In academic circles, there is a recognized passage that countless follow, but at which few truly excel. There are but a comparative handful of truly great minds in every generation, and these are the people that make the world a better place. These are the finders of grand theories or major paradigms, groundbreaking technology, and life-saving medicine. Dr. Joseph Schlessinger is one such great mind.
In his academic career, he has created more than a ten other scientists put together. Like most of the world’s leading scientists, he had an impressive start, first receiving his Bachelor’s degree in Chemistry and Physics in 1968 from Hebrew University in Jerusalem, followed by a Masters in Chemistry in 1970 from the same place. The young Schlessinger glided easily through those early years of academia, graduating magna cum laude both times.
Staying firmly dedicated to his end goal, he was immediately admitted to the Weizmann Institute of Science in Rehovot, Israel, where he received his Ph.D. in 1974, after submitting his successful thesis work on “Study of Chemical and Biological Systems by Circular Polarization of Fluorescence.” As a postdoc fellow between 1974 and 1976, he began his research enthusiastically at Cornell’s Department of Chemistry and Applied Physics.
After a successful post doctoral experience at Cornell University, he spent the next few years at increasingly more ambitious pursuits, including a position at the NIH, followed by a long tenure at the Weizmann Institute that culminated in his appointment as full professor in the Department of Chemical Immunology.
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Tags: chemical immunology, circular polarization, magna cum laude, postdoc fellow, rehovot israel, weizmann institute of science