Avital
Wagner

Avital Wagner is a PhD student in the Department of Chemistry at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev under the supervision of Azrieli Early Career Faculty Alum Dr. Benjamin Palmer.

Her research focuses on the formation and crystallization pathways of biogenic guanine crystals.

In nature, the assembly and morphologies of these crystals are exquisitely controlled to create different optical phenomena associated with animal coloration and vision. However, almost nothing is known about how organisms make the crystals themselves. Avital follows the morphogenesis of guanine crystals in model organisms during development using cryogenic scanning and transmission electron microscopy and synchrotron x-ray diffraction methods. Her aim is to adapt the strategies used by organisms to the laboratory and develop new green routes for making the artificial molecular crystals used in optics, pharmaceuticals, and other fields.

Avital grew up in Rehovot and currently lives in Be’er Sheva. While growing up, Avital was a competitive swimmer on the Maccabi-Weisgal- Rehovot team. She did her military service as a chemistry and materials lab assistant in the Technology and Maintenance Corps. While completing her BSc and MSc degrees in materials engineering at Ben-Gurion University, she actively participated in tutoring and mentoring students and organizing enrichment activities. Avital’s MSc studies centred on optical properties of doped ceramics, and she has multiple publications resulting from her research. In her spare time, Avital enjoys reading books, playing word games, spending time with family and friends, and hiking around the Negev desert.