Month: May 2019

Technological Innovation for the Benefit of Competitive Sports

The First Scientific Conference of the Israeli Olympics Sports Research Center – aimed at using scientific knowledge to improve sports performance – was held recently at Technion – Israel Institute of Technology in Haifa and was attended by leading researchers and scientists, as well as senior coaches from Israel and members of the sports-tech industry, along with guest lecturers from the USA and England.

The conference was held at Technion’s Faculty of Mechanical Engineering on Wednesday, May 15, as part of the Annual Belfer Symposium and a new cooperation venture between Technion and the Olympic Committee of Israel.  

The research center which encourages applied research for advancing Olympic Sport in Israel is headed by Prof. Alon Wolf of Technion’s Faculty of Mechanical Engineering and directed by exercise physiologist Muli Epstein, Scientific Director of the Olympic Committee in Israel,  and its Elite Sports Unit.

Among the scientific and technological challenges in the field of athletic achievement that were discussed was the challenge of breaking the two-hour barrier in marathon races. Running a marathon in less than two hours is not only a physiological challenge, and new developments in the field of footwear and nutrition may soon provide the answer. Experts agree that it is possible to beat the record, and many believe that Kenyan Olympic runner Eliud Kipchoge may achieve the new record in the near future.

Prof. Yannis Pitsiladis, an expert in sports and exercise science at England’s Brighton University and a world expert on the genetic and environmental effects of athletic performance, spoke about the enormous challenge of breaking the two-hour barrier in a marathon run. He stated that this is possible as, “The borders are not fixed, and by investing time and energy, they can be extended.” However, he added that this goal requires cooperation among researchers in various fields, including nutritionists, biomechanics and data scientists. “We need to develop  tools with which to inject carbohydrates into the runner’s body effectively, and to provide him/her with intelligent sensing systems that monitor physiological variables and provide feedback on his/her condition in real time.”

Dr. Alison Sheets, Senior Biomechanics Researcher at Nike, whose research focuses on the biomechanical mechanisms that limit the performance of athletes through experimental and computational approaches. Her lecture addressed the contribution of equipment innovation in improving athletes’ sports performance.

“Why can’t I run faster, why can’t I jump higher? These questions keep me awake,” said Nike’s Dr. Sheets, who seeks to improve the athletic performance of the super athlete. Established in 1980, Nike’s Biomechanics Laboratory’s goal is to develop ways to overcome existing limitations and enable athletes to improve their achievements while reducing injuries.

“Since the 1980s, tremendous scientific developments have taken place, including the power of computing, data science and 3D printing, which give us new tools to combat  sporting challenges,” Dr. Sheets added.

Prof. Wolf said that the research center was designed to promote Israeli sports on three levels – the physiology of the individual athlete, the technology of the equipment and the interaction between the two. During the conference, Prof. Wolf and Muli Epstein presented a fascinating talk about the history of scientific research in Olympic Sports and the current challenges in the field.

“We recently inaugurated the Israeli Center for Olympic Sports Research – a joint cooperation between the Olympic Committee and  Technion, which is a leading body in science and technology,” said Gili Lustig, CEO of the Olympic Committee of Israel. “I have no doubt that together, we can improve the training patterns and physiological tracking of our athletes and thus lead them to new heights.”

Yael Arad, Israel’s first athlete to win an Olympic silver medal and Board Member of the Olympic Committee of Israel and Chairman of the Sports Committee, said that, “The cooperation with Technion is at one with the quantum leap in the goals that we have set for ourselves. If we have so far aimed at returning from any Olympics with one or two medals, now we want to achieve more. Not only to be good but to be the best. And for that we have to focus on things that we are not good at, and to improve and bring measurable results, and in short – more medals. It is a long-term process whose benefits will be seen only at the 2024 Olympics and perhaps even later. But it will happen if we will be patient, determined and consistent.”

Dr. Maya Benzoor-Cale, Director of the Department of Physical Therapy at the Center for Sports Medicine and Research at Israel’s Wingate Institute, focuses her research on movement in rehabilitation and sports, and especially on how science fits into the clinical treatment of Olympic athletes.

Prof. Anath Fischer, of Technion’s Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, spoke about a bionic hand (a 3D printed hand) simulation using artificial intelligence (AI).

Following the conference, four Israeli Olympic trainers presented challenges from their respective fields to researchers at the new center. Niv Libner, coach of Israel’s women’s cycling team, sought to develop tools to improve training and decision-making in training and races. Rogel Nahum, who represented Israel three times in triple jumps in the Olympic Games, said that these areas are desperate for tools to improve the accuracy of running and hitting the jumping board. Sailing coach Gur Steinberg sought to develop precise methods for measuring distances and learning how world-champion sailors succeed. Claudia Laciga, coach of the Israel Beach-Volleyball Team, said the players needed tools that would improve their ability to read the opponent and his intentions.”

Following the conference there was a visit to the research laboratories of the Israeli Center for Olympic Sports Research on campus.

The 1st conference of the Israeli Olympic Sports Research Center will take place at  Technion on May 15 with the participation of senior researchers from Israel and around the world

How can technologies used to test the characteristics of aircraft wings be utilized to assist the Israeli windsurfing team?

Running a marathon in less than two hours – is this only a physiological challenge? New developments in the field of footwear and nutrition will soon provide the answer.

Can mathematical models help coaches reduce the number of disqualifications in the long jump and triple jump events?

3D printers, a bionic hand and artificial intelligence – from the world of medicine to the world of sports.

The Israeli Olympic Sports Research Center’s first scientific conference – a new collaboration between  Technion – Israel Institute of Technology and Israel’s Olympic Committee, will take place on Wednesday, May 15th. The Center, headed by Prof. Alon Wolf of Technion’s  Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, and directed by Israel’s Olympic Committee and the Sports High Performance Unit, encourages applied research that will advance Olympic sport in Israel, across all its branches. The conference will take place at the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering at Technion as part of the annual Belfer Symposium, and will be attended by senior coaches, scientists and researchers, members of the sports-tech industry and guest lecturers from the United States and England.

Key speakers at the conference:

• Dr. Alison Sheets, Senior Biomechanics Researcher at Nike. Her research focuses on the biomechanical mechanisms that limit the performance of athletes through experimental and computational approaches. Her lecture will address the contribution of equipment innovation in improving the sports performance of athletes.
• Prof. Yannis Pitsiladis, Professor of Sports and Exercise Science at Brighton University, England. A world expert on the genetic and environmental effects of athletic performance, he will talk about the enormous challenge of breaking the two-hour barrier in a marathon run.
• Dr. Maya Benzoor- Cale, Director of the Department of Physical Therapy at Wingate Institute for Sport Medicine and Research, will talk about movement in rehabilitation and sports: How science fits into the clinical treatment of Olympic athletes.
• Prof. Anath Fischer, of Technion’s Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, will talk about the bionic hand (a 3D printed hand) simulation using artificial intelligence.
• Olympic athlete  Rogel Nahum,  Gur Steinberg, coach of Israel’s windsurfing team,; professional cyclist Niv Libner,  and Claudia Laciga, coach of the Israeli women’s beach volleyball team, will challenge the scientists and pose professional questions seeking scientific solutions.

For the full conference itinerary click here.

Following the conference, there will be a visit to the research laboratories of the Israeli Center for Olympic Sports Research.

Journalists and photographers are welcome to attend and must register in advance

 

 

1^st  International Conference on Wearable Devices for Medical Diagnosis 

May 13-14 at  Technion-Israel Institute of Technology in Haifa

Technion-Israel Institute of Technology will hold the first international conference of its kind in Israel on Wearable Devices for Medical Diagnosis on May 13-14. Academics and industry representatives who work in the field will participate.

The conference will be headed by Prof. Hossam Haick, Head of the Laboratory for Nanomaterial-Based Devices at the Wolfson Faculty of Chemical Engineering and a member of the Russell Berrie Nanotechnology Institute (RBNI).

The conference will deal with the integration of technologies and products for medical monitoring that are now available on the market and biochemical sensing technologies – accurate monitoring of physiological conditions based on chemical monitoring of the skin and various organs.

The lectures will cover a wide range of topics, including pulmonary function monitoring, monitoring of cardiac activity, the development of sensors for medical monitoring and innovative skin patches for speedy and inexpensive monitoring of tuberculosis, and the development of monitoring patches that decompose. In addition to dealing with breakthrough technologies in the field of wearable devices, some lectures will also relate to social aspects of ethics, security, and privacy.

The conference will begin on Monday, May 13, at 9: 00 a.m. Opening words by  Prof. Hossam Haick and Andrey Broisman, Director of Applied Science and Engineering at Israel’s Ministry of Science and Technology.

Conference  Main Speakers :

Prof. Kenneth S. Suslick of the University of Illinois, an expert in the development of advanced sensing systems

And Prof. Corrado Di Natale of the University of Rome, an expert on sensors and sensing systems.

Additional topics include bridging the gap between biochemical sensors and the digital world, energy conversion systems for wearable applications, electronic “skin” for monitoring brain activity (Haick Laboratory), and monitoring lung function using wearable Nano-sensors as well as wearable devices for monitoring heart activity. 

For the full conference program please click here

Reporters and photographers are asked to register in advance,

Remarks by Technion President, Prof. Peretz Lavie, at the Technion Memorial Day Ceremony.

שוב הגיע היום הקבוע בלוח השנה, בו אנו מתכנסים כאן, מול קיר הזיכרון ועליו שמות הנופלים, בני משפחת הטכניון שנפלו במערכות ישראל ובפעולות האיבה. יום הזיכרון לחללי מערכות ישראל ופעולות האיבה הוא יום נדיר, יחיד ומיוחד בלוח השנה הישראלי.

על לוחות הזיכרון, כאן וברחבי הארץ, סביבם אנו מתקבצים ביום המיוחד והקשה הזה חקוקים שמותיהם של הנופלים כולם. הצעירים, המבוגרים, ההורים, הבנות והבנים של כולנו. מאחורי כל שם מסתתר סיפור עצוב וכואב על אב, בן, אח או אחות ששילמו בחייהם על זכותנו לחיות כאן בביטחון ובשלווה.

למעלה מ-25 אלף אישה ואיש, חיילים ואזרחים, נהרגו בקרבות, פיגועי טרור ותאונות אימונים. רשימה ארוכה, מרה וקשה.  רשימה שהיא תזכורת תמידית לאיום הקיומי המרחף מעלינו מראשית ההתיישבות בארץ ועד עצם הימים האלה.

ארבעה שמות חדשים נוספו לרשימה רק בימים האחרונים: משה אגדי,  משה פדר, פנחס מנחם פשווזמן וזאיד אלחמאמדה. 4 אזרחים שנהרגו בידי מחבלים בסבב הטרור שהסתיים רק אתמול. יהי זכרם ברוך .

לצדו של השכול המוכר והכואב כל כך מתקיים לו סוג נוסף של שכול. קשה ומר לא פחות, ויש שיאמרו אפילו יותר. זהו כאבם של בני המשפחה, חבריהם ומכריהם של חללי צה”ל שמקום קבורתם לא נודע ושל הנעדרים, אלו שיצאו לקרב ואשר גורלם אינו ידוע בוודאות.

היעדר הוודאות בדבר גורל יקירם היא גזירה אכזרית מאין כמוה עבור בני המשפחה. קרועים בין ייאוש לתקווה, מיטלטלים בחוסר יכולת למצוא מזור לנפש הדוויה, הם נדונים להמתין. המתנה ארוכה, מייאשת ומייסרת. המתנה מכלה את הימים וטורפת את הלילות. ימים ושבועות הופכים לחודשים, שנים הופכות לעשורים. את התקווה לאות חיים או לשובו של הבן האובד מחליפה תפילה חרישית לקבר, לציון זכר כלשהוא.

וכך הם חיים ומתים בינינו – הנוכחים הנפקדים של משפחת השכול הישראלית.

בחודש שעבר נקרע צוהר קטן לעולמן של משפחות הנעדרים, עם הבאתו לקבר ישראל של זכריה באומל ז”ל, אחד משלושת נעדרי קרב סולטן יעקב, כמעט 37 שנים לאחר שנפל בקרב על אדמת לבנון. אביו של זכריה, יונה ז”ל, שהלך לעולמו לפני עשור, הפך בעל כורחו לסמל של משפחות הנעדרים ובשברון ליבו האמין עד יומו האחרון כי בנו חי ומוחזק בסתר בשבי.

אחותו של זכריה, אסנה הברמן, ספדה לו בבית העלמין הצבאי בהר הרצל וחשפה בדבריה טפח מעולמם של משפחות הנעדרים, כשתיארה את תחושתה בביטוי “עין אחת בוכה ועין אחת צוחקת”, כשהיא מכוונת לתערובת הבלתי אפשרית כמעט של אבל, שכול והקלה. בסיום דבריה פנתה אסנה לאחיה ואמרה לו: “אנחנו נפרדים ממך היום. אני משחררת אותך לאדמה כי טובה היא מאוד. נוח בשלום על משכבך אחי היקר”.

גם אנחנו, במשפחת הטכניון נחשפנו לכאבן העצום של משפחות הנעדרים במס’ הזדמנויות. את סיפורו של הנעדר הראשון, רפאל מוקדי ז”ל, ששמו מופיע כאן על הלוח מאחורי, סיפרנו בעצרת יום הזיכרון לפני שנתיים. רפי, שנהרג במהלך הפריצה לרמת הגולן במלחמת ששת הימים, נחשב לנעדר במשך שמונה ימים, עד שחבריו, שיצאו לחפשו בכוחות עצמם, מצאו את גופתו בשטח – לא הרחק מן המקום בו נפגע. הפרשה כולה, על ספיחיה השונים, ובהם ניסיונות הטיוח וההסתרה של מחדל הפקרתו של רפי ז”ל בשטח,  הותירה צלקת עמוקה בליבם של בני המשפחה והחברים.

הסיפור השני הוא סיפורו של אהוד גולדווסר ז”ל.

בבוקר ה-12 ביולי 2006,  הותקף סיור שגרתי של חיילי מילואים בגבול לבנון מן המארב בידי מחבלי חיזבאללה. שניים מלוחמי הסיור, אלדד רגב ואהוד גולדווסר, נחטפו בידי המחבלים ללבנון, באירוע שהיווה את יריית הפתיחה של מלחמת לבנון השנייה.

אהוד גולדווסר, אודי בפי מכריו, אמור היה לסיים ביום החטיפה את שירות המילואים שלו ולשוב ללימודיו כסטודנט לתואר שני בפקולטה להנדסת אוירונוטיקה וחלל.

רעייתו של אודי, קרנית, הפכה בין לילה לסמל בעל כורחה. מאבקה חסר הפשרות להשבתו של אודי הביתה, מאבק אותו ניהלה ברחבי העולם במקביל ללימודי התואר השני שלה בפקולטה להנדסה אזרחית וסביבתית, נגע לליבות כולנו ואיחד סביבו את העם כולו בתקווה ובציפייה.

לאחר 735 ימים קשים מנשוא של חוסר ודאות בנוגע לגורלם, הגיעה התעלומה אל קיצה העגום: גופותיהם של אודי ואלדד ז”ל הושבו ארצה והם הובאו למנוחת עולמים.

את שמו של הנעדר השלישי, אין איש בישראל שאינו מכיר.

סרן רון ארד, נווט פאנטום במילואים בטייסת “הפטישים”, נשוי לתמי ואב ליובל התינוקת בת השנה, היה סטודנט להנדסה כימית בטכניון באוקטובר 1986, כאשר נקרא להשתתף בתקיפה אווירית על מטרות מחבלים באזור צידון. תקלה בעת שחרור הפצצות גרמה לכך שרון והטיס, ישי אבירם, נאלצו לנטוש את המטוס שהתפוצץ. ישי חולץ, בעוד שרון נפל בשבי ארגון אמל.  בשנים הראשונות לשביו, עוד התקבלו ממנו סימני חיים בדמותם של מכתבים ספורים ובאמצעים אחרים. אך במהלך 1988, שעה שארגון אמל שהחזיק בו היה שרוי בעיצומו של סכסוך פנימי אלים, נעלמו עקבותיו של רון בשבי. הסברה הרווחת היא כי שוביו ערקו לשורות חיזבאללה כשהוא בחזקתם ומשם ייתכן כי עבר לידי האיראנים. כך או כך, עקבותיו לא נודעו עוד.

ממשלת ישראל, לאחר שדחתה תחילה על הסף את האפשרות לעסקת חליפין בה ישוחררו מאות מחבלים תמורת שובו של רון הביתה, מצאה עצמה כעת בעיצומו של מאמץ מודיעיני ומדיני חובק עולם לקבל אינדיקציה כלשהיא אודות גורלו, אך לשווא.

בישראל נותרו ממתינים ומייחלים לאות כלשהוא רעייתו תמי, בתו יובל, אחיו חן ודודו ואמו של רון, בתיה ארד ז”ל, שהלכה לעולמה בלא שתדע מה עלה בגורל בנה.

היטיב לסכם את הדברים אורי לוברני ז”ל, האיש ששימש במשך שנים רבות כמתאם פעולות הממשלה בלבנון. בריאיון שהעניק לפני שנים אחדות, אמר לוברני: “עד היום, בכל בוקר אני נזכר ברון ארד כשאני מתגלח. אני עומד מול המראה ושואל את עצמי אם באמת עשינו את כל מה שיכולנו, ואין לי תשובה. זה ילווה אותי עד יומי האחרון”.

בחודש אוקטובר הקרוב ימלאו 33 שנים לנפילתו של רון בשבי. מדינת ישראל עשתה כברת דרך משמעותית מאד בכל הנוגע לטיפול בנושא הנעדרים, מאז נאלצו חבריו ובני משפחתו של רפי מוקדי לצאת לשטח ולחפש אותו בעצמם. למודי הניסיון המר של פרשת רון ארד, שילמו ממשלות ישראל בעשורים האחרונים מחיר כבד מאד בעסקאות חילופי שבויים על מנת להשיב שבויים וחללים הביתה, לא פעם בצלו של ויכוח ציבורי נוקב.

גם המשפחות הפיקו את הלקח הנדרש ואת מקומה של התחינה האילמת של משפחות ארד, באומל, כץ ופלדמן, החליפו הקמפיין הבינ”ל הפומבי של משפחות רגב וגולודווסר, המאבק הציבורי שהביא לשחרורו של גלעד שליט וזה, שעדיין מתנהל, של משפחות גולדין ושאול הפועלות להשבת גופות בניהן מידי חמאס ושל בני משפחתם של אברה מנגיסטו והישאם אל-סייד המוחזקים בשבי החמאס.

השבתו הטרייה של זכריה באומל ז”ל לקבר ישראל מוכיחה כי הערבות ההדדית, זו שאנו נוטים לא פעם לחשוב כי פסה מן העולם, היא עדיין ערך מרכזי בחברה הישראלית. העובדה כי גם בשעה זו יש מי שפועל ללא לאות ובחשאי על מנת להשיב את הבנים הביתה אין בה כדי להוות נחמה כלשהיא למשפחות המתענות יום יום ושעה שעה, אך היא צריכה להוות תזכורת לנו, הישראלים, בדבר הערכים שאנו רוצים לקדם ולטפח בחברה בה אנו שואפים לחיות.

אינני יודע כמה מכם יודעים זאת, אך שלשום, ה-5 במאי, היה יום הולדתו ה-61 של רון. לו היה כאן היום היה ודאי חוגג אותו בחיק משפחתו, עם רעייתו ובתו יובל, שלא באמת זכה להכיר, ושהיא עצמה כבר אמא לנכדותיו. במכתבים שכתב למשפחתו בשבי ושהגיעו ארצה באיחור של שנים רבות, כתב רון בין היתר: “ועכשיו ליקרות לי מכל, תמי ויובל – אני משתדל לשכוח אתכם כי כל זיכרון שהוא חונק את גרוני, אבל דעו לכם שאני אוהב אתכם וכנראה אתם הסיבה היחידה המונעת ממני לחשוב על הרע מכל. אני מבטיח לכם לפחות את הדברים הבאים:

א. אני עוד אחזור. שנה? שנתיים?

ב. לעולם ושוב לעולם לא אעזוב אתכם שנית אפילו אם אצטרך להפסיק לטוס.

ג. יהיה לנו בית חם ואוהב וטוב כפי שלא היה לנו מעולם”.

יהי זכרם ברוך.

These are the names of Technion’s students, employees, staff and faculty members, who lost their lives during Israel’s military battles and acts of hostility.

מלחמת הקוממיות

מלחמת ששת הימים

מלחמת ההתשה ותקריות

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Winners of the Yanai Prize for Excellence in Academic Education – Role Models at Technion

Eight faculty members were awarded the Yanai Prize for Excellence in Academic Education and the Yanai Teaching Excellence Award.  The prize for Outstanding Faculty was awarded to the Andrew and Erna Viterbi Faculty of Electrical Engineering

The Yanai Prize for Excellence in Academic Education was awarded this week for the eighth consecutive time to five outstanding faculty members from different Technion faculties:  Assoc. Prof. Daniel Orenstein of the Faculty of Architecture and Town Planning, Assoc. Prof. Adi Salzberg of the Rappaport Faculty of Medicine, Assoc. Prof. Keren Censor-Hillel of the Faculty of Computer Science, Assoc. Prof. Daniella Raveh of the Faculty of Aerospace Engineering, and Assoc. Prof. Avi Schroeder of the Wolfson Faculty of Chemical Engineering. The Yanai Excellence in Teaching Prize was awarded to Assoc. Prof. Roee Amit of the Faculty of Biotechnology and Food Engineering, Asst. Prof. Yael Yaniv of the Faculty of Biomedical Engineering, and Asst. Prof. Roi Reichart of the Davidson Faculty of Industrial Engineering and Management. The prize for Outstanding Faculty was awarded to the Andrew and Erna Viterbi Faculty of Electrical Engineering.

The Yanai Prize for Excellence in Academic Education was designed to improve the level of teaching and the attitude towards students at Technion. It is awarded, “as a token of gratitude and appreciation to the faculty members, exemplifying their continued contribution to teaching and for their efforts to strengthen the students’ involvement and sense of belonging to Technion.” The ceremony was held in the presence of the donors Moshe and Rachel Yanai, President Prof. Peretz Lavie, and Chairman of the Technion Council Gideon Frank.

Moshe Yanai, a Technion graduate in Electrical Engineering, who donated $12 million to establish the prize together with his wife Rachel, said at the event: “I studied at the Faculty of Electrical Engineering, which is receiving the prize today, and in my opinion, this is a tremendous revolution. When I was here in the early 70s, the attitude towards students was not the same as it is today. In those days we wanted the faculty to talk to us, to understand us, and it didn’t happen. In recent years, along with Technion President Prof. Peretz Lavie, we have led a revolution in changing the relationship between faculty and students. And to you, the prizewinners, I say that the main reward is not prestige and money but your opportunity to change and influence people’s lives.”

“Soon I will end my tenure as president of the Technion,” Prof. Peretz Lavie said at the ceremony. “When I am asked about the important milestones during this period, I note the meeting with Moshe Yanai as one of them. We met for the first time nine and a half years ago, and that meeting led to the foundation of the Yanai Prize and a dramatic improvement in the level of teaching and the regard for students at Technion. The Yanai Prize, and the efforts of the management and faculty members, have catapulted the Technion from last place in the national student survey to first place regarding student satisfaction. We have kept first place for three years now. This is a real revolution that the Yanai Prize winners – who see teaching as a mission and not as a duty – contribute greatly to.”

Prize Committee Chair Prof. Hagit Attiya, said that “the prize winners are role models on campus. Each one of them contributed deeply to the training of hundreds of students. When we read what their students wrote about them, they all noted the change that these lecturers made to their lives.”

Prof. Avi Schroeder, faculty member of the Wolfson Faculty of Chemical Engineering, spoke on behalf of the laureates. He said that, “the Technion administration posed a tremendous challenge to the faculty when it decided that the Technion must lead not only in groundbreaking studies, but in every field in Israeli society, and especially in the quality of training and teaching of the next generation of engineers and engineers. Just as medicine needs to be precise and personalized to every person, so does teaching.

“The winners, together with many of Technion’s outstanding faculty members, have made it their goal to make the latest knowledge available to all students using the most innovative academic methods. Our role as a nation is to encourage the next generation to ask questions, to challenge, to doubt, to aspire, and to establish a new level of knowledge and understanding.  This is the goal of education and learning – to create a new generation of engineers who will dare, strive more and succeed.”

The prize for Outstanding Faculty was awarded to the Andrew and Erna Viterbi Faculty of Electrical Engineering.

The prize committee wrote that this is the largest faculty at Technion and the largest engineering in Israel, with more than 2,200 students. Over the course of its 80 years of existence, the faculty has trained some 15,000 graduates who have “led the transformation of Israel from an agricultural country to a high-tech nation, and who today comprise the backbone of the high-tech and defense industries. The teaching structure of the faculty is designed to fulfill two goals of its educational vision: training engineers for a long-term career in an evolving industry, and preparing the next generation of academic researchers.”

Dean of the Faculty of Electrical Engineering Prof. Nahum Shimkin said that, “graduate of the faculty, Moshe Yanai, can look on with satisfaction at the study environment today, and today’s students can happily look forward to the professional challenges of tomorrow. The faculty educates a huge number of students and there is a high student-faculty ratio. This reality is challenging, but we manage to maintain the quality of teaching through a joint effort of faculty and staff. We will continue to advance teaching methods and strive to maintain our position in the top echelons of research and teaching.”

About Moshe Yanai:

Moshe Yanai, from Kfar Yechezkel and a graduate of the Faculty of Electrical Engineering at the Technion (1975), has led several revolutions in the past 4 decades in the world of information storage. After joining EMC in 1987, he led a move that transformed the company from a mid-sized manufacturer of computer memory expansion into the world’s leading information storage company for large enterprises. He repeated his success when he returned to Israel, with the foundation in 2003 of XIV, which was acquired in 2007 by IBM. Yanai’s creativity led to the registration of 40 patents in his name. He has contributed greatly to the advancement of technological research at the Technion and has helped numerous Israeli start-up companies. Yanai won the prestigious status of EMC Fellow and IBM Fellow.

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This month’s issue includes: Technion student hackathon; the Technion sponsored “Destination: Deep Space”; cellular trickery; world-class awards and much more!

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Innovative Technology for Monitoring Metabolic Processes in Malignant Tumors at the Sub-Cellular Level

Researchers at the Technion-Israel Institute of Technology believe that their discovery of new technology to monitor metabolic processes in cancerous tissue could lead to targeted drugs for preventing malignant growth.

In recent decades, many studies have been conducted around the world on the development and spread of malignant tumors in the body, as well as their diagnosis and treatment. One of the most important discoveries is related to the unique metabolic properties of the cancerous cell.

Metabolism is a vital process that makes it possible for the cell to generate energy and produce the molecules needed for its development and survival. This process is very different in the malignant cell, as cancer cells divide uncontrollably, and their speedy growth reduces the oxygen and nutrients available to them and requires reprogramming of the metabolic processes. Successful monitoring of these metabolic changes could lead to the development of specific anti-cancer drugs that would impair the metabolic processes needed to sustain the cancerous tissue.

But applying this idea is not simple, because cellular metabolism is a very complicated process that involves the activity of thousands of genes and metabolic enzymes. Another major complication is that different areas of the cell maintain different metabolic processes, and existing technology does not allow each of them to be tracked separately.  

Now, in a study published in Nature Communications, Prof. Tomer Shlomi of the Technion’s Faculty of Biology and Computer Science and the Lorry I. Lokey Interdisciplinary Center for Life Sciences and Engineering present a new technology for monitoring metabolic processes in different parts of the cell.

“We have developed a technique for monitoring the rate of metabolic reactions at sub-cellular resolution, particularly mitochondria and cytosol,” he said. Mitochondria are the cell’s “power station,” and cytosol is the fluid inside the cell.

Prof. Shlomi’s research group is an interdisciplinary group comprised of researchers from the fields of biology and computer science. The new technology also combines biological methods with computational methods, namely molecular biology and mass spectrometry, technology for identification of materials in a sample, along with decoding of measurements using computational analysis. This combination enables modeling of the metabolic processes at the sub-cellular level.

The new technology was used to study mutations that interfere with mitochondrial activity in cancer cells. To their surprise, the researchers discovered a unique backup mechanism that allows cancer cells to overcome mitochondrial mutation damage and survive through unknown metabolic activity, the reversal of the direction of the Krebs cycle, a major metabolic pathway involved in cellular respiration.

“This is the first time that a reversal of the activities of these enzymes has been observed in human cells and specifically in cancerous ones,” Prof. Shlomi said. “Understanding this reversal mechanism is paving the way for medical treatment that will neutralize it. In other words, drug targeting of this backup metabolic process enables to selectively kill the mutated cancer cells without harming the healthy cells.”

The study was supported by a grant from the European Research Council (ERC) and carried out with Dr. Alina Eisenstein and doctoral students Won Dong Lee and Dzmitry Mukha.

The laboratory of Prof. Tomer Shlomi in the Technion’s Faculty of Computer Science and Faculty of Biology studies the processes of metabolism in cancer through a combination of experimental and computational methods. His lab aims to understand how cancer cells adapt their metabolism and how this can be exploited for diagnostic and therapeutic means. The lab brings together researchers from experimental biology, analytical chemistry, and computer science. Prof. Shlomi is a co-founder of Metabomed Ltd., which develops anti-cancer drugs targeting metabolic enzymes.

To the article in Nature Communications, “Spatial-fluxomics provides a subcellular-compartmentalized view of reductive glutamine metabolism in cancer cells”  

 

Innovative Technion Technology Will Advance Research of Energy Production by Photosynthesis and Cellular Respiration

Chemistry researchers at the Technion-Israel Institute of Technology have discovered that processes related to producing energy by photosynthesis and cell respiration are affected by the composition of the cell membrane.

Assistant Professor Nadav Amdursky of the Technion’s Schulich Faculty of Chemistry has developed a technology for the study of membrane proton transitions related to the production of energy in cellular respiration and photosynthesis processes. The study, conducted with collaborators from the UK and Finland, was recently published in the Proceedings of the American Academy of Sciences (PNAS) with the title “Exploring fast proton transfer events associated with lateral proton diffusion on the surface of membranes.”

Energy is an essential resource in the animal world, without which there can be no life. All animals and plants use the same type of energy, the adenosine triphosphate (ATP) molecule – a nucleotide known in biochemistry as the “molecular currency”, able to store and transport chemical energy within cells. The synthesis of ATP takes place during the photosynthesis or the cellular respiration processes, where the energy of sunlight or chemical energy of nutrients, respectively, is used for the production of ATP. The molecular mechanism for ATP synthesis is based on a membrane protein. The protein’s activity can be linked to the action of a nanometer motor powered by protons. When the engine gets fuel – protons – the protein parts move.

The general action of this protein engine is to create ATP. But how do the protons reach the protein? This question has not yet been fully resolved, because the scope of the proton-movement process in time and space is tiny; a few nanometers every few nanoseconds.

The technology developed by Assistant Prof. Amdursky to study this tiny and fast process occurs on the surface of membranes, and is based on an original molecular probe that attaches to the membrane and releases a proton whenever light (photons) hits it. In other words, it is a technology that can produce the fuel to create the energy “currency” on the surface of membranes with the help of light.

The molecular probe developed at the Technion is based on a very intriguing chemical molecule called photo-acid. When this molecule absorbs light – and only then – its chemical properties change, and it becomes a strong acid. The main characteristic of any strong acid is the speedy release of a proton in an aqueous environment, and this is what happens here as well.

“We discovered that the movement of protons on the surface of the membrane and the interaction between protons on the membrane and protons in the solution are closely dependent on the type of lipids that make up the membrane,” said Prof. Amdursky. “This research is a key step in understanding one of the most important processes in nature.”

Link to the article: https://www.pnas.org/content/116/7/2443

The research was supported by the Chaya Career Advancing Chair, the Russell Berrie Nanotechnology Institute, and the Grand Technion Energy Program.

 

Technion hosts t-hack – Israel’s largest student hackathon

The PneuMonitor team developed a system for monitoring life-threatening situations on the battlefield and won first place and a NIS 50,000 prize

PneuMonitor is the team that won the NIS 50,000 first-place prize at t-hack – the largest student hackathon in Israel, which was held at Technion. The four group members: Noy Mark, Anat Lyubin Haimov, Rafi Gerasi, and Eran Sasha developed an innovative technology that detects a dangerous medical condition known as pneumothorax also known as a collapsed lung.

More than 600 students throughout the country and across 150 teams participated in t-hack, winning cumulative prizes totaling NIS 100,000. In the final stage of the hackathon, 10 groups with outstanding ideas presented their projects to a panel of judges which included, Prof. Adam Shwartz,  Technion’s Senior Executive Vice President ; Dr. Irit Idan, Executive Vice President of Research and Development at Rafael Advanced Defense Systems ; Dov Moran, a serial entrepreneur, investor and inventor of the disk-on-key; and Eden Shochat, a venture capitalist, equal partner at Aleph VC, and  co-founder of Face.com, a world leader in facial recognition for social networks.

T-hack, initiated by Technion’s Student Union (ASAT) and t-hub, Technion’s new Entrepreneurship and Innovation Center, focuses on three main areas:  autonomous systems, smart cities and accident and emergency medicine. Leading entrepreneurs from Israel’s industry and participating companies served as mentors for the students. The event was funded by Technion and supported by Intel, Facebook, Noble Energy and other technology companies.

At the opening of the event, Prof. Adam Shwartz, said that:

“The event was born out of the understanding that entrepreneurship is a worldview and a way of life, and   Technion must provide entrepreneurial education to its students.” Prof. Schwartz is also the Chairman of t-hub, Technion’s Entrepreneurship and Innovation Center, which recently won a NIS 10 million grant from the Council for Higher Education. He added, “We are committed to providing all interested students with the tools to solve engineering, technological and scientific challenges during their professional careers, whether they work in academia, start-up companies, industrial, civilian or security companies, or in any other companies that benefit the public.”

Amir David Nissan Cohen, ASAT’s Chairman told the participants that, “In just 30 hours you will be required to solve difficult problems in a creative way in one of three fields: smart cities, autonomous transportation, and emergency medicine. We expect interesting solutions to interesting problems, and you will be judged by your measure of originality, creativity, business applicability, and presentation skills.”

The keynote speech at the event, “How to Kill Innovation” was given by Technion graduate Mooly (Shmuel) Eden, former President of Intel Israel and Senior VP at Intel Corporation. In 2012, Eden was chosen by Forbes magazine as one of the ten most brilliant minds in the field of technology. In his lecture, Eden said that, “The technological revolution does not pertain only to the technological world, but permeates to all areas of life; the Arab Spring, the rise of USA President Donald Trump, the success and crash of ISIS- all of these were heavily influenced by technology – and in this crazy world, our lives as engineers are less comfortable and pleasant.  Anyone who does not run fast enough ceases to be relevant. We must be innovative, that is to try the unknown, to challenge the status quo. The fear of change, success, lack of competition and the saying ‘if it ain’t broke don’t fix it’ are things that kill innovation.”

The students in the winning team, PneuMonitor, all serve in IDF’s Medical Corps. Noy Mark and Anat Lyubin Haimov are graduates of the Faculty of Bio-Medical Engineering at Technion, and Mark is currently studying towards her MSc under the supervision of the faculty’s Prof. Emeritus Dan Adam. Eran Sasha is a student in the Mathematics Department at Tel Aviv University and Rafi Gerasi is an electrical engineer from the University of Ariel and holds an MHA in Health Systems Management from Ben Gurion University.

The team developed an innovative technology for the rapid identification of pneumothorax – collapsed lung. This is the second leading cause of preventable death on the battlefield. In this medical condition, air penetrates into the flora – the two-layer membrane surrounding the lung – and interferes with the normal expansion of the lung and the transfer of oxygen to the blood. This can lead to tracheal obstruction and heart problems, and early diagnosis may save lives.

The problem is that pneumothorax does not express external symptoms, especially in its early stages, and therefore it is difficult to identify via manual examination. The device developed by the team is based on an automatic analysis of the patient’s breathing sounds, filtering out background noises. The sounds are obtained from a simple stethoscope and are analyzed by an algorithm developed by the team. The result: a small, easy and automatic tool for the immediate objective detection of pneumothorax. This means that the device can be used by paramedics on the field.

In second place, with a NIS 15,000 prize, was ICPupil. The team developed a system for non-invasive monitoring of a patient’s neurological status and warning of dangerous situations. Using image processing and algorithmics, the team members produce a neurological score that accompanies the patient prior to and during a stay in the emergency room, and even at home. The score provides the caregiver critical information about the patient’s condition in real time.

All of the team members are Technion students. Roy Francis is a doctoral student at the Department of Computer Science, Yehuda Wexler and Yonatan Prat are completing a dual degree in medicine and biomedical engineering, and Shani Glatstein and Michal Landesberg completed a double bachelor’s degree and are MD PhD students at Technion.

In third place, with a NIS 10,000 prize was Cyclmate. The team developed a smart electronic system designed to prevent children and youth from riding a bicycle without a helmet. The team members are Christian Shakur, a student at Technion’s e Viterbi Faculty of Electrical Engineering ; Nir Altman, Co-Founder of Cyberty AB, a  business cyber security company; Tal Shahnovsky , a student at Haifa University’s Department of Computer Science ‘Etgar’ Program and a researcher at the university’s Robotics and Big Data Laboratory (RBD); Benny Rein is a graduate of Tel Aviv University’s School of Electrical Engineering  ; and George Kasayev, is a graduate student at the University of Haifa’s Department of Computer Science.