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Doctoral student Hadas Orgad from the Henry and Marilyn Taub Faculty of Computer Science at the Technion recently received the Apple Scholars in AI/ML PhD fellowship. The fellowship is committed to supporting the academic research community by amplifying emerging leaders in their field and their cutting-edge machine learning research.

Orgad completed her bachelor’s degree (2019) at the Taub Faculty of Computer Science, with summa cum laude honors.  She then pursued a master’s degree in the field of natural language processing, under the supervision of Assistant Professor Yonatan Belinkov. For her work during her master’s degree, Orgad was awarded the Google Scholarship for Women in Computer Science. During her graduate studies, Orgad worked at Microsoft, where she researched artificial intelligence methods for cyber defense. She then proceeded to a direct Ph.D. path as a full-time student.

“Natural language processing systems demonstrate impressive abilities, but they still suffer from various problems, such as failures on out-of-distribution examples and social biases,” said Orgad. “Since these systems are expected to integrate into many aspects of our lives, we would like to understand them better and make sure that they behave in the way we want. My research attempts to provide an answer to these problems by ‘opening the black box’, which is the large neural network: to understand what causes the unwanted behaviors – and correct them accordingly.”

Peleg Zeiff, a 12th-grader from Maccabim-Reut High School took first place in the annual Biotechnology Olympics competition, the finals of which were held at the Technion – Israeli Institute of Technology earlier this month. Peleg explored the potential of using the αvβ3 integrin, a protein uniquely presented on lung cancer cells, as a target for delivering chemotherapy drugs. Cancer patients suffer a multitude of chemotherapy side effects caused by exposure of their whole body to the drugs needed to the cancer cells. Targeted delivery of the drug to the cancer cells would significantly reduce side effects and increase the effectiveness of the treatment.

The annual Biotechnology Olympics competition is held at the Technion for the sixth year running. It is supervised by Prof. Ayelet Fishman and Dr. Omer Yehezkeli of the Faculty of Biotechnology and Food Engineering at the Technion, and by Ms. Judith Deskalo, supervisor of the Biotechnology subject in the Ministry of Education. “This event is made possible thanks to a close collaboration between the schools and the faculty,” said Ms. Deskalo. “This collaboration is a great opportunity for the students who major in Biotechnology. Biotech and foodtech are becoming increasingly important globally. The biotechnology school program gives students hands-on research experience, in addition to theoretical knowledge.”

Prof. Sima Yaron, dean of the Faculty of Biotechnology and Food Engineering, addressed the students: “It is very exciting for me to see the future generation of researchers. You’ve learned to ask questions, develop methods to search for knowledge, and examine your findings. Those skills are a precious jewel you can keep through your life. I hope to see you here again as faculty students, in a few years.”

“I would like to thank the wonderful biotechnology teachers who work relentlessly to engage students in science and technology. I congratulate the finalists for their motivation and dedication. You all did such a wonderful job, it was difficult to choose the winning project,” said Prof. Fishman.

The first stage of the Biotechnology Olympics takes place at the start of the school year, and consists of a written exam. In the second stage, students present their research in the form of posters and are examined and judged by several teachers. Finally, five students advance to present their studies to a panel of judges at the Technion. The winning student is awarded full tuition scholarships for their first year in the Technion.

Peleg Zeiff started by finding out that the αvβ3 integrin appears on lung cancer cells, and does not appear in healthy lung cells. Then, he tested the possibility of using the peptide AFP4, which is known to specifically bind and inhibit the αvβ3. This experiment showed a reduction in cancer cell growth. Finally, he bound a chemotherapy drug to the AFP4. The AFP4 brought the chemotherapy uniquely to the cancer cells, reducing their viability by 80% without harming healthy cells. Peleg dedicated his project to the memory of Zehava Barak, founder of the Biotechnology program in Maccabim-Reut High School.

Eden Sapozhnikov from Eid Madaim School in Lod took second place, with a project about the role of the gene Paladin in breast cancer. Third place went to Yogev Yaakobi from Ort Rabin School in Gan Yavne, for a project about mutations in the α1 anti-trypsin gene. The runner-ups were Ilai Aviv from Ort Lilintal School in Ramla and Noya Raba from Makif D School in Ashkelon.

Prof. Yitzhak Reizel from the Faculty of Biotechnology and Food Engineering spoke to the students about the various applications of epigenetic markers. “Science needs young and motivated people to join the field,” he said. “There’s a lot more to study and discover.”

In honor of International Women’s Day, a photography exhibition titled “Life as a Scientist” opened on Thursday, March 9, at the Technion – Israel Institute of Technology. Created by photographer Gerald Bruneau, the installment includes 40 portraits of inspiring Italian women scientists.

The exhibition was created from the “100 Women Against Stereotypes” database project, which was established with the support of the European Union delegation in Italy, out of a desire to overcome biases and prejudices often associated with the work of women in the fields of science and engineering.

It was opened by Deputy Head of Mission at the Embassy of Italy to Israel Ms. Sarah Eti Castellani, Technion President Professor Uri Sivan, Technion Vice President for Diversity and Inclusion Professor Adi Salzberg, CEO of Bracco Imaging Dr. Fulvio Renoldi Bracco, and Bracco Group President Dr. Diana Bracco, who was unable to come and sent a recorded video greeting instead.

“Women scientists are under-represented in many scientific institutions, mainly in STEM fields,” Prof. Salzberg said at the inauguration. “I believe that increasing the visibility of women in the public space on campus is therefore very meaningful, especially for our students.”

Prof. Sivan made mention of the way the Technion has changed over the past hundred years. “The Technion’s first cohort of students consisted of only one woman and 16 men. We’ve been working to increase the number of women among students and faculty. This year, 48% of our freshmen are women, a record number among technological universities, I believe.”

Ms. Sarah Eti Castellani, speaking on behalf of Ambassador of Italy to Israel, Mr. Sergio Barbanti, quoted Jewish-Italian Nobel laureate Prof. Rita Levi-Montalcini. “Don’t think of yourself – think of others, and what you can do for them. Don’t be afraid of obstacles, but find ways to overcome them.” The women in the photographs, like many other women scientists, continue the path of Rita Levi-Montalcini.

Professor Shulamit Levenberg from the Technion’s Faculty of Biomedical Engineering, who is creating tissue for transplantation through bioprinting, spoke about her research.

Dr. Fulvio Renoldi Bracco, CEO of Bracco Imaging, said “Women make a big contribution to science, but their contribution is rarely recognized. This exhibition seeks to change that. We need the women scientists. With the challenges humanity faces, no talent should be overlooked and wasted.”

Dr. Diana Bracco’s message was “With this exhibition, the Bracco Foundation pays tribute to Italian women engaged in science at very high levels. Through these images, the foundation portrays their ingenuity, enthusiasm and commitment and hopes to overcome the prejudice and discrimination often associated with the work of women in science.”

The Foundation noted that despite the many experienced and professional women who make up a considerable part of the planet and who can provide a new media language for science, it is almost always men who explain and interpret the world.

The initial project morphed into a book where female scientists talked about themselves and their private and professional lives, extensively or through short snappy tweets. Over time, this platform has grown, particularly by its expansion to include female economists and financial experts, which are areas where women are very underrepresented.

The exhibition not only provides a venue for the voices of these strong women, but it also lets the viewer associate a face to a name. Gerald Bruneau’s photos allow these women to “step out in the open” and reveal their dedication and determination in pursuit of their endeavors.

The exhibition was conceived by the Italian Bracco Foundation and brought to the Technion in a joint effort by the Italian Embassy to Israel, the Technion, and the Italian Technion Society.

The exhibition was translated into Hebrew, Arabic, and English. It was placed in the Erna Finci Viterbi Lawn, between the Central Library, the Students’ House, and the Senate administrative building, where it would be visible to students, faculty, and staff, and where it will remain until the end of June 2023. The consultant for the placement of the exhibition at the Technion was curator Valeria Geselev and the designers were Hagar Messer and Ofri Fortis. The printing and installation were done by Lederman Ltd.

“Public spaces can shape cultural perceptions,” Ms. Geselev said. “This exhibition is a beautiful gift that helps us consider how women can be made more present in the public space, in particular in the context of science, technology and research.”

A research team from the Technion-Israel Institute of Technology that included three women and one man, recently returned from a research trip in the Pacific Ocean. The team was led by Prof. Debbie Lindell from the Faculty of Biology and included Dr. Laure Arsenieff, a postdoctoral student from France; Camelia Shopen-Gochev, an Israeli doctoral student; and Dr. Sigitas Šulčius, a research associate from Lithuania.

The expedition left San Diego, California, on January 22, sailed to and crossed the equator before heading back north to end the journey in Honolulu on February 18. According to Prof. Lindell, “This was a very special journey in the context of women in science, as 19 out of 34 research team members, including all the principal researchers on board, were women. This is very rare in the world of oceanography, and I hope it will inspire young women who aspire to enter this field.”

In addition to Prof. Lindell’s group, the expedition included groups from the University of Washington, the University of Oregon, the University of Hawaii, the University of Southern California and the Dalhousie University in Halifax, Nova Scotia. The aim of the expedition was to study the biological mechanisms that dictate the structures of different biological populations at different latitudes and under different environmental conditions. The Technion team focused on the role of viruses in those places and conditions.

The journey was made on board the research ship Thomas G. Thompson, built in 1990 and belonging to the research unit of the US Office of Naval Research. The 84-meters-long ship is named after American chemist and oceanographer Thomas Gordon Thompson, who dedicated his life to the study of the chemistry of seawater. It is suitable for journeys of up to 35,000 kilometers, can accommodate 59 people and is equipped with advanced systems for sensing, collecting water and taking a diverse set of measurements. The voyage was financed by the Simons Foundation, which also supports the research group from the Technion, as well as by the groups from the other universities.

Photo credits: Frank Xavier Ferrer Gonzalez, the University of Washington

“My goal is to build novel imaging tools that can visualize the complex biology of inflammation,” says Assistant Professor Katrien Vandoorne, head of the In-Vivo Multimodality Imaging Lab. “Using non-invasive tests to understand the pathological changes that occur in cardiovascular disease and cancer development may give rise to new diagnostic and therapeutic approaches”.

Prof. Vandoorne studied Veterinary Medicine at the University of Ghent (Belgium), and completed her doctoral research at the Weizmann Institute of Science. She was a research fellow at Harvard Medical School, and an assistant professor at the Eindhoven University of Technology (The Netherlands). She joined the Technion Faculty of Biomedical Engineering in 2020, and heads a lab that combines biology, medicine, engineering, and image processing tools.

Recently Prof. Vandoorne’s lab has received a novel PET/SPECT/CT/OI scanner, the first of its kind in Israel. This new instrument, which combines PET, single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT), CT, and optical imaging (OI) like fluorescence and bioluminescence all in one, will significantly advance her unique research.

Plants convert light into a form of energy that they can use – a molecule called adenosine triphosphate (ATP) – through photosynthesis. This is a complex process that also produces sugar, which the plant can use for energy later, and oxygen. Some bacteria that live in the light-exposed layers of water sources can also convert light to ATP, but the process they use is simpler and less efficient than photosynthesis. Nonetheless, Technion – Israel Institute of Technology researchers now find this process isn’t as straightforward and limited as was previously thought.

Rhodopsins are the light-driven proton pumps that bacteria employ to produce ATP. Whereas photosynthesis is a process that involves multiple stages and proteins, the rhodopsin performs everything itself. It is not more efficient, but rather it is like the difference between a medieval workshop and a modern factory. The rhodopsins are activated by a molecule called “retinal,” which absorbs light. Specifically, in these proteins retinal absorbs green light. A different molecule, a carotenoid “antenna,” can enable it to also absorb blue light as well, increasing the amount of energy the rhodopsin can produce.

However, these antennae have so far been found only in two rare bacteria species, whereas half the bacteria living in ocean and lake surfaces contains a rhodopsin gene.

To graduate student Ariel Chazan, working under the supervision of Professor Oded Béjà from the Technion Faculty of Biology, this seemed strange. Being able to absorb light in the blue range is advantageous, as blue light penetrates deeper into the water. And carotenoids are widely available in nature. Could it be that a helpful tool would be lying around, and no bacteria would pick it up? Mr. Chazan hypothesized that rather, the antennae used by many bacteria have not yet been discovered. And he set out to find them.

How do you find a molecule without knowing what exactly you’re looking for? Mr. Chazan went fishing. He collected water from Lake Kinneret, and isolated known rhodopsin proton-pumps. Then he used them as bait to fish for potential antennae in the same water. Molecules that got attached to the rhodopsins and increased their energy output under blue light were the ones he was looking for. He found many. Many variants of molecules that scientists had not been familiar with in the context of rhodopsins, and that microbes were apparently using to generate more energy from the light they were exposed to.

It is one thing for something to occur in Lake Kinneret. But if the same thing occurs in oceans all across the world, that’s groundbreaking. Mr. Chazan proceeded therefore to perform the same experiments on ocean water. He was also working to prove something else as well: that the molecules he found were effective rhodopsin-antennae not only in a test tube, but also inside the living cells. All experiments proved positive.

“This is new knowledge about the primary producers on earth – the organisms that produce energy available to living things from inorganic energy sources. Other organisms eat those, and so use the energy that’s already in the system. So, we found out that more energy is entering the food chain than was previously known,” Mr. Chazan said, explaining the importance of his discovery. The scientific community is in agreement that this study has far-reaching implications, and it was recently published in Nature.

The work was performed by an international team, including groups from Japan, Spain and Israel. The “fishing” methodology Mr. Chazan used is an old one, almost an outdated one. “People were a little skeptical when I proposed it,” he said. “But I like applying existing techniques in ways they weren’t used before. We shouldn’t forget old tools just because there’s something newer and shinier in our toolbox. Going out into the field, seeing what nature gives us, takes more effort than ordering clean industrially produced kits and doing everything in the lab. But those sterile kits are farther away from the nature we wish to study, and things get lost in the transition.”

For the full article in Nature click here.

Dr. Areej Mawasi of the Technion’s Faculty of Education in Science and Technology studies the science of learning and designs innovative learning environments. Dr. Mawasi graduated from the Orthodox Arab High School in Haifa. She was first exposed to teaching in an educational village that introduced children to environmental education through activities in nature, contact with the land and the environment, and learning about the seasons of the year.

“My experience there taught me a great deal about the connection between learning and the community on the one hand, and students, teachers, and parents on the other,” said Dr. Mawasi. “It sparked my interest in education and the question of how people learn.”

Dr. Mawasi completed her academic studies at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, receiving a bachelor’s degree in Business Administration and Education, and at Arizona State University, where she earned both a master’s degree in Educational Technology and a Ph.D. in Learning, Literacies, and Technologies. She attended Arizona State University as a Fulbright Scholar and was affiliated with the Center for Science and the Imagination, which promotes innovation and thinking about the future and collective imagination through interdisciplinary applied research that connects literature, art, science, and engineering, and works with diverse communities. 

As part of her post-doctoral research at the University of Colorado at Boulder, Dr. Mawasi was a Research Associate at iSAT (NSF National AI Institute for Student-AI Teaming) – an institute that develops artificial intelligence technologies for education by transforming classrooms into shared, collaborative learning environments that support learners-teachers interactions. Her research has been focused on designing, developing, and implementing learning materials for artificial intelligence literacies, especially sociocultural and ethical dimensions such as bias, equity, diverse perceptions, and fairness in design. 

In October 2022, Dr. Mawasi joined the Technion’s Faculty of Education in Science and Technology. Her research group focuses on learning processes through a social-cultural lens, designing learning environments and interactions, and developing participatory design-based research methods with learners and educators.

Dr. Mawasi concentrates on research that combines the science of learning with the design of interactive learning environments, as well as digital technologies and media. Examples from her work include examining collaborative design processes as a space for  AI learning (within NSF2019805), learners interactions and  self-determination in transdisciplinary informal science environments, designing and implementation of collaborative learning educational technology (within NSF1736103), and using narrative-based learning and transmedia for developing ethics and responsible innovation in science and technology (within NSF1516684). 

In addition, Dr. Mawasi’s research projects analyze social and cultural aspects of learning processes and student engagement. She has authored articles that were published in various education journals, such as the Journal of Science Education and Technology, the British Journal of Educational Technology, and the Journal of Moral Education. One of her most recent articles is related to the development of ethical thinking through the concept of “responsibility in research and innovation” by using activities in a museum. The experience in the museum is based on the novel Frankenstein by Mary Shelley, which describes a pretentious inventor who chose scientific innovation over ethical considerations and social responsibility. In an article published on November 25, 2022, Dr. Mawasi and her colleagues explain that “responsibility in research and innovation” entails thinking about the consequences of discoveries in the world of Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM). The article presents a framework for hands-on learning in a museum.  

Dr. Mawasi has many hobbies, including writing, photography, and calligraphy. “Some of these hobbies have also played a role in my research,” she said. “Thinking through art taught me to recognize sets of interactions in learning processes and to also view these processes as works of artistic compositions. For example, who students speak with, how students’ behavior is reflected in movements in the learning space and with objects, where they look, and how these behaviors teach us about the forces and dynamics of interactions in the learning environment.”

As part of a research project during which she collaborated with the NGO Alrowad for Science and Technology, Dr. Mawasi conducted a micro-analysis through which she emphasized that every second and minute can teach us something new about the behavior of learners in a learning environment. For example, the learner approached the teacher in order to stabilize the object he glued. The teachers in the background encouraged him to put the object on the table and wait until the glue dries. The student put the object he built back on the table. Afterwards, he tried to stabilize the pieces himself and checked if the two pieces were balanced. 

“These instances have a past and a future in this learning environment,” explained Dr. Mawasi. “The connection that developed with the teachers provided various opportunities for the students to seek help but also to gain experience by themselves. This learner’s case is special, since several times he had trouble building his object, but he also received help from other students next to him. These types of examples encourage researchers and educators to think about a variety of interactions in learning environments and how educational designs can contribute (or not) to their development in a fair manner.”

Professor Tali Tal, dean of the Faculty of Education in Science and Technology, added that, “researching issues of diversity and exclusion are especially important today since the Arab society accounts for one-fifth of the population of Israel and many teachers from Arab society study and attend seminars at the Technion. Dr. Mawasi’s focus on social-cultural diversity and equity will add an important layer to the Faculty’s research and teaching work.”

Twenty-nine-year-old Daniella Bar-Lev was drawn to mathematics in high school where she studied in a class for gifted teens, while at the same time taking courses at the Open University. “In these courses, I was exposed to mathematics beyond the calculus that you study in high school, and I realized that this is the field I would like to pursue,” Daniela explained. “When I enrolled at the Technion, the well-known warning that ‘you can’t do anything with a mathematics degree’ echoed in my head, so I enrolled in both mathematics and computer science, in order to get a taste of both fields and choose the one I liked best. I came to realize that I loved the connection between the two, and completed a double degree.”

Daniella was raised in Ashdod, where she continues to live today with her partner. Her parents immigrated from the Soviet Union in the 1970s. Her mother worked for many years in the finance department at the Wolfson Medical Center in Holon and her – father at the Ackerstein brick factory in Ashdod. “Neither of them is a computer person, the love for the field is something I developed on my own,” Daniella recalled.  The choice to pursue higher education wasn’t trivial either. “There are no universities in Ashdod, so academia doesn’t have a presence in one’s daily experience. Nonetheless, here I am, after my bachelor’s and master’s degrees and in the middle of my doctoral studies.”

She completed her bachelor’s degree with commendable honors as part of “LAPIDIM” – the Faculty of Computer Science’s excellence program, designed to train future leaders in the hi-tech industry. Towards the end of her degree, Daniella started working as a teaching assistant at the Henry and Marilyn Taub Faculty of Computer Science. Among other things, she tutored her younger sister, also a student at the faculty.

It was already clear to her then that she wanted to earn a master’s degree, but the search for an advisor was not bearing fruit.  Eventually, she began to look for advisors at other universities. However, a meeting with Prof. Shaul Markovitch, who was the faculty vice dean for undergraduate studies at the time, changed her course.

“He strongly suggested that I speak with Prof. Eitan Yaakobi from the computer science department before making any decisions. I met with Prof. Yaakobi, and he explained his research to me. Shortly after, we continued to a meeting with Prof. Tuvi Etzion, who was Eitan’s advisor for his master’s degree. It was love at first sight, both personally and academically, and I was thrilled when they agreed to be joint supervisors for my master’s degree. The very next day, I began working on my research proposal,” said Daniela.

Daniella’s graduate research, which later evolved into her doctoral thesis, delves into various aspects of DNA storage. This field, which has been developing rapidly in the last decade, explores the potential of using biological material, rather than traditional electronic devices, as a means of information storage. This approach offers several benefits, including the significant miniaturization of storage systems, long-term storage of information 1,000 times longer than in current solutions, and a substantial reduction in both energy and economic costs.

The DNA molecule is composed of four nucleotides, which are organic building blocks denoted by the letters A, C, G, and T. Unlike the binary language of zeros and ones used in current technologies, DNA storage relies on sequences of these four letters to encode information.

To write (that is, to store) the information with this technology, synthesis is required. This is the process of creating the DNA molecules that represent the sequence, and to read the information, sequencing of those molecules is required.

The process of reading information stored in DNA is a complex one, and writing it is even more so. During these processes, errors of various types can occur. These are the main focus of Daniella’s research. “Errors in DNA storage differ significantly from those in typical hardware, which impact the encoding and decoding process as well as the process of retrieving the stored information. This requires the use of mathematical tools, so familiarity with math is required here, a field that I very much enjoy and can contribute to,” Daniella explained.

She emphasizes another aspect that brings her satisfaction in her research work – the knowledge that it can have a significant impact. “When I started my master’s degree, it was considered a promising field. Today, it is already clear to me that this is a field that will change the future. Electronic storage is reaching its limits of capacity in all aspects – physical space, costs, energy, and the environmental impact – and a dramatic alternative is needed, not just minor improvements. I have no doubt that DNA storage is an excellent option, but more work is needed before it can become widely available. Unlike conventional memory, where we know the specific address that we need to access in the hardware, working with DNA is entirely different. It is like a ‘soup’ of molecules. Therefore, I hope that our contribution in the field of error correction will be apparent soon on the applied level as well.”

Her decision to pursue a Ph.D. after completing her master’s degree was solidified during the COVID-19 pandemic. “It was a time of remote work and introspection, and I discussed the idea with Eitan. The smile on his face confirmed that I was on the right track, and more importantly, that I’m good at what I do. This recognition is invaluable because we often struggle to accurately assess ourselves, especially during periods of isolation when we are working from home and spend most of our time alone.”

Daniella’s performance in her master’s thesis paved the way for her acceptance into a direct path towards a doctorate, which she now sees as just the beginning of her academic journey. “I have a passion for both research and teaching, and in my Ph.D. I work closely with graduate students. The academic world is one that I knew very little about until I arrived at the Technion, but it has become clear that this is where I belong. In addition to my academic work, it is also important to me to introduce children and teenagers to this world. I volunteer in elementary schools where I present what I do and what the academic track is like. Through this, I address the common fears among young girls and work to break down gender biases surrounding academia and higher education. I hope that my efforts have a significant impact.”

Throughout her academic journey, Daniella has received numerous scholarships and awards, including the Gutwirth Excellence Scholarship, Faculty Excellence Scholarship, Faculty Persistent Excellent Teaching Assistant Award, the Best Paper Award at a conference, and the Student Research Prize for Cross-PI Collaboration in Data Science. “Daniella is the best student I have ever had,” declares Prof. Yaakobi. “Not only does she help me supervise graduate students, but she also leads my research group while guiding and assisting many students. I’m certain she will become a faculty member and I hope it will be at the Technion.”

Researchers at the Technion – Israel Institute of Technology have developed devices that connect electronics with biology and are suitable for monitoring various ions in a solution, sensing in biological systems, and other applications.

The research was headed by doctoral student Eyal Stein and Professor Gitti Frey from the Technion’s Faculty of Materials Science and Engineering along with colleagues from the Wolfson Faculty of Chemical Engineering at the Technion, the University of Oxford in the U.K., and the King Abdullah University of Science and Technology in Saudi Arabia. The article was published in Nature Communications.

In this study, Technion scientists established a toolbox for creating organic electrochemical transistors (OECTs), which are used in a wide variety of applications including those that require adapting to bio-compatible tissue. These components translate ionic signals in an aqueous solution to electric signals, and as such they are particularly well suited for applications involving the interface between biology and electronics. “The device is based on the coupling of ions from a physiological solution with charges in the transistor’s semiconductor channel, and therefore the biological single, expressed by the ions, is translated and amplified into detectable electronic signals. This translation between biological and electric signals is vital for developing innovative medical devices,” explained Prof. Frey.

The novelty of the research lies in the creation of an ambipolar device – one that is able to translate both negative and positive ionic signals by blending two organic semiconductors that have opposite polarities (a polythiophene and a fullerene derivative). This combination ensures that the device has a great deal of versatility and enhanced capabilities compared to existing materials. The study showed that both components are active from an optical, electrochemical, and electric perspective, and at the same time do not disturb each other’s performance. The uniformity of the active layer and the electric stability are a result of the layer’s tailored structure and morphology at a nanometric level.

The new technology is likely to accelerate the development and creation of integrated circuits based on ambipolar OECTs for biological applications. The researchers predict this current achievement will pave the way for designing and creating a new generation of bioelectronics that will be compact, flexible, and simple to produce. This technology can be utilized, for example, for the immediate diagnosis of various physiological conditions, brain activity, and other uses based on changes in the body’s liquids and soft tissue.

For the full paper: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-022-33264-2

The research was supported by the European Union (Horizon 2020 grant)

An experimental achievement by researchers at the Technion – Israel Institute of Technology in the field of quantum condensation may accelerate research in quantum information processing and developments in security, biological sensing, wireless communication, and more. Published recently in Optica, the research was led by doctoral student Nadav Landau and Professor Alex Hayat from the Andrew and Erna Viterbi Faculty of Electrical and Computer Engineering at the Technion and conducted in collaboration with colleagues in Germany.

Quantum condensation is a physical phenomenon in which a large number of matter particles maintain coherence over time and space – a very important feature for many of the quantum technologies being developed today. Optically excited quantum condensation has been achieved so far only through one-photon absorption – a process in which one photon excites a matter particle to a higher energy state, where condensation then occurs.

Two-photon absorption, on the other hand, is a process where two photons are simultaneously absorbed to excite a matter particle, bringing about many scientific and technological advantages. Among other things, it is essential for long-term quantum memory applications. The states of matter that can be reached in such a process are characterized by very low emission of light, and in this context are thus called “dark states.”

To observe two-photon absorption leading to condensation, unique experimental conditions that have not been achieved so far due to complex technological and scientific challenges are necessary. Extremely high-power lasers and ultra-short pulses in time are needed to avoid heating. The Technion researchers overcame these challenges, and in the article they present quantum condensation from a two-photon absorption process in a semiconductor chip. This achievement paves the way for new, practically-realizable quantum technologies by coupling “dark states” to quantum condensates on a solid-state platform.

One of the promising applications of this breakthrough is the realization of very efficient laser sources in the terahertz (THz) range of electromagnetic radiation. Such sources are vital for many applications in fields such as biological sensing, security, materials science, and communication, but finding them has been a notoriously difficult challenge for many years due to fundamental physical reasons.

The result the researchers observed can, in principle, enable the achievement of orders-of-magnitude increased THz emission through a process of doubly stimulated emission.

The research was supported by the Israel Science Foundation (ISF).

To read the full paper, click here

 

In Israel, the sea almost literally flows into our taps. We Israelis pride ourselves on the achievements of our country in the field of desalination, with 5 desalination plants spread across the Israeli shores of the Mediterranean, which produce drinking water equivalent to about 75% of the national domestic water consumption, and more facilities to be built in the coming years.

A perfect solution for a desert country? Perhaps, yet everything comes at a cost: to make seawater or brackish water drinkable, the desalination plants in Israel consume a lot of electricity. A new invention, recently presented at the 5^th biannual student conference of the Stephen and Nancy Grand Water Research Institute (GWRI), tries to solve this energy problem, and might even create a revolution in the availability of desalinated water worldwide. This invention by the Technion researchers consists of a unique wind turbine that does not require any electricity for it to run, and is inexpensive and easy to use and maintain.

Enter the vertical axis wind turbine

The electric energy consumed today by desalination processes stands at about 3.5 kilowatt-hours (kWh) for each cubic meter of water. For the sake of illustration, approximately 4 percent of all electric energy produced in Israel in 2015 was used for desalination. In addition to the high environmental costs of such vast energy consumption – energy which is produced in Israel mainly by burning fossil fuels – the need for so much electricity keeps the technology of desalinating and purifying water beyond the reach of over a billion people around the world who have no access to clean drinking water.

At the core of the new invention lies a turbine not known by many – the vertical axis wind turbine (VAWT). This turbine rotates around an upright axis (to visualize the movement of the turbine blades, imagine a giant egg-beater), unlike the more familiar wind turbines, whose axis is horizontal. Despite the prevalence of horizontal axis turbines, highly efficient VAWT blade configurations have been developed in the Technion’s Flow Control Laboratory, headed by Professor David Greenblatt. “The tip of the blade of a ‘normal’ wind turbine spins about 7 times faster than the wind that moves it, while our blades spin at about the same speed as the wind – that is, up to 7 times slower than traditional wind turbines,” explains Dr. David Keisar of the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering at the Technion, who conducted the research – guided by Prof. Greenblatt – as part of his doctoral thesis in the Grand Technion Energy Program (GTEP). “Our vertical axis turbines operate well even at low wind speeds, and they are very efficient in producing energy, considering their size and rotational speed.” According to Keisar, the fact that the vertical axis turbines spin slowly makes them much quieter than the horizontal axis ones, as well as safer for birds – who can see their blades and don’t fly into them.

Keisar says that another benefit of using VAWTs is in the fact that the blades that spin are connected to a shaft spanning the whole height of the turbine – this way, any device that uses the rotational speed of the turbine – be it an electric generator or any other device – can be placed close to the ground, and not at the top of the turbine, as the horizontal axis turbines require. This fact simplifies their installation, as well as their regular operation and maintenance. Another important advantage of VAWTs is that they can spin no matter the direction of the wind blowing at them, as opposed to horizontal axis turbines which run optimally only when they face the direction of the wind (or against the wind, according to their design).

Turbines for small-scale systems

Mentioning all of these advantages begs the question: why don’t we always use vertical axis turbines instead of the well-known horizontal axis ones? “Horizontal axis turbines are still better at generating high-power electricity, and economically they are the most efficient ones at large scales,” explains Keisar. Additionally, he says, the axis and the bearings (parts that reduce friction while spinning) of VAWTs tend to fall apart and break faster than their horizontal axis counterparts.

“However, this problem rises mainly when the vertical axis turbines are large,” Keisar reassures. “When small, they work well and are far more robust.” Therefore, in small systems that are meant to be used in distant places by non-professionals, the advantages of vertical axis turbines – being able to run at a low-speed wind, no matter which direction it blows, as well as their ease of installation and maintenance – make them a better solution than the horizontal axis ones.

On the drawing board

The goal of the research headed by Prof. Greenblatt was to develop a small and simple desalination system powered directly by wind energy. The researchers focused on desalinating brackish water, with a concentration of salts of up to 1% (for reference, the salt concentration in seawater is more than 3%). “We realized that the axis of VAWT can be connected mechanically and directly to a water pump on the ground (without the need to generate electricity to run the pump) which starts the desalination process,” recalls Keisar. That is, in such a setup, the axis that the turbine blades spin around is connected directly to an axis in the water pump. As a first step, the researchers connected a water pump to a VAWT in a wind tunnel (a large channel with a fan in one end that can blow wind at a controlled speed). The pump pressurizes brackish water through a reverse osmosis desalination system – the main kind of system for desalination nowadays, both in Israel and around the world. Reverse osmosis involves using high pressure to drive seawater or brackish water through a partially permeable membrane: water is allowed to flow through it freely, but about 99% of the salts are blocked. After passing through the membrane, water is drinkable and almost completely free of salts.

“We managed to create a system that converts around 12-17% of the input wind energy directly into hydraulic force, for almost any wind speed and an especially wide range of salinity,” says Keisar. “It is as efficient, if not more so, as generating electricity from wind energy and then converting it to hydraulic energy using an electric pump. For example, when wind speed is at 5 meters per second, which is its average speed at Haifa, where our lab is located, the system is capable of producing between 500 and 1000 liters of desalinated water and removing approximately 93-98.5% of the salts (depending on the salinity and pressure of the water).” It is admittedly a very modest amount of water, but consider the fact that the experiment used only a small demonstration system; for a follow-up experiment, the researchers plan to build a bigger system and test it in the Negev or the Arava, for simulation of how it would function in remote places, where such a system could be used to produce fresh drinking water for communities in need.

Good news for the thirsty

This simple system developed by the researchers might be revolutionary at a global scale for its possible use by energy-poor communities with no access to clean fresh water. According to the UN, there are about 1.2 billion people today in such communities, and according to current predictions, this number should grow to about 1.6 billion people by 2030. “Actually, the system we’ve developed works entirely without electricity – none needs to be generated or to be drawn from an external source such as an electric grid or any energy storage system,” says Keisar. “The system is small and relatively cheap because it requires no electronic components. Being mechanical, it is also much easier to maintain and to repair when needed, and it can be set up and taken care of even by people who weren’t extensively trained for that purpose.

The researchers are presently patenting their system, and aiming to commercialize it. The first systems to supply fresh water to communities in need should be up and running in a few years, they hope. According to Keisar, desalination is not the only purpose these systems could serve: “they can also be used for the improvement of drinking water quality in general, as they can be connected to machines able to clean many kinds of pollution from water, thereby purifying it,” he says. “The idea is to develop different systems which combine vertical axis wind turbines with water treatment machines, all simple, inexpensive, and easy to manage.”

This article was prepared by ZAVIT – The News Agency of the Israeli Society of Ecology and Environmental Sciences

Johnathan Sher, Zavit

At the beginning of February, the Technion hosted the kickoff meeting for LUCIA, an international project and consortium supported by the Horizon Europe Program and headed by coordinator Prof. Hossam Haick of the Wolfson Faculty of Chemical Engineering. The two-day event was attended by sixty experts from Israel and several EU countries.

The consortium’s goal is to improve the early detection and management of lung cancer by in depth study of risk factors from exposure to individual biology, in order to improve prevention strategies, provide policy recommendations, help implement screening programs, improve diagnosis and enable precision medicine approaches.

Every thirty seconds, someone, somewhere in the world, dies of lung cancer, making this disease the deadliest in terms of the number of lives it claims. The average 5-year survival rate is presently 17% for men and 24% for women. Although smoking is considered a significant risk factor for this disease, lung cancer often also occurs among nonsmokers. Accordingly, the consortium will work on identifying all risk factors and on developing new methods for the diagnosis, prevention, and treatment of the disease.

“The LUCIA Project is being launched at the right time, with the right partners,” said Prof. Haick at the opening of the conference. Indeed, the project starts when recent early detection and screening recommendations have been proposed in the EU, Israel and other countries. “We are fortunate to have many skilled, outstanding partners from a variety of fields, and we will be working together for the next four years, applying a multidisciplinary approach, to further the understanding of the disease and develop methods to prevent, diagnose and treat it more effectively. Our work will not focus exclusively on the medical aspects of lung cancer; rather, we will be assisted by experts on law and ethics and by decision makers to put our findings into effect for the benefit of society as a whole.”

The establishment of the consortium, headed by the Technion, was funded by the EU’s research and innovation program, Horizon Europe, which supports international collaborations expected to deliver practical technological solutions to modern-day challenges, and was awarded 14.6 million euros. LUCIA is part of the new Mission of Cancer within Horizon Europe, a key research and innovation instrument within Europe’s Beating Cancer Plan to understand the complexity of cancer through multidisciplinary collaboration in disciplines such as medicine, bioengineering, biology or computer science together with key legal, ethical and social aspects. LUCIA is part of two Clusters within the EU Cancer program, ‘Understanding’ and ‘Prevention’.

LUCIA Consortium has 22 members – academic institutions and other entities – all working together to map risk factors for lung cancer while focusing on three aspects: individual risk factors, including lifestyle and exposure to pollutants; external factors, including urban or built-up areas, traffic, climate and socio-economic aspects; and biological reactions, including aging and genetic, epigenetic and metabolic changes. To this end, LUCIA’s experts are working on gaining an understanding of the molecular mechanism of the disease, the identification and analysis of relevant data repositories, and other areas.

The Technion’s Executive Vice President for Research, Prof. Jacob (Koby) Rubinstein, commented: “Today, we understand that basic research isn’t enough; academia must keep in close touch with the field – industry, hospitals, and all other relevant bodies. When this relationship isn’t there, implementing basic research conducted in the academic world for the

good of mankind is very difficult. I say this from personal experience – it took 12 years for my development in optics to become a reality. Today, the Technion works based on a clear strategy that calls for bridging the gap between academia and industry, and the rewards are already evident – the Technion is the leading university in Israel in terms of the number of startups it has engendered. Your consortium well reflects this spirit, so I ask you – don’t stop until your research is implemented, meaning – until you have translated your findings into products and methods that will save the lives of lung cancer patients.”

As mentioned, the consortium is headed by coordinator Prof. Haick and the members of his research group: Dr. Yoav Broza (project manager), Liat Tzuri (administrative manager), and laboratory manager, Walaa Saliba. Prof. Yuval Shaked of the Ruth and Bruce Rappaport Faculty of Medicine is a partner in the consortium and is researching the mechanisms of lung cancer to support early diagnosis.