He studied at Bosmat Technical High School, and served in the IDF signal corps during the years 1955-1957.
Appelbaum authored the thesis Design of Electrical Machines by Means of Digital Computers, under the supervision of Michael Erlicki.
A year later he became a development project engineer at General Electric, U.S.A, before joining Tel Aviv University in 1972 as a senior lecturer at the Department of Electronic Communications, Control and Computer Systems.
[3] Appelbaum has developed the solar radiation model which was first used in 1997 in the photovoltaic arrays for the Mars lander's Pathfinder, and for the two robotic rovers: Spirit and Opportunity.
[5][6][7] Book Selected articles Patents Joseph Appelbaum is married to Nili, a social worker.