To recap the events, award ceremonies, and inaugurations of our June 2022 Board of Governors meeting, we issued a special edition of our English newsletter, “Technion LIVE.”
After more than two years of disruptive pandemic, we were delighted to host our board of governors meeting on campus. Entitled “Science & Innovation for a Sustainable Future,” the weeklong event featured an exclusive tech summit, kickoff of the Technion’s centennial celebrations, meetings with students and faculty, as well as off-campus tours.
Technion-Israel Institute of Technology, Rambam Health Care Campus, and philanthropists Andi and Larry Wolfe announced the establishment of the Wolfe Center for Translational Medicine and Engineering on Sunday, June 12. The Center will combine engineering and medicine to promote new technologies for the benefit of human health.
The Wolfe Center will bring the partnership between Rambam and the Technion to new heights and serve as a platform for extensive and in-depth clinical applied research. The Center will foster collaboration between physicians, scientists, and engineers. The interdisciplinary teams will work together on real problems from bench to bedside, translate research insights into innovative therapeutic tools and train the next generation of doctors and engineers to work together in a joint effort to improve the lives of millions of people worldwide. The technologies that will be developed within the framework of the Center will be designed to address unmet clinical needs. These innovations will be examined in the clinic and laboratories and rapidly implemented in the field as part of an overall concept of bringing scientific and technological developments closer to the patient.
The Wolfe Center for Translational Medicine and Engineering will be established in the Helmsley Health Discovery Tower, which is located within the Rambam campus and adjacent to the Technion’s Ruth and Bruce Rappaport Faculty of Medicine. The Tower is the first joint project of its kind between Rambam, academia, and the biomedical high-tech industry. The Tower will also include centers of excellence and clinical institutes such as the Leir Foundation Clinical Research Institute at Rambam and the Uzia Galil Innovation Center. It will also feature several floors for start-up companies, as well as an exhibition hall and visitor center.
(L-R): Larry Wolfe, Prof. Miki Halberthal, Andi Wolfe, Prof. Rafi Beyar, Prof. Uri Sivan, Dr. Esty Golan
Andi and Larry Wolfe are involved in supporting the Michigan-Israel Partnership for Research and Education, in which the Technion plays a central role. Over the last decade, the D. Dan and Betty Kahn Foundation (named for Andi’s parents and of which Larry is the President) have supported many vital initiatives at Rambam and the Technion, including the D. Dan and Betty Kahn Foundation Pediatric Pulmonary Institute, the D. Dan and Betty Kahn Foundation Center for Interventional Cardiology, and the D. Dan and Betty Kahn Foundation Mechanical School of Engineering. Larry Wolfe has been a member of the American Friends of Rambam Board of Directors for many years. Andi is a member of the Technion Board of Governors and on the National Board of Directors of the American Technion Society (ATS). Both Andi and Larry have also been involved in many other projects in Israel and in the State of Michigan.
“We are very proud and excited to be part of this transformational and collaborative research and innovation initiative between Rambam Health Care and the Technion,” Andi and Larry Wolfe said. “Our gift allows us to continue the legacy, vision and philanthropy of D. Dan and Betty Kahn in Israel.”
Technion President Professor Uri Sivan said, “Human health is one of the greatest challenges facing humanity in the 21st century and coping with this challenge requires a combination of capabilities from different worlds of content, from the patient’s bed and the doctors around it, to scientists and engineers from a variety of disciplines. Today, the Technion is creating a revolution aimed at connecting all those disciplines to deal with major challenges in human health, and the Wolfe Center will express the combination of the capabilities of one of Israel’s leading hospitals with a world-renowned scientific-technological university. We are grateful to Andi and Larry Wolfe for a long-standing partnership and for their contribution to enabling the establishment of the Center.”
General Director of Rambam Health Care Campus General Professor Miki Halberthal said, “Research and innovation are critical components in the success of the healthcare system in the 21st century. The tremendous contribution of the Wolfe family will enable us to increase our capabilities. Research is now a necessity for keeping Israeli doctors relevant in a competitive and constantly evolving field. The new center will allow us to convince doctors who are engaged in the difficult, demanding clinical field to continue to work in a large medical center, by providing opportunities for advanced research.”
The Technion is one of the few technological academic institutions in the world in which the Faculty of Medicine operates in conjunction with engineering and scientific faculties. The Ruth and Bruce Rappaport Faculty of Medicine was founded in 1969 with the vision and understanding that the future of medicine lies in its connection to science, engineering, and technology. Today, the Technion conducts extensive teaching and research activities in connection with the world of medicine and many fields of study including biomedical engineering, computing, design, and architecture.
The cooperation between the Rambam Medical Campus and the Technion, which began decades ago, has been very strong in recent years and is a promising platform for innovative technological applications. In August 2020, the Technion launched the Human Health Initiative, which connects researchers across various fields and faculties at the Technion to jointly address the challenges of contemporary medicine. The Larry and Andi Wolfe Center for Engineering and Medicine will play a crucial role in this endeavor.
The Rambam Health Care Campus is very active in the fields of research and innovation through its partnerships with its Division of Research, the Rambam MedTech (technology transfer company), the MindUp incubator in cooperation with IBM, Medtronic, and Pitango VC.
Professor Rafi Beyar, a physician and engineer by trade and former director of Rambam who also served as the dean of the Ruth and Bruce Rappaport Faculty of Medicine at the Technion, added, “The Wolfe Center for Medicine and Engineering in the Helmsley Health Discovery Tower is the realization of Rambam’s master plan to connect clinical medicine and academic research with an emphasis on engineering. The joint center will house Rambam physician-researchers, Technion academic researchers, data science experts, artificial intelligence, and machine learning. Bio-Convergence, which is at the forefront of Israeli Innovation, will be advanced at the Wolfe Center, connecting biology to engineering for the benefit of the patient and serving as fertile ground for strengthening the biomedical industry in Israel and around the world.”
Technion President Professor Uri Sivan opened the Board of Governors Meeting on Sunday, June 12, with the announcement of a new board member, Professor Adi Salzberg, who has been appointed Vice President for Diversity and Inclusion.
Prof. Sivan’s announcement of the appointment of Prof. Salzberg as Vice President for Diversity and Inclusion was one of the important announcements with which he opened the Technion Board of Governors meeting. In his opening remarks, the President congratulated Technion friends from Israel and around the world who came to the campus to take part in the annual Board of Governors meeting.
“The Board of Governors is a festive event that brings Technion friends from all over the world to our campus, and I am glad that we are once again able to hold it face-to-face after the long pandemic,” he said. “The impressive growth of the Technion, and the preservation of its position at the global forefront of research and science would not have been possible without our donors and the extensive activity of the Technion Societies around the world.”
The appointment of Prof. Adi Salzberg, a faculty member in the Ruth and Bruce Rappaport Faculty of Medicine, went into effect earlier this month. She is the first person in the Technion’s history to hold this unique position. In her new role, Prof. Salzberg will work to promote equality, reduce gender and sectoral gaps, and promote diversity and representation of populations that are not adequately represented among the academic and administrative staff and in the student community.
According to President Sivan, “The Vice President of Diversity and Inclusion stemmed from the recognition that diversity in general, and gender diversity in particular, are important for better science and research, for better academia, and for a better, more respectful and fairer society.”
Technion’s Strategic Plan for the Next Decade
“The traditional university structure is not adapted to the 21st century, which is characterized by challenges that are essentially multidisciplinary,” said President Sivan in his remarks. “Today’s academic, research, and technological reality requires a combination of disciplines and the breakdown of barriers between disciplines and faculties. Scientific and technological breakthroughs today require multidisciplinary research and close cooperation between academia and industry.
“In the past two years, the Technion has formulated a strategic plan for the coming decade, based on the working assumption that academia must adapt itself to the rapid changes that are taking place around us. We understand that we need to deepen collaborations between researchers from different faculties to accelerate research and simultaneously change the teaching and training patterns of our students. The relationship with industry is changing rapidly and we need to find the right place for a leading technology university.
“Breaking down barriers is essential for maintaining the Technion’s status as a world-leading university and for tackling the challenges of the 21st century. These challenges, for the most part, are multidisciplinary. Therefore, we focused on three main fronts: human health, sustainability, and the digital industry.”
President Sivan emphasized that the students will not only study these subjects, they will also apply them in the real world through contact with industry. He also stressed the importance of wide-ranging collaborations with the Technion.
One of the pioneering initiatives is the Human Health Initiative, which bridges different researchers, faculties, and disciplines to promote the application of science and technology for the benefit of medicine and human health. In this framework, grants have already been allocated to three research groups involving dozens of researchers from different Technion faculties. A joint research project has been launched by the Technion and Rambam Health Care Campus aimed at the application of artificial intelligence in medicine. The Larry and Andi Wolfe Center for Engineering and Medicine will focus on applied research in collaboration between the Technion and Rambam Health Care Campus. Also announced was the establishment of the Zimin Institute at Technion, which will harness machine learning and the processing of Big Data for the benefit of all aspects of human health.
Strengthening collaboration between academia and industry
“I do not know of any other university in the world that has had such a profound impact on the economy, society, and security of its country,” said President Sivan. “Israeli high-tech was born here and Technion graduates hold leading positions in the Israeli economy. Scientific and technological breakthroughs today require close cooperation between academia and industry. Over the past two years, we have worked to build a new ecosystem with industry and have promoted joint research on campus.
“We encourage lecturers from industry to participate in academic life at the Technion, to mentor and teach – exposing our students and researchers to real-world challenges and developments. Our goal is to integrate an exclusive hub of leading companies into the campus, with which the Technion has deep research ties, and will become part of our student education program. Together, we will create a meeting point on campus for industry and academia.
“This hub has been gradually taking shape including the following partnerships: software giant PTC was first to join and signed a strategic cooperation agreement with the Technion a year ago, and their R&D center will be relocated from Matam Industrial Park to the Technion by the end of 2022; Google signed a cooperation agreement with the Technion, including research into AI for medical applications; Doral Energy signed an agreement with the Technion for joint activity in developing solutions to global challenges on climate and the environment; and Intel and Rafael, who are long-standing research partners with Technion. We are proud that Intel has selected the Technion as one of the six academic institutions worldwide with which it collaborates.”
The President added that ties with other leading companies are coming soon in additional core areas that are consistent with the Technion’s strategic goals.
As a result of the tightening of ties with industry, the Technion reported a record number of research agreements in 2021. The pace of establishment of startup companies at the Technion tripled, with a record 15 new companies in the past year . Additionally, a record number of Technion researchers received awards and research grants in the past year.
The Technion Board of Governors lasted three days, during which honorary doctorates and honorary fellowships were awarded to 11 outstanding women and men, as well as important prizes, including the Harvey Prize, which is considered a “Nobel Predictor,” the André Cohen-Deloro Prize for Research on behalf of the Adelis Foundation, and the Technion Medal, the Technion’s highest honor, which was awarded to brothers Yehuda and Zohar Zisapel.
The momentum on campus was tangible. During the Board of Governors sessions, inauguration ceremonies were held at various centers on campus, including the Polak Family Distance Learning Studio, the Mehoudar Inventors Center, the Aviva and Andrew Goldenberg Architecture Studio Pavilion, and the first floor of the Zisapel Building for Electrical and Computer Engineering.
As part of the program, The Marker’s annual high-tech conference was held this week at the Technion. The conference, which was held for the first time in Haifa and at the Technion, addressed technological innovation and the future of Israeli high-tech.
Click below to watch videos from the Technion’s 2022 Board of Governors meeting:
Eight distinguished individuals received honorary doctorates in a festive ceremony that took place during the annual Technion Board of Governors meeting – the first in almost three years due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The ceremony was held in the presence of Technion President Professor Uri Sivan, Chairman of the Council Mr. Gideon Frank, Chairman of the Board of Governors Mr. Scott Leemaster, members of the Technion senior management, and faculty deans. Professor Wayne Kaplan acted as Master of Ceremonies and welcomed guests and honorees.
Prime Minister Naftali Bennett sent a video message congratulating the honorary doctorate recipients. He said that the Technion is Israel’s powerhouse of technology, and one of the most prestigious institutes in Israel, having produced four out of five Israeli Nobel prize laureates in the sciences. Prime Minister Bennett, who has a very personal connection to Haifa and the Technion – his father worked at the Technion, and he grew up in Haifa, also called the Technion a “beautiful model of coexistence – with Jews, Arabs, orthodox and secular students all coming together in the pursuit of excellence.” He finished by wishing everyone a wonderful evening and many more years of success.
In his welcoming remarks, Technion President Prof. Uri Sivan began by asking the question of how we should define a university. The university, he said, is the sum of all those who chose to align themselves with its mission and values. From the Technion’s founding fathers to its faculty, students, and administrative staff, from its staunch supporters to those who impact the world . “Our honorees tonight have aligned themselves with the Technion’s mission and dedicated themselves to be of service to others. Congratulations to each one of you – may you continue to bask in the glory of your meaningful, heartfelt lifelong contributions and derive an endless sense of meaning and joy from your pursuits.”
Scott Leemaster, Chairman of the Board of Governors shared his delight at being back with the Technion family after three tumultuous years. “The Technion is a leading university today thanks to visionaries who have steered it in the last hundred years.” He paid tribute to Uri Sivan, the 17th president of Technion who has led it through the many challenges of the last few years, putting his heart and soul into this work and shaping the university into an institution of excellence. Mr. Leemaster added that the honorees championed the Technion’s values in research and they now joined the ranks of Einstein, Churchill, and other luminaries. He emphasized how important science and innovation were for a sustainable future – and to ensure that the next generations will have access to clean air and water, food, and a stable environment. He thanked the students for “showing us excellence and inspiring us.”
Citations for the Honorary Doctorate recipients
Dr. George Elbaum
In honor of your passion for the Technion and its role in keeping Israel safe and bettering humankind; with admiration for your commitment to influencing today’s youth by telling your story as a Holocaust survivor; in gratitude for your tireless leadership on the local, national, and international levels; and in appreciation for your generous support of energy research and student programs at the Technion.
Click here for the video screened at the Honorary Doctorate Conferment Ceremony.
Professor Harry B. Gray
In recognition of your extraordinary contributions that raised worldwide awareness of research and development of solar energy utilization; and in gratitude for your outstanding support and guidance to the Technion and the Israeli academic community.
For your continuous support of the Technion, its mission and its students; in recognition of your success as an international business leader; in gratitude for your contributions to the Israeli economy through the establishment of several internationally recognized high-technology companies; in admiration of your undying commitment to the Jewish people, to science and to humankind by providing the spark for transformative innovations and scientific advancements.
In recognition of your joint support of Jewish communities in Australia, Israel and around the world; in gratitude for your relentless efforts to promote the Technion and its scientific pursuits; in tribute to your success and accomplishments as business leaders; and in appreciation of your selfless commitment to philanthropic causes and advocacy efforts.
For continuing the philanthropic efforts of your parents in supporting transformative biomedical research and education; in recognition of your steadfast dedication to empowering women and for your commitment to the arts; in gratitude for your devotion to the Technion and the Ruth and Bruce Rappaport Faculty of Medicine.
In recognition of your seminal contributions to quantum science and technology; in appreciation of your dedication to attracting young people to the field; in tribute to your efforts in envisioning science as a platform to enrich the human spirit; and for uniting the Israeli and European academic communities on the path to scientific achievement.
In recognition of your success at the helm of the Weizmann Institute of Science and for leading the way to impressive scientific achievements here in Israel and across the globe; in appreciation of your dedication to advancing science and promoting its accessibility on an international scale; and in deep gratitude for promoting collaborations between the Technion and the Weizmann Institute of Science in many significant areas of research.
Speaking on behalf of all the honorees, Prof. Harry Gray responded that he was “honored to be in your graduating class.” He acknowledged Albert Einstein’s enormous impact on Israel and the Technion, and his statement made 100 years ago that “Israel must develop technology to exist and survive.” Now Israel is the world capital of technology. This has been largely due to the Technion family who has gone out and established companies all over Israel.
Prof. Gray emphasized that the job isn’t finished and said there are three crises on the planet that need to be tackled: human health, energy, and environment. The Board of Governors should support the Technion’s efforts in these areas, and Prof. Gray said he was very encouraged by the new Center for Sustainable Processes and Catalysis led by Distinguished Professor Ilan Marek. Prof. Gray finished on a personal note by saying, “Shirley and I came here 43 years ago with our family. We love this place. It’s been so good to us. We can’t thank you enough for what you’ve done for our family and for enriching our lives. With this honorary degree, there’s no way you’ll ever get rid of me now!”
Click below to watch videos from the Technion’s 2022 Board of Governors meeting:
On June 12, the prestigious Harvey Prize was awarded to Prof. Joseph Mark DeSimone from Stanford University (Science and Technology), Prof. Raphael Mechoulam from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem (Human Health) and to Prof. James R. Rice from Harvard University (Science and Technology).
In a moving ceremony hosted by Professor Asya Rolls of the Rappaport Faculty of Medicine, the three distinguished professors received their honors:
Prof. Joseph Mark DeSimone from the Departments of Radiology and Chemical Engineering at Stanford University received the 2019-2020 award in acknowledgement of his groundbreaking work on processes to cleanly synthesize fluoropolymers, fabricate precisely defined shape-specific nanoparticles, and enable the manufacture of 3D printed objects with unprecedented speed. For these and other contributions to materials science, chemistry, nanomedicine, and 3D printing and with gratitude for his resolute commitment to translating leading-edge science into impactful solutions promoting human health and welfare.
Prof. DeSimone thanked the Technion for the great honor and said that the interaction the Technion was nurturing between academia and industry is an important reflection of Leo Harvey’s legacy. “We must think carefully about these ties, as not every study will receive government funding. And sometimes the solutions to these challenges are found through the support of startups and industry.”
Prof. Raphael Mechoulam from the School of Pharmacy in the Faculty of Medicine at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem received the 2019-2020 award for pioneering research into the cannabinoid system and its effects on human health, for his many discoveries that have deepened our understanding of drug abuse and provided the promise of therapy for a wide range of diseases and pathological conditions, and with gratitude for his noble contributions to humanity.
Prof. Mechoulam thanked the President of the Technion and the Harvey Prize selection committee saying, “In the end, the prize is a tribute to my research group. Our findings, concerning the effect of cannabis molecules on the peripheral and central nervous system, have led to studies all over the world, which I believe will lead to the development of treatments for a wide range of diseases.”
Prof. James R. Rice from the Harvard School of Engineering and Applied Sciences received the 2020-2021 award for his enduring fundamental contributions to the mechanics of materials and to geophysics, for the development of the J-integral to calculate the energy release rate as a material undergoes fracture, and for his leadership that has expanded human knowledge about friction and earthquakes.
Prof. Rice said that most of his success over the years had to do with his mentors. “Mentoring really matters and is a large part of our responsibility as research academics and scientists. I am very grateful to the Technion researchers who have collaborated with me over the years.”
Technion President Prof. Uri Sivan gave an opening address in which he said it was his honor and pleasure to bestow the awards on the three esteemed prize winners. He thanked them for posing and answering excellent questions – and said that learning to ask good questions was the key to excellence in science. Prof. Sivan told them that they joined in the great Harvey Prize tradition of rewarding excellence for the betterment of humanity, adding that he looked forward to following their careers and wished them a lifetime of satisfaction.
Steve Berger, National President of the American Technion Society responded by saying it was truly an honor and privilege to bestow the Harvey Prize, and that the important commonality among all the recipients was their commitment to finding solutions to the problems of the 21st century.
The Harvey Prize awarded by the Technion was first given in 1972 through the foundation established by Leo M. Harvey (1887-1973) from Los Angeles, to recognize significant contributions in the advancement of humankind in the areas of science and technology, human health, and peace in the Middle East. The prize has become a predictor of the Nobel Prize, and more than 30% of Harvey laureates since 1986 were ultimately awarded the Nobel.
This prestigious prize has been awarded to scientists from the United States, Britain, Russia, Sweden, France, and Israel. Among them Nobel Laureate Mikhail Gorbachev, former leader of the USSR, was awarded the Harvey Prize in appreciation of his seminal initiatives and policies to lessen regional tensions; Nobel Laureate in Medicine, Professor Bert Sakmann; Nobel Laureate in Physics, Professor Pierre-Gilles de Gennes; Professor Edward Teller for his discoveries in solid state physics, atomic and nuclear energy; and Professor William J. Kolff for his invention of the artificial kidney.
“The Technion is at a key juncture. We are in the process of making profound systemic changes to keep pace with today’s world and remain a global leader in science and technology 5, 10 and 20 years from now,” Technion President Prof. Uri Sivan writes in a special message featured in the Technion’s 2022 President’s Report. “We have proactively started implementing a strategic plan to support new modes of teaching, educating and learning across all faculties.”
Prof. Sivan goes on to write about other aspects of the plan. “The Technion’s strategic plan focuses on three key pillars: sustainability, human health, and digital industry. We are prioritizing these broad fields throughout the university, in our research initiatives, in our classrooms, and in our partnerships with industry and government. Since safeguarding the environment is increasingly vital for our collective future, the Technion devotes dozens of research projects in many faculties to developing innovations in fields such as ‘green’ architecture, catalysis, sustainable energy, water purification and environmentally friendly technologies.
Technion President Professor Uri Sivan yesterday presented the Technion Medal to Technion graduates Yehuda and Zohar Zisapel. The Zisapel brothers are among the Technion’s biggest supporters and have particularly supported the Andrew and Erna Viterbi Faculty of Electrical and Computer Engineering, from which they both graduated.
They were awarded the Technion Medal for being “two of the pillars of Startup Nation and outstanding role models among generations of Technion alumni. For their generous and devoted support of the Technion and their alma mater, the Andrew and Erna Viterbi Faculty of Electrical and Computer Engineering. For their educational, social, and philanthropic activities, focused on cultivating young people from the periphery and promoting excellence in Israeli education. For their vision and endeavors laying the foundations for training the utmost engineers and researchers in the Israeli high-tech industry, which requires supreme human capital to ensure its continued prosperity.”
Technion President Professor Uri Sivan presented the Medal to Yehuda and Zohar Zisapel on the opening evening of the Board of Governors meeting, in the presence of guests including Technion Governors; the Mayor of Haifa, Dr. Einat Kalisch-Rotem; Technion management; members of the Technion Council; Nobel Laureates in Chemistry, Distinguished Professors Aaron Ciechanover and Dan Shechtman; deans, and other leaders from Israeli industry. Prof. Sivan thanked Yehuda and Zohar for their significant contribution to the Technion over the years and noted that: “they embody in their personalities the true spirit of the Technion, combining diligence, innovation, entrepreneurship, and excellence with deep social commitment. Their vision and commitment to Israeli society are reflected in their educational and social activities and make them a source of pride for us and an inspirational model for all Technion graduates.”
“It is an honor for us to receive the Technion Medal and I thank you in both my name and in Zohar’s name,” said Yehuda Zisapel. “I began my studies at the Technion in 1961 and graduated in 1966, even before the term ‘Israeli high-tech’ was coined. Later, I initiated educational programs that address the needs of Israeli high-tech and at the same time promote students from the periphery and reduce social disparities. Together with Zohar, I established the Nanotechnology Center at the Technion, which is named after our parents, Sara and Moshe Zisapel, and soon we will inaugurate a new building in the Faculty of Electrical and Computer Engineering. The Israeli economy suffers from a severe shortage of engineers and technological manpower, and we believe that the new faculty building will assist the Technion in its mission to increase the number of faculty, research and teaching areas, and train more young engineers for the high-tech industry in Israel.”
Dean of the Viterbi Faculty of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Professor Idit Keidar said, “Yehuda and Zohar are two of the most prominent graduates in the history of our faculty. Their extensive activities have provided significant reinforcement to the technological and entrepreneurial ecosystem of the State of Israel and have enabled young people from the periphery to improve their starting point for technological studies and meaningful employment.”
Yehuda and Zohar Zisapel both completed a bachelor’s and master’s degree at the Technion and an MBA in Business Administration at Tel Aviv University. In the 1970s, Yehuda established the company Bynet to market products in the field of data communications. At that time, Zohar worked in electronics R&D as part of a special unit in the Ministry of Defense, even receiving the Israel Defense Award for some of his projects.
In 1981, the brothers joined up to form RAD Data Communications, an export-oriented company that successfully competed with giant companies abroad. Following on from RAD, the brothers established additional start-ups, soon becoming Israel’s first serial entrepreneurs. The authors of “The Evolution of a New Industry” – Drori, Ellis, and Shapira – estimate that through the RAD Group and its spinoffs, the Zisapel brothers have established some 200 startups.
The Technion Medal is the most prestigious honorary degree given by the Technion for a lifetime’s work dedicated to the university. To date, it has been awarded to just 16 people in recognition of their contribution to the advancement of humanity, the welfare of the Jewish people and the State of Israel, and who, through their support of the Technion, have strengthened the scientific-technological infrastructure of Israel. Recipients of the award include Uzia Galil, former Technion President, Maj. Gen. (res.) Amos Horev; former President of the Supreme Court of Israel and Israel Prize Laureate for Law Moshe Landau; and Dr. Irwin Jacobs and Dr. Andrew Viterbi, co-founders of Qualcomm. The silver engraving on the medal depicts the Technion and the city of Haifa. It was designed by Studio Sadowski and was chosen by Professor Zehev Tadmor during his tenure as president of the Technion (1990-1998).
On Friday, June 10, 2022, the Technion – Israel Institute of Technology and the Zimin Foundation signed an agreement to support the establishment and operation of the Zimin Institute for AI Solutions in Healthcare at the Technion.
Headed by Professor Shai Shen-Orr from the Ruth and Bruce Rappaport Faculty of Medicine, the new institute will focus on applied research in artificial intelligence in human health and medicine.
L-R: Co-founder of the Zimin Foundation Mr. Augie Fabela, Technion Executive Vice President & Director General Prof. Boaz Golany, President of the Zimin Foundation, Boris Zimin, Technion President Prof. Uri Sivan, and Chairman of the Technion Board of Governors Mr. Scott Leemaster
Technion President Professor Uri Sivan said, “More than two years ago, after I was appointed President, we launched the Technion Human Health Initiative (THHI) to promote human health through interdisciplinary research connecting technology and medicine. This new Center is a key component in this vision of collaboration and connection between science, engineering, and medicine. Undoubtedly, technology is a key component in the future of medicine. We thank the Zimin Foundation and commend its decision to establish its third institute at the Technion. I am sure that this institute will attract many of our scientists and promote applied research that will accelerate the development of new and essential technologies with real-world applications.”
Boris Zimin, President of the Zimin Foundation, said, “We strongly believe in the future of innovation in medicine and healthcare. We have supported applied research in these areas since 2018, mostly focusing on engineering solutions. We are excited to partner with the Technion, one of the most advanced universities in the world, and expand the scope of our support to Artificial Intelligence in healthcare. Israel has proven to be a source of truly amazing talent in research and technological innovation. We count on the talent at the Technion and the Zimin Institute’s leadership to deliver great results and help some of the best research projects at the university turn into applications that bring value to people and leave a strong impact on the transformation of healthcare.”
The Zimin Institute’s programs began in 2018 when the Zimin Institute for Engineering Solutions Advancing Better Lives at Tel Aviv University was launched. The second institute, Zimin Institute for Smart and Sustainable Cities, was established in 2020 at Arizona State University in the United States. Each institute has a different area of expertise while maintaining its focus on research collaboration to develop applied technological projects with real-world implications.
The Zimin Institute at the Technion will promote multidisciplinary projects and develop technologies based on big data and computational learning to improve human healthcare on all levels, including in hospitals, clinics, drug development, home treatment, and medical wearables. The Center will issue calls for proposals and support selected projects, with a preference for proposals with an applied element, and will support 3-5 projects annually. The Zimin Institute at the Technion will operate within the framework of MLIS – the Center for Machine Learning and Intelligent Systems.
“We thank the Zimin Foundation for their generosity and support in creating this new Center,” said Technion Executive Vice President & Director General Professor Boaz Golany. “The Technion is among the best universities in the world for AI research and development and establishing this Center will add a significant element to the Technion’s activities regarding AI in medicine – activities that take place within the Technion’s Center of Machine Learning & Intelligent Systems (MLIS) that brings together researchers from different faculties, working on diverse areas of AI to improve our lives in every possible aspect.”
“More than two years ago, after I was appointed President, we launched the Technion Human Health Initiative (THHI) to promote human health through interdisciplinary research connecting technology and medicine. This new Center is a key component in this vision of collaboration and connection between science, engineering, and medicine. Undoubtedly, technology is a key component in the future of medicine. We thank the Zimin Foundation and commend its decision to establish the third institute at the Technion. I am sure that this institute will attract many of our scientists and promote applied research that will accelerate the development of new and essential technologies with real-world applications.”
Senior Technion officials and Zimin Foundation representatives at the signing ceremony.
Boris Zimin, President of the Zimin Foundation, said, “We strongly believe in the future of innovation in medicine and healthcare. We have been supporting applied research in these areas since 2018, mostly focusing on engineering solutions. We are excited to partner with Technion, one of the most advanced universities in the world, and expand the scope of our support to Artificial Intelligence in healthcare. Israel has proven to be a source of truly amazing talent in research and technology innovation. We count on the talent at the Technion and the Zimin Institute leadership to deliver great results and help some of the best research projects at the university turn into applications that bring value to people and leave a strong impact on the transformation of healthcare.”
From left to right: Prof. Boaz Golany, Mr. Augie Fabela, Mr. Boris Zimin, and Prof. Uri Sivan
We’re delighted to host our board of governors meeting on campus finally! Entitled “Science & Innovation for a Sustainable Future,” the weeklong board of governors meeting will kick off the Technion’s centennial celebrations, and feature meetings with students and faculty, as well as off-campus tours, and the Technovation conference, in collaboration with TheMarker.
We’d like to thank our governors, partners, donors, and supporters from Israel and from all over the world.
Click here for the program of our June 2022 BOG meeting.
From the moment we are born, and even before that, we interact with the world through movement. We move our lips to smile or to talk. We extend our hand to touch. We move our eyes to see. We wiggle, we walk, we gesture, we dance. How does our brain remember this wide range of motions? How does it learn new ones? How does it make the calculations necessary for us to grab a glass of water, without dropping it, squashing it, or missing it?
Technion Professor Jackie Schiller from the Ruth and Bruce Rappaport Faculty of Medicine and her team examined the brain at a single-neuron level to shed light on this mystery. They found that computation happens not just in the interaction between neurons (nerve cells ), but within each individual neuron. Each of these cells, it turns out, is not a simple switch, but a complicated calculating machine. This discovery, published recently in the Science magazine, promises changes not only to our understanding of how the brain works, but better understanding of conditions ranging from Parkinson’s disease to autism. And if that weren’t enough, these same findings are expected to advance machine learning, offering inspiration for new architectures.
L-R: Professor Jackie Schiller, Shay Achvat and Yara Otor the two leading students in this study, holding the Science issue in which their paper was published.
Movement is controlled by the primary motor cortex of the brain. In this area, researchers are able to pinpoint exactly which neuron(s) fire at any given moment to produce the movement we see. Prof. Schiller’s team was the first to get even closer, examining the activity not of the whole neuron as a single unit, but of its parts.
Every neuron has branched extensions called dendrites. These dendrites are in close contact with the terminals (called axons) of other nerve cells, allowing the communication between them. A signal travels from the dendrites to the cell’s body, and then transferred onwards through the axon. The number and structure of dendrites varies greatly between nerve cells, like the crown of one tree differs from the crown of another.
The particular neurons Prof. Schiller’s team focused on were the largest pyramidal neurons of the cortex. These cells, known to be heavily involved in movement, have a large dendritic tree, with many branches, sub-branches, and sub-sub-branches. What the team discovered is that these branches do not merely pass information onwards. Each sub-sub-branch performs a calculation on the information it receives and passes the result to the bigger sub-branch. The sub-branch than performs a calculation on the information received from all its subsidiaries and passes that on. Moreover, multiple dendritic branchlets can interact with one another to amplify their combined computational product. The result is a complex calculation performed within each individual neuron. For the first time, Prof. Schiller’s team showed that the neuron is compartmentalized, and that its branches perform calculations independently.
A complex symphony
“We used to think of each neuron as a sort of whistle, which either toots, or doesn’t,” Prof. Schiller explains. “Instead, we are looking at a piano. Its keys can be struck simultaneously, or in sequence, producing an infinity of different tunes.” This complex symphony playing in our brains is what enables us to learn and perform an infinity of different, complex and precise movements.
Multiple neurodegenerative and neurodevelopmental disorders are likely to be linked to alterations in the neuron’s ability to process data. In Parkinson’s disease, it has been observed that the dendritic tree undergoes anatomical and physiological changes. In light of the new discoveries by the Technion team, we understand that as a result of these changes, the neuron’s ability to perform parallel computation is reduced. In autism, it looks possible that the excitability of the dendritic branches is altered, resulting in the numerous effects associated with the condition. The novel understanding of how neurons work opens new research pathways with regards to these and other disorders, with the hope of their alleviation.
Three pyramidal nerve cells in the motor cortex, whose job it is to send the motor commands directly to the spinal cord. These are the cells studied in Prof. Schiller’s current study. The cells are characterized by a pyramidal shape of the cell bodies and highly branched dendritic trees, a feature that allows them to perform complex parallel processing of the movement components (Photo from the research paper)
These same findings can also serve as an inspiration for the machine learning community. Deep neural networks, as their name suggests, attempt to create software that learns and functions somewhat similarly to a human brain. Although their advances constantly make the news, these networks are primitive compared to a living brain. A better understanding of how our brain actually works can help in designing more complex neural networks, enabling them to perform more complex tasks.
This study was led by two of Prof. Schiller’s M.D.-Ph.D. candidate students Yara Otor and Shay Achvat, who contributed equally to the research. The team also included postdoctoral fellow Nate Cermak (now a neuroengineer) and Ph.D. student Hadas Benisty, as well as three collaborators: Professors Omri Barak, Yitzhak Schiller, and Alon Poleg-Polsky.
The study was partially supported by the Israeli Science Foundation, Prince funds, the Rappaport Foundation, and the Zuckerman Postdoctoral Fellowship.
