Technion researchers are planning to launch three nano-satellites of up to 6kg each into space. The project was unveiled to global space agency representatives and space researchers on January 30, 2012 at the Ilan Ramon International Space Conference of the Israel Ministry of Science and Technology and the Fisher Institute.
“For the first time ever, an attempt will be made to launch three satellites that will fly
together in a controlled formation. To date, such a launch was not possible due to the size
and weight of the satellites, and because of the problems associated with the launch of
satellites in a uniform formation and their prolonged stay in space”, says Prof. Pini Gurfil of
the Faculty of Aerospace Engineering and the Asher Space Research Institute.
The Technion researchers aim the launch the experimental trio in 2015. The satellites will
attempt to receive signals from Earth at given frequencies, and to calculate the location of
the transmission’s origin. The receiving of signals transmitted from Earth to space using
several nano-satellites flying in formation is an experiment that no man has ventured before.
If it succeeds, formation flying nano satellites can be developed further for applications such
as locating survivors in disaster zones.
Another aim of the experiment is to prove that a uniform, controlled formation of satellites
can be held for one year in a 600 km orbit above Earth. For this purpose, researchers are
planning to install on each of the satellites a propulsion system that will assist in maintaining
the formation in space longer.
The satellites are planned to be built based on a CubeSat standard structure, whose parts will
be assembled by the researchers with the assistance of students. The satellite formation
comprises of six cubes, each 10x10x10 cm, such that each satellite will have a 10x20x30 cm
box. These boxes will carry measuring instruments, antennae, computer systems, control
systems, and navigation instruments. The software and the algorithms that will manage the
flight are developed in the Distributed Space Systems Laboratory at the Technion’s Asher
Space Research Institute and the UAV cluster of the Autonomous Systems Program at the
Technion. The nano-satellite formation will be launched as a supplementary payload on an
existing launch, through Europe, Russia or India.
The ambitious project is based on a prototype that was designed by Prof. Gurfil thanks to a
1.5 million euro grant he received from the European Union. The Technion hopes to get
additional support that will enable the actual development of the micro-satellites and their
launch.
“If we manage to prove in the experiment that the formation flight is possible, this will
provide a momentum to the development of small satellites and technologies related to the
miniaturization of electronic components, to efficient processing in space and to space
propulsion systems. These technologies could contribute to a variety of civil applications and
to the advancement of the Israeli space industry”, says Prof. Gurfil and adds: “another goal
of the project is to contribute to the practical training of space engineers, which is why
undergraduate and graduate students will fill practical roles in the examination of various
aspects related to the mission and in the development of the system. The designated training
and practical experience of space engineers are essential to Israel’s future in this field”.
In July 1998, researchers and students of the Faculty of Aerospace Engineering at the
Technion launched the satellite Gurwin TechSAT 2. The satellite, one of the smallest satellites
of its kind in the world, succeeded in remaining in space and completing all its tasks for
about 12 years.
December 20th, 2030. The world has made headway into healing some of its oldest diseases – cancer, Alzheimer’s, MS. Driven by global communication through social media, the majority of nations are at peace, as the problem of oil dependency was alleviated by energy pioneers that created unlimited fuel from an infinite resource the sun.
But on that morning of hope and global stability, it all went wrong. A disparate doomsday group from a remote rogue nation, managed to hack into the central control system of the US nuclear missiles program. Nuclear warheads filled the skies like a plague of hornets, without method in the madness – without a visible enemy to deter – without a whisper of hope for the survival of the human race.
An extreme and unrealistic scenario, yet with the advancement and popularity of IT, the recent cyber squabble – apparently between teenage hackers from Saudi Arabia and Israel in a battle to affirm who could dash the death-blow in a cyber confrontation – brought the issue of cyber security again to the foreground of the international security agenda.
“This is not serious stuff,” said Prof. Erez Petrank, a Technion encryption expert interviewed on the recent cyber punch-out by the National Cyber Security website in the US.
“These hackers are being presented as geniuses. Most of them are simply very patient. They download a number of tools which they don’t even build themselves, and attack and attack sites until they find one that isn’t secure.”
“Israel is exposed to cyber-attacks which can paralyze entire life systems on which the country runs.”
PM Netanyahu.
In Israel, it turns out, great minds are contemplating possible Day Zero possibilities. Not the teenage Saudi ‘nightmare’ – as the ambitious hacker called himself – but the real NIGHTMARE. And at Technion’s world-leading computer science faculty, plans are underway to bring expert researchers from across the field into one Cyber Security Research and Teaching Program at the Faculty of Computer Science.
For experts like Petrank, the kind of “Day Zero” scenario such as sabotage of power plants, flight control systems, or army control networks are far more disturbing. “Al Qaeda are looking for more spectacular ways to wage war. They are looking for something more dramatic than 9/11, and that can either be the acquisition of weapons of mass destruction or cyber terrorism — real cyber terror,” an Israel cyber terror expert told reporters. “Events like these of the past few weeks can pique their interest in true cyber warfare.”
Real cyber terror involves hitting control systems of airports or other infrastructure, power plants, transportation systems, hospitals, everything that is controlled by computers. The damage could be catastrophic – far more than a conventional war. “This could involve the killing of thousands of people. Imagine someone breaking into Logan airport’s systems, and instead of hijacking planes, now they are programmed to collide into one another or crash.”
Israel’s enemies are probing the vulnerability of these sophisticated systems. Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu recently warned that “Israel is exposed to cyber-attacks which can
paralyze entire life systems on which the country runs.” To face the constant threat of attacks by terrorists and hostile countries, it is absolutely vital to Israel’s security and economic well- being to develop the best, most robust systems and take all measures possible to protect them. Therefore, Prime Minister Netanyahu has recently announced “the establishment of a national cybernetic initiative to encourage and develop the field of cybernetics and turn the State of Israel into a global center of [cybernetics] knowledge, in cooperation with academia, industry, the security establishment and other public bodies.”
Technion is well known for various contributions in computer security and cryptography, such as assessing the security of cellular phone networks and exposing their vulnerabilities and weaknesses.
For example, a Technion team studied the protocols of the ubiquitous GSM phone system and identified several weaknesses that allowed for eavesdropping on a conversation, taking over a call, and even impersonating a different phone owner. The researchers also examined the security of other kinds of applications such as car remote controls, analysis of the strength of cryptographic standards, and the design of new cryptographic systems.
In addition, Technion researchers working in other areas of computing constantly address security issues such as cloud computing, where security is a critical enabling technology without which the entire concept is rendered unusable.
Researchers in a variety of Technion faculties study security issues related to operating systems (OS), the methodologies by which they defend underlying applications, and requirements from supporting hardware and programming languages.
Technion graduates have become key players in Israel’s thriving computer security industry. A good example is the startup, Imperva , which recently went public and works in the area of data protection. One of its founders was also a founder of Checkpoint, a leading Israeli company that revolutionized computer security in the early 1990s, making it possible for enterprises to defend entire networks. Its magnitude of success has paved the way and inspired many other Israeli companies and Technion graduates. In today’s Israeli high-tech arena, an entire ecosystem of companies exists to seek out solutions for the next possible cyber flaw. One would be hard-pressed to find such a company without a dominant presence of Technion graduates.
When a hacker becomes a WMD terrorist – Technion Research blocks the way.
Growing up in a family with four siblings in Beit Shean, a periphery town on Israel’s northeastern border with Jordan, Shir Paska could not take a place in Israel’s top university for granted. She knew she wanted to do something in engineering or
computers. Shir was ecstatic when she was accepted. “There are only 41 people chosen for this program and I so much wanted to be one of them. Someone is investing so much in me, and I will try my hardest to do the maximum and succeed.” This year, Shir becomes a freshman in mechanical engineering at theTechnion. She will receive a scholarship, laptopcomputer and living expenses through RosmanAtidim’s Industry program, and intern in her fieldat a leading company.
“I want to get my degree and live and work in the North,” says Shir. “The Galilee has too much wasted potential, and I want to change that. Rosman Atidim is giving me the chance.”
Founded with the support of Dr. Martin and Grace Rosman of Sarasota Florida and Edgewater Maryland, the Rosman Atidim program supports Atidim’s PreAcademic Preparatory and Industry program at the Technion – Israel Institute of Techology. It provides the means to excel to talented young people from Israel’s less privileged neighborhoods. Students from the program often have a stated agenda to take their new skills back home – to advance their native area and inspire others to do the same.
Marty and Grace Rosman with Distinguished Prof. Yitzhak Apeloig.
The Rosman’s have been supporting Atidim students at the Technion for the past four years. All of the 20 students from the first graduating class are working in their respective professions in industry. In 2011/12, the Rosman Atidim Industry program is supporting 53 freshman students, of which 28 are graduates of the Pre-Academic Preparatory Program, and 47 sophomores. An additional 40 students will begin the Pre-Academic Preparatory program in January 2012.
Atidim students receive assistance in every aspect of university life. From financial scholarships to academic tutoring, personal coaching to integration into the work force and even a laptop computer, these students know that someone believes in them and is willing to invest in their success.
The stamp will be launched during the main event in the Technion’s centennial celebrations, in the presence of Technion President Prof. Peretz Lavie, Mayor of Haifa Adv. Yona Yahav, Chairman of the Board of Israel Postal Company Sasi Shilo, and Director of Philatelic Services Yaron Ratzon
Israel Postal Company has issued a special stamp to commemorate 100 Years to the laying of the cornerstone for the Technion. The stamp will be launched on Tuesday, January 31st, in frame of a festive concert commemorating the Technion’s cornerstone centennial, in the presence of Technion President Prof. Peretz Lavie, Mayor of Haifa Adv. Yona Yahav, Chairman of the Board of Israel Postal Company Sasi Shilo, and Director of Philatelic Services Yaron Ratzon.
The Chairman of the Board of Israel Postal Company Sasi Shilo said that “the stamp we are launching today salutes the first academic educational institute established in Israel, and one of the most prominent institutes in its field worldwide”. He added that the Technion’s praiseworthy activity has had substantial contribution to the development of the State of Israel’s economy.
Description of the stamp and the First Day Cover
The stamp enfolds within it the past, present and future not only of the Technion, but also of the State of Israel, that has become a science and technology pioneer.
The stamp features a rendering of the building façade, designed by the Jewish-German architect Alexander Baerwald, one of the pioneers of modern Israeli architecture.
Out of the building grows an element developed in the Technion by three professors: Daniel Weihs, Alexander Yarin and Eyal Zussman. It is the prototype of a nano-parachute, whose structure and movement are based on the structure of the dandelion seed and its movement in the air. The nano-parachute is made of nano-fibers, and is in fact a sophisticated detector of airborne toxins. Thousands of nano-parachutes that are dispersed at a site suspected of being contaminated change their color in the presence of toxins, thus allowing to determine the type of toxins and to prevent or mitigate loss of life.
In recent years, the Technion has engaged in nano-technology research in a number of areas: nano-electronics, nano-optics, nano-materials, and their interface with life sciences. This field brings about collaborations between scientists in a variety of disciplines and from different faculties. The element displayed in the stamp is an excellent example of this.
The stamp tab features the invitation to “the cornerstone laying ceremony, on Thursday, 24 Nissan 5672 (April 11, 1912), at 3 pm at the Technikum plot”.
The First Day Cover shows a photo of the Technion building after its completion, along with a rendering of the building. Above them float icosahedrons, bodies taken from the research of Prof. Dan Shechtman of the Technion, the Nobel Laureate in Chemistry in 2011 for his discovery of quasiperiodic crystals.
The photo seen in the stamp is that of a nano-parachute on the palm of a hand – courtesy of Miki Koren.
The stamp was designed by Naama Tumarkin, Director of the Israel Technion Society.
Denomination: NIS 2.60.
Undergraduate and graduate students will fill practical roles in the examination of various aspects related to the mission and in the development of the system
Technion researchers are planning to launch into space a structure of three nano-satellites weighing up to six kilograms each, in frame of a unique project headed by Prof. Pini Gurfil of the Faculty of Aerospace Engineering and the Asher Space Research Institute at the Technion, Israel Institute of Technology. The project is scheduled to be unveiled on January 30, 2012 at the Ilan Ramon International Space Conference of the Israel Ministry of Science and Technology and the Fisher Institute, and will be presented to space agency representatives and space researchers from all over the world.
“For the first time ever, an attempt will be made to launch three satellites that will fly together in a controlled formation. To date, such a launch was not possible due to the size and weight of the satellites, and because of the problems associated with the launch of satellites in a uniform formation and their prolonged stay in space”, says Prof. Gurfil.
The Technion researchers are hoping to launch the three nano-satellites in 2015. The satellites will attempt to receive signals from Earth at given frequencies, and to calculate the location of the transmission’s origin. The receiving of signals transmitted from Earth to space using several nano-satellites flying in formation is an innovative experiment that has not been attempted to date. If this experiment succeeds, satellites can be developed that fly in formation, which can be used for varied applications, such as the location and identification of people in distress through the satellite system.
Another aim of the experiment is to prove that a uniform, controlled formation of satellites can be held for a year in a 600 km orbit above Earth, something that has not been attempted until now. For this purpose, the researchers are planning, for the first time ever, to install on each of the satellites a propulsion system that will assist in maintaining the formation in space longer.
The satellites are built based on a CubeSat standard structure, whose parts will be assembled by the researchers with the assistance of the students of the Faculty of Aerospace Engineering at the Technion. The satellite formation comprises six cubes, each 10x10x10 cm, such that each satellite will have a 10x20x30 cm box. These boxes will have assembled on them measuring instruments, antennae, computer systems, control systems, and navigation instruments. The software and the algorithms that will manage the flight were developed in the Distributed Space Systems Laboratory at the Technion’s Asher Space Research Institute. The nano-satellite formation will be launched as a supplementary payload on an existing launch, through Europe, Russia or India.
The experiment is based on a prototype that was designed by Prof. Gurfil thanks to a one and a half million euro grant he received several months ago from the European Union. In designing the prototype, Prof. Gurfil and the interdisciplinary research group working with him succeeded in overcoming a variety of problems deriving from the need to maintain the satellites in a uniform formation such that they will not move apart, not come too close to each other, and successfully communicate among themselves and manage themselves in the event of a malfunction, as well as correct their relative position using as little fuel as possible, so that they will remain in space for a prolonged period.
“If we manage to prove in the experiment that the formation flight is possible, this will provide a momentum to the development of small satellites and technologies related to the miniaturization of electronic components, to efficient processing in space and to space propulsion systems. These technologies could contribute to a variety of civil applications and to the advancement of the Israeli space industry”, says Prof. Gurfil and adds: “another goal of the project is to contribute to the practical training of space engineers, which is why undergraduate and graduate students will fill practical roles in the examination of various aspects related to the mission and in the development of the system. The designated training and practical experience of space engineers are essential to Israel’s future in this field”.
In July 1998, researchers and students of the Faculty of Aerospace Engineering at the Technion launched the satellite Gurwin TechSAT 2. The satellite, one of the smallest satellites of its kind in the world, succeeded in remaining in space and completing all its tasks for about 12 years. It was constructed as a cube each side of which was 45 cm long, weighed 48 kg and its power consumption was extremely low.
Nanocapsules developed by Technion researchers from natural materials can also be used by the pharmaceutical industry – in the protection of medicines in the stomach and their release in the intestine, as well as for targeting cancerous tumors
Technion researchers have created nanocapsules that are based on natural food components, and trapped in them vitamins and nutraceuticals (health-enhancing micronutrients) that do not dissolve well in water. The nanocapsules can be added to clear beverages, thus increasing their health benefits without clouding them.
Dr. Yoav Livney and his team in the Faculty of Biotechnology and Food Engineering used the Maillard reaction to create nanocapsules based on the protein–polysaccharide conjugates. This natural reaction, which is the cause of the browning of food during baking and cooking, was used in the past in the creation of emulsions and microcapsules for nutrients that do not dissolve in water, but the problem with the existing methods is that the capsules obtained were large, so that they clouded the liquid they were added to.
To overcome this problem, Dr. Livney and his team conjugated maltodextrin, a product of the breakdown of starch into Casein, milk protein, in a controlled process. The conjugated molecules (conjugates) underwent spontaneous self-assembly into capsules of nanometric dimensions. These nanocapsules are so small, that the beverages they were added to remained clear.
In the next stage, the researchers trapped in the nanocapsules vitamin D (large parts of the population suffer from vitamin D deficiency, which could cause rickets in children and many other health disorders in adults). The research team found that the nanocapsules protect the vitamins “packed” in them. “They protected the vitamin D from degrading in an acidic environment, and during its refrigerated shelf-life”, says Dr. Livney.
Another important material called EGCG (epigallocatechin gallate), that is found in green tea and that is considered to inhibit many diseases, among them are neurodegenerative diseases, cardiovascular diseases and cancer, was also significantly protected by the conjugates throughout its shelf-life.
The researchers also followed the release of the nutrients from the nanocapsules under simulated digestion conditions. They discovered that the nanocapsules succeeded in keeping the nutrients trapped in them, and in protecting them under stomach conditions. Livney believes that the enzymes in the small intestine will break the polysaccharide-protein envelope down easily, allowing the absorption of the nutritional nano-cargo at the desired location, in the small intestine. In the future, Dr. Livney plans to “research the overall release profile of nutraceuticals through simulated digestion, and later to examine their bioavailability in vivo in clinical trials”. He adds that “we also intend to investigate the encapsulation by this method of other bio-active components, such as anti-cancer medicines.
Another team headed by Dr. Livney is currently developing the next generation of polysaccharide-protein conjugate-based nanocapsules, which are aimed at target-oriented delivery of medicines in the body, marking the location of cancerous tumors and destroying them. Prior to becoming a faculty member in the Technion’s Faculty of Biotechnology and Food Engineering, Yoav Livney was involved in the development of “Gamadim”, “Ski” and “Symphony”, as part of his work as the product development manager of the cheese business unit at “Strauss”.
Proteologics’ pioneers targeted drug development CEO Joshua Levin discusses the molecules being developed with Teva and GlaxoSmithKline.[Extracted from Globes, Israel]
The award of the 2011 Nobel Prize in Chemistry to Prof. Dan Schechtman, following the 2009 win by Prof. Ada Yonath, put the world of chemistry and Israel’s contributions to science that laypeople can barely understand in the limelight. Schechtman and Yonath have not yet turned their discoveries, of quasi-crystals and the mechanism of the ribosome, respectively, into commercial products, but their two Israeli predecessors, Prof. Aaron Ciechanover and Prof. Avram Hershko, the 2004 Nobel Laureates in Chemistry, have succeeded in doing so (or at least trying). They contributed their know-how and reputations to Proteologics Ltd. (TASE: PRTL).
Ubiquitin – the new buzzword
To understand what Proteologics is doing, it is necessary to go back to high school chemistry and the stubborn teacher who tried to explain what a protein is. The company is developing targeted therapeutics for the ubiquitin system, which regulates almost all aspects of eukaryotic cellular function, including cell cycle regulation, DNA repair, signal transduction, immune response, protein quality control and metabolism. The system comprises about 1,000 protiens.
Hershko and Ciechanover discovered the ubiquitin system in 1978, and jointly won the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 2004 for the discovery. They are both members of Proteologics’ science advisory board.
Targeted medications are not regular drugs; as their name implies, they have just one specific target, and are consequently more effective, (improving a patient’s quality of life by reducing the side effects of treatment) and are more efficient for health funds by cutting costs. These drugs discover the proteins that play an important role in a disease, neutralizing which leads to improvement, even a cure, for the disease in question.
A ubiquitin is a small regulatory protein that can be attached to proteins and label them for destruction for the proper function of the cell. Ubiquitin tags can also direct proteins to other locations in the cell, where they control other protein and cell mechanisms. Disruption of the ubiquitin system is therefore liable to cause a wide range of diseases, including cancers, diseases of the nervous system such as Alzheimer’s or Parkinson’s, muscular dystrophy, and viral diseases.
Drug development is complicated, and the difficulties are compounded in the case of the ubiquitin system. It is a hierarchal cascade system with three levels: The E1 enzyme is a single protein, which can bind with the subordinate level, E2 enzymes (of which there are about 40), which in turn influence the more than 600 E3 enzymes.
This hierarchal cascade and the multiple E2-E3 connections complicates the drug development task. E3 enzymes directly transfer the signal to the protein, and this is where Proteologics finds the proteins that are the basis for its therapeutics. Any intervention higher up in the hierarchy is liable to cause harm rather than help.
Business model: spread the risk
Proteologics’ business model may prove in future to be much more effective than the models of other R&D companies. The drug development and approval process has three main stages. First is identification of the target and development of a suitable molecule, which is followed by preclinical and human clinical trials.
Proteologics only operates at the first and second stages, while the final stage, which requires more time and financial investment, is handled by the company’s big pharma partners – Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. (Nasdaq: TEVA; TASE: TEVA) and GlaxoSmithKline plc (NYSE; LSE: GSK).
In this way, Proteologics reduces its financial risk, as the clinical trial and most expensive stage is carried out by big pharma companies which bear the financial risk. Proteologics even receives advances for R&D costs, which are partly covered by its partners. The company also has an option for receiving milestone payments, and will receive generous royalties from sales, assuming that the drug is approved for marketing.
Until that day comes, if it ever does, Proteologics can use the milestone payments to pursue additional projects on the basis of the platform it developed for working with E3 enzymes with different tags. This enables the company to survive, in theory, for a long time as it expands its knowledge and its platform to create a large enough product base that will increase its chances of turning at least one of its drug candidates into a commercial product.
Proteologics CEO Joshua Levin says that it has been able to lower its risk profile by choosing two partners that complements each other, in both character and terms of the agreements signed with them. GlaxoSmithKline, a UK giant with a market cap of $117 billion, is developing with Proteologics six programs for the treatment of various cancers (each program is based on a different E3 enzyme). Teva is jointly developing three programs. Proteologics is also developing two programs independently, and will either continue to do so or find a partner.
“GlaxoSmithKline and Teva complement each other,” says Levin. “Teva is not an innovative company, which is why it chose to invest a little in us now, and give us a larger share of revenue from drug sales. GlaxoSmithKline, in contrast, chose to invest much more in us at the first and second stages, and took a greater share for itself when the drug reaches market.”
In the case of GlaxoSmithKline, which is the more important partner for Levin, each program could generate up to $176 million in royalties, or up to $1 billion altogether, but Levin is realistic about these numbers. “This isn’t a real number. There’s no chance that all six drugs will be commercialized,” he says.
2012 is the critical year
Under Proteologics’ timetable, 2012 will be a critical year. Teva, which has undergone quite a few changes, mainly as a result of its acquisition of Cephalon, is scheduled to receive its first molecule from Proteologics within months, and will have to decide whether it wants to pursue development. If it chooses not to do so, Proteologics can continue development (a Phase I clinical trial) independently, or find another partner, without the need to start the development process from scratch.
Levin is not worried that either Teva or GlaxoSmithKline will return molecules to the company, but he is nonetheless doing everything to make sure that does not happen. In the case of GlaxoSmithKline, each program has a three-year timeframe, which means that in early 2013, Proteologics will have to hand over the first molecule to it and wait for a response. Read full article at Globes
The Nanocapsules developed by Technion researchers from natural materials can also be used by the pharmaceutical industry – in the protection of medicines in the stomach and their release in the intestine, as well as for targeting cancerous tumors
Technion researchers have created nanocapsules that are based on natural food components, and trapped in them vitamins and nutraceuticals (health-enhancing micronutrients) that do not dissolve well in water. The nanocapsules can be added to clear beverages, thus increasing their health benefits without clouding them.
Dr. Yoav Livney and his team in the Faculty of Biotechnology and Food Engineering used the Maillard reaction to create nanocapsules based on the protein–polysaccharide conjugates. This natural reaction, which is the cause of the browning of food during baking and cooking, was used in the past in the creation of emulsions and microcapsules for nutrients that do not dissolve in water, but the problem with the existing methods is that the capsules obtained were large, so that they clouded the liquid they were added to.
To overcome this problem, Dr. Livney and his team conjugated maltodextrin, a product of the breakdown of starch into Casein, milk protein, in a controlled process. The conjugated molecules (conjugates) underwent spontaneous self-assembly into capsules of nanometric dimensions. These nanocapsules are so small, that the beverages they were added to remained clear.
In the next stage, the researchers trapped in the nanocapsules vitamin D (large parts of the population suffer from vitamin D deficiency, which could cause rickets in children and many other health disorders in adults). The research team found that the nanocapsules protect the vitamins “packed” in them. “They protected the vitamin D from degrading in an acidic environment, and during its refrigerated shelf-life”, says Dr. Livney.
Another important material called EGCG (epigallocatechin gallate), that is found in green tea and that is considered to inhibit many diseases, among them are neurodegenerative diseases, cardiovascular diseases and cancer, was also significantly protected by the conjugates throughout its shelf-life.
The researchers also followed the release of the nutrients from the nanocapsules under simulated digestion conditions. They discovered that the nanocapsules succeeded in keeping the nutrients trapped in them, and in protecting them under stomach conditions. Livney believes that the enzymes in the small intestine will break the polysaccharide-protein envelope down easily, allowing the absorption of the nutritional nano-cargo at the desired location, in the small intestine.
In the future, Dr. Livney plans to “research the overall release profile of nutraceuticals through simulated digestion, and later to examine their bioavailability in vivo in clinical trials”. He adds that “we also intend to investigate the encapsulation by this method of other bio-active components, such as anti-cancer medicines.
Another team headed by Dr. Livney is currently developing the next generation of polysaccharide-protein conjugate-based nanocapsules, which are aimed at target-oriented delivery of medicines in the body, marking the location of cancerous tumors and destroying them.
Prior to becoming a faculty member in the Technion’s Faculty of Biotechnology and Food Engineering, Yoav Livney was involved in the development of “Gamadim”, “Ski” and “Symphony”, as part of his work as the product development manager of the cheese business unit at “Strauss”.
The Yanai Award for Excellence in Academic Education has been awarded by the Technion for the first time. The award, aimed at promoting the quality of teaching in the Technion, was awarded to 14 faculty members from the different Technion faculties: Prof. Alon Gany, Prof. Shimon Gepstein, Prof. Irad Yavneh, Prof. Avishai Mandelbaum, Prof. Noam Soker, Prof. David Chillag, Prof. Uri Eliash, Prof. Hossam Haick, Prof. Amnon Katz, Prof. Doron Melamed, Prof. Ayelet Fishman, Prof. Avinoam Kolodny, Prof. Eitan Kimmel and Dr. Seffy (Yosef) Givli.
Technion President Prof. Peretz Lavie said that one of the goals he had set for himself, at the beginning of his tenure, was to improve the treatment of students and nurture the level of teaching in the Technion. “It is important that we provide our students with an efficient and enjoyable learning experience. I have read what the lecturers who received the award have said about teaching, and one common theme is evident in their words: respect for the student. They listen to the student and recognize that sometimes the student is wrong – and sometimes they are. These words should be taught in all schools of education. The Yanai Award breaks the myth of a contradiction between excellence in research and excellence in teaching. Here before us are excellent teachers who are also excellent researchers, and one of them is a faculty Dean. This is proof that excellence in research, excellence in teaching and holding an administrative position are not contradictory to each other”.
Moshe Yanai, whose 10 million dollar contribution will allow to grant each awarded lecturer NIS 100 thousand for twenty years, expressed his appreciation of the 14 award winners, and said that their dedication to teaching and to their students should not be taken for granted. “The academy encourages papers, namely research and publications. I do not know of people who were promoted or appreciated more by virtue of their investment in students. Therefore, these dear people who are receiving the award today are true altruists. They have placed the needs of society and of the State above their own personal interests, and I am awed and grateful for their actions. This award is unique in that it requires serious investment and giving up those things that are important for the lecturer’s promotion, because the criteria are far from simply. This award is not given simply to the nice lecturer, and you know very well that the easy way of education and educing demands is not rewarded here, but rather work and true effort put into preparation and education, that come at the expense of time you could have invested in research and in promoting yourselves”.
A movie shown during the ceremony featured interviews of some of the awarded lecturers and their students. Prof. Avishai Mandelbaum, who spoke for the award winners, joined the Technion President in saying that “leading research and excellent teaching go hand in hand, and teaching in a research-engineering institutions such as the Technion is a fascinating challenge – a compromise without compromises”.
“The difference between a teacher and a student is not big: both have similar goals and both teach and learn at the same time”, said Prof. Mandelbaum. He also spoke of his love for the teaching profession, and said that when his family calls and ask if he is at work, he answer: “no, I’m in the Technion.”
Prof. Moshe Sidi, Vice President for Academic Affairs, is the man who heads the committee that selected the 14 award winners. “At the end of the first screening we had 32 candidates, said Prof. Sidi. “Of these, we selected the winners based on complex, in-depth and non-standard criteria, such as the mutual respect between the lecturer and his students”.
Above: Moshe Yanai (second from the right) and Prof. Peretz Lavie (on his right) – with the winners of the Yanai Award. Photo: Technion Spokesman
Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg, Cornell University President David J. Skorton, and Technion-Israel Institute of Technology President Peretz Lavie today announced an historic partnership to build a two-million-square-foot applied science and engineering campus on Roosevelt Island in New York City. The selection of the Cornell/Technion consortium – which pairs two of the world’s top institutions in the fields of science, engineering, technology and research – marks a major milestone in the City’s groundbreaking Applied Sciences NYC initiative, which seeks to increase New York City’s capacity for applied sciences and dramatically transform the City’s economy. Cornell/Technion’s proposal was among the many strong proposals that were submitted to the City from a number of world-class institutions around the globe as part of the City’s groundbreaking competitive process. The Cornell/Technion consortium was ultimately selected due to the large scale and vision of their proposal, the long and impressive track-record of both institutions in generating applied science breakthroughs and spinning out new businesses, the financing capacity of the consortium, the focus of the consortium on the collaboration between academia and the private sector, and the overall capacity of the partnership to execute the project. In addition to the Roosevelt Island site, the City will also provide $100 million in City capital to assist with site infrastructure, construction, and related costs. This is the first selection announcement for the Applied Sciences NYC initiative. Productive discussions are ongoing with other respondents – Carnegie Mellon, Columbia and a New York University-led consortium – and the possibility of additional science and engineering partnerships in the City is still open. Mayor Bloomberg made the announcement at Cornell’s Weill Cornell Medical College, and was also joined by Deputy Mayor for Economic Development Robert K. Steel, New York City Economic Development President Seth W. Pinsky, Congresswoman Carolyn Maloney, State Senator Jos? M. Serrano, Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer, Council Member Jessica Lappin, as well as other civic and business leaders.
“Thanks to this outstanding partnership and groundbreaking proposal from Cornell and the Technion, New York City’s goal of becoming the global leader in technological innovation is now within sight,” said Mayor Bloomberg. “By adding a new state-of-the-art institution to our landscape, we will educate tomorrow’s entrepreneurs and create the jobs of the future. This partnership has so much promise because we share the same goal: to make New York City home to the world’s most talented workforce.”
“Cornell University and our extraordinary partner, The Technion-Israel Institute of Technology, are deeply gratified to have the opportunity to realize Mayor Bloomberg’s vision for New York City: to prepare tomorrow’s expanding talent pool of tech leaders and entrepreneurs to work with the city’s key industries in growing tomorrow’s innovation ecosystem,” said Cornell President Skorton. “Starting today, we are going to put our plan to work, tapping into our extensive connections throughout the city and build a truly 21st Century campus to fuel the creation of new businesses and new industries throughout the city for decades to come.”
“Our pride and our hopes for the future are shared by the whole Technion community of students, faculty, friends and supporters, including the very successful American Technion Society,” said the Technion President Lavie. “Together, we have the means, ingenuity and willpower to make our world a better place by joining with Cornell University and the great people of New York City for this innovative new center of learning and enterprise.”
In addition to the announcement of this historic agreement, Cornell has also announced that it received a $350 million gift from an anonymous donor, the largest contribution in the university’s history and one of the largest in the history of American higher education, which will support the extraordinary vision of the NYCTech Campus project. Cornell/Technion has laid out an aggressive plan for the project, which will ultimately culminate in the completion of a 2 million square foot build-out housing for up to 2,500 students and nearly 280 faculty members by 2043. When completed, the new Roosevelt Island campus will result in an increase in the number of full-time, graduate engineering students enrolled in leading New York City Master’s and Ph.D. programs by approximately 70 percent. Prior to commencement of construction on Roosevelt Island, Cornell/Technion plans to open in an off-site location in 2012, with the first phase of their permanent Roosevelt Island home expected to open by no later than 2017. By 2027 the campus will have expanded to over 1.3 million square feet. Cornell/Technion has agreed to a 99-year lease for the Roosevelt Island site, with an option to purchase the land at the end of the term for $1. Cornell will develop and own the campus itself, and will assume financial responsibility for its establishment and operations.
According to a new analysis, the NYCTech Campus will generate an even greater economic impact than was initially projected when the City released the Request for Proposals earlier this year. The new economic impact analysis, which was completed by the New York City Economic Development Corporation, projects that the new campus will generate more than $7.5 billion (NPV) and more than $23 billion (nominal) in overall economic activity over the course of the next three decades, as well as $1.4 billion (nominal) in total tax revenue. The campus alone will help create up to 20,000 construction jobs and up to 8,000 permanent jobs. More importantly, the campus is expected to generate nearly 600 spin-off companies over the projection period – projected to create up to an additional 30,000 permanent jobs. The strength of both Cornell and the Technion in generating entrepreneurial activity was one of the major factors in the selection of the consortium by the City.
“When people look back 100 years from now, I believe that they will remember today as a signal moment in the transformation of the City’s economy,” Deputy Mayor Steel said. “This is an inflection point in an economic renaissance that will position New York City for outsized success in the decades and centuries to come.”
“Today, with the creation of this historic partnership, New York City is forging a new path in economic development,” said New York City Economic Development President Seth W. Pinsky. “Thanks to the bold vision offered by Cornell and the Technion, we are taking another important step forward in attaining our goal of becoming the undisputed global leader in technology and innovation. These two world-class institutions – each of which is a leader in science, engineering, research, and entrepreneurship – have seen the tremendous promise that New York City has to offer, and we, in turn, have seen the enormous advantages that they bring with them. Over the next several decades, this creative partnership – which brings together the public, private and academic sectors – will lead to the creation of new technologies, new businesses, new jobs, and increased economic activity across the five boroughs, ensuring a brighter future for our City for generations to come.”
The Cornell/Technion proposal included a number of programmatic and development details that aligned with the City’s vision for the Applied Sciences NYC initiative that caused it to stand out. The NYCTech Campus is expected to become a world-leading institution, conferring graduate degrees and conducting research in the applied sciences with a commitment to innovation, commercialization, and the creation and retention of businesses and jobs in New York City. Academic uses are anticipated to range from classrooms, to laboratories, libraries, teaming areas and lecture halls, to start-up incubator and accelerator space. The remainder of the space in the campus will be devoted to residential uses, a conference center, as well as ancillary uses, such as retail in support of the faculty, staff and students on the campus.
The campus will be organized around three interdisciplinary hubs: Connective Media, Healthier Life, and the Built Environment. Cornell will immediately offer Master and Doctoral degrees in areas such as Computer Science, Electrical and Computer Engineering, and Information Science and Engineering. In addition, after receiving the required accreditation, the campus will also offer innovative Technion-Cornell dual Master of Applied Sciences degrees.
The NYCTech Campus will host entrepreneurs-in-residence, organize business competitions, provide legal support for startups, reach out to existing companies to form research partnerships and sponsor research, and establish a pre-seed financing program to support promising research. In addition, the campus will structure its tech transfer office, which will be on-site, to facilitate startup formation and technology licensing. The NYCTech Campus will also establish a $150 million revolving financing fund that will be solely devoted to start-up businesses in the City.
Cornell/Technion’s proposed NYCTech Campus will combine cutting edge technologies to create one of the most environmentally friendly and energy efficient campuses in the world. The proposed phase one academic building, if completed today, would be the largest net-zero energy building in eastern United States – meaning it will harvest as much energy from solar power and geothermal wells as it consumes on an annual basis. The campus is planned to include a solar array that will generate 1.8 megawatts at daily peak and a 400 well geothermal field, which uses the constant temperature of the earth to cool buildings in the summer and heat them in the winter. The well field and solar array would each be largest in New York City if built today. The campus will not only employ some of the most sophisticated environmental technology in the world, it will also help develop them, serving as a living laboratory for the Built Environment hub.
In keeping with the focus on community involvement contained in the RFP, the Cornell/Technion proposal outlined a number of areas in which the universities will touch the lives of New Yorkers — the type of involvement to which both schools have been committed for many years. For example, each year 7,000 Cornell students and 150 faculty members participate in programs at the Cornell Public Service Center. In fact, Cornell recently received the nation’s top award as an “institution of community engagement” from the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching. The Technion, meanwhile, operates a Center for Pre-Academic Education for those who require additional preparation prior to formal schooling, and in the last academic year 80 Technion employees volunteered in after-school centers in low-income areas.
Plans for community involvement in New York City include the creation of education enhancement programs that will impact a minimum of 10,000 New York City students and 200 New York City teachers per year. Cornell/Technion also intends to work closely with PS/IS 217 on Roosevelt Island and the Child School, a charter school located on the island, to enrich their curricula and participate in STEM-oriented after-school programming. They will also work to meet the goals of the City’s HireNYC employment program and develop partnerships for job placement and training. In furtherance of its community outreach goals, Cornell/Technion will offer significant programming on and off its campus designed to engage with residents of Roosevelt Island and the larger City. Cornell’s campus plan will further create new public open space on the campus. Cornell has also pledged to help preserve the historic murals currently-contained within Goldwater Hospital. Plans for the hospital to be moved to a new location in Manhattan by the end of 2013 were in the works prior to the commencement of the Applied Sciences NYC initiative.
Both Cornell and the Technion have long and very successful track records with fundraising and development – both in New York City and beyond – which added to the assessment by the City of the feasibility of the proposal. Cornell alone has raised nearly $4 billion in gifts and commitments over the past seven years, including the recent $350 million gift relating to the Roosevelt Island campus. And the Technion has an established presence in New York City with the American Technion Society, which maintains a national network of thousands of alumni and supporters and has raised more than $1.65 billion since its founding in 1940, the majority raised in the past decade. Cornelly employs more than 5,000 people in New York City, and the city is home to some 50,000 Cornell alumni. In 2007, Cornell completed a 330,000 square foot outpatient clinical building in New York City and is currently constructing a 550,000 square foot medical research building in the City.
Cornell is widely known as a global leader in the fields of applied science, engineering, technology and research, as well as commercialization and entrepreneurship. Cornell is home to the top-rated Ivy League engineering program and is one of only a handful of institutions with top-10 programs in the key disciplines that drive today’s tech sector: Computer Science, Electrical and Computer Engineering, Materials Science and Nanotechnology, and Information Science. Cornell ranks fourth in the world in the number of graduates who go on to pursue PhDs in engineering or the natural sciences at American institutions, according to US News and World Report. Further demonstrating the institution’s increased focus on commercialization, tenure evaluations at Cornell have recently begun to give serious consideration to the commercial activities of faculty members and their students. Cornell faculty and alumni have founded groundbreaking technology companies such as Qualcomm, Palm and PeopleSoft, and lead many of the nation’s most innovative technology companies. In the past five years alone, Cornell alumni have created more than 2,600 companies around the world – employing some 34,000 people and raising more than $10.6 billion in new capital. Cornell alumni are also leaders at many of the most active and successful venture capital firms in the country such as Battery, Bessemer, Canaan, Charles River, First Round, Matrix, and Sequoia. Cornell’s technology commercialization arm, CCTEC, has provided Cornell technology to ten startups in the past year, and 35 in the in the past five years. Further demonstrating the university’s increased focus on commercialization, tenure evaluations at Cornell have recently begun to give serious consideration to the commercial activities of faculty members and their students. Cornell recent alumni also have a large representation in the New York City tech start-up scene, with companies such as Postling, Go Try It On, JIBE, CityPockets, Behance and Moat.
Like Cornell, the Technion also has a world-class track-record in research, development and entrepreneurship. The Technion’s departments of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science are considered to be among the best in the world. The Technion boasts top ranking faculty members including Nobel laureates -the most recent, Professor Dan Shechtman – who just last week accepted the 2011 Nobel Prize in Chemistry. Professor Shechtman is also well-known for his course on entrepreneurship, now in its 26th year and boasting 10,000 graduates. The Technion has long been considered a driving force behind Israel’s emergence as one of the world’s great centers of technology. The country today has one of the highest concentrations of high-tech start-up companies globally. In partnership with a strong community of incubators, private investors, venture capitalists, angel groups and entrepreneurs, the Technion’s tech transfer arm, Technion Technology Transfer (T3), has filed an average of 300 new patents each year and annually nurtures innovative startups in sectors such as clean-tech, cell therapy, drug delivery, nanotechnology and others. Companies including Intel, Google, Microsoft, IBM, Qualcomm, Broadcom, Yahoo! and Hewlett-Packard have established major operations near or on the Technion campus, where they can take advantage of the world-class research and students and faculty members of the Technion. The Technion graduates currently head nearly half of the 121 Israeli companies on the NASDAQ, which have a combined market value of over $28 billion. More than 70 percent of the Technion graduates are employed in the high technology sectors that drive Israel’s economic growth. Presently, Israeli companies headed by the Technion graduates employ 85 percent of Israel’s technical workforce. According to a recent article in the Israeli newspaper Haaretz, there are approximately 4,000 start-up companies located around the Technion’s home campus.
“This is a momentous day catapulting New York City into the forefront of the 21st century economy and burnishing its place as the high-tech center of the East,” said U.S. Senator Charles E. Schumer. “Mayor Bloomberg deserves tremendous credit for his vision to always build for the future in order to keep New York the greatest city in the world. By partnering with Cornell, a great New York institution with a deep tradition of cutting-edge engineering and world-class sciences work, we are sending a message to the high-tech community: New York welcomes with open arms the best and the brightest, and the most creative and the most ambitious high-tech minds in the world. We will build all that is needed to conceive and launch your business. But this just the first step, the end of the beginning, of what needs to be a ongoing, multiyear effort to make New York not just one of, but the high tech center for innovation. And that is the message we are sending today with this announcement – look out Silicon Valley, look out Boston, New York will be second to none.”
“No other city is poised to lead in the high-tech economy of the future like New York City,” said U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand. “Cornell and the Technion’s partnership will bolster the city’s potential to spark new industries, attract businesses, and create thousands of jobs. I thank Mayor Bloomberg for his efforts in bringing a state-of-the-art science and engineering campus right here in the heart of the Big Apple, ensuring that we’re growing innovative leaders to compete and win in the global economy.”
“A new, world-class applied sciences campus on Roosevelt Island is a perfect holiday gift for our city that will pay dividends for generations. Cornell and the Technion are an unbeatable combination, matching academic excellence with a proven track record of creating new hi-tech start-ups. Roosevelt Island will be an outstanding site for a new high-tech campus – accessible by transportation, near Manhattan and Queens in the heart of the city, but separate enough to have a small-town feel. I thank Mayor Bloomberg for having the vision to bring an applied sciences school to New York, and for having the wisdom to choose Cornell and the Technion – and a location on Roosevelt Island- to build this incredible new school,” said Congresswoman Maloney.
“A state of the art facility for academic training and research provided by the team of Cornell and Technion Universities will produce talented graduates ready to work in New York’s growing high tech sector,” said Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver. “This in turn will draw new and expanding high tech business that can benefit from a highly qualified work force in New York City, the center for international business. I want to thank Mayor Michael Bloomberg for launching the Applied Sciences NY initiative, an innovative competition that has resulted in a $2 billion investment that is critical to New York City’s economy. The addition of this engineering and applied sciences campus will add to the already vast array of higher education centers in New York City while creating tens of thousands of new jobs in the tech sector as well as educational opportunities for more than 2,000 students.”
Senate Majority Leader Dean G. Skelos said: “This announcement is great news for Cornell University, one of the nation’s premier Universities located in Upstate New York, for the City’s plans to create a robust, high-tech economy for the future, and for the thousands of young people who will be able to find work here. I commend Mayor Bloomberg for his vision and congratulate all those who played a role in this selection. I look forward to seeing the positive impact that this agreement will have in the years ahead, both as a tool to enhance the educational experience and promote the creation of thousands of new jobs throughout New York.”
“It’s very exciting that Roosevelt Island will host a state-of-the-art applied sciences campus in New York City, and I congratulate Cornell University on their winning bid,” said Senator Jos? M. Serrano. “Our city’s greatest strength is our diversity and we have always attracted a wealth of talent from all over the globe. For this reason, the Island’s accessibility to the heart of Manhattan makes it the ideal location for a new facility of higher learning. I look forward to watching this campus boost New York’s economy by creating high-tech jobs throughout the city, and lead our state toward becoming a worldwide leader in the field of computer engineering. The Roosevelt Island residents, who have been extremely supportive throughout this process, are sure to make wonderful neighbors, and together we look forward to working with Cornell University to ensure the success of this campus.”
“Job creation is a top priority for the City Council, and with the selection of Cornell University as the home of the city’s new applied science and engineering campus, we’re one step closer to bringing new jobs to New York City and becoming the technology capital of the world,” said City Council Speaker Christine C. Quinn. “I’m thrilled for what this means for the future of our city, and its economic growth. This historic partnership is a milestone for the city and a vote of confidence in our continued efforts to keep us on the cutting edge of new technology.”
“This is a game changer for our city,” said Council Member Jessica Lappin. “I’m thrilled that Cornell University will be engineering our city’s economic future on Roosevelt Island. Cornell-Technion’s plan will make New York a high-tech capital and transform Roosevelt Island into Silicon Island.”
“Hooray for the home town team! I want to congratulate Cornell and the Technion Universities for winning the Mayor’s Applied Sciences competition,” said Assembly Member Micah Kellner. “I couldn’t think of a better place for New York’s world-class applied sciences university than Roosevelt Island.”
“Roosevelt Island has always been a pioneer in advancing municipal technology. It is fitting that the Island will now become a hub for innovation, exponentially expanding the ideas that will change the way we live locally and globally. We’re thrilled to welcome Cornell University and the Technion’s new world-class applied science and engineering campus as our neighbor and look forward to working with them closely. We also are thankful to Mayor Bloomberg for his vision,” said Leslie Torres, president of New York State’s Roosevelt Island Operating Corporation, which manages and operates the two-mile long Island.
“Cornell and the Technion are each well-established global leaders in the fields of science and engineering, as well as entrepreneurship,” said Charles Vest, President of the National Academy of Engineering, and President Emeritus, Massachusetts Institute of Technology. “This newly formed partnership marks an important moment for New York City, its economy, and the future of innovation and higher education in this country.”
“Earlier this month, Facebook announced we would be opening an engineering office to add to our already strong presence in New York City,” said Serkan Piantino, head of engineering at Facebook in New York City. “New York has a strong history of innovation and is home to thousands of talented technical people, and we want them to help us solve the challenges of designing and building the next generation of Facebook. The addition of an applied sciences campus to New York City will ensure that New York continues to attract some of the best and brightest engineers and computer scientists in the world.”
“With their world-class engineering and computer science programs, Cornell and the Technion are an outstanding selection for this exciting endeavor,” said Barry Silbert, Founder & CEO of SecondMarket. “This new applied science campus underscores the Mayor’s continued commitment to entrepreneurship and job creation, and is a momentous step forward for NYC’s thriving high-tech and startup community.”
“New York City has always been home to some of the most cutting-edge and innovative businesses on the planet,” said Kevin Ryan, Founder and CEO of Gilt Groupe. “Now, with Cornell and the Technion’s world-class tech campus situated in the heart of the city, even more entrepreneurs and visionaries will have the tools and creative environment needed to start new businesses across the five boroughs, and as a result, grow New York City’s economy.”
“New York City has been making great strides towards becoming a leader in tech, and the arrival of Cornell and the Technion will greatly accelerate its development,” said David Tisch, founder of TechStars. “Increasing the number of engineers is critical, and this project affirms why TechStars believes in the success of New York City. We look forward to working closely with the universities to accelerate company and job creation, and applaud Mayor Bloomberg on the success of Applied Sciences NYC.”
“Cornell and the Technion are world-class institutions, and their partnership on a new applied science campus will solidify New York City’s position as a major center for technology startups, an important source of new jobs,” Eric Hippeau, Partner at Lerer Ventures. “There is a shortage of talent that companies around the world need to grow, and the addition of these respective faculty members and students will benefit NYC’s economy for years to come.”
“The city’s technology ecosystem is booming and we need an influx of top talent to build the next generation of startups right here in the five boroughs,” said Cyrus Massoumi, co-founder & CEO of ZocDoc. “Cornell and the Technion graduates are sure to create many of the great technologies of tomorrow and contribute to the growth of companies like ours.”
With the selection of Cornell/Technion now complete, the project is scheduled to move into the environmental and land use review process, including the City’s Uniform Land Use Review Process, with all review expected to be completed by the fall of 2013. Groundbreaking on the first phase of the Roosevelt Island campus is expected by the beginning of 2015.
Selection for the Applied Sciences NYC initiative was based – and will continue to be based – on factors in three categories: Economic Impact and Feasibility, Respondent’s Qualifications and Track Record, and Institutional Connections to the City. There has also been a strong emphasis placed on the ability of the facility to create jobs and increase the global competitiveness of New York City. Accordingly, the RFP issued in July asked respondents to prioritize fields in the applied sciences that would lend themselves to commercialization and business creation and attraction. Specific criteria in the RFP included:
” Likelihood of developing research that will lead to the formation, expansion and attraction of companies in industries that demonstrate the most potential for growth.
” Likelihood of creating construction and permanent jobs and generating tax revenue.
” Likelihood of developing a financially self-sustaining campus.
” Likelihood of contributing to the diversification of New York City’s economy by expanding its applied sciences sector.
Respondents were also evaluated – and will continue to be evaluated – on their proposed community relations and partnerships, including programs that they intend to undertake to connect with residents locally and citywide. Institutions that are selected are expected to comply with a series of deadlines and requirements, including those relating to construction timeline, the number of enrolled students, the number of dedicated faculty members, and the establishment of applicable academic and research programs. Any partner institution is also expected to create links between industry and academia to ensure that research is applied or translated for use in various business sectors. Campus plans must demonstrate a strong emphasis on sustainable, energy-efficient design that is sensitive to surrounding neighborhoods and the global environment.
The selection process, which is ongoing, has been led by City officials over the past eight weeks, in consultation with and with guidance from members of the Applied Sciences NYC Advisory Committee, which was created earlier this year. The committee was comprised of leaders from the academic, civic and business sectors, and was assembled to ensure that the ultimate selection achieves the goals set forth by the City.
Applied Sciences NYC was designed to capitalize on the considerable growth presently occurring within the science, technology and research fields in New York, and builds on the Bloomberg Administration’s record of creating a better diversified and more competitive economy for the future. In the technology sector, employment in New York grew by nearly 30 percent between 2005 and 2010, with total employment now at nearly 120,000. Also, last year New York surpassed Boston to become the number two recipient of venture capital funding for technology companies, while in the third quarter of 2011, New York surpassed Boston in venture capital funding across all categories.
Applied Sciences NYC was launched by the City after hundreds of conversations with academics, local business leaders, civic leaders, entrepreneurs, venture capitalists and community leaders, during the last several years. In these conversations, a common theme emerged: even with the high quality of research and development activity taking place in New York City today and even with all of the expansion plans now in the works at local universities, given the scale of the City’s economy and the scale of its ambitions (to become the global center of the innovation economy in the 21st Century), the City needs to promote more such activity in the coming decades. This is especially true as other countries continue to invest heavily in research and development, with Asia, for example, now predicted to overtake R&D expenditures in the U.S. within the next five years, thanks primarily to striking growth in R&D investment in China.
In July of 2011, the Economic Development Corporation issued the RFP seeking a university, institution or consortium to develop and operate a new or expanded campus in the City in exchange for City capital, access to City-owned land – at the Navy Hospital Campus at the Brooklyn Navy Yard, the Goldwater Hospital Campus on Roosevelt Island, or on Governors Island – and the full support and partnership of the Bloomberg Administration. In October, the City received 7 responses from 17 world-class institutions from around the globe.
The cells, called “pericytes”, were produced, grown and multiplied in a Technion lab in sufficiently large amounts to treat heart and blood vessel diseases
In the revolutionary research carried out by Prof. Joseph Itskovitz-Eldor, director of the Gynecology and Obstetrics Department of Rambam Medical Center, in his Stem Cell Research Laboratory in the Technion’s Rappaport Medical Faculty, together with Dr. Ayelet Daar-Vakhnin, “pericytes” – cells that have a crucial role in building blood vessels and in their functioning – were derived. The derivation took place during differentiation of embryonic stem cells using characteristic signs found on the cell membrane. When these derived cells were injected into the leg muscles of mice where the blood flow had almost completely been blocked, the pericytes created new blood vessels and restored the muscles cells that had been damaged by the lack of oxygen. The experiment simulated treatment of injury to muscles or tissues as a result of a disruption in blood supply – a phenomenon typical of complications related to common diseases such as heart disease, blood vessel disease and diabetes.
The pericyte cells were derived from both embryonic stem cells of fertilized eggs donated to research and induced pluripotent stem cells – cells taken from an adult and reprogrammed using genetic manipulation into cells with embryonic characteristics. Induced pluripotent stem cells can be differentiated into any type of human cell and tissue, similar to what happens to embryonic stem cells. Given that these can be derived from the patient him or herself, implanting the pericytes derived from these induced pluripotent stem cells should enable healing of the injured tissue and avert rejection of these cells by the patient’s body.
The report of this work recently appeared in the prestigious journal Circulation, a publication of the American Heart Association and was discussed at length in an editorial in the same journal. The results of the research are important both for understanding the processes of development of blood vessels and for treatment of common diseases marked by injury to the supply of blood to the heart, limbs, etc.
Additional research partners were Hagit Domev, Oren Ben Yosef, Dr. Mati Zuckerman, Dr. Naama Zeevi-Levin, Atara Novak, Yigal Germanguz, and Dr. Michal Amit.
High-tech Giant Apple to set up Israel development center
With Technion graduates heading R&D centers for Microsoft, Yahoo, Google and Intel to name a view, Apple has until now been noticeable by it absence. Now, news is surfacing that Technion graduate (first and second degrees) Aharon Aharon will head Apple’s first ever development center outside of its California headquarters.
Apple Inc. has decided to open a development center in Israel focusing on semiconductors, the first R&D venture for the company outside the United States, the Israeli Business news service Globes Wednesday. The decision was apparently made even before the company entered into talks to acquire Herzliya-based flash storage solutions provider Anobit Ltd.
Apple has hired Aharon Aharon, Technion graduate and a veteran player in Israel’s high tech industry, to lead the new development center. The planned Israel center will be the company’s first such center outside of its California headquarters.
Aharon Aharon comes to Apple with a rich background. His most high-tech venture was Camero Tech Ltd., which develops Radio Frequency (RF) based imaging systems, and which he founded in 2004 with Amir Beeri. Before that, he was chairman of embedded security solutions developer Discretix Inc. and managed their Israel development center. He was also VP operations at Zoran Corp.(Nasdaq: ZRAN), having begun his career at IBM’s Haifa development center where he reached the post of deputy director.
Apple is cultivating it;s new orchard for future growth fast. Aharon will be spending some months at Apple HQ in Cupertino before launching the Israel enterprise and harvesting the local skills and ingenuity. It is one ground breaking decision that is sure to support Apple in maintaining its competitive edge in the next, even smarter generation.
The stamp will be launched during the main event in the Technion’s centennial celebrations, in the presence of Technion President Prof. Peretz Lavie, Mayor of Haifa Adv. Yona Yahav, Chairman of the Board of Israel Postal Company Sasi Shilo, and Director of Philatelic Services Yaron Ratzon
Undergraduate and graduate students will fill practical roles in the examination of various aspects related to the mission and in the development of the system
The Yanai Award for Excellence in Academic Education has been awarded by the Technion for the first time. The award, aimed at promoting the quality of teaching in the Technion, was awarded to 14 faculty members from the different Technion faculties: Prof. Alon Gany, Prof. Shimon Gepstein, Prof. Irad Yavneh, Prof. Avishai Mandelbaum, Prof. Noam Soker, Prof. David Chillag, Prof. Uri Eliash, Prof. Hossam Haick, Prof. Amnon Katz, Prof. Doron Melamed, Prof. Ayelet Fishman, Prof. Avinoam Kolodny, Prof. Eitan Kimmel and Dr. Seffy (Yosef) Givli.
Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg, Cornell University President David J. Skorton, and Technion-Israel Institute of Technology President Peretz Lavie today announced an historic partnership to build a two-million-square-foot applied science and engineering campus on Roosevelt Island in New York City. The selection of the Cornell/Technion consortium – which pairs two of the world’s top institutions in the fields of science, engineering, technology and research – marks a major milestone in the City’s groundbreaking Applied Sciences NYC initiative, which seeks to increase New York City’s capacity for applied sciences and dramatically transform the City’s economy. Cornell/Technion’s proposal was among the many strong proposals that were submitted to the City from a number of world-class institutions around the globe as part of the City’s groundbreaking competitive process. The Cornell/Technion consortium was ultimately selected due to the large scale and vision of their proposal, the long and impressive track-record of both institutions in generating applied science breakthroughs and spinning out new businesses, the financing capacity of the consortium, the focus of the consortium on the collaboration between academia and the private sector, and the overall capacity of the partnership to execute the project. In addition to the Roosevelt Island site, the City will also provide $100 million in City capital to assist with site infrastructure, construction, and related costs. This is the first selection announcement for the Applied Sciences NYC initiative. Productive discussions are ongoing with other respondents – Carnegie Mellon, Columbia and a New York University-led consortium – and the possibility of additional science and engineering partnerships in the City is still open. Mayor Bloomberg made the announcement at Cornell’s Weill Cornell Medical College, and was also joined by Deputy Mayor for Economic Development Robert K. Steel, New York City Economic Development President Seth W. Pinsky, Congresswoman Carolyn Maloney, State Senator Jos? M. Serrano, Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer, Council Member Jessica Lappin, as well as other civic and business leaders.