Message from Technion President Prof. Peretz Lavie
Technion President Prof. Peretz Lavie
This summer, Israel is again compelled to defend itself against a barrage of missile attacks aimed at civilian populations. Once again, the Iron Dome defensive anti-missile system saves countless civilian lives. Iron Dome was developed by the excellent engineers at Rafael Advanced Defense Systems, most of whom are Technion graduates. In addition, a vast underground network of terror tunnels, many of them directly threatening Israeli children, women and men, was revealed and had to be neutralized. In this arena also, Technion scientists are helping lead the effort to harness scientific innovation to thwart this threat.
We deeply mourn the soldiers and civilians who lost their lives in this conflict, and wish for the speedy and full recovery of all the wounded.
Hundreds of Technion students were called for active reserve duty to help defend our nation, and we are making every possible effort to smooth their return to studies. We were also profoundly encouraged by the numerous expressions of support we received throughout the operation from the worldwide Technion family whose friendship never wavers, culminating in a solidarity delegation from the American Technion Society under the leadership of Larry Jackier the chairman of the Technion International Board of Governors.
We were also particularly moved by the many guests from the world’s four corners who came to celebrate the festive graduation of the 2014 class of the Technion International School. At the ceremony, it was clear to me that something new – truly global and extremely gifted – has taken form. Technion will continue to serve as an institution with a passion to work on behalf of all peoples.
Chairman of the first Technion Society Albert Einstein once said that: “We cannot solve our problems with the same thinking we used when we created them.” At Technion, we are proud of what has been called our ability to ‘think out of the box.’ The challenges and opportunities of tomorrow will depend on this Technion capacity for new thinking about old problems. In the issue of Technion Live, you will find a sample of this ingenuity in action. When we trust in this, a better future for all humanity is not a dream but a real possibility.
Peretz Lavie