Author: shlomi ben-oz

According to “Domus” – the Prestigious Magazine for Architecture, Art & Design:

Technion’s Faculty of Architecture & Town Planning Among the Top 50 in Europe

The Faculty of Architecture & Town Planning at the Technion has been listed among the top 50 best schools in Europe, according to the prestigious “Domus” magazine for architecture art and design; “Domus” was founded in 1928 in Italy and read in over one-hundred countries.

“People ask us ‘So who is number one?’ Albeit in surveys of this kind it is customary to see rankings in this manner but since this is a very difficult question to answer, it may not be possible to provide a quantitative answer,” as written in the magazine, where instead of ranking the 50 selected Faculties, it states which are in the top 50 best schools. “This is because over the past few years we have seen that collaborative networks among institutes of higher learning have evolved into something more intricate given the rise of neo-liberalism, unprecedented technological advances and economic globalization. These factors have expanded the networks of higher education beyond the physical and virtual limits of the schools themselves. These collaborative networks are vital because they equip students with the skills needed to communicate with other people, with technology, and with broad technological infrastructures that are non-hierarchical. These conditions have become even more important in light of the global financial crisis.”

“The new graduate cannot depend on a guaranteed career ladder; he/she must operate ‘within the current economic system,’ characterized by its casual labor contracts, its just-in-time production and more. Designers, architects, and other actors in the creative fields must be multidisciplinary, open to collaboration, and motivated to find and initiate these often amorphous work arrangements. Many designers work as freelancers or at several part-time jobs, while some find classic, stable jobs; still, even those who follow a stable career path have probably gained access via their connection to a networked individual or institution.”

“The new economic condition therefore demands a new educational condition. If schools can no longer train students for traditional careers, neither can they function like traditional schools. The schools of the future are ranked first and foremost through their collaborative networks, and only after by traditional criteria of strong professors and exceptional student work. Schools that excel in these criteria function as laboratories that come into contact with businesses, creative studios, cultural institutions, research groups and other schools.”

On the Technion, the magazine wrote the following:

“Technion – Israel Institute of Technology is Israel’s oldest architectural school. Many of the most prominent Israeli architects attended the school and teach there today. Technion students learn to engage with the urban structure of the site and the broader context of the city. The program emphasizes building and spatial layout and design. The focus and strength of the program is in its physical engagement between architecture and the city.”

“They have recently updated the school with new labs, extensive digital technologies, and plan further renovations. The school has guided the formation of robust personal and professional networks. The strength of the school is the students, as there is a rigorous admissions process. Students are helpful to each other and not hyper-competitive; they describe the Technion as a positive atmosphere for studying, with good personal and professional relationships with teachers. Visiting professors bring in further knowledge and networks from Israel and abroad. These encounters provide opportunities to make connections for collaboration and future employment.”

“The city of Haifa has many engineering schools, forming a strong technical knowledge base. Students call the city a good place to study and focus. Haifa is on the coast, providing a lively atmosphere in the summer. The facilities are good, open 24 hours, and include small studios and workshops for wood, metal and plastic. There is also a digital design lab with two lasercutters, two 3D printers, and a CNC machine. A new visualization lab houses a 9 meter screen, with three synchronized projectors that provide immersive, 3-dimentional visualization. The library is the best in Israel.”

“The school has a wealth of research labs, including the Climate and Energy Lab, the Visualization Center, the Center for Architectural Research and Development, the Architectural Heritage Research Center, the PeKA Gallery of Experimental Art and Architecture, and the Center for Urban and Regional Studies. This enhances the studies and capabilities for all students. The website for the school could be better; an improvement would help students showcase their work and present the school to an international audience.”

Prominent Alumni:

• Zvi Hecker,
• Yaacov Rechter,
• Dan Eitan,
• Avraham Wachman,
• Michael Burt,
• Moshe Zur.

Prof. Eliezer Shalev, Dean of the Technion’s Rappaport Faculty of Medicine:

“Future Medicine will focus on prevention, prediction, and early diagnosis – and technology will have an important role to play in this transition”

Prof. Shalev made these remarks at the “Mobile-Social-Cloud Meets Medicine” conference held by the Faculty of Medicine and Technion Computer Engineering Center (TCE) – where special sensors for smart phones were presented, capable of monitoring various diseases using cloud computing and big data

“Future medicine will focus on prevention, prediction and early diagnosis – and technology will have an important role to play in this transition,” said Prof. Shalev, Dean of the Technion’s Rappaport Faculty of Medicine at the Mobile-Social-Cloud Meets Medicine conference. The event was held by the Technion’s Faculty of Medicine and Technion Computer Engineering Center (TCE) in conjunction with Cornell University, within the framework of the T2MED Program launched by the Technion’s Rappaport Faculty of Medicine, which aims to encourage research and development of medical technology.

The event, organized by Prof. Uri Rosenschein from the Technion’s Rappaport Faculty of Medicine, Prof. Shie Mannor from the Technion’s Faculty of Electrical Engineering and Prof. Deborah Estrin from the Faculty of Computer Science at Cornell University, was attended by academics from the Technion and Cornell University, representatives of startup companies who presented interesting new developments in the field and representatives of venture capital funds.

“Today’s technology makes it possible to do many things that were never before possible. The smart phone is a device that can also detect location and is a movement, velocity and acceleration indicator. Its camera and voice recording capabilities makes these popular devices ideal medical sensors. We will also be able to predict and detect high risk populations according to genetic traits using data mining, medical records and information from pharmacies, big data management, sophisticated algorithms and by using personalized medicine through sequencing technology and bio-informative tools” summarized Prof. Shalev.

In the first part of the conference, systems using smart phones were featured as sensors of different diseases. Prof. Shie Mannor from the Technion’s Faculty of Electrical Engineering spoke about the way by which raw data picked up by smart phones can be turned into accessible and comprehensible information. The automatic translation of the machine’s language will allow us to understand human behavior from the data in a way that would also permit a search, aiming to improve diagnosis and treatment of many medical conditions.

Dr. Mor Peleg, from the Department of Information Systems at the University of Haifa, described her role in the large European Project MOBILGUIDE, which provides discharge patients a belt that can measure different variables in their body, particularly those that influence heart activity, and transmit it via smart phone to a service center enabling doctors to make immediate diagnosis and decisions.

Dr. Elad Yom Tov, from the Microsoft Research Lab in Israel presented a study based on queries sent to the company’s search engine on medical issues. The researchers examined the prevalence of particular queries about medical conditions and medications, and the links between them. It turned out that when people asked about a particular illness, it was very likely (88.4%) that they will also perform queries on medications related to that disease.

Offer Fabian, co-CEO and co-founder of Medical Research, described a big data project conducted by his company together with Maccabi Healthcare Services, where the organization attempted to check variables in blood tests of people who were diagnosed with colorectal cancer. It turned out that before cancer was detected, the scan revealed a decrease in hemoglobin, even if it remains within the normal threshold. Although this test scan, which is not particularly pleasant, is highly recommended to people above the age of 50, the response level is not high. An electronic scan – one which is in addition to the numerous blood tests performed here in Israel for different reasons, may help identify people at risk and contact them with a request to take a scan in order to detect the disease at an early stage when it is still possible to operate with reasonable recovery prognosis.

The winners of the Hacking Health 3Day Startup competition, recently held by the Technion’s Faculty of Medicine, presented their project. Oren Fuerst from Dario LabStyle, a company that ordinarily develops an all-in-one device containing everything needed by diabetes patients (such as blood glucose meter, test strips and piercers, whereby the glucose meter continually reports to the cloud), demonstrated a project that is geared towards children with diabetes – the Gluco-Gotchi game. This is a type of Tamagoochi for diabetics, helping children understand the importance of meal times, time for insulin injections and more. Children take care of their “Gluco-Gotchi and as its condition improves, so does theirs. According to Fuerst, this is an attractive application, where children are able to identify with a virtual character. “The bottom line is that we are improving the cooperation of these young patients, by teaching and encouraging good habits to minimize complications. In the future we will attempt to do the same for other illnesses such as hypertension and obesity,” he said.

Omer Shor, the founder of MEDISAFE, introduced a new application that develops videos providing an explanation of a medication to replace the printed instructions attached to all medications. Every clip is tailored to a specific group of patients with similar characteristics, and each patient receives only the relevant video relating to the drug he/she is taking, along with reminders via relevant means including mobile devices. According to Shor, the system helps prevent double doses of medication from accidentally occurring, which is one of the most significant factors leading to death.

Arthur Wechsler, CEO of Healarium, presented an application that allows patients to access his/her medical file documents (applicable primarily in the U.S., where a decentralized health system is in effect), and grant doctors of their choosing access to the la tests, x-rays, medical summaries, etc. Additionally, the company created a modeling intervention system so that doctors could intervene as necessary.

Ziv Yekutiel, CEO of the MON4T, demonstrated a self-testing brain functioning system. The system is designed to improve the health and safety of patients suffering from neurological disorders. “After neurological surgery it is important to monitor discharged patients regularly, but currently, only ​​random checks are done and at extended intervals, and there is no one to respond to a sudden worsening of a patient’s condition.”

To view lectures and slides from the event click: http://www.youtube.com/course?list=EC290778372A24464D

President Shimon Peres at his Visit to the Technion:

“Today our most urgent task is to make peace with the Palestinians.”

“I prefer an imperfect peace over a lack of a perfect peace; luckily the Technion was founded 24 years before the establishment of the State of Israel – and laid the foundations for the future of the nation.”

The President of Israel, Shimon Peres, said at his visit to the Technion that the most urgent task today is to make peace with the Palestinians. “This would be the greatest revolution made since the founding of the state. I prefer an imperfect peace over a lack of perfect peace,” said Peres at a special panel discussion with Technion’s three Nobel Laureates, led by Dr. Yossi Vardi.

The President’s visit began with a presentation of the Formula racing car, which was built at the Technion. The car, created by a group of students from the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering under the guidance of Professor Reuven Katz, placed the team in 19th place out of 57 in the Formula Student Competition – and first place among teams participating in the competition for the first time. Students Ahmed Omari and Doris Fitilon, who presented the car to the President, explained that the team is a mixture of Jewish and Arab students. “So that’s basically a car for two nations,” the President replied with a smile.

Technion President, Professor Perez Lavie, presented President Peres with a plaque which had a picture from his first visit to the Technion alongside a picture of Israel’s first Prime Minister, David Ben Gurion, of one of his first visits to the Technion. “There is no doubt that the vision of your teacher and predecessor Ben Gurion, to establish a global scientific center in Israel, has really taken shape,” said Professor Peretz Lavie. “The sense of mission which led to the establishment of the Technion is still with us today. Thank you for the opportunity you have given us to show you some of our scientific and engineering achievements.”

A series of breakthrough research originating from the Technion was presented to the President: landing drones on unmanned vessels (Professor Ehud Rivlin from the Faculty of Computer Science), a formation of three miniature satellites (Professor Pini Gurfil from the Faculty of Aerospace Engineering), a novel method for treating tumors (Professor Emeritus Yoram Palti), advanced membranes for water treatment (Professor Raphael Semiat from the Faculty of Chemical Engineering and Professor Moris Eisen from the Faculty of Chemistry), and prediction of future events using artificial intelligence (Professor Shaul Markovitch from the Faculty of Computer Science and Dr. Kira Radinsky).

Later, President Peres met with the university’s future generation of scientists. Sarah Katzir, the Head of the Unit for the Advancement of Students at the Office of the Dean of Students, introduced him to the young men and women enrolled in the varied Technion programs – “Nitzanei HaTechnion” (initiated by the President himself – an excellence program for young students from the Druze community conducted under the auspices of the Ministry of Education and “Atidim” organization), “Future Scientists and Inventors” (also initiated by President Peres, this is a youth program providing talented students with pre-university education and laboratory experience), the Program for Ultra-Orthodox Students (this year 80 ultra-orthodox students are studying at Technion’s “Mechina” – pre-university program), and “Atidim in Industry” (a program for discharged soldiers from the country’s periphery – they are provided with pre-university studies supported by the “Atidim” organization).

Dana Maklada, a sixteen year old from Daliyat al-Carmel, told the President that she and her friends come to the Technion once a week for an enrichment program.

Matar Rozen, a fifteen year old from Moshav Abirim in the Galilee, said that she very much enjoys coming to the Technion. “If wanting to learn and invest is geeky then I have no problem being a nerd,” she said to a cheering crowd.

Chen Asher, aged twenty-six from Acre, said that he came to the Technion thanks to the “Atidim in Industry” program.

Yehuda Morgenstein, from the “Halamish” (Ultra-orthodox learn practical professions) program, spoke about the initial shock of transitioning from the Yeshiva world to the Technion. “We sat and studied between 12-15 hours a day to catch up on the material,” he said. “We were different. When we would go to the cafeteria they told us that the Kashrut inspectors had already visited today,” he added as sounds of laughter were heard from the audience.

At the panel discussion with three of Technion’s Nobel Laureates in Chemistry, Professors Avram Hershko, Aaron Ciechanover and Dan Shechtman, the President told them about how David Ben Gurion once asked him to set up a world champion soccer team. “I didn’t succeed in this task, but the Technion may very well become the Technionite world champions,” he said. “Ben Gurion used to dream big dreams and would let me dream as well,” he added. “I am proud of the Technion. Science is vital to our existence. The world is barely functioning and whole countries around us are falling apart. The future is in innovation, but if we don’t find a way to control fanatics or teach them to contain themselves – this world will be a dangerous place. The State of Israel must build ties with large global companies as well, not only with other countries. We are a small country and we are left with no choice but to have a great vision.”

Professor Aaron Ciechanover spoke about the personalized medicine revolution and said that it will change the face of medicine in the coming years. “We are currently setting up in Israel, medical institutes for personalized medicine,” he emphasized. “There is a need to improve science and technology education, but we mustn’t forget about the humanities.”

Professor Dan Shechtman said that the idea to eliminate the psychometric exam was a good one and recommended changing the name of the Ministry of Education to “The Ministry for Future Infrastructure.” He added that, “Universities need more young men and women to teach science and engineering.”

Professor Avram Hershko talked about the importance of basic research. “The more we understand about the workings of the human body, the better the drugs we’ll be able to develop,” he said.

“I saw at my visit to the Technion fascinating research and an impressive representation of Israel’s young people,” summarized President Shimon Peres on his visit to the Technion.

View the album of pictures from the festive visit.

Technion scientists discovered electronic fields “hidden” in plasma channels. This was revealed in the prestigious scientific journal Physical Review Letters.

This discovery, made by Technion researchers from the Faculty of Physics, has far reaching implications for devices built on nanosecond pulsed discharge.

“99 percent of the universe around us is composed of plasma,” explains Dr. Shurik Yatom who conducted the research under the guidance of Professor Yakov Krasik from the Faculty of Physics. “On Earth there is very little plasma and we must produce it in laboratories. It is useful in our attempts to produce energy; it is used in multiple devices such as high-current generators and microwave compressors, in sterilization processes, screens, small satellite engines, and recently we started using it for healing wounds. When it comes to time spans of nanoseconds, conventional wisdom so far has been that there is no great resistance, yet we at Technion discovered powerful electrical fields which translates into considerable resistance and results in energy loss.”

Technion scientists have found the presence of plasma in electric fields of up to several thousands of Volt/cm.  Most scientists use optical measures to measure the electric fields without changing the plasma properties.  In the described experiment, Technion researchers used two spatially coherent laser beams whose dispersion creates two additional coherent beams, according to the “Raman Scattering” effect. Measuring the intensity ratio  between these two new beams allows for the temporary measurement of the electric field at a very high resolution. The electric fields remains in plasma channels due to plasma resistance that lead to significant energy loss, which up till now was considered insignificant.

In the photo: Professor Yakov Krasik from the Faculty of Physics

Photographed by: The Technion’s Spokesperson’s Office

The Broadcast is now finished. While we prepare it for YouTube, please enjoy photos from the visit so far here.

President of Israel Shimon Peres is visiting Technion today.

Highlight: a panel discussion on the future of scientific research, with 4 Nobel Prize laureates: Peres, Avraham Hershko, Aaron Ciechanover and Dan Shechtman, moderated by Yossi Vardi.

You can watch the visit LIVE here! From 11am Israel time.

World Time Converter.

What happens when you introduce engineering students to 3rd world communities? Societies change and lives are saved, using engineering. Technion Professor Mark Talesnik, founder of the Israel’s “Engineers without borders” tells us that even “shit” can change the world we live in.

Continuing this tradition of engineering outreach, the Technion International School and Technion-EWB Chapter, in cooperation with Kathmandu University, has launched an ambitious, pioneering program bringing the world’s brightest science and engineering students forward to solve basic development questions in impoverished and communities in Nepal’s Kathmandu Valley.

At the same time, students participating in the Engineering for Developing Communities program gain invaluable skills in a variety of subjects as well as practical field experience on the ground, bringing their projects and ideas to life for the benefit of others.

The Technion is at the forefront of Israeli science and the nation’s impressive high-tech, bio-tech and agro-tech industries. But the Technion is also deeply committed to research, development and action in sustainable community development.

Since May of 2008, the Technion has been home to a chapter of the international Engineers Without Borders NGO. Engineers Without Borders is a non-profit humanitarian organization established to partner with developing communities worldwide in order to improve their quality of life.

This partnership involves the implementation of sustainable engineering projects, while involving and training internationally responsible engineers and engineering students.

Prof. Mark Talesnick says, “We teach our students how to think, how to crunch numbers… but nowhere do we teach them anything to do with a social conscience. Nor are we training our graduate engineers as leaders in society.” Now, through EWB, Talesnick offers students “Engineering with a soul,” in hands-on engineering tasks. He says that even small budget projects have a big effect on the community.

“A small push from us can stimulate huge gains for the community and great gains in the development of our engineers,” he says. About 25 students took part in the project and its preparations. A group of three women and three men students together with Talesnick implemented the project on the ground in Nepal.

Hannah Bardin, 27, has been involved in the EWB-Technion initiative since the initial meeting held on campus. “This is a really unique opportunity to combine my engineering education with social values,” says this master’s student who is specializing in water management. She continues, “Being able to apply engineering skills in order to help a community and actually deal with real life engineering challenges was an experience I couldn’t get anywhere else.”

The Technion EWB chapter is actively involved in development projects in Israel’s Negev desert Bedouin community, as well as elsewhere in the Middle East.