David Harel

Prof. David Harel is a distinguished academic at the Weizmann Institute of Science, holding the William Sussman Professorial Chair since 1980. He has served as Head of the Department of Applied Mathematics and Computer Science (1989–1995) and Dean of the Faculty of Mathematics and Computer Science (1998–2005). He currently leads the John von Neumann Minerva Center for the Development of Reactive Systems. His scholarly contributions span theoretical computer science and applied systems engineering.

• Education:
  • BSc, Bar-Ilan University (1974)
  • MSc, Tel-Aviv University (1976)
  • PhD, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (1978)

His research bridges fundamental and applied domains, including computability theory (levels of undecidability), logics of programs (dynamic logic), database theory (query languages), and automata theory. Later work focused on software and systems engineering, visual languages, biological modeling, and innovative odor communication systems.

• Scientific Honors:
  • ACM Karlstrom Outstanding Educator Award (1992)
  • Stevens Award (1996)
  • Israel Prize (2004)
  • ACM SIGSOFT Awards (2006, 2008)
  • Emet Prize (2010)
  • Fellowships: ACM, IEEE, AAAS, Academia Europaea

Harel co-founded I-Logix, Inc. (1984), whose tools (Statemate, Rhapsody, Play-Engine) influenced UML behavioral modeling. He invented statecharts and co-invented live sequence charts (LSCs) and reactive animation. His expository works include the popular science books Computers Ltd. and Algorithmics.