Itzhak "Ben" Bentov (August 9, 1923 – May 25, 1979) was an Israeli American scientist, inventor, mystic and author. His many inventions, including the steerable cardiac catheter, helped pioneer the biomedical engineering industry. He was also an early proponent of what has come to be referred to as consciousness studies and authored several books on the subject.

Bentov combined a brilliant mind for mechanisms and structures with a lifelong interest in meditation to describe quantum physics and the advanced states of higher awareness in ways easily grasped by readers. By blending analytical knowledge and intuitive insight, Bentov was the first to develop what is now widely accepted today as a holographic model of reality.

Bentov was killed in the crash of American Airlines Flight 191 shortly after takeoff from Chicago O'Hare Airport in 1979, which remains the worst non-terrorism-related aviation disaster to have taken place on US soil.

Itzhak Bentov