Technion President: “Technion friends from around the world thoroughly understand the enormous contribution the fields of engineering and computer science make to the state’s economy. Unfortunately, the list of national priorities does not reflect the support due these areas.”

Technion President, Prof. Peretz Lavie, reported today to the 224 members of the Technion Board of Governors that an additional three contributions totaling $60 million have been made. The contributions are intended for the recruitment of new faculty members and the laboratories of the Faculty of Computer Science ($30 million from the Taub Foundation), for medical research ($20 million from the Rappaport Foundation) and additional purposes ($10 million from the American Technion Society delegation that recently visited Israel).

Prof. Lavie noted with satisfaction the lively participation of the governors at the annual board meeting, which had been absent for the past several years. He reported about the new study program in Petroleum and Gas Exploration to be offered at the Technion next year, in light of the discovery of gas fields off the coast of Israel. “Israel does not have enough experts in these areas and the Technion has once again volunteered, together with the University of Haifa and government ministries, to address this national need,” he said.

The Technion President updated the Board of Governors regarding the details of the tender to establish a scientific-engineering research center in New York in which the Technion, by personal invitation of New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg, is participating together with leading universities in the U.S. and around the world. “The Technion is expanding its international activities,” he emphasized. “The International School of Engineering has doubled itself within a single year and in 2010 we signed cooperative agreements with 36 universities around the world (recently with five of the leading universities in China), in addition to the 80 already-existing agreements and this year we have a record number of registered post-doctoral fellows on campus.”

At the end of his remarks, the Technion President reported about the new research centers in the areas of energy, computer engineering (the largest such center in the country) and autonomous systems. “It is unfortunate that the list of national priorities does not reflect the support due the fields of engineering and computer science, whose contribution to the state’s economy is enormous,” said Prof. Lavie. He emphasized that in 2010 the Technion recruited 26 new faculty members, which since 2001 is an unprecedented number. “We are offering our new faculty members residence in our new graduate students village, a generous absorption basket for setting up advanced laboratories, and a Technion mentor who can guide them during their initial period at the Technion. Reversing the brain drain is at the top of the Technion’s list of priorities.”

“The governments of Israel believe that the country’s universities are “an expense” and do not understand that they are a risk-free investment that produces a return of more than 60%,” said Prof. Shlomo Meital of the Samuel Neaman Institute at the Technion, who participated in a panel of experts at the opening of the meeting of the Technion’s Board of Governors. Technion President, Prof. Peretz Lavie, who opened the discussion, said that the central theme of this year’s meeting is “How do we do this,” and indeed – this is a question that gets asked by many people – how is it that despite its abundance of problems, the state of Israel has become a successful technological superpower?

Inbal Kreis, the head of the Arrow 3 development project at Israel Aircraft Industries, said that the innovative missile will be ready “as soon as possible,” and described it as a “bullet meant to hit a bullet.”

Dr. Ed Mlavkay, founding partner of Gemini Israel Funds, who also served as Executive Director of the Israel-US Bi-national Industrial Research & Development Foundation (BIRD) for 13 years, said that BIRD began operations out of the understanding that Israel does not have any neighbors to whom it can sell its hi-tech products, and therefore, the target audience that it must cultivate is the American market. The fund encourages Israeli and American companies to collaborate, and between the years 1979 and 2007, $255 million were invested in more than 776 projects, which produced direct sales of $4.5 billion. “This activity in reality opened up Israel to the U.S.,” he stressed. “Among the implications of this process – the purchase of Israeli companies by American companies and their development in Israel as divisions of American companies.”

Prof. Meital presented research examining the Technion’s contribution to the Israeli economy. “The governments relate to the Technion as a place that burns money,” he said. “This is a mistake – the investment in Technion research produces a guaranteed annual return of 60%, and more.”

According to the research that was conducted by Prof. Meital together with Amnon Frankel of the Faculty of Architecture and Town Planning at the Technion, in 2010 about 2,500 undergraduate students received degrees from the Technion. “The state invested a cumulative sum of about a billion dollars in these graduates. The return for the state for this investment, according to the contribution of these graduates to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) relative to the average citizen, is $1.759 billion – a return of 76%.”

Prof. Meital noted the contribution of Technion graduates to both the Israeli and global economies. “59 out of 121 of the companies traded on NASDAQ are managed or were founded by Technion graduates,” he said. “And despite all this, the Technion even today continues to struggle for its budgets, as it struggled in the 1930s, 1950s and the 1970s.”

Prof. Marcel Machluf of the Faculty of Biotechnology and Food Engineering of the Technion chaired the discussion.

Above (Right to left):  Prof. Marcel Machluf, Dr. Ed Mlavsky, Prof. Peretz Lavie, Inbal Kreis, and Prof. Shlomo Meital. Photo by: Yoav Bechar, Technion Spokesman

The world’s largest yo-yo competition: A yo-yo to be released from a 30 m high crane

The crane will have a compartment in which the yo-yo will be placed. The compartment’s floor will open and the yo-yo will be released downward. Competitors are not allowed to use an external energy source and the dynamic rope will be supplied to them by the competition organizers. Winners will receive 10,000 ₪, 5,000 ₪, and 3,000 ₪ (1^st, 2^nd and 3^rd places, respectively).

The “Technorosh” competition is held at the Technion in memory of Neev-Ya Durban, who first envisioned and then established the competition. Neev-Ya was a student and outstanding Technion graduate. Neev-Ya was an officer in the IDF when he was murdered during a mugging on a quiet street in Tel Aviv in March 2003. The competition and the prizes are funded by Dr. Robert Shillman (who everyone knows as “Dr. Bob”), who did his graduate work at the Technion.

The competition will be held on Wednesday, June 15^th, 2011, starting at 12.00, on the Technion campus’ central square.

Photographers and journalists welcome.

Technion President: 76% of Technion Graduates Find Jobs in the Israeli Hi-tech Industry

Speaking at the Founding of the Forum for Senior Technology Managers and Researchers of the Russell Berrie Nanotechnology Institute at the Technion

“Today the approach to research is interdisciplinary,” stressed the Technion President. “The Russell Berrie Institute has changed the face of the Technion, both from an individual perspective (by adding outstanding research personnel) and from the physical aspect (by adding advance equipment such as the “Titan”, the most advanced microscope in the world). The bond with industry is important to the Technion, the collaboration with it will advance us all,” added Prof. Lavie.

The head of the Russell Berrie Nanotechnology Institute, Prof. Yeshayahu Talmon, said that in the first stage $78 million was invested (of which $40 was allocated for infrastructure). In 2010, the second stage began, during which an additional approximately $80 million will be invested over five years.

Ofer Greenberger, vice president of global KLA Tencor, who advises the institute on the issue of tightening relations with industry, said that this bond is fruitful and productive, and that all the leading universities around the world foster such relations. “From here Israel’s next start-up companies will emerge,” he stressed.

Later on Berrie Institute researchers presented their work to the conference participants.

Among the companies represented at the conference by their managers were Given Imaging, Intel, Philips, Elbit Systems, IBM, Dexcel and Rafael.

Above: Technion President, Prof. Peretz Lavie (standing, on the left), welcoming the members of the new forum. On the right (in the first row) – Prof. Yeshayahu Talmon. Photo by: Yossi Shrem, Technion Spokesman.

The agreement is the product of academic cooperation that began as part of the Fulbright Program

Since then Prof. Friedman and his colleagues at the Technion, among who are Prof. Israel Sidon and Prof. Avinoam Kolodny, have worked to promote collaboration between the two institutions as well as organize several student exchanges using Fulbright Program alumni grants. Thanks to their initiative, and with the help of semi-conductor companies in Israel (among which are Intel, Marvell, Melanox, and Zoran), the Advanced Circuit Research Center was established in the Faculty of Electrical Engineering. The center is involved in developing the field of electronic design of silicon chips. Recently Prof. Friedman initiated the upgrading and expansion of relations into additional areas, with funding by the Fresh family of Rochester. The Fresh family intends to make a long term donation in educational, research and economic development programs aimed at tightening community ties between Rochester and Israel. The agreement will increase the mobility of faculty members and students, and advance collaborations between the Technion and the University of Rochester in additional engineering fields such as electro-optics, nano-electronics, renewable energy, and biomedical engineering.

The president of the University of Rochester, Prof. Joel Seligman, said at the signing ceremony, “We are proud of our students and faculty members who come to the Technion and we are sure that now the pace will only increase.”

Technion President, Prof. Peretz Lavie, said that “with this signing we are taking the first step of a long journey of collaboration between our two institutions.”

Also present at the ceremony were the Dean of the Hajin School of Engineering and Applied Science, Prof. Robert Clark, Dean of the Faculty of Electrical Engineering at the Technion, Prof. Adam Schwartz, Vice President for Resource Development and External Relations at the Technion, Prof. Raphael Rom, Deputy Senior Vice President for International Academic Relations, Prof. Anat Rafaeli, Dr. Neal Sherman, Executive Director of the Fulbright United States-Israel Educational Foundation, and those who initiated the collaboration between the institutions – Prof. Eby Friedman and Prof. Avinoam Kolodny.

About the Fulbright United States-Israel Educational Foundation:

The Fulbright Foundation was the first inter-governmental program charged with promoting scientific relations between Israel and the U.S. Israel’s participation in this program is overseen by the United States-Israel Educational Foundation.

In 1956 the two governments signed an agreement to set up the Fulbright United States-Israel Educational Foundation Authority. The primary goal of the Fulbright Program is to strengthen the basis for peace by strengthening mutual understanding between the people of the United States and the peoples of partner countries around the world.

Since its establishment, the United States-Israel Educational Foundation has awarded approximately 1500 scholarships to Israelis studying in different frameworks in the U.S. and about 1150 scholarships to American lecturers and students who have come to Israel. The total dollar value of the scholarships awarded in 2011 comes to $1,350,000.

The Fulbright Program has made its mark on academic research in Israel as well as on other central fields in the country. Among the program’s most prominent alumni who are also Technion faculty members are:

Prof. Aaron Ciechanover, 2004 Nobel Laureate in Chemistry

Prof. Moshe Sidi, Vice President for Academic Affairs,

Prof. Anat Rafaeli, Deputy Vice President for Resource Development and External Relations at the Technion

Above: Prof. Joel Seligman, Prof. Peretz Lavie and Prof. Robert Clark – signing the agreement. Photograph by: Yoav Bechar, Technion Spokesman

700 scientists and heads of industry from Israel and abroad will inaugurate the Center at a scientific conference at the beginning of June

The Faculty of Electrical Engineering and the Faculty of Computer Science at the Technion have joined forces with leading companies in Israel and abroad to set up the country’s largest center for computer engineering. Technion President Professor Peretz Lavie said that the center will cooperate with industry in Israel and abroad, advance the field of computer engineering in academia and industry in Israel, help bring back to the country researchers and scientists working in this field, draw leading experts from abroad to come and give guest lectures, and attract outstanding students who will continue their graduate studies here.

The Dean of the Faculty of Electrical Engineering, Prof. Adam Schwartz, and the Dean of the Faculty of Computer Science, Prof. Eli Biham, said that this will be a state-of-the-art research center, facilitating cutting edge research in software, hardware and what lies between them, including cloud computing, computer networks and imaging sciences (image processing and computerized vision).

The center will be inaugurated at a large scientific conference that 700 scientists and heads of industry from Israel and abroad will be attending. Among the scientists who will be participating and giving lectures are: Prof. Mark Horowitz, Dean of Electrical Engineering, Stanford University, Yale Patt and Guri Sohi – world recognized scientists at the forefront of the field of computer architecture, Mateo Valero, who transformed Barcelona into a global center for computer architecture, Prof. Mark Snir and Yuanyuan (YY) Zhou, leaders in the field of advanced performance computing, Prof. Guillermo Sapiro, who, thanks to a development by him and his colleagues, enabled the Mars’ pictures to reach earth, and Prof. Stéphane Mallat of the École Polytechnique (designated “the father of modern signal processing”). Invited speakers from industry are: Dadi Perlmutter, Executive Vice President and director of architecture worldwide, Intel, Justin Rattner, CTO, Intel, Pat Gelsinger, President and COO, EMC, and the heads of research in Israel of leading companies such as Microsoft, Amdocs, Sisco, Checkpoint, RAFAEL, Elbit Systems, SAP, HP and Qualcomm.

The conference will be held on June 1-5 at the Technion.

The result of a geometric distortion of a wire composed of coupled nanoantennas

The researchers developed a new optics based on geometric distortion of the space in the nanoscale. They designed an optical nanoantenna and created a system of such antennas linked to each other. Each antenna, 10 nanometers in size, was built using ion focusing. “I was driving in my car, I looked at the antennas on the cars around me and asked myself the question – what would happen if I distorted the antenna?” explains Prof. Erez Hasman of the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering. “We coupled the nanantennas and produced a straight wire of antennas that behave like one antenna. We then bent the antenna and distorted its space so that the wire looked like a twisted snake. We measured the light exiting from the twisted wire and found that by using a twisted wire, we could shape the light flexibly. We demonstrated this in the lab by having the light spin like a top, which could be used as a nanomotor, and to switch the light in a nanoscale.”

In the second stage, each nanoantenna  (nano-rod shape) continued to “run” on the wire, but in its own direction – which enabled the researchers an additional degree of freedom to design a new optics based only on geometric distortion of space and not on the optical differences as in conventional optics, for instance, lenses and prisms. This ability opens up the possibilities for building nanoscale components for information processing, and logic gates that will enable the production of much faster nano-optic chips.

The vision of Prof. Hasman, which appeared in Nature Nanotechnology, described miniature motors, operated only by light, turning DNA and opening it – in order to repair it.

The development was made in the Nanooptics Laboratory at the Technion with the participation of Dr. Vladimir Kleiner and research students, Nir Shitrit, Itay Bretner and Yuri Gorodetski.

Above: A twisted wire composed of optical nanoantennas. In Case A, the antennas have a circular shape – a “pretzel”; and in Case B, the antennas have been shaped into nano-rods, with their direction enabling an additional degree of freedom in controlling the light.

The Technion program for autonomous systems held an unmanned autonomous model design and building competition among undergraduate students. The winners of this competition were Erez Horev of the Faculty of Civil and Environmental Engineering, who developed a magnetic car that floats in the air, and Doron Le’or of the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, who developed a motorized toolbox that follows its owner.

The model constructed by Erez simulates a magnetic toll road for private cars. The car travels both on the road and on magnetic rails (without its wheels touching the ground). “Because of the high speeds that can be reached using this technology, the project can compete not only against existing toll roads but even against domestic air and train travel,” stresses Erez. He worked in the past on Route 6 and then on the Metronit Project (the Haifa light rail system) and it was then that the idea popped into his head. It took him half a year to build the model, having to overcome challenges presented by magnetic fields and magnetic stabilization. He used four vehicles: one works by propulsion and another by attraction. One model was equipped with a controller that switches between travel with or without the use of a magnetic field. Each vehicle had a propeller and a sensor that communicated with a sensor on the road.

 “The vehicle can travel at speeds of 400 k/h while its driver can go to sleep,” says Erez. “It suits long roads without exits. True, the cost of such a road and the vehicle is high, but on the other hand, there is an enormous saving in fuel and especially of human life, given that the chances of having an accident are zero. When the magnetic road ends, the driver engages the wheels and continues driving normally.”

Doron Le’or built a model of toolbox that follows its owner. He had worked in the past as a maintenance man in the Dan kibbutz factory, and lugged his heavy toolbox around for him. This toolbox weighed 100 or more kilos. Le’or made the toolbox that follows its owner electric, with an electro-mechanical sensor. “The model was built according to several guiding principles,” says Doron. “First, we focused on the main technological problem, and avoided as much as possible other knowledge gaps. Second, the integrated propulsion and steering system has implications for the world of cars and had to be studied accordingly. Third – the model had to be built within four days and without going overbudget so a way had to be found to replace the expensive electrical components with less expensive parts that can do the same tasks, as for instance a multi-rotating potentiometer connected to a simple measuring meter that converts the distance a person is from the toolbox into electrical tension as a substitute for an ultrasonic sensor or a solid state relay that works at intervals and propels the motors at varying speeds as a substitute for a current regulator.”

In order to operate the model, Doron together with his friends in the factory, built a metal skeleton on top of which the toolbox was installed. At one end, they installed a pair of distance measurers and underneath it, they attached four wheels. The two front wheels moved independently and were attached to each other by a steering rack. When the maintenance man attaches the distance meter to his belt and activates the instrument, an industrial controller reads the potentiometer tension and activates the motors so that the distance between the toolbox and its operator stays fixed. The difference in speeds between the motors creates the steering and directs the toolbox directly to the maintenance man.

Above: The magnetic car and the toolbox. Photo: Erez Horev and Doron Le’or

Scientists reveal that an ‘electronic nose’ can distinguish between molecules found in the breath of head-and-neck cancer patients and those of healthy people, according to the results of a small, initial study published in the British Journal of Cancer.

Researchers from Technion – Israel Institute of Technology collected breath samples from 82 people from three groups: head-and-neck cancer patients, lung cancer patients and healthy people. The team examined the differences in the molecules present in the exhaled breath of each group using tailor-made detection equipment called the Nano Artificial NOSE (NA-NOSE).

The NA-NOSE was able to distinguish between molecules found in the exhaled breath of head-and-neck cancer patients and healthy volunteers. It also distinguished between lung cancer patients and healthy controls, and, between head-and-neck and lung cancer groups.

Each year in the UK around 8,700 people are diagnosed with head-and-neck cancer. The category comprises different tumour types occurring in the tissues or organs in the head and neck, for example salivary glands and mucus membranes. Head-and-neck cancer is often diagnosed late, because it lacks specific symptoms. Head-and-neckHNC patients often develop a second primary tumour that can affect a patient’s entire respiratory system including lungs.

Lead researcher, Professor Hossam Haick, at the Technion, said: “There is an urgent need to develop new ways to detect head-and-neck cancer. Detection of the disease is complicated, requiring specialist examinations and the disease is often diagnosed late”.

This is the largest graduate housing project in the Technion and one of the largest building projects in Haifa in recent years; 60 apartments are already occupied, with residents paying low rents – starting from 1,400 ₪ per month, including city taxes & cable TV

On the 18^th of March 2009, the philanthropist Shalom Zielony laid the cornerstone for the Graduate Students Village and dedicated the new Student Union Building, which had been completely rebuilt and expanded through his generous gift.

The Graduate Students Village was built on the top slope of the campus, in the southwest section and overlooks the breathtaking vista of Haifa and Haifa Bay. It has many different kinds of apartments, from 2-4 rooms, ranging in size from 60 to 100 sq m. Some apartments look out to the panorama of Haifa Bay and others front onto a grove of trees. The buildings were built using ‘green’ construction methods, with the highest level thermal insulation, and careful planning to ensure that they blended in with the nearby stand of trees. The buildings are inter-connected by a series of bridges and each apartment has a parking space. The head of Technion’s building unit, Dan Ordan, said that in total 22,000 sq m were constructed, and in the near future construction of a large community center will begin. The community center will have four kindergartens and a social hall accommodating 200 people.

The new village has four full equipped playgrounds for children, each one appropriate for a different age. The village buildings are interconnected, as are the playgrounds, through a series of bridges so that the children do not have to walk on the road and cars will only have access through a perimeter road running around the village.

Architect Gabi Schwartz explained that “the project is engaged in a dialogue with its surroundings and nature. We strove to develop only the necessary areas for building the buildings and not to obstruct the view of the residents nearby Ramat Alon,” he emphasized. According to him, by using the bridge system between the buildings, they created a “hanging boardwalk above nature” and enable free movement for the handicapped in a hilly area. The buildings were built in a north-south direction, which saves energy and exploits the regional climate correctly.

 “We put a lot of thought into the issue of community and meeting points,” added Gabi Schwartz. “The community center will also be linked to the buildings by bridges.”

Technion president, Prof. Peretz Lavie, when visiting the site, said that the village was built as part of Technion’s efforts to provide graduate students with high quality of life and enable those among them with families to live on campus in good, low rental apartments. “The new Graduate Students Village constitutes another important part of the basket of incentives the Technion gives its graduate students,” he added. “We see great importance in increasing the number of Master’s and doctoral students, in light of their great contribution to the country’s economy and security, to the Technion and to Israeli academia.”

Students will pay an especially low rent in comparison to prices for rental of apartments in Haifa in general and in the Neve Sha’anan neighborhood and the city of Nesher adjacent to the Technion. For a two-room apartment the rent is 1,400 ₪; for 3 rooms, 1,700 ₪; and for 3.5-4 rooms, 1,900 ₪. The rent includes city taxes, cable TV and maintenance. Every apartment has a storeroom and is furnished with a refrigerator, oven, closets and desk.

The Student Union Building is located in the heart of the campus. It houses the student union offices, restaurants, cafés, a movie theatre, and a music hall and rooms. The renovated Student Union Building also has a multipurpose social hall where open days, job fairs, parties, end of the year celebrations, performances, folkdances and dance classes are held. In the main entrance level foyer there is a multimedia area with a large screen television. A guest hall, situated above the level where the restaurants and cafés are, affords students a quiet area for resting or reading.

The student services area in the Student Union Building includes the offices of the representatives of the tax authorities, social insurance institute, telephony service providers, insurance agents and other service providers.

Shalom Zielony, born in Jerusalem but raised in Haifa, is one of the Technion’s most important donors and a true friend of Technion. After serving in the Hagana and the IDF in the War of Independence, he settled in Canada and developed an advanced machine for processing wood and innovative ways to improve loading of ships making trans-Atlantic trips. After he moved to the U.S., in 1967 Zielony founded P.E.S., a company focused on distribution of scientific literature around the world. It was the first American company to use airmail to transport scientific journals and thus became a key global figure in the distribution of scientific and professional literature and a primary distribution channel for scientific publishers.

Shalom Zielony is dedicated to strengthening the state of Israel through bolstering its scientific and technological resilience. In 2003 he received an honorary doctorate from the Technion for recognizing Technion’s essential role in advancing and strengthening the state of Israel and in gratitude for his great support in promoting the academic abilities of Technion students and staff, and the Technion environment. Shalom Zielony helped the Technion finance the hiring of new faculty members, was among the first donors in the area of nano-technology, set up the Shalom Zielony Plaza in the heart of the campus and the scenic promenade leading out of it, and promotes the welfare of students through the Center for Advancement of Students, which he unstintingly supports. He has now established a new Student Union Building and a unique and beautiful Student Village for all the students he truly loves.

Above: Technion president, Professor Peretz Lavie, visiting the new apartment of Helena Ivanova. Her husband, Mario, is studying for a graduate degree in physics. Photo by: Shlomo Shoham, Technion Spokesman

16 are “serial” overachievers

83 students from the “Atidim” program are on the Dean’s List and the President’s List at the Technion. 16 of these students are “serial” overachievers. The “Atidim” program, begun at the Technion, is intended to advance young talented people from the country’s periphery and help them gain admission to Israeli academia. Many of these outstanding young people are electrical and aeronautical engineering students. 16 of them are on the President’s List.

Since its establishment, the “Atidim” program has amassed more than 1,900 alumni. Today, an additional 1,200 “Atidim” students are studying in academic institutions around the country. More than 900 of these young people are studying engineering, sciences and medicine at the Technion, which has led the program since its inception.

The students who participate in the “Atidim” program are individually mentored, both socially and academically, as well as given financial assistance – their tuition is covered and they receive a lap top and a stipend scholarship. Each student in the program is required to participate in a community aid activity. Today, “Atidim” students constitute 40% of all IDF reserve soldier-students.

Chai Moshe Algavay from Or Akiva is studying mechanical engineering (fourth year) and has been on the Dean’s List four times. His parents are retired but his mother continuesto work as a caregiver. He has seven brothers. He was first accepted to the Technion’s Center for Pre-University Education, and after completing the program successfully, was accepted by the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering.

Chai volunteers in the “Hesagim (Achievements)” Non-profit Association and in the past mentored young students in Or Akiva preparing to take the psychometric test.

Brothers David and Shmuel Keter from Yerucham are also outstanding students. David is on the Dean’s List and Shmuel is on the President’s List. Both brothers are studying in the Faculty of Computer Science. Their life story is completely different than those of other outstanding students. Their father, Lars (today Elkana) was born in Sweden and raised in a Christian home with three brothers and sisters. After he married Ann (today Hannah), he began feeling a closeness to Judaism and started looking into his roots. He checked the libraries and the churches and found that his forefathers had been Jews who converted to Christianity. Because most descendants of the “Anousim” (crypto-Jews) in Sweden arrived via Holland (and to Holland from Spain), Lars decided to go to Spain to study theology. As his studies in Judaism and the Hebrew language progressed, he settled with his family in Toledo. After a number of years he learned that many descendants of “Anousim” like him live in South America. His entire family moved to Guatemala. The Keter brothers were then aged 12-14.

While still in Spain, Lars started a Jewish studies learning group on the Internet and he continues this activity today. He also studied Judaism in the local university and earned a doctorate in theology. The family’s children studied in the American school and today they speak four languages – Swedish, Spanish, English and Hebrew.

In 2006, after undergoing conversion, the family came on aliya. They settled in the agricultural settlement of Te’ashur in the Negev and the children went to the “Eshel Hanasi” school. They barely knew Hebrew but finished their first year in Israel as outstanding students with fluent Hebrew. “One of the girls in my class, who had learned Spanish from the tela novellas, helped me a lot,” smiles David. “We were given private lessons and the school helped us get absorbed quickly,” adds Shmuel. Sara, their younger sister, also integrated into the school well. She recently married a newly religious new immigrant from Spain. They met while studying at Yeshivat HaKotel.

Shmuel, the eldest, wanted to enlist in the army in a combat unit immediately upon graduation but his parents convinced him that he could “contribute more with his head that with his prowess”. He registered at the Beer Sheva College. The principal very quickly saw that his young student was bored. “Go to the Technion,” he told him. The family was already living in Yerucham, where his parents were building an ecological house with their own hands and Shmuel registered for the Center for Pre-University Education, which he completely successfully. Today he is in his third year of computer science and has been on the President’s List three times.

David, his brother, followed him. He also completed the Center for Pre-University Education, is in his second year of computer science and is on the Dean’s List.

Shmuel does not regret abandoning a musical career (he is a gifted violinist) and continues to play in the Technion orchestra. David did not abandon the field of graphics and continues to draw, now on the computer.

“We made a big change in our lives and we are very happy,” they say. “Father grew up in Sweden in the middle of a forest and now he is building a home in the middle of the desert, from blocks and bottles, with energy coming from desert winds. We are continuing in computers, which we love and we hope that we will be able to contribute to the IDF and the state, in this field in which we do so well.”

Above: Shmuel (on the right) and David Keter. Photo by: Yossi Shrem, Technion Spokesman

Professor Yeshayahu (Shay) Lifshitz of the Faculty of Materials Engineering at the Technion is counted among the world’s 100 leading scientists in the last decade in the field of materials, according to the list published by “Thomson Reuters”, which appeared in “The Times” higher education supplement. He is the only Israeli appearing in the list, which surveys the achievements of around a half million researchers in the world in the field of materials.

This list and a second one listing the world’s 100 leading chemists in the last decade were prepared following UNESCO’s desginating 2011 the “International Year of Chemistry”. Scientists whose papers published since 2000 have had the highest impact on the scientific community as reflected in the average number of citations per paper appear in the list. “Thomson Reuters” provides integrated information services to different communities, among which is the academic community. The company examined the citations of papers of about a half million researchers in the field of materials in the last ten years and the one hundred scientists who were selected constitute the top 0.02 percent leading materials researchers.

In the picture: Professor Yeshayahu Lifshitz. Photo by: Technion Spokesman