Distinguished Prof. Marek’s expertise in in organic synthesis — the art and science of constructing organic molecules, such as those found in living creatures and in some synthetic materials. He pioneered new methodologies to connect carbon atoms that efficiently prepare highly sophisticated molecular backbones (the building blocks of life), drastically minimizing waste production. 

Born in Haifa, Distinguished Prof. Marek is a binational French-Israeli chemist who received his bachelor’s, master’s, and Ph.D. degrees in chemistry at the University Pierre et Marie Curie in Paris. He conducted postdoctoral work in Belgium and held a research position at the French National Centre for Scientific Research before joining the Technion faculty in September 1997. 

Distinguished Prof. Marek has held the Sir Michael and Lady Sobell Academic Chair since 2015 and is a member of the French Academy of Sciences, the Israel Academy of Sciences and Humanities, and the Academia Europaea. 

He has received two dozen awards, most recently the 2021 Arthur C. Cope Scholars Award from the American Chemical Society. Distinguished Prof. Marek also received the Yanai Award for excellence in teaching in 2016, and various other Technion and Israel-sponsored honors.