Prof. Daniel Zajfman is the president of the Weizmann Institute of Science. Born in Belgium in 1959, he moved to Israel in 1979. He received a Ph.D. in 1989 from the Technion – Israel Institute of Technology in atomic physics. After completing postdoctoral research at the Argonne National Laboratory, he returned to Israel, joining the Weizmann Institute's Particle Physics Department. He was appointed full professor in 2003 and has been an external member of the Max Planck Institute of Nuclear Physics in Heidelberg, Germany since 2001. In 2005, he was appointed Director in that institute.

Prof. Zajfman's research interests focus on atomic and molecular physics. He seeks to understand the astrophysical conditions found in star-forming regions, as well as working to solve the riddle of star formation.

Prof. Zajfman has invested much time and effort in community outreach, both to the general public and to youth. As President of the Institute, he has worked to strengthen its commitment to promoting excellence and to basic science.