Month: June 2023

On Wednesday, May 24, the Technion – Israel Institute of Technology celebrated 30 years since its Excellence Program was established. The festive event, which took place in the Taub Auditorium of the Henry and Marilyn Taub Faculty of Computer Science, was attended by more than 200 of its alumni. This month, during the Technion’s Board of Governors’ meeting, the Program’s leaders received a special certificate of appreciation from Technion President, Prof. Uri Sivan.

The Technion Excellence Program is a unique academic program, personally tailored to each participant. Its purpose is to nurture curiosity, creativity, and in-depth study among students with leadership potential. Since it was established, more than 300 students have completed the Program, and many of them now serve in prominent leadership positions in academia and industry. Twelve members of the Technion faculty are alumni of the Excellence Program, and many other graduates are researchers and faculty members at other universities in Israel and around the world. There are currently 50 students enrolled in the Program.

The Technion Excellence Program was founded by Prof. Nimrod Moiseyev of the Schulich Faculty of Chemistry. Today it is headed by Prof. Eitan Yaakobi of the Taub Faculty of Computer Science, who is also an alumnus of the Program. Its Coordinator is Melinda Margulis.

At the conference opening, Prof. Yaakobi said, “the Excellence Program is the flagship program of the Technion and the Israeli academia. It aims to educate Israel’s future scientists and researchers, and, as such, enables and encourages students to pursue an interdisciplinary curriculum. Participating students, all of whom are of course academically outstanding, receive the tools and the opportunities to join various research laboratories at the Technion and conduct research during the early stages of their undergraduate studies. During their studies, numerous students in the Program actively contribute by publishing significant papers.” Program participants live together in the dorms, free of charge, receive a modest living stipend, and have their tuition entirely covered.

The 30th-anniversary event  opened with greetings from Technion President, Prof. Uri Sivan; Prof.  Moiseyev, the Program’s founder; and Prof. Yaakobi. Keynote lectures were given by Prof. Ido Kaminer, who is an alumnus of the Program and is a current faculty member at the Viterbi Faculty of Electrical and Computer Engineering; and Program alumnus Dr. Yair Wiener, who is the CEO and founder of Jether Energy Research. These lectures were followed by talks given by students currently in the Excellence Program, as well as alumni, including Dr. Kira Radinsky, CEO of Diagnostic Robotics and a research fellow in the Taub Faculty of Computer Science at the Technion; Prof. Orr Dunkelman of the University of Haifa; Limor Dori Alon of Unipharm Ltd.; Prof. Nadav Cohen of Tel Aviv University; and Dr. Yaniv Altshuler, who is a researcher at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).

A special panel featured Professor Hagit Messer-Yaron, who was, among other distinctions, president of the Open University and chief scientist of the Ministry of Science and Technology; Technion alumnus Aharon Aharon, who was the CEO of Apple Israel and CEO of the Israel Innovation Authority, and has been awarded the Technion Alumni Medal this month; and Dr. Eyal Hulata, the former head of Israel’s National Security Council and a former national security advisor who is currently the chair of Halman-Aldubi Technologies Ltd. The panel discussed “Academia, Industry, and the Defense Ecosystem,” and was moderated by journalist Chen Liberman.

Click here for the conference program.

 

 

On Tuesday, June 13, 2023, the cornerstone was laid for the Martin and Grace Druan Rosman High Performance Computer Data Center. An agreement documenting the cornerstone was signed by the Rosmans, Technion President Professor Uri Sivan, and Dr. Rafi Aviram, the Technion’s Executive Vice President and Director General. The ceremony took place during the Technion’s annual Board of Governors meeting.

Professor Avigdor Gal of the Faculty of Data and Decision Sciences, who was the master of ceremonies, said that “The Martin and Grace Druan Rosman High Performance Computer Data Center will offer students and faculty members from a range of disciplines access to some of the best supercomputing capabilities in the world. The Center will elevate the Technion to an international computing level, and the new building will give the Technion both physical security and cyber security at the highest level.”

Technion President Sivan told the audience about his meetings with the Rosmans, recounting that “all of these meetings were very special for me, since I felt an immediate bond with you and your warm and generous approach. Recently, we bestowed on you an honorary doctorate and I was very moved to see you with dozens of students from the Rosman Atidim program, who are able to devote all their time to their studies thanks to your support.”

The Technion President added that, “the need for very fast computers is growing exponentially and it is very difficult to catch up in terms of infrastructure. Thanks to you, we will have a new building that will house the finest processors in the world and will provide the Technion, our researchers and our students with the enormous computing power their R&D requires. In the name of the Technion, I thank you for your generosity and for your deep friendship.”

In his remarks, Dr. Martin Rosman said, “The Technion’s management clarified to us that the project of highest importance for which the Technion needs our support is the High Performance Computer Data Center. Our most important mission in the last 15 years has been to support students, but we understood that the students also need this computing infrastructure, and this is what the new Center will give them and the Technion’s researchers. Thank you all – and see you at the building’s inauguration ceremony.”

Dr. Rafi Aviram, Executive Vice President and Director General, said, “computers are at the heart of technology, but people are at the heart of the Technion. Thanks to your generosity, Martin and Grace Rosman, our IT people will be able to provide optimal service and facilities to the Technion’s researchers. This is also a great opportunity to salute the Technion’s Division for Computing and Information Systems, whose staff stood at the forefront of the efforts to overcome the cyber-attack we recently experienced. I would also like to thank my predecessor, Professor Boaz Golani, who initiated the idea of establishing the Center, as well as the staff of the Technion’s Construction and Maintenance Division and our friends at the American Technion Society, the Technion friends’ association in the United States. I am full of hope that in three years’ time we will reconvene here for its inauguration.”

The establishment of the new center was also made possible through the generous support of the Zuckerman Institute, Gil and Michal Frostig, and other dedicated supporters.

According to Prof. Ofer Strichman, the Technion’s Deputy Vice President for Computing and Information Systems, “in many scientific research projects, the researchers simulate natural processes using computers; for example, the creation of a black hole or supernova, or chemical and biological systems through which the properties of various molecules are analyzed, or the possible effects of drugs. This type of computing requires large-dimension parallelism: sometimes, for a single simulation, thousands of computing cores must run continuously for several weeks. As a result, for many segments of contemporary science, scientific achievements and significant breakthroughs depend on the computing infrastructure available to the researchers. The Martin and Grace Druan Rosman High Performance Computer Data Center will offer researchers similar computing infrastructure than in the world’s leading universities, and in some regards, even superior.”

The Technion inaugurated the Sagol Center for Composite Materials. The ceremony took place in the Faculty of Materials Science and Engineering during the Technion’s Board of Governors meeting, with Tova, Sami and Itzhak Sagol and their family, and the Technion management all on hand. The plaque honoring the Sagol family was unveiled at the closing of the ceremony.

Technion President Professor Uri Sivan thanked Mr. and Mrs. Sagol and said that “Sami Sagol, who is an alumnus of the Technion’s Schulich Faculty of Chemistry, a businessman and philanthropist, is a true friend of the Technion and a role model for Technion alumni around the world. In recognition of his activities throughout the years, the Technion awarded him an honorary doctorate. He is also a Guardian, a distinction reserved for supporters who have made the highest level of commitment to the Technion. Sami Sagol and his wife Tova direct their resources towards doing good through endless involvement and a strong commitment to the future of the State of Israel. I have no doubt that their contribution to the establishment of the Sagol Center will have a significant impact on the advancement of Israeli society and of humanity as a whole.”

Professor Peretz Lavie, Chairman of the Israel Friends of the Technion, said: “Sami Sagol has made ‘Tikkun Olam’ the guideline of his life. In his philanthropic activity, as much as in his business, he sees what’s to come before anyone else, and acts for a better future for Israel and the whole world. The new building for composite materials, which will carry his name, will ensure the continued excellence of the faculty, which already boasts a Nobel Laureate among its faculty.”

The Department of Materials Science & Engineering has undergone a major transformation over the last few decades. In the beginning, the department mainly characterized specimens originating from the industry. Today its researchers also develop new materials, as well as characterizing and manufacturing them. Composite materials, which will be at the heart of the new Center’s activities, are truly revolutionary materials in a variety of fields, including aviation, green energy production and storage, interfaces with the human body, construction, and civil engineering.

The new center will be fitted with the most advanced infrastructure for developing and producing composite materials – graphene, protein-based materials, materials for extreme environments, and more. Researchers, post-doctoral fellows, students, engineers, and technicians will work in a spacious dedicated space to bring the world innovative, state-of-the-art composite materials. The Dean, Prof. Gitti Frey, who led the ceremony, said, “the establishment of the new Center will enable the Technion’s researchers to develop better materials in terms of their strength, weight, cost, and durability. These materials will be of great use to all of humanity. Composite materials often display qualities that don’t exist in the separate materials from which they are composed. They are used for an increasing number of applications, ranging from defense systems and space engineering to sports equipment.”

Sami Sagol was born in Turkey. His family immigrated to Israel when he was a boy. He received his bachelor’s degree from the Schulich Faculty of Chemistry at the Technion. Under his leadership, “Keter Plastic,” a small family business founded by his father, became an international enterprise. In 2019, the Technion granted Mr. Sagol an honorary doctorate.

At a festive event that formed part of the Technion Board of Governors meeting, seven distinguished individuals received Technion Honorary Fellowships. One of the recipients, Mr. Moriel Matalon, thanked the Technion and said that science saved his life. Speaking on behalf of the honorees, Ms. Janet Shatz Snyder, said “the Technion was founded one hundred years ago, because of a belief that science and education are key to the prosperity of the Jewish People. Over a hundred thousand students have graduated since that day, and the Technion has become one of the world’s leading universities.”

Technion President Prof. Uri Sivan welcomed the members of the Technion Board of Governors, and said, “the Technion has been pushing the boundaries of possibility and defying expectations since it opened its doors on the historic campus, in the winter of 1924, a quarter of a century before the Declaration of Independence. No one then could have anticipated the impact that the Institute would have on Israel’s economic development and global intellectual and scientific advancement. The Technion’s constitution of 1953, tasked the institute with pursuing its objectives, expanding human knowledge, education, and service to the State of Israel, ‘without discrimination against any person on the grounds of race, religion, nationality, or gender.’ This is the spirit and these are the values that have guided us for over a century. In these hundred years we watched the Ottoman Empire crumble, the British Empire dock in this harbor and then leave, two world wars transformed our globe, and the State of Israel rose from the ashes. There is an important lesson in this piece of rugged history of the 20^th century: the importance of guiding values and principles in peaceful times and even more so, when sailing into the eye of a storm.”

Chairman of the Board of Governors, Mr. Scott Leemaster said, “Israel is a country in a desert, a democratic island amid a sea of non-democratic states, and the Technion plays an important role in that. We owe the Technion not only Israel’s technological success, but also its social wellbeing, its democratic spirit, the integration of different populations and the promotion of inclusivity and liberty, which form the foundation of a healthy society. A year has passed since the last Board of Governors meeting, and it has been a year of growth and prosperity.”

The ceremony was held in the presence of Technion President Prof. Uri Sivan, Chairman of the Board of Governors Mr. Scott Leemaster, members of the Technion’s management and Faculty deans. Prof. Wayne D. Kaplan, Vice President for External Relations & Resource Development, acted as Master of Ceremonies and welcomed guests and honorees. Dr. Orit Wolf, who has led the “Music, Science, Inspiration” lecture series through the year, partnered with Mr. Natan Datner, Israeli actor and singer, to give a special performance titled “Elvis and Frank”.

Honorary Fellowship recipients – Citations

Avraham Ashkenazi

In honor of your life-long connection with and devotion to Israel and the Technion, from which you hold two degrees; for leading by example at the American Technion Society and as a member of the Technion Board of Governors; with gratitude for your many contributions as a Technion alumnus and Guardian in support of graduate students and defense research.

Murray Dalfen

In appreciation for your long-term dedication to the Technion and for continuing your family’s legacy of support; in recognition of your many years of devoted service to Technion Canada; with gratitude for your contributions as a Technion Guardian, including your generous support of water research; and in honor of your philanthropic activities in Canada, the United States, and Israel.

Cathy and James Deutchman

In honor of your lifelong devotion to and support of the Technion, Israel, and education; with appreciation for your furthering a multi-generational legacy of support for the Technion; in gratitude for your numerous contributions as Technion Guardians; and in recognition of your active leadership in the American Technion Society at both the local and national levels.

David Hankin

In honor of your inspirational contribution to the Alfred Mann Institute at the Technion and for your impassioned commitment to the integration of Technion biomedical technology within Israel and throughout the world; in admiration of your support of Technion faculty and students striving to translate scientific knowledge into life-saving technology; and for promoting ambitious biomedical innovation in Israel.

Moriel Matalon

In recognition of your longstanding support in the development of the Rappaport Faculty of Medicine and the Rappaport Family Institute for Research in the Medical Sciences, and for your unreserved support in establishing the Bruce and Ruth Rappaport Cancer Research Center, which is the realization of an academic, Zionist, and global vision.

Janet Shatz Snyder

In gratitude for your contributions as a second-generation Technion Guardian, support which spans a wide range of areas that assist Technion researchers in conducting their groundbreaking work; in acknowledgement of your outstanding dedication to the Technion as a leader and mentor in the American Technion Society; and in recognition of your service as a member of the ATS National Board and the Technion Board of Governors.

On June 22^nd, the EuroTech Universities awarded three of their most promising early-career researchers for outstanding contributions to the 17 United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals. The EuroTech Future Award, a joint distinction of the six universities of science and technology awarded in 2023 for the first time, recognises researchers who have the potential to make a difference in their field and for society at large. Charlotte Vogt (Technion), Zongyao Zhou (EPFL), and Dinesh Krishnamoorthy (TU Eindhoven) received their awards during a festive ceremony in Brussels for their works on catalysis, wastewater recovery, and diabetes.

The three researchers came out on top in a field of 34 competitors. The award jury assessed the impact of the applicants’ work for achieving the sustainability goals set by the world community; the excellence of their research, and their ability to communicate about their research in a way that allows non-experts, particularly policymakers and citizens, to understand their contribution to a more sustainable world.

Anders Bjarklev, President of the Technical University of Denmark and President of the EuroTech Universities Alliance said: “Europe and the global society face many challenges that can only be solved with significant contributions from the research community – through scientific advancements and research-based entrepreneurship. The EuroTech Future Award highlights the passion, pursuit of knowledge, and innovative spirit of talented young researchers from our six universities. It honours them as essential change agents in the EuroTech Universities Alliance’s ambition to help secure a sustainable future.”

Tatiana Panteli, Head of the EuroTech Brussels Office and jury member commented: “It was inspiring to see the drive and the creativity of our early-career researchers. Their unwavering curiosity, innovative thinking, and fresh perspectives hold the key to unlocking solutions for the pressing societal problems we face today.”

1^st Prize: Charlotte Vogt, Technion – Israel Institute of Technology

The winner of the premiere edition of the EuroTech Future Award is Charlotte Vogt, who is an assistant professor at the Technion. She convinced the jury with her submission on “Carbon dioxide hydrogenation catalysis”. A short explanation of her research in her own words:

“A catalyst is something that can make chemical things happen that otherwise wouldn’t – it’s like a chemical magic wand. Catalysts accelerate the rate of a chemical reaction, so the reaction happens much faster and uses less energy. Catalysts are directly involved in about a third of the total global economy: from oil refineries to the food industry. I believe catalysts will also be key to solving global warming. Ultimately, the main problem of global warming is the increasing CO₂ content in the atmosphere. So, one possibility is that we don’t let the CO₂ that is produced in large industrial plants into the atmosphere but rather convert it into something useful with the help of catalysts, for example into materials or fuels. But the catalysts that we have right now are often not good enough, for example they cannot convert all the CO₂. As a result, these processes are not yet economically viable. My research is mainly about developing new, better catalysts using so-called spectroscopic experiments to be able to study what happens during the CO₂ reaction and use that information to make processes more efficient.”

2^nd Prize: Zongyao Zhou, EPFL

The second prize goes to Switzerland, where Zongyao Zhou works as a postdoctoral scientist at EPFL. He researches “Membrane-based technologies for wastewater resource recovery and green energy exploitation”. Or, more specifically:

“I have developed a new type of microporous polymeric membrane that can quickly remove antibiotics and heavy metal ions from drinking water and efficiently extract lithium ions from seawater. My efforts align with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) of promoting clean water and sanitation, ensuring healthy lives for people of all ages, and advancing affordable and clean energy. By creating a highly effective filtration system, our research has the potential to make a significant impact on global water quality and availability, ultimately improving the well-being of individuals and communities worldwide.”

3^rd Prize: Dinesh Krishnamoorthy, Eindhoven University of Technology

Dinesh Krishnamoorthy, assistant professor in Eindhoven, ranked third in the competition. His research applies artificial intelligence in medical research; the title of his submission was “Transforming Diabetes Care: Personalized Insulin Dosing with AI Algorithms”.

“Diabetes requires careful management of blood glucose levels to prevent short-term and long-term complications. According to a 2021 report from the WHO, 72 million people worldwide require insulin treatment for diabetes management. The amount of insulin needed can vary greatly between individuals due to factors like genetics and environment, making personalized insulin dosing essential. My research has been focused on leveraging AI to develop personalized dose guidance algorithms for both type 1 and type 2 diabetes management that automatically learn the optimal amount of insulin needed for each patient without compromising their safety. These automated tools can reduce the need for specialist healthcare and make diabetes management more affordable and accessible for everyone.”

To read the full abstracts and to learn more about the winners’ backgrounds, visit https://eurotech-universities.eu/eurotech-future-award-2023/winners/. More information on the EuroTech Future Award can be found at www.future-award.eu.

About EuroTech Universities Alliance

The EuroTech Universities Alliance is a strategic partnership of leading European universities of science and technology joining forces to build a strong, sustainable, sovereign, and resilient Europe. The partners bring their excellence in research and education, their active engagement in vibrant eco-systems and service to society. Together, they join forces to accelerate their research in high-tech focus areas and advocate for change, through dedicated partners and a strong presence in Brussels. Based on the EuroTech values, the partners aspire to a new level of cooperation by bringing together their inclusive, diverse, and sustainable campuses. The EuroTech Universities create a unique environment for international talents to lead a new generation of change agents in research, entrepreneurship, industry, and society. Find more information on www.eurotech-universities.eu.

A legislative proposal to amend the Student Law of Rights is currently being debated. The proposal severely restricts freedom of expression for students and all citizens, denies the right to academic studies, and deprives individuals who express themselves in a manner that is not prohibited by law from holding an academic degree.

The proposed law seeks to transform academic institutions into an arm of law enforcement, obligating them to monitor students, investigate their activities, and impose academic penalties as a deterrent for expressing opinions and engaging in lawful actions unrelated to academia.

The Technion will not become an enforcement agency that pursues those who enter its gates. It will not impose academic sanctions as a means of criminal punishment beyond the scope of academic discipline, nor will it lend a hand to persecution. In accordance with its constitution and values, the gates of the Technion will remain open to everyone, without discrimination based on race, religion, nationality, gender, or political expression. This is how the Technion has operated since its establishment, this is how it operates now, and this is how it will continue to operate in the future.

The Technion Senate and the Technion Council reject the proposed law and call on the Israeli government, particularly the Minister of Education and the Knesset, to immediately terminate the legislative process.

As part of the recent Technion – Israel Institute of Technology Board of Governors meeting events, senior members of the Technion and guests from all over the world visited Madatech, the national science, technology, and space museum located in one of the University’s historic buildings. Madatech’s General Director, Yossi Ani, accompanied the visitors.

During the festive visit, the group inaugurated the historic Technion classroom and the Nobel Gallery exhibition, which will soon open to the public. Distinguished Research Professor Aaron Ciechanover, a faculty member in the Ruth and Bruce Rappaport Faculty of Medicine, gave a talk about his academic journey as well as about his discovery of the ubiquitin system, for which he won the Nobel Prize in Chemistry. Recently, Prof. Ciechanover donated his Nobel Prize medal and certificate to Madatech, along with his doctoral thesis on which he based the ubiquitin system discovery. These items will be displayed in the gallery and will serve as an inspiration to the museum’s young visitors.

Prof. Ciechanover completed his PhD at the Technion’s Rappaport Faculty of Medicine, which had just been founded at the time. He then continued on to a four-year post-doctoral fellowship at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), before returning to the Technion. In 2004, he received the Nobel Prize in Chemistry together with Prof. Avram Hershko, also of the Technion’s Rappaport Faculty of Medicine, and American scientist Prof. Irwin Rose.

Prof. Ciechanover recounted that he and his doctoral thesis supervisor, Prof. Hershko, chose a field of research that was then considered unimportant: protein degradation. Over the course of their joint research, Profs. Hershko and Ciechanover discovered that a covalent attachment of ubiquitin to a target protein signals it for degradation and to the cellular “garbage dump.” According to Prof. Ciechanover, “the ubiquitin system manages our health by getting rid of damaged protein, but it doesn’t always function properly, and failures may lead to neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s, and to cancer. Velcade, the first drug that was developed as a result of our discovery, partially repairs these failures. A new company which we recently founded does something similar, and we already obtained encouraging results in pre-clinical trials.”

The Technion’s Board of Governors meeting convenes every year at the Technion campus and is attended by numerous supporters of the Technion, including representatives of the Technion Friends’ Associations from Israel and around the world. During the annual meeting, various decisions are made that are pertinent to the future of the Technion. The recent Board of Governors meeting officially opened on Sunday morning with a report from Technion President Prof. Uri Sivan. The meeting continued over three days, during which discussions were held about the Technion’s different fields of activity. In addition, honorary degrees and prizes were bestowed, and various inauguration ceremonies were held.

The André Cohen Deloro Prize for 2023 was awarded to Professor Jackie Schiller of the Rappaport Faculty of Medicine on Monday, June 12 during the Technion’s Board of Governors meeting. The prize is bestowed annually in recognition of outstanding multidisciplinary research in the field of human health, on behalf of the Adelis Foundation, in memory of the late André Cohen Deloro. Prof. Schiller received the prize from Technion President Professor Uri Sivan and Trustee of the Adelis Foundation Mr. Sidney Boukhris.

The award is recognized by the André Cohen Deloro Institute for Transformative Biomedical Sciences and Engineering. The Adelis Foundation is currently supporting the construction of a new Technion center – the André Cohen Deloro Institute for Transformative Biomedical Sciences and Engineering. The new institute will serve as the epicenter of the Technion’s multidisciplinary research activities in human health and will feature state-of-the-art infrastructure necessary to drive innovation, including cutting-edge laboratories and equipment.

The André Cohen Deloro Institute will also serve as a hub of the newly established Technion Human Health Initiative. This large-scale initiative will further facilitate innovative research at the Technion by focusing on the next level of medical innovation through partnerships with Technion-affiliated hospitals and cutting-edge pharmaceutical and biomedical companies.

Prof. Schiller joined the Technion faculty following her post-doctoral fellowship with Nobel laureate Bert Sakmann at the Max Planck Institute in Germany. She is an experienced neurobiologist who researches the brain in the context of inter-disciplinary collaboration. Her research focuses on the way information is processed and stored in the cerebral cortex and is carried out in two parallel axes: she studies the computational abilities of the cortex and, at the same time, tries to understand the learning mechanisms and the cortex cells’ physical transformations. Prof. Schiller believes that “these cells have a remarkable ability to learn all the time, from the moment we are born and until we die, even though our brain cells die over the years.”

Technion President Prof. Uri Sivan said, “André Cohen Deloro passed away in 2012 but his legacy continues to flourish in the skillful, loving hands of Mrs. Rebecca Boukhris and Mr. Sidney Boukhris, both trustees of the Adelis Foundation. Prof. Schiller is a highly accomplished scientist whose work is a powerful combination of medicine and technology. Like the cells in the cerebral cortex, which don’t stop learning during their lifetime, so too Jackie never stops learning, researching, and leading her research group to dramatic and inspiring discoveries about the way we think and process information. She does all this while developing original and innovative technologies for studying the brain, which also contribute enormously to the world of research and medical applications. Prof. Schiller epitomizes the type of scientist of whom the Technion is so proud and so blessed to be home.”

Sidney Boukhris, Trustees of the Adelis Foundation, said, “it is with immense pride that the Adelis Foundation bestows the prestigious André Cohen Deloro Research Prize upon Prof. Jackie Schiller. Prof. Schiller is dedicated to unraveling the intricate structure of the cerebral cortex, the largest and most complex part of the brain. Undoubtedly, the field of neuroscience holds immense relevance in our modern era, as life expectancy continues to rise, and the pursuit of an enhanced quality of life becomes increasingly crucial. The impact of brain-related disorders on daily existence cannot be understated.”

Prof. Schiller explained that “studying the brain is a varied and multi-disciplinary research field that requires advanced engineering tools and profound theoretical work as well as pre-clinical and clinical trials. My research focuses on understanding the mechanisms of memory and learning on cellular and subcellular levels and on the level of the cortical network. We are studying the mechanisms in the cerebral cortex that enable the process of learning, representing and remembering new movements. We are especially interested in how different types of cells learn and carry out their roles.”

Unlike most research on this subject, Prof. Schiller’s research group focuses on representing information about motion on the level of dendrites. “This is a level of resolution that has never been studied before. It provides deep insights into the mechanisms for learning and representing information. Since dendrites are the parts of the nerve cell that carry the data, we believe that the only way to achieve an in-depth understanding of the process is through this level of research. In this way, we were able to trace the most basic and deep information about how the brain creates movement commands.”

Prof. Schiller also studies what goes wrong in cerebral cortex cells in pathophysiological cases such as Parkinson’s disease. “Using advanced tools from the field of imaging, genetics, virology, behavior and computation, we study the cells at an unprecedented resolution. Beyond the scientific interest, there is substantial potential for developing treatments for a large variety of diseases.”

 

THE ADELIS FOUNDATION

The Adelis Foundation is an Israeli foundation that was created in 2006 by an exceptional man, André Cohen Deloro (z”l) (1933 – 2012). A graduate of the prestigious École Polytechnique and the École Nationale des Ponts et Chaussées, André Cohen Deloro (z”l) had a brilliant career in construction. Realizing his unbreakable link with the State of Israel, he built the Adelis Foundation – the most important work of his life. The Adelis Foundation was built so that André Cohen Deloro (z”l) could contribute in his own way to the wellbeing of the Jewish People and to the security of the State of Israel.

The Adelis Foundation was created based on the conviction that the security and future of Israel, its economic development, and its influence among the nations depended on the excellence of its universities and research centers. The Adelis Foundation believes that it is crucial to guarantee the knowledge of Israel’s next generations through the high level of education of its human capital in order to improve its future. But a strong nation is also a nation that knows how to take care of its weakest links.

Thus, the Adelis Foundation intervenes in the following key areas: scientific and medical research of excellence (65%), education – mainly in the social and geographical periphery (25%), and social well-being (10%).

In the field of science, the Adelis Foundation has a desire to help Israel through preserving its position among the world leaders in research and innovation through exploring new technological frontiers. The Adelis Foundation promotes these directives by financing research infrastructure in the country’s most promising academic institutions, as well as by granting research budgets to excellent researchers from the best universities in key areas where the State of Israel has added value. Research is likely to create scientific breakthroughs that improve the well-being of Israel’s citizens and of humanity as a whole, as our Jewish values ​​teach us.

The Board of Governors, which convened last week at the Technion, officially confirmed the Technion Council’s selection of the incumbent Technion President, Prof. Uri Sivan, for an additional four-year term. Prof. Sivan’s second term is scheduled to commence on October 1, 2023 and will conclude on September 30, 2027. The decision was taken following the recommendation of the Presidential Appointment Committee and the Academic Assembly. The start of Prof. Sivan’s second term will coincide with the Technion’s 100^th anniversary celebration and will be dedicated to further establishing the Technion as a leading international research university at the forefront of global research.

“I would like to thank the members of the Board of Governors, the Senate, the Presidential Appointment Committee and the Academic Assembly for placing their faith in me,” said Prof. Sivan. “I view the role of Technion President as a great privilege, a calling and a responsibility to carry forward the legacy of my predecessors in developing the Technion for the sake of the State of Israel and all of humankind. One hundred years after the first classroom was inaugurated, we look back on the past with pride in the achievements of this grand institution since its establishment and up to the present – and we look forward with a deep commitment and belief in the Technion’s ability to continue enabling society and the State of Israel to flourish and prosper.”

Prof. Sivan joined the faculty of the Technion’s Department of Physics in 1991 after three years at the IBM research center in Yorktown Heights, New York. He holds the Bertoldo Badler Chair within the Technion’s Department of Physics. He is one of Israel’s pioneering researchers in the field of nanotechnology, and his research throughout the years covered a broad range of subjects – from quantum mechanics in miniature electronic systems to harnessing biology to build nanometric electronic devices. In recent years, he has been researching the structure of water near surfaces and molecules. Prof. Sivan’s scientific achievements have been recognized by numerous prizes, and the results of several of his research projects have been implemented in industry.

Since assuming the role of President in 2019, Prof. Sivan has advanced the Technion in many areas, including expanding inter-disciplinary research, repositioning the Technion and strengthening the ties between academia and industry, promoting teaching methodologies, empowering diversity and inclusion, and continuing to develop the campus.

The Technion – Israel Institute of Technology awarded honorary doctorates to five distinguished individuals: philanthropist Mr. Stephen B. Klein; entrepreneur and Technion alumnus Mr. David (Dadi) Perlmutter; philanthropists Dr. Martin Rosman and Mrs. Grace Rosman; and theoretical computer scientist and Technion alumnus Professor Avi Wigderson.

The ceremony formed part of the annual Technion Board of Governors meeting. Speaking on behalf of the honorees, Prof. Wigderson talked of the challenges Israeli academia is currently facing.

“The five individuals we honor today pushed the bounds of innovation onwards, upwards, and outwards. Expanding the bounds of opportunity, sharing their success with society, they exemplify the best of the Technion” President Prof. Uri Sivan stated at the ceremony. “The Technion is the sum of its people, who built it day by day. The founding fathers, the 17 architecture students in the first class, the supporters and governors who built it out of nothing, the faculty and staff, the graduates who built the infrastructure of Israel and high-tech all around the world, graduates like Dadi Perlmutter, supremely accomplished scientists like Avi Widgerson, philanthropists like Stephen Klein and Martin and Grace Rossman who through their generosity help the Technion flourish. Together, we are the Technion. Its spirit connects us all – us, the students, and the people impacted by Technion discoveries and inventions.”

Mr. Scott Leemaster, Chairman of the Board of Governors, said, “The Technion exists to make the world a better place. Our honorees today are paragons of that ideal. Everyone in this room tonight has felt the ripples of their achievements. They exemplify what the Technion strives for: learning, hard work, and Tikun Olam.”

Honorary Doctorate Recipients

Mr. Stephen B. Klein, from the United States, is a longstanding member of the Technion Board of Governors and the recipient of a Technion Honorary Fellowship in 2016. He is a prominent champion of Jewish, civic, and humanitarian causes in the United States and Israel.

The honorary doctorate was bestowed on him in appreciation of his commitment as a philanthropist to realize Tikkun Olam; with great admiration for his dedication to the Technion and Israel; in recognition of his leadership at the American Technion Society; with gratitude for his contributions as a Technion Guardian; and with thanks for his generous support of the Faculty of Aerospace Engineering to secure Israel’s future.

Mr. David (Dadi) Perlmutter is an Israeli technology and social entrepreneur and a graduate of the Andrew and Erna Viterbi Faculty of Electrical and Computer Engineering. He was executive vice president and chief product officer at the Intel Corporation, a multinational technology company headquartered in Santa Clara, California, and is currently active in several non-profit organizations. Mr. Perlmutter is a member of the Technion Board of Governors.

The honorary doctorate was bestowed on him in recognition of his groundbreaking and multi-faceted contributions to the development of high-tech industry in Israel and its global advancement; for his role as a Technion alumnus, an educator, social and business entrepreneur, and his steadfast commitment to advocate for equal opportunities, diversity, integration, and inclusion across all sectors of Israeli society; for his contributions to the Technion, his efforts to promote higher education, and his dedicated service to the Israel Friends of the Technion.

Dr. Martin and Mrs. Grace Rosman are steadfast advocates of Israel, the Technion, and the American Technion Society (ATS), and 2018 recipients of a Technion Honorary Fellowship. They are longtime members of the ATS Washington, D.C., Leadership Council and current Members of the Technion Board of Governors.

The honorary doctorate was bestowed on the couple in honor of their devotion to Israel and the Technion, their active leadership at every level of the American Technion Society and on the Technion Board of Governors; and in gratitude for their contributions as Technion Guardians, supporting projects such as the Rosman Atidim Program, which has impacted hundreds of students, and the Martin and Grace Druan Rosman High Performance Computer Data Center.

Prof. Avi Wigderson is a graduate of Technion’s Henry and Marilyn Taub Faculty of Computer Science. A researcher at the Institute for Advanced Study (IAS) in Princeton, New Jersey, he is known for deepening the connections between mathematics and computer science.

The honorary doctorate was bestowed on him in recognition of his fundamental contributions and leadership in the fields of theoretical computer science and discrete mathematics, including complexity theory, cryptography, expander graphs, and many more; and in gratitude for his ongoing relationship with the Technion, which began with his undergraduate studies.

Speaking on behalf of all the honorees, Prof. Wigderson said, “My connections with the Technion are deep and numerous. It’s my alma mater. It inspired and prepared me for my career. I met my wife here. We even got married here. Israeli universities, and the Technion in particular, have been beacons of excellence, contributing to Israel’s economy and security. The Technion is dedicated to the pursuit of knowledge and truth. Openness, inclusivity, free speech – these are the necessary foundations of this search; without them, there can be no truth and no science.”

The 36^th Umbrella Symposium opened at the Technion on May 30, 2023. Its focus was on the subject of “Life Science & Engineering: Data Analytics, Neuroscience & Multiscale Biomedical Engineering.”

These annual symposia are part of a long-time partnership between the Technion and two institutions in Germany: Forschungszentrum Jülich and RWTH Aachen University. The partnership promotes scientific collaborations among the three institutions, and each year the location of the symposium rotates among them.

This year’s Umbrella Symposium marks 40 years of this strategic partnership, which was launched in 1983. The event began with opening remarks from Prof. Koby Rubinstein, Executive Vice President for Research at the Technion. “In the 40 years of our collaboration,” Prof. Rubinstein said, “the world has changed, and science with it. But Umbrella remained at the forefront of scientific research. Few collaborations not only last for 40 years, but continue to produce revolutionary breakthrough research. May the next 40 years of our collaboration be as bountiful!”

Prof. Ute Habel, Vice-Rector for International Affairs at RWTH Aachen University said “this strategic partnership is of great importance to us. It is a notable element of our international standing. This partnership broadens our horizons and allows international and multidisciplinary work to tackle the great challenges humanity faces.”

Prof. Frauke Melchior, Member of the Board of Directors of Forschungszentrum Jülich added that “this is the third symposium that deals with the connection between engineering and life sciences, a very important connection for both research and application. Without a doubt, this conference is an opportunity to make riveting science and to get better acquainted with the Technion.

After the opening remarks on the first day, Umbrella Awards were conferred upon Dr. Arielle Fischer of the Technion Faculty of Biomedical Engineering (Wearable BioMonitoring: Integrating Motion and Biochemical Sensing), Dr. Roger Molto Pallares of RWTH Aachen University (Manipulating f-element chemistry for healthcare applications) and Dr. Stefan Wiefels of Forschungszentrum Jülich (Variability-Aware Characterization of Memristors for Neuromorphic Applications). These prizes, worth €5,000 each, are given every year to outstanding researchers in the field covered by the symposium that year. The prizes are awarded since 2018, and are dedicated to furthering German-Israeli scientific cooperation. Each winner presented his or her research to the audience.

The symposium took place at the Technion’s Visitors’ Center on May 30 – June 1, 2023.

13 June 2023 | Brussels/Paris – EuroTech Universities Alliance president since June 2022, Éric Labaye, the Chairman and President of École Polytechnique and of the Institut Polytechnique de Paris, welcomed the presidents of the EuroTech partner institutions, of which the Technion – Institute of Technology is one, at École Polytechnique for their annual meeting on 7 June 2023.

During his mandate as EuroTech president, Éric Labaye has made the common commitment to sustainability a priority. Over the past year, the partner universities have reinforced their collaboration to establish a joint research agenda for sustainability, to further integrate sustainability into their teaching curricula, and to harness innovation for sustainable development. Each institution also pursues its plan to achieve a green campus.

On 28 March 2023, the symposium “EuroTech Universities: An alliance working for global sustainability” brought together academic staff, students, operational directors, and the leadership of the six EuroTech partner universities at École Polytechnique. As a direct outcome of the meeting, the presidents of EuroTech’s member institutions now publish a seven-point “Declaration for Sustainability”, to drive the EuroTech Universities’ shift towards sustainability.

For Eric Labaye, “With this declaration, we confirm our joint efforts to tackle the current challenges faced by society, science, and technology and to develop solutions to reach sustainable development. To succeed, we are increasing and intensifying our collaboration within EuroTech, in all our areas of activity: research, initial and life-long education, and innovation.”

The EuroTech Universities of Science and Technology

1. Are committed to sustainable development, embodied by the 17 Sustainable Development Goals of the United Nations adopted in 2015 as the prime challenge for humanity today.
2. Will integrate the challenges posed by sustainable development in initial education and life-long training as a principal responsibility to train students and professionals to understand and solve key scientific, technological, and societal challenges.
3. Commit to advancing the frontiers of knowledge, technology, and innovation as essential tools for transformation towards absolute sustainability and will develop original technological solutions needed to address the world’s acute problems.
4. Recognize that technological development and scale-up must be complemented by behavioural changes to ensure responsible consumption, to avoid strain on the environment, and to reach a circular economy.
5. Are Living Labs committed to implementing sustainable solutions across their campuses, training, research, and innovation activities.
6. Commit to mobilizing their entire community as drivers of transformation through a collaborative, participative, inclusive and transparent approach.
7. Will also activate their global partner network to reach societal wellbeing and global sustainability.

Within the EuroTech Universities Alliance, six leading European universities of science and technology join their forces to elaborate ambitious joint research projects on a European scale in priority areas such as artificial intelligence, sustainable development, health, and bio-engineering. The six partner institutions are École Polytechnique, the Technical University of Denmark (DTU), École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), the Eindhoven University of Technology (TU/e), the Technical University of Munich (TUM), and the Technion – Israel Institute of Technology.

The strategic alliance bundles the member universities’ expertise in research and education for the construction of a strong, sustainable, sovereign, and resilient Europe. Éric Labaye has been invested with the EuroTech Universities Alliance presidency in June 2022 for a one-year period. The presidency rotates among the partner institutions’ presidents every twelve months.

See Eurotech press release here: https://eurotech-universities.eu/news-and-events/news/eurotech-commitment-to-sustainability/