JCT Mourns Professor Joseph Bodenheimer z"l

Born in 1941 in Cambridge, England, Joseph Bodenheimer moved with his family to the new State of Israel, at the age of eight. He served in the Israel Defense Forces, was awarded a Fulbright Scholarship in 1961 (which he declined) and received his Ph.D. from the Hebrew University. During post-doctoral studies in laser spectrometry at King's College, London University, Prof. Bodenheimer discovered two previously unknown phase transitions and developed a new spectrometric technique.  During a Sabbatical in 1978 at Kodak Laboratories, as their first non-American guest researcher, he carried out ground-breaking research in the field of DVDs.

With the founding of the Jerusalem College of Technology (Machon Lev) in 1969, Prof. Bodenheimer joined the Department of Electro-optics and was appointed Department head in 1982, subsequently becoming a full Professor of Electro-optics two years later.  In 1989 he was elected rector. He then served as president of JCT for sixteen years until 2009. Under his leadership, JCT became a world-class institute combining Torah and academic studies, supporting Israel’s position as a global hi-tech superpower.

Upon his retirement, Professor Bodenheimer became Editor-in-chief of B’Or Ha’Torah, the Journal of Science, Life and Art in the Light of Torah. JCT published eight volumes of this peer-reviewed journal on the interrelationship of Judaism, science and technology, psychology, the arts, and social issues between 2010 and 2022.

Professor Bodenheimer helped make Israel a world leader in the field of optical engineering through his students and his own applied research. Awarded substantial research grants from institutes and foundations throughout the world, he published over 80 papers and held 11 patents for a broad range of electro-optical devices and systems. He served as consultant for numerous technology companies in Israel and the United States and was a member of several national scientific committees.

Professor Bodenheimer set aside time for daily Torah study and gave regular shiurim and lectures on Torah and science all over the world. A founding member of the California chapter of the Association of Orthodox Jewish Scientists, he was a member of the Zomet Institute for Halacha and Technology, a member of the board of Nishmat Center for Advanced Torah Study for Women, and was past president of Ramban Synagogue in Katamon, Jerusalem.

Prof. Joseph Bodenheimer was the driving force behind Machon Lev’s dynamic growth as the only college in Israel combining the academic disciplines of sophisticated technology, contemporary business and management, with intensive Jewish studies. Under his leadership, Machon Naveh for Haredi men and Machon Lustig for Haredi women were established. He went on to found Machon Tal in September 2000, the first academic program to offer religious women the opportunity to study engineering, health care and management in a religious environment and created special programs for new immigrants from Ethiopia, Russia, France, South America and English-speaking countries.

In 2019, Prof. Bodenheimer was named a Yakir Yerushalayim with the awarding of the Jerusalem Citizenship Award by Mayor Moshe Lion and the Jerusalem Municipality.

The Jerusalem College of Technology mourns the loss of a charismatic and brilliant leader.

May his memory will serve as a blessing to us always.

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