Herut received his PhD in 1992 (Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Israel) and was promoted to Senior Scientist (full Research Professor) in 2003. He was appointed as the Director General of Israel Oceanographic and Limnological Research Institute since 2005. In 1998-9 he has been a visiting professor at the College of Oceanic and Atmospheric Sciences, Oregon State University (USA) and since 2008 affiliated as full professor at the University of Haifa. Herut has published about 100 refereed journal articles and book chapters, 41 conference proceedings, 170 abstracts and 190 reports and supervised 25 graduate students. His main interests concern the levels, distribution and sources of trace elements and nutrients in the SE Mediterranean (especially along the Israeli coastline and coastal aquifer) and in atmospheric precipitates. He is coordinating Israel's National Monitoring Program along the Mediterranean coast. He has worked on several geo-chemical studies in the SE Mediterranean, the Dead Sea and the Red Sea.