Adi Ben-Zvi

About Me

Academic Degrees

2019-Today Ph.D. Nanoscience and Nanotechnology, Prof. Guy Ramon lab, Technion.

2012-2015 M.Sc. Chemistry, Prof. Brian Berkowitz lab, Weizmann Institute of Science.

2008-2012 B.Sc. Summa Cum Laude in Environmental Engineering; Technion.

My Professional Journey

I study membranes for water desalination, more specifically the relationship between the synthesis of membranes to their structure and later to performance.

My dream since I was a child is to become a researcher in academy, I am fascinated by nature and my motivation is to find solutions to environmental problems inspired by nature while using sustainable products. After completing my BSc from the Technion Summa Cum Laude in Environmental Engineering I continued for MSc studies in Environmental Chemistry at Weizmann, I studied the transport of pharmaceuticals in groundwater in Prof. Brian Berkowitz lab.

Upon finishing my MSc I wanted to gain practical industry experience before continuing in Academia, because I understood the importance of collaboration between Academia and industry. I was employed at Mekorot in Ashkelon as a desalination and water quality engineer. During my time at Mekorot I initiated different engineering projects, which won grants and awards such as: an Israel Innovation Authority Grant for treating brine effluents from inland desalination plants with wetlands- one of the first in the world. My experience has emphasized the critical need to comprehend desalination membranes, with the goal of improving them and developing next generation sustainable materials for membrane fabrication.

Fully motivated, I started my PhD in polymeric membranes studies in Prof. Guy Ramon’s lab at the Technion. During my PhD I presented my research in 4 international conferences, won various academic awards, was a tutor in 3 academic courses, and established important collaborations with leading groups in the field of membranes. Among them is with Prof. Manish Kumar from the university of Texas-Austin who I worked with for 2 months afforded by BSF Rahamimoff travel grant.

For my Postdoc I plan to continue with cutting-edge research in Prof. Menachem Elimelech’s lab at Yale University, New Haven. Our plan is to shed light on the morphology-performance relationship in desalination membranes to improve their performance. The prospect of learning from and being guided by a top-tier researcher like Prof. Elimelech, combined with the robust academic infrastructure and opportunities available in the US, drives my strong motivation to pursue research excellence in membrane science and environmental studies to design sustainable solutions for crucial environmental problems.

Publications

Accepted

Adi Ben Zvi*, Usman Taqui Syed*, Guy Z. Ramon and Suzana Nunes (2024). Alternative materials for interfacial polymerization: recent approaches for greener membranes. Green Chemistry.

Adi Ben Zvi*, Ines Nulens*, Ivo Vankelecom, Guy Z. Ramon (2022). Re-thinking polyamide thin film formation: How does interfacial destabilization dictate film morphology?. Journal of membrane science, 656, 1-15.

Cody L. Ritt*, Timoth´ee Stassin*, Douglas M. Davenport, Ryan M. DuChanois, Ines Nulens , Zhe Yang , Adi Ben-Zvi , Naama Segev-Mark , Menachem Elimelech , Chuyang Y. Tang , Guy Z. Ramon , Ivo F.J. Vankelecom , Rhea Verbeke (2021). The open membrane database: Synthesis–structure–performance relationships of reverse osmosis membranes. Journal of membrane science, 641, 1-9.

Adi Menahem, Ishai Dror, Brian Berkowitz (2016). Transport of gadolinium- and arsenic-based pharmaceuticals in saturated soil under various redox conditions. Chemosphere, 144, 713–720.

Submitted

Adi Ben Zvi, Guy Z. Ramon (2024). Hydrodynamic instability triggered by interfacial polymerization. Physics of Fluids (in review).

Awards

• 2024 Vaadia-BARD Postdoctoral Fellowship.
• 2024 Fulbright Postdoctoral Fellowship
• 2023 EMS Conference Fee Award for ICOM2023 (International congress on membrane and membrane processes), 5 recipients every 4 years.
• 2023 Elias Klein Founders’ Travel award for NAMS (North American Membrane Society) conference, 20 recipients annually.
• 2022-2023 Jewish National Fund (JNF) Climate Scholarship for outstanding PhD students, 36 recipients annually.
• 2022 Prof. Rahamimoff Travel Grant for Young Scientists of the US-Israel Binational Science Foundation (BSF), ~28% success rate, 20 recipients annually.
• 2022 Maccabim foundation, award, for outstanding PhD students.
• 2018 Innovation award Watec-Israel.
• 2018 Innovative Grant award for constructed wetland, the Israel Innovation Authority.
• 2009-2012 President's list Honors Diploma for scholastic achievements, every semester.
• 2008 Dean’s Excellence Award, second semester.
• 2008-2012 A four-year full scholarship for academic excellence ‘Atidim for Industry’ from the Civil and Environmental Engineering faculty.

Conferences

3D nanostructure of hydrated polyamide desalination membrane, is it different from the well-reported dry state?, Israel society of microscopy ISM, Ben-Gurion University, 27-28.5.2024, Ben-Zvi A., Yao C., Ramon G.Z, Kumar M., Segal-Peretz T.

Towards Better Understanding of Synthesis-Morphology-Performance in Polyamide Membranes: Visualization under Controlled Reaction Conditions, NAMS (Tuscaloosa, Alabama), 13-17.5.2023, Ben Zvi A., Ramon G.Z.

Interfacial Polymerization dynamics: new insights on film formation using in-situ microscopy and particle-tracking, EMS (Sorrento, Italy), 20-24.11.2022, Ben Zvi A., Ramon G.Z.

Interfacial Polymerization kinetics: new insights on film formation using in-situ microscopy and particle-tracking, NAMS (Tempe, Arizona), 14-18.5.2022, Ben Zvi A., Ramon G.Z.

Re-thinking polyamide thin film formation: How interfacial destabilization dictates film morphology, NAMS (Boulder, Colorado), 29.8-2.9.2021, Ben Zvi A., Nulens I., Vankelecom I.F.J, Ramon G.Z

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