Author: shlomi ben-oz

The first detection of an interstellar asteroid/comet-like object visiting the Solar system two years ago has sparked the ideas about the possibility of interstellar travel. New research from the Technion–Israel Institute of Technology suggests that such objects also raise far-reaching implications about the origins of planets across the galaxy, and possibly even the initial formation of the Solar system itself. 

The asteroid/comet-like object named “’Oumuamua” confirmed decades-old scientific expectations that suggested that the interstellar medium is full of loose chunks of rock flying around. Such debris was thought to be ejected from planetary systems in the aftermath of planet formation, when large planets formed and kicked out some of the leftover minor-planets and planetesimals still lying around.  From time to time, some fraction of these ejected rocks can still encounter foreign stars. In fortunate instances, this phenomenon can be observed as it swooshes through the Solar system.

The Technion researchers, Evgeni Grishin, Hagai Perets and Yael Avni wondered what would have happened if these ‘Oumuamua-like interstellar rocks were flying around 4.5 billion years ago, when our star was young and wild, and a gaseous disk was present instead of our planetary system? Their findings could be critical to answering some of the biggest puzzles regarding planet formation and the origin of planets in the Solar system  

Forming planets with foreign (planetesimal) currency

Planets are formed in protoplanetary disks, mostly made of gas and dust. The dust grains are thought to grow into pebbles, coagulate into bigger planetesimals, and finally, form planets. Once the objects reach km-size, they can survive and eventually coagulate and accrete smaller rocks/pebbles as to form planetary embryos and full-fledged planets. The main obstacle for such growth appears to occur before km-size objects form, in the stage when smaller rock and pebbles initially form. Indeed, several culprits conspire to destroy pebbles and meter-sized boulders before they can ever grow into larger planetesimals. Such pebbles and rocks move through the gaseous disk in which they are initially embedded and experience a headwind that slows them down.  The continuous push of the headwind might eventually lead them to quickly spiral inward into the Sun and be destroyed. In addition, collisions between small pebbles can lead to their fragmentation into smaller pieces halting their growth into larger planetesimals. In other words, pebbles and small rocks encounter a so-called “meter-size barrier” in their ability to grow into even larger planetesimals.    

Several models were suggested as to overcome the meter-size barrier, but these typically require fine-tuned conditions that are unlikely to exist in most planetary systems; nevertheless, it is common knowledge that most if not all stars host planetary systems. The question is then how this came to be.

In their recently published paper in the Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, Grishin and collaborators showed that interstellar objects are the key. They suggested that most systems do not need to go through the difficult stage of forming km-size planetesimals. Instead, most systems can capture interstellar km-size planetesimals that were originally ejected from other planetary systems. But how can an object moving at tens of km per second velocity through a Solar system be captured? It turns out the answer is simple – the same headwind that drives small rocks to inspiral into their sun can slow down bigger, km-size interstellar planetesimals and thereby capture them into a newly formed protoplanetary disk. 

In this way, even a single planetary system can eject km-size planetesimals that then serve as seeds for the formation of many new planetary systems. As a result, even a very small number of planetary systems can seed the formation of many other systems – all it requires is just a few lucky rare cases to begin the process, and then these systems can spawn planetesimal “seeds” across the galaxy, which in turn can be captured into a newly forming protoplanetary disks and provide them the basic km-size building blocks needed for planetary growth. Planet formation no longer occurs in isolation; no planetary system is an island,  but rather the reservoir of ejected rogue interstellar planetesimals serves to continuously initiate the birth of new planetary systems. In turn, any newly formed planetary systems eject their own rogue planetesimals and help rebuild the reservoir of interstellar planetesimal seeds. The question becomes: what are the odds of capturing these planetesimals, and how many successful formations are required to populate the entire birth cluster with planetesimals?

Nature vs nurture: Where you live matters!

To estimate the odds of planetesimal seeding and its implications for planet formation, the researchers developed a mathematical and numerical model for capture probability, depending on the properties of the interstellar planetesimal population and the disc. They found capturing small pebbles is extremely efficient, and that capturing larger bodies is more challenging, but still reasonable.

In the dense regions of stellar clusters where tens, hundreds, or even thousands of stars are born and live in a small regions (the “Manhattan” of star formation), around 10^6 of ‘Oumuamuas are captured in the birth cluster, and the largest body captured can be as large as ~10 km.
In the galaxy’s countryside, the galactic field environment, capture is more challenging, but still around ~10^3 ‘Oumuamuas can be captured, and bodies up to ~1 km are captured per system – enough to serve as the seed for planet formation in each system. 

One is enough, planetesimals bring joy and life!

The researchers summarize that only a small fraction of the stars in a cluster (less than 1%) are required to form the primordial planetesimals, which eventually seed the entire birth cluster of ~1000 stars. Roughly similar numbers are expected also for field environments. Both estimates are conservative. The interstellar reservoir, therefore, works in tandem with the main planet formation models, providing the initial seeds for many of the planetesimal formation models.

Another interesting side aspect is that biologically active material, in the form of bacteria, can survive the tough interstellar environment if the rock in which it is embedded is large enough (larger than a few cm scale). Although only a minute fraction of ejected rocks might harbor these hardcore bacteria, a  large number of such potentially biologically active rocks can be captured. This gas-assisted capture is a far more efficient mechanism for widespread panspermia, and most systems have probably gained their first life building blocks from somewhere else.

Read all about it! New leadership, sustainability, and the scientific revolution arising around matter and light from the research labs of Prof. Motti Segev.

Dozens of academic prizes were awarded to outstanding Technion researchers in a festive ceremony held as part of the 2019 Board of Governors’ events.

“Today we award prizes for excellence in teaching, research and innovation and honor researchers who have received grants from the European Research Council (ERC).” said the host of ceremony Prof. Steven Frankel of the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering. “We are grateful to the people, the families, the foundations, and the organizations that fund the prizes. For us, it is an opportunity to cherish excellence and nurture excellent research to help tackle the challenges of modern life and to advance science and technology.”

“We are the tip of the iceberg of research,” said Associate Prof. Mirella Ben-Chen of the Faculty of Computer Science, speaking on behalf of the award winners. “Research is not the work of a single researcher but the result of close and long-term collaborations. I thank the generous donors who support research and the development of new ideas, as well as the other people without whom our research would not have been possible: Graduate students, who do most of the work in practice; laboratory managers and other technical personnel; and the people who keep our sanity and remind us that there is life outside the laboratory – spouses, family, and friends.”

This year was the first time that the Mauerberger Foundation Fund (MFF) Research Award for Transformative Technologies for Africa was awarded. The prize is intended to strengthen academic ties and the exchange of information between researchers in Israel and in Africa and to harness new technologies for the benefit of humanity. The award is open to researchers from the Technion and other universities in Israel.

Prof. Emeritus Uri Shamir of the Technion’s Faculty of Civil and Environmental Engineering headed the professional evaluation committee, which submitted its recommendations to the MFF’s management committee. He said that the committee received eight proposals, from which two research groups were selected: From the Technion – Prof. Yehuda Agnon, Associate Prof. Mark Talesnick and Dr. Guy Ramon. From the University of Ben Gurion in the Negev – Prof. Yoram Oren, Prof. Zeev Ronen, and Prof. Jack Gilron.

Jonathan Yach, a trustee of the fund, said that: “Technology and high-tech are wonderful things… our grandfather, Morris Mauerberger, founded the award to make technology available to people who do not normally enjoy it. As noted, this is the first year that the prize was awarded, and this year we focused on water. Water is a vital resource, and as the biologist, Sylvia Earl said: ‘There may be water without life, but there can be no life without water.’”

The Technion’s Vice President for External Relations and Resource Development Prof. Boaz Golany thanked Jonathan Yach, Stephen Seiden and Renie Carniol for being “the next generation of Friends of the Technion.”

The Cooper Award for Research in Excellence 

Awarded to Prof. Shaul Markovitch of the Faculty of Computer Science for the development of a new methodology for automatic processing of natural languages.

The Diane Sherman Prize for Medical Innovations for a Better World 

Awarded to Prof. Jackie Schiller of the Rappaport Faculty of Medicine for her contribution to understanding the dynamics of the basic computational units in the brain.

The Norman Seiden Prize for Academic Excellence 

Awarded to Associate Prof. Guy Bartal of the Andrew and Erna Viterbi Faculty of Electrical Engineering for the development of nanoscale “Nano-Hedgehogs of Light” that pave the way for new applications in information processing, transmission, and storage. Steven, the son of Norman Seiden, explained that the prize was created in honor of his father’s 90th birthday and said that “unfortunately my father was unable to attend the ceremony this year, but it is important for us to note that the Technion has been, and still is, a central part of his life.”

The Henry Taub Prizes for Academic Excellence 

Awarded to Prof. Efrat Lifshitz of the Schulich Faculty of Chemistry for her achievements in the development of nanoscale semiconductors and magnetic materials, including quantum wells and semiconductor nanoparticles; to Prof. Oded Béjà of the Faculty of Biology for the discovery of a new family of rhodopsin – light-sensing proteins; to Associate Prof. Mirela Ben-Chen of the Faculty of Computer Sciences for her achievements in algebraic representation of geometer information; to Assoc.Prof. Alex Leshansky of the Wolfson Faculty of Chemical Engineering for his theoretical contribution to understanding the movement of artificial nanometer swimmers; to Associate Prof. Dan Mordehai of the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering for his achievements in calculations relating to nanocrystals; and to Assoc.Prof. Meytal Landau of the Faculty of Biology for discovering the mechanism of attack of the violent bacteria “Staphylococcus aureus.”

The Uzi and Michal Halevy Innovative Applied Engineering Award 

Awarded to Asst.Prof. Yoav Shechtman of the Faculty of Biomedical Engineering for his work on the subject – High Throughput Three-Dimensional Multicolor Localization.

The Uzi and Michal Halevy Innovative Applied Engineering Research Grants

Awarded to Asst.Prof. Amir Gat of the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering for his work on Etafoils – Morphing airfoil skins and to Associate Prof. Gilad Yossifon for innovative technology for the analysis of sperm sampling and screening of live sperm cells.

The Hilda and Hershel Rich Technion Innovation Awards

Prof. Assaf Schuster and Mr. Ilya Kolchinsky of the Faculty of Computer Science, to Prof. Gershon Elber and to Fady Massarwi of the Faculty of Computer Science, to Asst.Prof. Shai Berlin of the Rappaport Faculty of Medicine, to Prof. Hossam Haick and Mr. Mohamed Khatib of the Wolfson Faculty of Chemical Engineering, and to Asst.Prof. Michal Rahat of the Rappaport Faculty of Medicine.

European Research Council Grants 

Noted recipients: Assoc. Prof. Ronen Talmon of the Viterbi Faculty of Electrical Engineering, Asst.Prof. Yuval Filmus of the Faculty of Computer Science, Asst.Prof.  Yoav Shechtman, Prof. Shulamit Levenberg and Prof. Amit Meller of the Faculty of Biomedical Engineering and Assoc. Prof. Kinneret Keren and Assoc. Prof. Oren Cohen from the Faculty of Physics.

 

 

 

Students from Technion’s Viterbi Faculty of Electrical Engineering have developed an inexpensive and simple system to prevent leaving children alone in vehicles. 

To mark the official end of the school year, the advanced system based on machine learning technology was created by Technion undergraduate students Adam Barhak and Assaf Yitzhak under the guidance of doctoral student Ayal Taitler and master’s degree student Dotan Shambi. The system has a number of advantages that are hard to find in existing systems – ease of use, simple installation, highly reliable and the low cost. 

Leaving babies and toddlers in cars, the tragic consequences of which we are all familiar with is a human error that has occupied researchers for years. However, the various solutions offered to date, such as continuous monitoring of the weight placed on the car seat are unsatisfactory. 

Barhak recalls, “We asked ourselves how was it possible that no effective technological solution has been devised for this problem. We decided that we needed to change direction and embark on a new concept – an advanced and cheap thermal sensor that transfers the data to a system that is able to learn, analyze and rapidly make correct decisions.” 

The system developed by the two is based on a relatively simple and inexpensive thermal sensor installed opposite the baby seat in the back of the vehicle. The thermal sensor produces an image of the child and transfers the data to a tiny, inexpensive computer (Raspberry Pi), which processes the information and issues an alert. Additional variables are also assessed to prevent false alarms. 

The system activates a sequence of alarms in a closed loop that expands according to time passed and the temperature of the vehicle. First, a warning light is turned on, followed by a warning beep and if necessary, notification by text messages to an expanding loop of contacts. The contacts will include rescuers who can remotely open the car doors and windows. 

The system is easy to install, the sensor placed on the back of the front seat facing backward plugs into the cigarette lighter socket and can easily be transferred from one vehicle to another. The entire rear seat is monitored and an additional safety seat is not required. 

The students are gratified that their main reward for developing the system will be the drastic reduction in the number of small children abandoned in vehicles. 

 

 

Researchers from the Technion, in collaboration with Japanese and American scientists, have discovered how cyclic peptides inhibit the breakdown of proteins that help cancer grow and thrive. The researchers believe the strategy they have developed will pave the way for new types of anticancer treatment based on cyclic peptides.

Researchers from the Technion, in collaboration with Japanese and American scientists, have developed an innovative strategy for eliminating cancer cells. The research was recently published in Nature Chemistry by Prof. Ashraf Brik of the Schulich Faculty of Chemistry at the Technion, Prof. Hiro Suga of the University of Tokyo, Nobel Laureate in Chemistry and Distinguished Prof. Aaron Ciechanover of the Technion’s Rappaport Faculty of Medicine, and Prof. David Fushman of the University of Maryland’s Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry.

The study is a dramatic milestone in the application of the discovery of the ubiquitin system that led to the 2004 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for Distinguished Professors Avram Hershko and Aaron Ciechanover, and Dr. Irwin Rose. The trio of researchers discovered how unique proteins, which they called the “ubiquitin proteins,” label defective proteins with a “death tag” that leads to their breakdown in protease, also known as the “cellular garbage can.”

Proper functioning of the ubiquitin system is essential for the healthy functioning of the organism, not only in the context of the breakdown of used proteins, but also in many other functions. Disruptions in this system cause serious diseases, including various cancers, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (Lou Gehrig’s disease), cystic fibrosis, Parkinson’s disease, and other neurodegenerative disorders.

The discovery of ubiquitin paved the way for a new field of research, and many research groups around the world have been working on the ubiquitin system and harnessing it for developing innovative medical treatments. To date, four such drugs have been approved for the treatment of cancer in general and multiple myeloma in particular. These drugs have already saved the lives of many people around the world, but according to Prof. Brik, “the progress in the study of the ubiquitin system and the development of drugs based on its understanding are very slow relative to its potential.”

The first stage in the normal natural activity of the ubiquitin system is the creation of chains of ubiquitin (polyUB chains) that later label the proteins to be broken down. The problem is that when cancer develops in the body, cancer cells know how to carry out manipulation in the ubiquitin system and exploit it for survival and proliferation.

The strategy developed by the group headed by Prof. Brik was designed to neutralize the ability of the malignancy to perform the same manipulation. This strategy is based on an unprecedented combination of Prof. Brik’s skill in producing ubiquitin chains using advanced chemical methods and Prof. Suga’s method of creating very large libraries of molecules called cyclic peptides. As part of the collaboration, the researchers discovered how these cyclic peptides bind to the ubiquitin chains and thus inhibit the breakdown of proteins that help cancer to grow and thrive. They believe the strategy they have developed will pave the way for new types of anticancer treatment based on cyclic peptides.

Prof. Ashraf Brik holds Jordan and Irene Tark Chair in the Schulich Faculty of Chemistry. The current study is supported by the US National Institutes of Health (NIH), the Miriam and Sheldon Adelson Foundation, the Israel Science Foundation (ISF), the Germany-Israel Foundation for Research and Development (GIF), and the Israel Cancer Research Foundation (ICRF).

 

 

Security Vulnerability in the Cortana-Alexa Partnership Demonstrates Lock Screen Bypass

Student at the Computer Science Department of the Technion – Israel Institute of Technology has uncovered a significant cybersecurity risk at the interface between the voice-controlled digital assistants of Microsoft and Amazon 

A previously unknown security vulnerability in the partnership between voice assistants of Microsoft and Amazon has been revealed by Technion graduate student Yuval Ron and his co-supervisor Amichai Shulman of the Faculty of Computer Science. 

“The two companies have created an innovative integration between their voice assistants, which enables the launch of Amazon’s Alexa through Cortana on Windows 10 devices, even when they are in locked mode. For example, Cortana users can talk to Alexa and make online purchases through their Amazon account using voice commands,” says Shulman.

“However, we discovered that this interface also supports the capability of donating thousands of dollars to an arbitrary charity. The danger, of course, is that attackers with physical access to someone’s locked PC could ‘donate’ to themselves without the user’s knowledge.” 

But that’s not the only security threat, says Yuval Ron, a graduate student supervised by Prof. Eli Biham head of the Hiroshi Fujiwara Cyber ​​Security Research Center at the Technion and Amichai Shulman.  “We encountered another problematic scenario during the sign-in stage,” he says. “When a Cortana user needs to sign into Alexa, the connection was implemented by opening a customized Internet Explorer browser over the locked screen. Such a sign-in mechanism allows attackers to easily manipulate the browser to navigate to malicious websites. If the browser stored cached credentials, the attackers can also hack into the user’s social accounts, like Facebook and Twitter.”

Ron and Shulman reported these security issues to Microsoft on September 1, 2018, and the company fixed it by a server update removing. They removed Alexa from the locked screen, on September 24, 2018. 

However, the researchers continued to investigate Cortana and found additional vulnerabilities in its integrations with other platforms such as Spotify. “The connection between Cortana and other platforms expands the attack surface of the locked device, and as we have shown, this surface can be exploited,” says Shulman. As a response to these additional reports by the researchers,

Microsoft decided to disable almost all of Cortana’s skills over the locked screen. It has re-enabled only the skills that have been proven to be safe above the lock.

On June 24, 2019, Ron and Shulman presented their findings in a talk called “Alexa and Cortana in Windowsland”, at the BSidesTLV 2019 conference as part of the CyberWeek events at Tel-Aviv University. 

This is not the first time that Technion researchers have raised concerns about security issues in voice assistants. In 2018, Technion students exposed a security vulnerability (CVE-2018-8140) in Cortana. The attack they demonstrated was unprecedented because the students used a voice interface to take over a locked machine. Microsoft fixed the vulnerability based on the information received from the Technion. 

This attack on Cortana was created by Yuval Ron and Ron Marcovich, students at the Technion’s Computer Science Department, guided by Amichai Shulman and Prof. Eli Biham, head of the Hiroshi Fujiwara Cyber ​​Security Research Center at the Technion, and with the assistance of security expert Tal Be’ery. The students were invited to present their discovery at Black Hat 2018 – one of the largest security conferences in the world. 

 

Prof. Sivan’s appointment was ratified by the Technion Board of Governors.

He will assume office on 1st October, 2019.

The Technion International Board of Governors approved the appointment of Prof. Uri Sivan as the next president of Technion. Prof. Sivan, a member of the Faculty of Physics, was nominated last February by the presidential search committee. His appointment was approved by the Senate Academic Assembly, and the Technion Council – headed by Gideon Frank.

Prof. Sivan will assume office as President of Technion on October 1, 2019, and will replace the outgoing President Prof. Peretz Lavie, who will complete his term after a decade in office.

Prof. Sivan, 64, a resident of Haifa, is married and the father of three. He served as a pilot in the Israeli Air Force. In 1991, Sivan joined the Faculty of Physics at Technion and he is the incumbent of the Bertoldo Badler Chair. His research has covered a wide range of fields including quantum mesoscopic physics and the harnessing of molecular and cellular biology for the self-assembly of miniature electronic devices. In recent years, his research has focused on the way water orders next to molecules and the effect of this ordering on inter-molecular interactions in biologically relevant solutions.

Sivan has held numerous senior positions at Technion and on a national level. He established and led the Russell Berrie Nanotechnology Research Institute (RBNI) at Technion from 2005 to 2010. Two years ago, Prof. Sivan set up the National Advisory Committee for Quantum Science and Technology of the Council for Higher Education’s Planning and Budgeting Committee (PBC). The committee outlined the national quantum academic program, which was adopted and launched last year under Sivan’s leadership.

“I wish to thank you for the trust that you have placed in me,” said Prof. Sivan to the International Board of Governors. “I stand on the shoulders of giants and I hope to see far, high, and deep. The President of Technion carries tremendous responsibility for the excellence of the institution itself, and the success of its students, administrative staff, and faculty. We are committed to the State of Israel, its security and economic prosperity. I humbly stand here before you committed to do everything in my power to lead this remarkable institution to even greater achievements as it approaches 2024, a century since opening its doors. Technion will continue to serve as a beacon of pluralism, equality, freedom of speech, integrity, ethics, social justice, environmental consciousness, and inclusion in the global community based on these values.”

 

Technion awarded honorary doctorates to seven distinguished men and women, including entrepreneur and businessman Sami Sagol, architect Moshe Safdie, ISEF founder Nina Weiner, and Prof. Stéphane Mallat, whose grandfather secured the permit to build the first Technion building in 1911

During the festive and emotional ceremony, which took place during the annual Board of Governors meeting, Technion conferred honorary doctorates on seven distinguished individuals. The ceremony was held in the presence of Technion President Prof. Peretz Lavie, Chairman of the Council Mr. Gideon Frank, Chairman of the Board of Governors Mr. Lawrence Jackier, of Canadian Ambassador to Israel H.E. Deborah A. Lyons, French Consul in Haifa Mr. Patrice Servantie, Deputy Mayor of Haifa Mr. David Etzioni, members of the Technion management and Faculty deans.

Technion President Prof. Peretz Lavie said at the ceremony that, “The success of the State of Israel in general, and of Technion in particular, rests on a combination of chutzpah, ambition and the courage to ask questions and risk making mistakes. These are the traits shared by the seven laureates receiving honorary doctorates this evening. They don’t all come from cultures where chutzpah is prevalent, but all succeeded thanks to the fact that they dare to think outside the box, ask important questions and strive for satisfactory answers. We are grateful for your heroic efforts to make the world a better place.”

The Laureates

Architect Moshe Safdie is one of the world’s most celebrated architects. During his distinguished 50-year career, Mr. Safdie has created well over 200 awe-inspiring architectural projects that span the globe. “I was born in Hadar Hacarmel in a Bauhaus modernist building, across the street was the Technion”, he said. “With my parents coming from Aleppo and my architecture education being in the west in Canada, I think I merged within me Western European and Eastern traditions. While I’ve received many Honorary Doctorates and other awards, I’m very moved by being honored by the Technion. For me the Technion is home territory, it is literally where I was born and where I grew up. When I decided to be an architect far away in cold Montreal the Technion was always for me the memory of which school of architecture I should have been at.”

 

Entrepreneur and businessman Sami Sagol was born in Turkey and made aliyah with his family when he was 15. Under his leadership, the Keter Group grew from a small family-owned company founded by his father in 1948 to a global corporation with an annual turnover of nearly a billion dollars. Mr. Sagol, Technion alumnus in chemistry, said: “I started at Technion as a very young student, before my military service. At Technion I received a basis, not only an education, but how to think and what to think in many fields. In this sense the Technion was the basis for everything I did in my future. The Honorary Doctorate degree from Technion is very special to me as it comes after my first degree in engineering and science from Technion, in this sense it closes a circle. The Technion has a very special place in my heart.”

 

Prof. Stéphane Mallat, who spoke on behalf of the laureates, is one of the world’s foremost scientists in signal and image processing. However, his speech focused on his family’s unique connection to Technion. “The Technion represents for us a family story across three generations. It began with my grandfather, Asher Mallat, who studied in Istanbul. When the project of the Technion was rejected by the Ottoman authorities in Palestine, he was able in Istanbul to reverse the decision and obtain the rights to build the Technion.” My father was always very attached to Israel and was very impressed by the economic effect of the Technion on Israel.”

Prof. Mallat has close ties to researchers at Technion’s Faculty of Computer Science. He said, “This Honorary Doctorate is a high honor from colleagues, but it is for me a gift from the Technion to my family to remember the engagements, the action of my grandfather and of my father for Israel and Technion.”

 

Nina Avidar Weiner founded the international educational foundation ISEF, which supports outstanding young Israelis from disadvantaged backgrounds. Through the foundation, Mrs. Weiner has empowered a new generation of leaders who are making an impact on Israeli society. “We’ve had a wonderful relationship with the Technion”, she explained. “A minimum of 30-40 students a year at Technion receive scholarships and the results are phenomenal. We have three or four outstanding students that teach at Technion. The award from Technion is very, very special. I’m sure it will be incredibly important for all our alumni, all of the thousands of alumni we have all over Israel to be recognized by the Technion. I’m very grateful for it.”

 

Prof. Dr. Alfred Forchel, President of the University of Würzburg, received the honorary degree for his significant contributions to the study of physics and quantum optics, and for his collaboration with researchers at Technion. He remarked,”The cooperation with colleagues at Technion have enabled scientific studies that wouldn’t have been possible otherwise. This Honorary degree from Technion will encourage me to enhance the cooperation in science between the two institutes and beyond this to use this as a means to fuel the exchange of people in Israel.”

 

Carol Epstein received the honorary degree for her extensive contribution to the State of Israel, Technion and the Jacobs Technion-Cornell Institute in New York. She told the story about when her parents came to Israel in 1959: “My father walked in and sat in a classroom. He didn’t understand a word of Hebrew but he could understand what was written on the blackboard. He was blown away by the level of instruction. He said, ‘I believe if any single entity is going to be responsible for the success of the State of Israel it’s Technion.’

Receiving an Honorary Doctorate is a great honor both of my parents had Honorary Doctorates. Although I’ve received a couple of awards they never got, this is the only one they got that I’ve yet to receive and I think it’s really special.”

 

Dr. Stuart I. Feldman received an honorary doctorate for his achievements in the world of computers and software design, for his commitment to technological innovation in Israel and for the advancement of scholarships for women in Mathematics and Computer Science in Israel. He said: “Israel has simply been an amazing source of scientific and engineering progress and the Technion is a very clear leader of the pack in Israel. The quality is simply there, the energy is there, the desire to innovate is there. I’d like to express my thanks to Peretz Lavie and Technion for giving me this fantastic honor.”

 

The Adelis Award for groundbreaking brain research was presented at Technion to Dr. Yaniv Ziv of the Weizmann Institute of Science

The Adelis Brain Research Award was granted last week at Technion to Dr. Yaniv Ziv, a researcher at the Department of Neurobiology at the Weizmann Institute of Science. The 2019 Brain Research Award was presented to Dr. Ziv by Rebecca Boukhris and Sidney Boukhris, Trustees of the Adelis Foundation and by Technion President Prof. Peretz Lavie. The award ceremony took place at the Technion Board of Governors meeting on June 16, 2019

Prof. Lavie thanked the representatives of the Adelis Foundation for its tremendous contributions to brain research in Israel and for their generous donation to Technion for the establishment of the André Deloro Building for Biosciences, Medicine and Engineering. He said, “The brain, to a large extent, is still a black box, and studies like those of Dr. Ziv give us a glimpse inside that box. This ceremony is an opportunity to congratulate not only the prize recipient but also their mentor, Prof. Michal Schwartz, winner of the 2019 EMET Prize in Life Sciences. Prof. Schwartz also supervised the 2017 Adelis Prizewinner, Prof. Asya Rolls of the Technion’s Rappaport Faculty of Medicine, and the lesson here is that it is important to choose the right mentor.”

Rebecca Boukhris, Trustee of the Adelis Foundation, said that “We are proud to support talented young scientists like Yaniv, and in this way promote and encourage brain research in Israel. The future of Israel depends on its young people because today’s youth will build tomorrow’s world, so it is important to encourage young people to ask, learn, demonstrate curiosity, and broaden their imagination. This is the only way we can expand the circle of excellence that Israel needs.”

The Adelis Foundation, established in 2006 by the late Mr. André Cohen Deloro, of blessed memory, aspires to make a meaningful impact on the lives of Israeli citizens and strengthen Israel as a successful, secure and prosperous nation in the following key areas: scientific and medical research; education; and societal welfare. The Foundation supports academic excellence in Israel, and in particular medical and scientific research. In 2015, in keeping with the legacy of the Foundation’s founder and in loyalty to his vision, the foundation inaugurated the Adelis Brain Research Award which grants $100,000 annually to an outstanding young Israeli researcher.

The purpose of the award is to encourage excellence among young Israeli scientists in the field of brain research; to advance our knowledge and understanding of the brain, its functioning, and the diseases connected with it; and to achieve international scientific impact.

Brain research is a leading global scientific research priority.

The award panel of judges comprises senior figures from Israel’s scientific community: Dr. Gal Ifergane, Prof. Moshe Bar, Prof. Illana Gozes, Prof. Eilon Vaadia, Prof. Jackie Shiller, Prof. Rafi Malach, Prof. Noam Ziv, and Prof. Michal Schwartz, veteran leading Israeli brain researchers.

In the award’s fifth year, the Adelis Foundation was both pleased and proud, to witness many high-quality proposals representing Israeli potential in the field of brain research.

The main criteria for the Adelis Prize are excellence, innovation and achievements. The judges had a difficult task, given the diversity of the submissions and their high level. The 2019 award was granted to Dr. Yaniv Ziv, a researcher at the Department of Neurobiology at the Weizmann Institute of Science.

Professor Jackie Shiller of the Technion presented the judges’ decision:
“We are proud to announce Dr. Yaniv Ziv from Weizmann Institute as the 2019 Adelis laureate. The prize committee found Dr. Ziv’s past and present contributions, his long-term goals, and the overall importance of his research to warrant the prize. Dr. Ziv deals with the one of most fundamental and important questions in brain research, how the brain forms new memories, how it maintains these memories stable despite a constant instability in neuronal function. Dr. Ziv uses the most advanced methods to study the neuronal network with high spatial and temporal precision over time. His methods using novel computational approaches including machine learning yielded exciting new insights about how our memories are represented and stored. Despite being a young researcher, Dr. Ziv is already known worldwide and well esteemed for his outstanding contributions to the field”.

Dr. Yaniv Ziv earned a BSc in biology at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem in 2001. He completed a PhD program in neurobiology at the Weizmann Institute of Science in 2007. He was a postdoctoral fellow at the Department of Biology at Stanford University starting in 2008 and joined the Department of Neurobiology at the Weizmann Institute in 2014. His academic and professional honors include the 2007 Otto Schwartz Foundation award for excellence in studies and research, and the Weizmann Institute of Science Award for an outstanding PhD thesis in 2007. He was awarded the Rothschild Foundation postdoctoral fellowship and the Machiah Foundation postdoctoral fellowship. In 2014 he was awarded the Sieratzki Prize for Advances in Neuroscience, and in 2018 appointed CIFAR-Azrieli Global Scholar in the Brain, Mind and Consciousness program. Dr. Yaniv Ziv is married to Dr. Michal Ziv (a clinical psychologist) and has three kids, Romy, Noa and Itamar. Research in Dr. Ziv’s lab focuses on the neural mechanisms of long-term memory.

The main objective of Dr. Ziv’s research, funded by Adelis, is to identify the principles that underlie the storage and organization of information in long-term memory. Towards this goal, the Ziv lab is applying novel optical imaging and computational analysis methods that they have developed. These methods allow tracking the coding properties of large populations of the same neurons over many weeks and analyzing how their joint activity patterns change over time and as a function of experience. Ziv’s current research centers on neural coding in the hippocampus and related cortical circuits that are crucial for spatial navigation and for the formation and processing of memories for places and events. The proposed research aims to represent the structure of relationships between neuronal activity patterns that underlie specific experiences and address fundamental questions that could not have been addressed before. For example: How do hippocampal neural code change during learning, and what aspects of the codes are degraded in forgetting? Can individual neurons be fungible (i.e. mutually interchangeable) for memory storage? And, to what extent are memories of different experiences similarly organized in the brains of different individuals?

Prof. Ilan Marek of the Technion Elected to the Israel Academy of Sciences and Humanities

Ilan Marek, Professor of organic chemistry at the Schulich Faculty of Chemistry at the Technion-Israel Institute of Technology, has been elected to the Israel Academy of Sciences and Humanities.

The Israel Academy of Sciences and Humanities is the leading body in Israel’s scientific community. It was established by law in 1961 with the aim of bringing together the best scientists in Israel, to nurture and promote scientific activities in Israel and to advise Israeli governments on research and scientific planning of national importance. Prof. Marek was accepted among six new members of the academy that will now have 132 members. “The Academy is blessed with the participation of these elite researchers who can empower it and assist in fulfilling its mission to strengthen science in Israel,” said Academy President Prof. Nili Cohen.

Prof. Marek heads the Mallat Family Organic Chemistry Laboratory at the Schulich Faculty of Chemistry at the Technion. His work is concerned with the design and development of new and efficient stereo- and enantioselective strategies for the synthesis of important complex molecular structures. He is particularly interested in developing carbon-carbon bond forming processes, which efficiently create multiple stereocenters in a single-pot operation.

Born in Israel, Marek moved to France with his family when he was one year old. In 1988, he completed his doctorate at the University Pierre et Marie Curie in Paris, and after postdoctoral research in Belgium, he received a position as a researcher at the CNRS at the University Pierre et Marie Curie. In 1997, after 34 years in France, he returned to Israel and joined the Technion’s Schulich Faculty of Chemistry. He currently heads the Mallat Family Organic Chemistry Laboratory and holds the Sir Michael and Lady Sobell Academic Chair.

Prof. Marek has published several hundreds of research articles, edited more than 13 books and won numerous national and international awards including the Weizmann Prize for Exact Sciences; the Israel Chemistry Society Prize for Academic Excellence; the Royal Society Chemistry Organometallic Award; the Janssen Pharmaceutical Prize for Creativity in Organic Synthesis; the Alon Fellowship; the Michael Bruno Memorial Award; the Taub Prize for Academic Excellence; and the Yanai Prize for Excellence in Academic Education. In December 2017, he was elected to the French Academy of Sciences.

Technion Congratulates the Honorary Fellowship Recipients for 2019

On June 16, 2019, Technion conferred Honorary Fellowships upon seven outstanding individuals.

Technion President Prof. Peretz Lavie said in his opening remarks, “We are here tonight to celebrate seven beloved faces in the album, the beautiful faces of the Technion family from near and far and to recognize our dear honorary fellows.

“Sarah Arenson who, with her late husband Avie, have been devoted members of the Technion family. They helped the Technion preserve the heritage of the design traditions of the built environment;

“Gideon Stein, an exemplary alumnus of the Technion Faculty of Electrical Engineering who played a major role in founding Mobileye vision technologies;

“Mitch Julis from Los Angeles and Linda Kovan from Detroit who represent the emerging leadership of the American Technion Society, whose enthusiasm is infectious and who revitalize the support for the Technion in their communities;

“Marlene and Eugene Shapiro from Phoenix represent those who have been involved with Technion for many decades and have been active leaders at every level of the American Technion Society;

“And finally, Prof. Dr. Thomas Scheper from Leibnitz University in Hannover, Germany. Thomas is chairman of the German Technion Society, a champion of Technion and of the State of Israel in Germany, and has played a major role in enhancing German-Israeli academic collaboration.”

Sarah Arenson

In recognition of her impassioned commitment to the State of Israel, of her social philanthropy and of her late husband’s monumental contribution to Israel’s built environment; in admiration of her research into ancient Mediterranean cultures and their impact on modern civilization and of her determination to give it documentary resonance; and in gratitude for her beneficent support of the Technion’s Avie and Sarah Arenson Built Heritage Research Center.

Mitchell Julis

In recognition of his deep devotion to the Technion and Israel; in appreciation of his exceptional support of Jewish communities on every level; in gratitude for his enthusiastic championing of the Jacobs Technion-Cornell Institute; and in honor of his selfless efforts to advance the work of the American Technion Society and the Technion for the betterment of Israel and the world.

Linda Kovan

In honor of her active and tireless leadership of the American Technion Society on both local and national levels; with gratitude for her sweeping vision that helped revitalize support for the Technion in her native Detroit; in appreciation for her inspiring commitment to the Technion and Israel, and in recognition of her many important contributions to her local community.

Prof. Dr. Thomas Scheper

In recognition of his bold commitment to championing the State of Israel and its scientific achievements in Germany, of his support for Israel’s life science students, and of his leadership in advancing the breadth and scope of collaboration between Israeli and German researchers; and in appreciation for these and his other contributions to the enhancement of German-Israeli academic engagement, and for his longstanding association with the German Technion Society.

Eugene and Marlene Shapiro

In great admiration for their decades of tireless commitment to Technion and Israel; in recognition of their active leadership at every level of the American Technion Society, and as members of the Technion International Board of Governors; and in acknowledgment of the active and vital roles they have played with such energy and enthusiasm in growing Technion’s circle of supporters.

Dr. Gideon Stein

In recognition of his technological innovation making car travel safer for all and his prominent contribution to vision safety technology as the sensory underpinning of Advanced Driver Assistance Systems; in admiration of his prolific research in the field of computer vision and its profound impact on cutting-edge designs of autonomous vehicles; and with gratitude for his generous donations to the Technion as a role model alumnus supporting his alma mater.

Technion Confers Honorary Doctorates upon Distinguished Individuals

Today, Monday, June 17^th, Technion will confer honorary doctorates for 2019 at the annual Board of Governors event. The ceremony will take place in the presence of President Prof. Peretz Lavie; Chairman of the Council Gideon Frank; and Chairman of the Board of Governors Lawrence Jackier; Senior Management and Faculty Deans.

The recipients of the Honorary Doctorate award for 2019 are:

Carol Epstein

Carol Epstein earned her bachelor’s degree from Cornell University and is a former president of the Cornell Club of Washington and a proponent of Cornell Tech and the Joan and Irwin Jacobs Technion-Cornell Institute. She is a second-generation American Technion Society (ATS) supporter and leader on the local and national levels.

Dr. Stuart I. Feldman

Dr. Stuart Feldman has made pioneering contributions to software systems and programming languages and has left his mark on industrial research. As Chief Scientist of Schmidt Futures, he is responsible for scientific knowledge programs.

Prof. Dr. Alfred Forchel

Prof. Dr. Alfred Forchel is a highly acclaimed leader in the fields of nanofabrication, physics of semiconductor nanostructures and semiconductor lasers. His academic career spans over 30 years and his research activities have continuously been at the forefront of global research.

Prof. Stéphane Mallat

Prof. Mallat is a global scientific leader in the fields of signal and image processing. He has made fundamental contributions to the development of wavelet theory marking a revolution in signal processing. His research also covers harmonic analysis and machine learning. His academic work has been cited over 100,000 times.

Moshe Safdie

Moshe Safdie, CC, FAIA, is a world-renowned architect, urban planner, educator, theorist and author. Spanning a celebrated 50-year career, Safdie is committed to architecture that is conversant with the geographic, social and cultural elements that define a place and that respond to human needs and aspirations.

Sami Sagol

Sami Sagol was born in Turkey and, at 15, immigrated to Israel with his family. Under his leadership, Keter Plastics, a company founded by his father in 1948, was transformed into a global concern with an annual turnover reaching the billion-dollar mark. A graduate of what is today Technion’s Schulich Faculty of Chemistry, Sami Sagol has contributed generously to his alma mater and specifically to the establishment of the Center for Complex Materials in the Faculty of Materials Science and Engineering.

Nina Avidar Weiner

Nina Weiner is the co-founder, President and Chairwoman Emerita of Israel Scholarship Education Foundation (ISEF) and is a zealous champion of Israel’s bright young people from disadvantaged backgrounds. Through ISEF, she has helped to forge a new generation of leaders who are making their mark on Israeli society.

Prof. Stéphane Mallat will speak on behalf of the recipients.

The ceremony will take place today at 8:30 pm in Churchill Auditorium, Technion City, Haifa

For more information, contact Doron Shaham, Technion Spokesperson – Tel. 050-3109088