Ben Gurion University (BGU) is where Dawn is completing her post-doc in mathematics. It is named after Israel's first prime minister, David Ben Gurion, who proclaimed that the Negev region (this area) held the key to Israel's future prosperity. Today, BGU is home to about 18,000 students and is one of the most prestigious universities in Israel, and the pride of Be'er Sheva.
Here, finally, are some pictures to let everyone at home know what the campus looks like where Dawn and Josh spend much of their time. The space-age, large, boxy, stair-step building is the university's central library. The small creek, palm-like trees, and grasses are some of the landscaping, though, this being desert, there is more concrete than anything else. The Student Center (entrance pictured) is where the bookstore, cafeteria, and several university services are located. Adjacent to and part of the larger Student Center is our bank.
Heading east across the next driveway is the long, seemingly continuous building that houses physics (near end) and mathematics (far end), though they are actually two separate, but connected buildings. When it is hot, and often at other times too, we duck inside at the far end of the physics building and walk the rest of the way to the Deichmann Building (math) indoors. The Deichmanns are German benefactors of the university who donated the money to build the mathematics complex in 1997-98. BGU is a relatively small campus area-wise, about 1/3 the size of the UO's campus, yet has almost as many students. The buildings are concrete and glass structures that average four stories tall and are spaced close to one another. The large amount of sidewalks, concrete, and pavement cuts down on the need for expensive watering and landscaping. This is my hypothesis, anyway. We always appreciate hearing from friends and family back home!
