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Sun Pharma and the Technion form Research Collaboration to Develop New Class of Oncology Drugs

Mumbai, India: April 15, 2015 – Sun Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. (Reuters: SUN.BO, Bloomberg: SUNP IN, NSE: SUNPHARMA, BSE: 524715) and the Technion – Israel institute of technology, today announced that their respective subsidiaries have entered into an exclusive worldwide research and license agreement. This agreement aims at the development of a joint project, based on new findings by Nobel Prize laureate Distinguished Professor Aaron Ciechanover, Dr. Gila Maor and Professor Ofer Binah, that can potentially lead to the development of novel anti-cancer drugs. The pre-clinincal research was funded thus far by Dr. Alfred Mann.

“We are very excited about this new endeavor between Sun Pharma, with the Technion. We are confident that this collaboration will help us move rapidly forward with our research” said Ciechanover and Binah. “We explored several collaboration alternatives, but Sun Pharma’s market leadership and its long term commitment have made this collaboration a very high priority for us”.

“The Technion is delighted to partner with Sun Pharma to advance this project through pre-clinical development process. This collaboration is an excellent example of interactions between academic discovery and pharmaceutical companies demonstrating the valuable contribution academic institutions can make in bringing new products to help patients worldwide. We sincerely believe this agreement represents the beginning of a long and fruitful relationship between the Technion and Sun Pharma”, added Ciechanover and Binah.

“This collaboration is part of the various initiatives that Sun Pharma is taking to enhance its specialty pipeline. Mutually beneficial partnerships with independent research institutes, especially world renowned institutes, such as the Technion, is our preferred route to bring to the market, innovative products for unmet medical needs” said Kirti Ganorkar, Senior Vice President, Business Development, Sun Pharma.

About Sun Pharma (CIN – L24230GJ1993PLC019050): Sun Pharma is the world’s fifth largest specialty generic pharmaceutical company and India’s top pharmaceutical company. A vertically integrated business, economies of scale and an extremely skilled team enable us to deliver quality products in a timely manner at affordable prices. It provides high-quality, affordable medicines trusted by customers and patients in over 150 countries across the world. Sun Pharma’s global presence is supported by 45 manufacturing facilities spread across 5 continents, R&D centers across the globe and a multi-cultural workforce comprising over 50 nationalities. The pro forma consolidated revenues for 12 months ending December 2014 are at US$4.5 billion, of which US contributes US$2.2 billion. In India, the company enjoys leadership across 11 different classes of doctors with 31 brands featuring amongst top 300 pharmaceutical brands in India. Its footprint across emerging markets covers over 50 countries and 6 markets in Western Europe. Its Global Consumer Healthcare business is ranked amongst Top 10 across 4 global markets with 5 brands enjoying category leadership across India, Romania and Nigeria. Its API business footprint is strengthened through 11 world class API manufacturing facilities across the globe. Sun Pharma fosters excellence through innovation supported by strong R&D capabilities comprising 1800 scientists and R&D investments of 6.3% of annual revenues. For further information please visit www.sunpharma.com

About Technion-Israel Institute for Technology: Founded in 1912, Technion – Israel Institute of Technology is the oldest university in Israel. The Technion offers undergraduate and graduate degrees in science and engineering, and related fields such as architecture, medicine, industrial management and education. It has 18 academic departments and over 50 research centers. Since its founding, it has awarded over 100,000 degrees. Technion’s over 600 faculty members include three Nobel Laureates. The Technion-Israel Institute of Technology is a major source of the innovation and brainpower that drives the Israeli economy, and a key to Israel’s reputation as the world’s “Start-Up Nation.” Technion people, ideas and inventions make immeasurable contributions to the world including life-saving medicine, sustainable energy, computer science, water conservation and nanotechnology. In December 2011, a bid by Technion with Cornell University won a competition to establish an applied science and engineering institution in New York City; the Jacobs Technion Cornell Institute. In 2013, the Technion signed with China’s Shantou University (STU) to establish the Technion Guangdong Institute of Technology in China. T3 – Technion Technology Transfer is the technology transfer arm of the TRDF Ltd. T3 is responsible for the commercializing of Technion IP. For more information please visit http://t3.technion.ac.il/

The ubiquitin system produces a protein that greatly restricts the development of cancerous tumors.

A new study by researchers at the Technion-Israel Institute of Technology could hold one key to control cancer cell growth and development. In a paper published in the April 9, 2015 edition of CELL, the team reports on the discovery of two cancer-suppressing proteins.

The research was conducted in the laboratory of Distinguished Professor Aaron Ciechanover, of the Technion Rappaport Faculty of Medicine. The team was led by research associate Dr. Yelena Kravtsova-Ivantsiv and , included additional research students and colleagues, as well as physicians from the Rambam, Carmel and Hadassah Medical Centers, who are studying tumors and their treatment.

The heretofore-undiscovered proteins were found during ongoing research on the ubiquitin system, an important and vital pathway in the life of the cell, which is responsible for the degradation of defective proteins that could damage the cell if not removed. The ubiquitin system tags these proteins and sends them for destruction in the cellular complex known as the proteasome.  The system also removes functional and healthy proteins that are not needed anymore, thereby regulating the processes that these proteins control.

Usually, the proteins that reach the proteasome are completely broken down, but there are some exceptions, and the current line of research examined p105, a long precursor of a key regulator in the cell called NF-κB. It turns out that p105 can be broken down completely in certain cases following its tagging by ubiquitin,  but in other cases it is only cut and shortened and becomes a protein called p50.

NF-κB has been identified as a link between inflammation and cancer. The hypothesis of the connection between inflammatory processes and cancer was first suggested in 1863 by German pathologist Rudolph Virchow, and has been confirmed over the years in a long series of studies. Ever since the discovery (nearly 30 years ago) of NF-κB, numerous articles have been published linking it to malignant transformation. It is involved in tumors of various organs (prostate, breast, lung, head and neck, large intestine, brain, etc.) in several parallel ways, including: inhibition of apoptosis (programmed cell death) normally eliminates transformed cells; acceleration of uncontrolled division of cancer cells; formation of new blood vessels (angiogenesis), which are vital to tumor growth; and increased resistance of cancerous cells to irradiation and chemotherapy.

As noted, the precursor p105 is “handled” by the ubiquitin system in one of two parallel and equally prevalent ways. It is either destroyed completely, or shortened and transformed to p50. The current research deciphers the decision-making mechanism that determines which process will be applied to the protein: when a ubiquitin system component called KPC1 is involved in the process and attaches ubiquitin to p105, the protein is shortened to become p50. When ubiquitination is mediated by another component of the system (and without KPC1), p105 is degraded.

The decision between these two options has significant implications on the cell, as the presence of high levels of KPC1 (which generates p50) and p50 (the product of the process) – with the accompanying disruption of the normal ratios between the processes – suppresses the malignant growth and apparently protects the healthy tissue. The current research was conducted on models of human tumors grown in mice, as well as on samples of human tumors, and a strong connection was discovered between the suppression of malignancy and the level of the two proteins, clearly indicating that the increased presence of KPC1 and/or p50 in the tissue can protect it from cancerous tumors.

Professor Ciechanover, who is also the president of the Israel Cancer Society, notes that many more years are required “to establish the research and gain a solid understanding of the mechanisms behind the suppression of the tumors. The development of a drug based on this discovery is a possibility, although not a certainty, and the road to such a drug is long and far from simple.”

Professor Ciechanover won the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 2004 (jointly with Professors Avram Hershko – also from the Technion – and Irwin Rose, of the Fox Chase Cancer Center) for the discovery of the ubiquitin system. The current line of research is a continuation of that discovery.

For further details: Gil Lainer – 058-6882208, Doron Shaham – 050-3109088.

The moon is thought to have formed from the debris of a small planet that collided with the Earth. Since the composition of other planets in the Solar system differs from that of the Earth, it was expected that the moon composition would also differ from that of the Earth.

Surprisingly, the composition of the Earth and the Moon are very similar, raising a major challenge to the “giant impact” origin of the Moon. A new study by researchers from the Technion and Nice University explains the origin of such composition similarity and helps to solve this conundrum  

The Moon has fascinated human kind since the earliest days of history. It has played a central role in the making of annual calendars in Muslim, Jewish and other cultures; and was considered one of the gods in many pagan traditions.  Questions regarding the origin of the Moon, its shape and composition gave rise to myths and legends that have accompanied humanity for thousands of years, and even today many children ask themselves – and their parents – whether the moon is made of cheese.

In the modern era such millennium-old puzzles have been replaced by scientific exploration that raised no-less challenging questions, which continueto perplex us – even 40 years after man first landed on the moon. Now, a research done by Technion researchers sheds a new light on the origins of the Moon and its composition. The research, published in Nature, was lead by post-doctoral researcher Dr. Alessandra Mastrobuono-Battist and her adviser Assistant Prof. Hagai Perets from the Technion, in collaboration with Dr. Sean Raymond from Nice University.

 “Many models for the Moon origin were suggested by scientists, but since the 1980s the scientific community has been focusing on the most promising model  – the so called ‘giant impact’ paradigm,” explains Perets. “According to this model, the moon was formed following a collision between a small Mars-like planet (usually called Theia) and the ancient Earth. Some of the debris from the collision fell back to Earth, some was scattered far into space and the rest went into orbit around the Earth. This orbiting debris later coagulated to form a single object: the moon.”.

 Based on complex simulations of such collisions, researchers have found out that most of the material that eventually forms the Moon comes from the impactor,  Theia, and only a smaller fraction originates from the impacted body (in this case, the Earth). Measurements of the composition of other bodies in the Solar system such as asteroids and Mars have shown that they have a very different composition from that of the Earth. Given that most of the Moon material came from another body in the Solar system, it was xpected that the composition of the Moon should be similarly very different from that of the Earth, according to the “giant impact” model. However, analysis of samples brought from the moon by the Apollo missions showed otherwise – in terms of composition, the Earth and Moon are almost twins, their compositions are almost the same, differing by at most few parts in a million.

This contradiction has cast a long shadow on the ‘giant impact’ model, and for some 30 years this contradiction was a major challenge to physicists grappling with the  formation of the moon. Now, Mastrobuono-Battisti, Perets and Raymond have suggested a new solution to this mystery.

 Simulations of the formation of planets in the solar system, showed that different planets indeed have distinct compositions, as found from the analysis of material from different planets in the Solar system. Such studies have traditionally focused on studying only the compositions of the final planets, in the new research, Perets and collaborators have considered not only the planets, but also the composition of the impactors on these planets. Consequently they have discovered that in many cases, the planets and the bodies that collide with them share a very similar composition, even though they formed independently. Thus, conclude the researchers, the similarity between the moon and Earth stems from the similarity between Theia – from which the moon was formed – and Earth. “It turns out that an impactor is not similar to any other random body in the Solar system. The Earth and Theia appear to have shared much more similar environments during their growth than just any two unrelated bodies,” explains Mastrobuono-Battisti. “In other words, Theia and Earth were formed in the same region, and have therefore collected similar material. These similar living environments also led them eventually to collide; and the material ejected mostly from Theia, ultimately formed the moon. Our results reconcile what has been perceived as a contradiction between the process whereby moons are formed (from matter from the impacting body) and the similarity between Earth and the moon”. “The Earth and the Moon might not be twins born of the same body”, summarizes Perets, “but they did grow up together in the same neighborhood.”

 

Glorious, red pomegranates and their Middle Eastern sister, luscious toffee-like dates, are delicious, increasingly trendy, and healthy to boot. As it turns out, when consumed together they are a winning combination in the war against heart disease.

Just half a glass of pomegranate juice a day with a handful of dates can do the trick!

A team of researchers at the Technion-Israel Institute of Technology, led by Professor Michael Aviram of the Rappaport Faculty of Medicine and Rambam Medical Center, has discovered that the combination of pomegranate juice and dates along with their pits provide maximum protection against atherosclerosis (plaque buildup or hardening of the arteries), which can cause a heart attack or stroke. The findings were published in the most recent issue (March 26, 2015) of Food & Function, a journal of The Royal Society of Chemistry.

A number of risk factors are involved in the development of atherosclerosis, including cholesterol oxidation, which leads to accumulation of lipids in the arterial wall. Natural antioxidants can slow down the oxidation process in the body, and serve to reduce the risk of heart attack. For the past 25 years, Prof. Aviram and his research team have been working on isolating and researching those antioxidants, in order to keep plaque buildup at bay.

Going into the most recent study, the team was aware of the individual benefits provided by pomegranates and dates. Pomegranate juice, rich in polyphenolic antioxidants (derived from plants), has been shown to most significantly reduce oxidative stress. Dates, which are rich sources of phenolic radical scavenger antioxidants, also inhibit the oxidation of LDL (the so-called “bad cholesterol”) and stimulate the removal of cholesterol from lipid-laden arterial cells. Prof. Aviram had a hunch that since dates and pomegranate juice are composed of different phenolic antioxidants, the combination could thus prove more beneficial than the sum of its parts.

In a trial performed on arterial cells in culture, as well as in atherosclerotic mice, the Technion team found that the triple combination of pomegranate juice, date fruits and date pits did indeed provide maximum protection against the development of atherosclerosis because the combination reduced oxidative stress in the arterial wall by 33% and decreased arterial cholesterol content by 28%.

The researchers conclude that people at high risk for cardiovascular diseases, as well as healthy individuals, could benefit from consuming the combination of half a glass of pomegranate juice (4 ounces), together with 3 dates. Ideally, the pits should be ground up into a paste and eaten as well, but even without the pits, the combination is better than either fruit alone.

For further details: Gil Lainer – 058-6882208, Doron Shaham – 050-3109088.

Hundreds of runners participated in the First Technion Challenge

Hundreds of lecturers, students and employees from the Technion and other academic institutions participated in the First Technion Challenge race, held today (Wednesday). The five-kilometer race was held on the Technion campus as part of the Academic Sports Association field race league activities. “In this race there are no losers, only winners,” said Technion President Prof. Peretz Lavie a few seconds before he signaled the start of the race. “A few of you will be more victorious than others today, but no one will be a loser.”

“I am proud of the Technion’s students,” said Technion Student Association Chairman Danny Magner. “The Technion is No.1 not only in academics but also in sports.”

The Technion’s hilly terrain made for a particularly challenging route. “It was a difficult route, with a lot of ups and downs, and I am happy that I managed to achieve a time of less than 20 minutes,” said Helen Wolfson, who won first place in the women students division and second place in the overall women’s division. Helen, a master’s degree student in the Faculty of Bio-Medical Engineering, trains the Technion’s staff team in her spare time. “Combining running and studying has always been a challenge for me, and I have to run even on days with the most lectures,” said Helen. She praised the race’s organizers for the race’s high level of organization.

“This was the toughest and most challenging route of all the races in the student’s league,” said Kim Darmon, a fifth-year student in the Faculty of Architecture and Town Planning, who came in third overall in the women’s division. “I have been running since age 12, and this race was difficult and challenging, as befits the Technion.”

First place among the senior lecturers was won by Dr. Ari Gero of the Department of Science and Technology Education, who recorded a time of21:58 minutes and came in 50th overall. He has been training for years, ever since he was a Ph.D. student in the Faculty of Physics. His training buddy, Assistant Prof. Netanel Lindner of the Faculty of Physics came in second.

Prof. Alon Hoffman, dean of the Schulich Faculty of Chemistry, took third place among the senior lecturers. “I am on the Technion’s running team and participate in the 220-kilometer Mountain-to-Valley Ultra-Man Marathon every year, so today’s race wasn’t particularly difficult for me, despite the hilly route.”

Assistant Prof. Alex Szpilman, also from the Faculty of Chemistry, admits that “there were some tough sections, but we know that whatever is not difficult – is not interesting. After all, we are experienced at coping with scientific challenges, and it’s good that we now also have an athletic challenge like this.” He will also soon be participating in the Mountain-to-Valley race in one of the three teams of chemistry professionals that the Israel Chemical Society is sending to the race.

The winner of the race is Or Shilon of ASA Tel Aviv, who crossed the finish line in just 17:19 minutes. The women students trophy was won by Irena Konovalov, of Wingate College, who recorded a time of 19:34 minutes. Barak Zinger, a student in the Technion’s Faculty of Computer Science, was the fastest Technion student, with a time of 17:52 minutes, and came in fourth overall.

The race was organized jointly by the Technion’s administration, Technion Student Association, the dean of students, the sports department – ASA Technion Academic Sports Association and the Technion Sports Center.

“The race is being held for the first time at the Technion,” said Technion COO Zehava Laniado, “and we hope that it will become a tradition. This is an event for everyone and its goal is to bring the various groups at the Technion closer to one another and promote athletic activities on campus.”

For Photos click here

Photo captions

7899 + 7903 – Runners on the starting line.

7934 – Student Helen Wolfson

7938 – Technion President Prof. Peretz Lavie and Student Association chairman start the race.

7982 + 8013 + 7975 – Runners during the race

7860 – Winners in the women’s division. (Right to left: Helen Wolfson, Irena Konovalov, Kim Darmon)

7882 – Winners in the men’s division. (Right to left: Steven Taylor, Or Shilon, Moshiko Yesharim)

8026 – Winning staff members: (Right to left: Assistant Prof. Netanel Lindner, Dr. Ari Gero, Prof. Alon Hoffman)

5458 – Aerial view of the starting line

7747 – Student Zafrir Ozer, who ran the race with his dog Lego.

Photo Credit: Spokesperson’s Office.

120 young researchers from 12 countries visited the Technion for a unique workshop on electron microscopy.

The electron microscopy workshop attracted young people from all the universities in Israel and from 11 European countries.

The 4-day workshop was attended by some 120 young researchers, the largest group ever at this type of workshop. Participants heard lectures by scientists from the Technion and other Israeli universities and toured the Technion’s world-class microscopy centers.

Prof. Dganit Danino earned her B.Sc., M.Sc. and Ph.D. in chemical engineering at the Technion and in 2002, following post-doctoral work at NIH in the U.S., she returned to the Technion as a senior member of the Faculty of Biotechnology and Food Engineering. Prof. Danino is an expert in electron microscopy at low temperatures (CryoEM) engaged in both the development and education of CryoEM methodologies. Her research involves the development of drug delivery systems and unraveling of soft matter self-assembly mechanisms.

“The Technion is a leading research institute in the development of applications and electron microscopy methods at room temperature and at low temperatures. Many researchers from around the world come here to work on joint projects and to learn the unique methods developed here. As academic educators, it is important for us to share technologies and innovativeness with the younger generation, too. We made a principle decision not to charge for participation in the workshop, in order to ensure that young people would not be deterred from participating for budgetary reasons, and our decision proved correct – within just two weeks over 100 young researchers had registered, and they participated in all the workshop’s activities. Universities throughout Israel also supported the workshop and life sciences students at Weizmann Institute, for example, received academic credit for participating.”

The two robots built by Ph.D. student Jonathan Spitz of the Technion’s Faculty of Mechanical Engineering are climbing over obstacles and up and down slopes

In the begining there was Billy – a blue robot 10 cm high and 15 cm long. At the end of his ‘gestation’ – a month of planning, printing, programming, wiring electronics and correcting defects – he began to walk and clamber over obstacles. He was soon joined by his fellow green robot, Charlie. The two wander all over campus guided by Jonathan Spitz, their ‘father,’ who maneuvers them using his smartphone. They are capable of traversing rough terrain such as rocks, sand and steep slopes.

Spitz, a Ph.D. student at the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, was born in Argentina and came to Israel following high school, to the Atid program. “This decision was a combination of Zionism, which I absorbed at home and in a youth movement, and the desire to study at the Technion. The Technion is a very famous institution among Jews in Argentina, and many teens want to come to Israel to study here.”

Thirteen years have passed since Jonathan landed in Israel, and he remembers that day very well. “I left Argentina on December 23, 2002, on a 20-hour flight that landed at Ben Gurion Airport at 3:00 in the morning. From there I went to an absorption center in Kfar Sava.” In June 2003 Jonathan completed a Hebrew language study program and in October began his studies at the Technion. After earning a B.Sc. in mechanical engineering, he enrolled in the M.Sc. program and in 2012 started his Ph.D. studies, which he hopes to complete soon. “The Technion is very close to my heart,” he says. “There are students who count the days until they finish their degree, but I am actually enjoying myself. I didn’t stay here for three degrees in a row without good reason.”

Jonathan is conducting his Ph.D. research in the SMILE lab at the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, under the guidance of Miriam Zacksenhouse. “Today we have means at our disposal that were not available only a few years ago: tremendous computing power and 3D printers,” explains Jonathan. “True, mechanical design is still the same complicated task, but 3D printing lets you create very complex structures ‘at home’ at very low cost. Each of the robots I made cost me about $200. That’s all.”

Jonathan developed Billy and Charlie during his spare time (“They’re not part of my Ph.D.”) in order to prove the feasibility of building sophisticated mobile robots. Jonathan promoted the use of 3D printers in his lab in order to create ambulatory robots that would demonstrate the control methods he designed. He developed the robot’s gait based on his observation of nature. “Human beings walk from age one or two, such that to them walking seems to be the simplest of actions – at least on level surfaces. Humans only have to concentrate on their steps on difficult terrain. The controller that I developed also works without any need for feedback on smooth, horizontal surfaces, and when the robots walk on slopes it uses minimal feedback.” In order to make his robots walk, Jonathan built a ‘genetic algorithm’ – an algorithm that evolves better controllers following the principles of natural selection.

“My success is in building robots with high navigability; that are inexpensive and which can therefore also be built as ‘swarms’ of robots for various security uses and for assisting and treating people who are ill. The control method that I designed (and which has been patented) can be applied to both humanoid robots and medical robots (such as ReWalk) and robots for walking rehabilitation. In order to put this idea into practice and make it commercially viable, I have entered the BizTEC competition and applied to the Runway program at Cornell-Technology.”

“Creativity is intelligence having fun”. This insight, attributed to Albert Einstein, describes perfectly the Rube Goldberg Passover video that we and our students have made for you to enjoy. The youthful energy and ingenuity –the joie de vivre – that burst from this video, are what the Technion is all about.Enjoy!

UN Declares 2015 the International Year of Light

Technion and TU Berlin to hold a special symposium on the topic of green photonics

The symposium will mark 50 years of diplomatic relations between Israel and Germany

On March 30th and 31st, 2015, the Technical University of Berlin (TU Berlin) and the Technion will hold a joint two-day symposium on the topic of ‘Green Photonics’. The conference, which will be held at TU Berlin, will focus on problems arising from the dramatic increase in Internet use and the inability to provide the electrical energy required to support it. A significant part of the conference will be devoted to innovative technologies based on advanced use of photons, and as such pay tribute to the ‘International Year of Light’ declared by the UN, upon which the year 2015 will be dedicated to technologies based on light.

Leading researchers and developers from industrial and government laboratories worldwide will present the latest technologies related to electronic and optoelectronic computing and data communications (towards a ‘green’ web) as well as energy harvesting methods.  In the morning session of March 30th, a special ceremony will be held to commemorate 50 years of diplomatic relations between the State of Israel and the Federal Republic of Germany, with participation by key government members of both countries; many decades of collaboration between Technion and TU Berlin (the former TH Charlottenburg) will also be remembered and praised.

At the end of the symposium, both leading technical universities will present an outlook on the joint efforts they are making in the development of novel technologies and applications to serve society in the 21st century. As part of this cooperation, young researchers will be fostered and financially supported.

The 2015 Green Photonics Symposium is organized by the President of TU Berlin, represented by the Center of NanoPhotonics, together with the Technion-Israel Institute of Technology, represented by the Russell Berrie Nanotechnology Institute (RBNI) and the German Technion Society.

To register go to: http://green-photonics-symposium.com/

• Uniforms that function as protective gear and space suits that are both flexible and impervious to micro-meteorites are two of the possible applications for new complex materials developed by the Technion

  

  Bulletproof uniforms and space suits impervious to micro-meteorites are two of the potential applications for new materials developed at the Technion Faculty of Aerospace Engineering, states an article in the Soft Matter technology journal. These materials were developed by Assistant Professor Stephan Rudykh, head of Mechanics of Soft Materials Lab. “Flexibility and strength are considered as usually competing properties: as one increases the other decreases. In general, this is true, but in my research I am trying to create materials that will be both flexible and strong (with respect to their penetration resistance).”

  Assistant Prof. Stephan Rudykh specializes in creating complex soft materials. He started out as a theorist, but after exposure to the world of 3D printing during his post-doctoral work at Massachusetts Institute of Technology, he started experimenting with various formulas.

  “Suddenly I could make the materials that I was designing,” he says, “and then check if their properties match my theoretical projections. Now, too, with these materials, which are flexible and relatively durable against penetration, I can run trials on the models I print.” Rudykh’s research is a joint effort between the Technion and MIT.

  Rudykh joined the faculty as an Assistant Professor straight from his post-doctoral studies. His research has already been published in leading journals such as Physical Review Letters and his most recent article was published in Soft Matter.

  

  The inspiration for Rudykh’s development of the new strong and flexible materials comes from fish. “Fish are flexible creatures, but are protected by hard scales. Their ‘secret’ is the combination of the scales and the soft tissue beneath them, and that is what I tried to mimic here.  The materials that I am designing are also made of two layers – one soft (the ‘body’) and the other (‘scales’) constitutes the ‘armor’. These two components provide the combined property of protecto-flexibility that we want.”

  When asked about possible applications, Rudykh speaks very cautiously. “My job is not to develop applications, but rather to design the material, and my focus at present is the optimization of the material. If, for example, we were talking about army uniforms, or about a space suit against micro-meteorites, then there are areas such as the chest that need hardly any flexibility, and other areas such as the elbow, where flexibility is essential.”

  Rudykh stresses that it is extremely challenging to completely counteract the inverse relationship between flexibility and strength, but it is possible to play with the trade-off between them. “I have managed to increase the penetration resistance by a factor of 40, while reducing flexibility by only a factor of 5, and that opens a great many options. Concerning army uniforms or space suits, the idea is to create a tailor-made fabric based on the soldier’s body type and of course the conditions he will be facing. For example, we can think about protection of spacemen against space radiation by incorporating protective materials into the microstructure of the flexible composites.”

  The published results are based on quasi static tests on the 3D-printed materials, when materials are loaded relatively slowly. Later, he hopes to do dynamic testing, using fast-moving projectiles such as bullets or small particles – and to examine the results.

  Source:http://pubs.rsc.org/en/Content/ArticleLanding/2015/SM/C4SM02907K

Prof. Roy Kishony lectures to outstanding students in China

Prof. Roy Kishony of the Faculty of Biology and Life Sciences & Engineering delivered a lecture on “Mathematics and Big Data in the Life Sciences” to outstanding students in China. The lecture was part of Project Prometheus, which brings together leading scientists from around the world and outstanding science students.

Prof. Kishony’s lecture was part of a three-day event at Shantou University, which hosted lecturers from the Technion, Stanford and Yale Universities, King’s College London and the Max Planck Institute of Germany. The students, who are considered the “China’s scientists of the future and engineers of tomorrow,” heard scientists speak about their research on open questions in science and a career in science, and witnessed some of their passion for science. The event was hosted by the Li Ka Shing Foundation, supported by Ministry of Education and the People’s Government of Guangdong Province, co-organized by the Chinese Society of Education, and Shantou University.

“The Chinese students made a deep impression on me,” said Kishony. “They are very knowledgeable and are full of enthusiasm for science. This was a wonderful experience for me and I learned a lot about the tremendous academic and science potential in China.”