In subsequent years, Moshe concentrated on the development of areas of research he loved: Combination of numerical and theoretical solutions of difficult problems with a practical background. His interest was in several disciplines: flows in the atmosphere and in oceans, the acoustics of the ear, flow in veins, electronic devices, electrical power and hydrogen generation via solar energy.
He advised many M.Sc. and Ph.D. students and served as consultant in industrial projects. As adviser, Moshe exhibited lots of patience, tolerance, and utmost perseverance. His door was always open to his students, both for academic and for personal matters, such as securing scholarships and positions. Several of his students reached high ranking positions in academia and industry.
Moshe excelled also in nurturing strong personal relationships, especially with academics of high ranking in Israel and and abroad, at prestigious universities, such as MIT, Princeton, and Yale. Through his academic connections, his graduate supervision, and his participation in various committees at the Technion, he contributed greatly to research at the Technion.
His friends received with deep sorrow the bitter news on his untimely death. His funeral was held on Monday, February 19th, 2007. Those who eulogized him described him as a person with a warm and special personality, with abundant humor and sharp wit.
Prof. Moshe Israeli was married to the poetess and writer Ilana Even-Tov Israeli. He was father to three sons: Yagil, a computer expert and photographer, and Yuval, a musician. He lost his son, Captain Ronen Israeli, who graduated from the Mathematics Department at the Technion, and was only twenty years old at the time of his death.
Moshe will be missed by all those who knew him. May he rest in peace.