Prof. Shlomo Bentin, an Israeli psychologist who was a recipient of the Israel Prize this year, was killed on Friday in a car accident near the University of California, Berkeley.

Bentin was riding his bicycle near the university when he was hit by a truck. He died shortly afterwords.

Professor Bentin won the Israel Prize in psychology for 2012 for his enormous scientific contributions to psychology and neuropsychology.

The committee members who decided to give Bentin the award noted that “One of the amazing features of his work is the significant contribution to several independent domains, and his having left his mark in each of them.”

The committee members also said that Professor Bentin “is renowned in his field and his works were published in major journals. He taught generations of students who now hold senior positions in academia in Israel and abroad.”

Bentin is survived by his wife and three children.