Computer Science at the Technion: Toward the Next Hundred Years

On June 10, the Technion held a cornerstone-laying ceremony for the Shillman Family Computer Science Building at the Henry and Marilyn Taub Faculty of Computer Science. The event took place as part of the Technion’s Board of Governors’ meeting and was hosted by Prof. Irad Yavneh, former dean of the faculty.

Technion President Prof. Uri Sivan said: “The Taub Faculty of Computer Science is ranked among the world’s leading faculties in the fields of artificial intelligence and computational learning. The faculty has made a significant contribution to the development of Israel’s high-tech industry and to the training of graduates in this important field. The Shillman Building will be constructed adjacent to the current faculty building and will enable the expansion of research and teaching capabilities as well as the recruitment of new faculty and students. I thank Dr. Shillman and his family for their great generosity and their close friendship for the past 20 years.”

The number of students in the faculty has nearly doubled since moving into the current building in the year 2000 and now includes approximately 2,300 undergraduate and graduate students.

Faculty Dean Prof. Danny Raz said: “Since its establishment, the Henry and Marilyn Taub Faculty of Computer Science has led groundbreaking research in many areas of computer science, with a particular emphasis on bridging theory and practice.

The new building will span approximately 7,000 square meters and will allow us to continue growing and leading the world of computer science, which is especially important now as artificial intelligence makes significant impacts in many different disciplines. I deeply appreciate the contribution of Dr. Shillman and his family for providing the faculty with this significant added capability.”

Dr. Robert Shillman (Dr. Bob) earned his bachelor’s degree at Northeastern University and his master’s and doctorate degrees at MIT. In 2018, the Technion awarded him an honorary doctorate in recognition of his professional achievements and for his visionary leadership and innovation in founding and leading a global technology company. In addition, we admire his decades of commitment to advancing the Technion, the State of Israel, and humanity as a whole.

Dr. Shillman recently established a special prize at the Technion for outstanding research in science or engineering that contributes to the defense and security of the state of Israel. The award will be granted annually. This year marks the inaugural awarding of the prize which will be given to Prof. Avigdor Gal from the Faculty of Data and Decision Sciences.