Congregation Neveh Shalom and the Suher Family would be honored to have you join us for:
The 7th Annual Yoni Suher (z”l) Scholar-in-Residence
“Science, Artificial Intelligence, and the Human Connection” with Award-Winning Physicist, Professor Daniel Zajfman
May 3-5, 2024
Schedule of Events
Science for the Benefit of Humanity
Friday, May 3, 7:00pm, Dinner and Talk (After 6:15pm Service)
A presentation on the journey to the paradise of science
Artificial Intelligence: A Panel Discussion
Saturday, May 4, 7:00pm, Dessert and Beverages
A panel of experts leads us through where we are and where we might be heading with AI technology.
Co-sponsored by Israel360
The Science of Beauty by Professor Daniel Zajfman
Sunday, May 5, 10:00am, Brunch and Talk
Explore the understanding of beauty and why we find beauty in the different things that we see.
Co-Sponsored by CNS Men’s Club and Sisterhood
AI and the intersection of the United States and Israeli development
Sunday, May 5, 2:00pm, Refreshments Served
A panel of experts will weigh in on where AI is going and how will Israel and the US contribute to the development.
Complimentary meals or desserts are provided at each talk with RSVP.
Questions or trouble with the RSVP? Contact: receptionist@nevehshalom.org, 503.246.8831.
Seating is limited.
All talks will be held at:
Congregation Neveh Shalom
2900 SW Peaceful Lane | Portland, OR
Yonatan “Yoni” Suher, z”l
(March 16, 1976 – March 19, 2016)
Yoni Suher, z”l was tragically killed in March, 2016 in a suicide bombing in central Istanbul, Turkey, while on a culinary tour with his wife Inbal, celebrating his 40th birthday. Three other Israelis traveling with this group were also killed in the bombing, and 11 more Israelis, including Inbal, were seriously wounded.
Yoni had deep roots here at Neveh Shalom. Yoni’s father, Randy Suher, was a member of Neveh Shalom, and his grandmother, Ethel Katz (Suher) Briller, was a beloved longtime director of our Foundation School. Yoni was born into our CNS community before the family moved to Israel when he was one.
Yoni was the father of Goni (17) and Uri (14), son of Randy and Yael Suher, nephew of CNS member Brian (Barbara Atlas) Suher, and grandson of the late Ted Suher, z”l, a past president of Neveh Shalom in the late 1960s.
About Prof. Daniel Zajfman
Born in Belgium in 1959, Daniel Zajfman moved to Israel in 1979. He received a BSc (1983) and a PhD in atomic physics (1989) from the Technion – Israel Institute of Technology. As a postdoctoral fellow, Prof. Zajfman spent two years at the Argonne National Laboratory near Chicago. He returned to Israel in 1991 and joined the Weizmann Institute’s Department of Particle Physics and Astrophysics. Since 2001, he has been an external member of the Max Planck Institute of Nuclear Physics in Heidelberg, Germany, and in 2005, he was appointed Director of that Institute. In November 2006, Prof. Zajfman was elected the tenth Weizmann Institute of Science president. He assumed this position on December 1, 2006, becoming, at the age of 47, the youngest President the Institute ever had. He stepped down from the President’s position in December 2019. He was a member of the Senate of the Max-Planck Society in Germany from 2011 to 2023 and was appointed, in 2020, Chair of the Academic Board of the Israel Science Foundation.
His scientific activities focus on the dynamics of atomic and molecular ions using advanced ion trapping methods. These researches have implications about how the interstellar medium behaves, how stars and planets are being formed, and the origin of life.
In addition to his research activities and science management positions, Prof. Zajfman has invested much time and effort in community outreach to the public in general and youth in particular. He was the Chair of the Davidson Institute of Science Education board between 2015 to 2022, and he is the Chair of the board of the Schwartz/Reisman Science Education Centers, managed by Dr. Ronen Mir who is a first cousin of Yael Suher, the mother of Yoni Suher z’’l.
Prof. Zajfman is the recipient of several awards, including the Commandeur dans l’ordre de palmes academiques (France), The Harnack Medal (Germany), the Commander of the Order of Leopold (Belgium), he is a member of the American Academy of Arts and Science and received an honorary doctorate from the Technion, Israel Institute of Technology, Israel. He has published more than 180 scientific papers and has been invited to more than 50 scientific lectures and many science education and science policy lectures worldwide.
This event, including all meals, is underwritten by the Stan and Ethel Katz Briller Jewish Education Fund of the Oregon Jewish Community Foundation and the Yoni Suher Fund of Congregation Neveh Shalom.
