In a stunning display of scientific prowess, Israeli researcher Dr. Eliad Peretz is set to receive his fourth Medal of Excellence from NASA. This latest accolade is for exceptional achievements in technology in 2024. The prestigious medal recognizes his work in developing high-definition photography technology for visible light.
Dr. Peretz, a Technion Aerospace Engineering alumni, is a senior researcher at NASA’s Goddard Center, will also receive a group medal for leading the ORCAS-KECK-LCRD project team. This adds to a remarkable collection of honors, which includes a Medal for Outstanding Engineering Achievements in 2023 and an Outstanding Achievements Medal in 2022. In 2020, he was recognized with a Medal of Excellence for Early Career Employees, as well as two other awards that same year. This impressive streak of wins is a rarity, even though the medals are awarded annually.
Dr. Peretz was born in Eilat to Dana and Naftali. He has always been interested in aviation and science, so he enlisted in a pilot course (from which he dropped out), and after military service and preparatory school at the Technion, he began studying at the Faculty of Aerospace Engineering at the Technion. At the Technion, he met his wife, Dr. Avi Goldman, who came to Israel as part of the US State Department’s Fulbright Program for a year of research under the guidance of Prof. Gitti Frey, currently the Dean of the Faculty of Materials Science and Engineering. Dr. Goldman is currently an advisor to the White House on science and technology policy. They are the parents of three daughters: Shoshana, Ruth, and Efrat.
“Many years have passed since my first degree at the Technion,” he says, “but I have never forgotten where I came from. I was privileged to meet the then-Technion president, Prof. Peretz Lavie, when I interviewed him in the student newspaper and on my program on Technion Radio, and since then our paths have continued to cross in the decades that followed. It is important for me to note the support I received from the Technion Student Advancement Unit and its significant contribution to my life path. Looking back, the main tools I received at the Technion are the ability to learn a completely new subject quickly and to a very high level, as well as to manage my schedule effectively. In my career, these are things that are no less important than solving equations.”
