Tareq Abu Hamed, from East Jerusalem, holds a PhD in Chemical Engineering. In 2008, he established the Center for Renewable Energy and Energy Conservation (CREEC) at the Arava Institute. In 2013 he became the Israeli Ministry of Science’s Deputy Chief Scientist, and later the Acting Chief Scientist, the highest ranking Palestinian in the Israeli government. He returned to the Arava Institute in 2016 as Director of CREEC and Academic Director, and was appointed Executive Director in 2021.