Category Archives: כתבות אמצע

The intense three-day visit was deeply significant and profoundly memorable. “We came to Israel at this time not merely as observers but as pillars of unwavering support for the Technion and unity with the entire nation,” said Mark Gaines, ATS national president.

There were many powerful and inspiring moments. Here are but a few that left an indelible mark on the mission participants.

ATS Solidarity Mission

Student Reservists and Technion Support
Some 3,000 Technion students — 21% of the student body — were called up to serve in the IDF. Many of them spent more than 100 days serving in the army. Some will be going back again soon. Participants heard from a student who, on October 7, was with his family on a kibbutz in the south. Seeing the terrorists, they hid in their house armed only with a kitchen knife. One student talked about barely escaping the site of the Nova music festival massacre and then being called up to serve in the army.

The Technion administration’s biggest concern has been the welfare of the student body, particularly those in the reserves. From day one, the Technion has provided them with financial, psychological, and educational support. Every department has a faculty member coordinating needs. Lectures are recorded. The Technion is doing all it can to address the gaps in the material students miss so they don’t fall behind while protecting Israel.

ATS Solidarity Mission

“As we stood together and witnessed the unprecedented wartime challenges, we were proud to see all that the Technion is doing for the student reservists—as we have been told more than any other university—and hope that our presence sent a resounding message of solidarity and commitment to the Technion,” said Mr. Gaines.

Securing the campus and preparing for a more worrisome war with Hezbollah — where Haifa and the Technion are sure to be a target — is a major priority. More than 100,000 people have been evacuated from the northernmost communities and Hezbollah has already launched more than 2,000 rockets into Israel. There is a common concern that it is not a matter of if, but when a full escalation with Hezbollah will begin.

More than $5.5 million was raised by ATS to support students and secure the campus.

Technion Executive Vice President and Director General Dr. Rafi Aviram explained that the Technion is like a small city of 20,000 people, and it needs to have shelters that people could stay in, potentially for days. The participants toured the Security and Emergency Center with Yoav Geva, the head of Technion security. They witnessed how the campus is monitored and viewed new equipment, including a portable bomb shelter and two new emergency vehicles.

Prof. Uri Sivan, president of the Technion, conveyed his tremendous gratitude for the generosity of ATS supporters. He expressed his concern about anticipated large government budget cuts due to huge wartime costs and security challenges. Just as it always has, the Technion will play a significant role in building the nation’s next chapter and looks to its American partners to help make it possible. “Your help is even more critical than ever,” he said.

In addition to the need to complete major projects that were in the works prior to the war and meet the University’s goals to advance multidisciplinary research in climate change and sustainability, human health, impact technologies, and Israel’s security, the Technion launched a reservist fund to raise $20 million to address long-term fellowships and services for reservist students.

ATS Solidarity Mission

Technion’s Faculty of Medicine
The Technion’s Ruth and Bruce Rappaport Faculty of Medicine is across the street from its affiliated teaching hospital, the Rambam Health Care Campus. Mission participants toured the 2,000-bed fortified underground hospital, which functions as a parking garage during peacetime. When Israel is under threat, this space has been designed to become an enhanced medical facility. Following October 7, the extensive transformation was completed in only 24 hours.

They met with faculty and students at the Faculty of Medicine. The dean, Prof. Ami Aronheim, explained the crucial need to train more doctors, given Israel’s physician shortage. The medical school is gearing up to increase its enrollment by 40%. The group visited the Clinical Skills Learning Center, a simulation center with smart mannequins that enables the practice of professional-technical skills. The center has been teaching trauma courses since the beginning of the war to train medical students in lifesaving skills.

Hostages and the Displaced
An encounter with family members of hostages was profoundly moving. The group met with a young man, Dekel Lifshitz, whose grandparents were taken hostage from Kibbutz Nir Oz. His 85-year-old grandmother, Yocheved Lifshitz, was kidnapped by motorcycle. In Gaza, she was forced to walk three kilometers through an underground tunnel in her pajamas. Yocheved was released on October 23, but was unaware of the status of her husband, Oded, who was shot on October 7, and she presumed had died. But he is reportedly a Hamas captive and she and her family are unaware of his condition, and obviously deeply concerned.

Evidence of how families have been displaced was also very apparent. The group stayed at the Dan Carmel Haifa hotel, which was full of families who were evacuated from the north.

The development of cancer is intricately linked to abnormal levels of a unique groups of proteins termed oncoproteins. In “normal” cells, oncoproteins play a crucial role in orchestrating cell growth, cell proliferation, and cell death, thus requiring strict regulation, which is achieved by their rapid degradation. However, through mechanisms that have remained poorly understood, oncoproteins evade the degradation machinery and acquire active resistance to breakdown, leading to cancer transformation and rendering resistance to anti-cancer drugs. The enhanced stability of oncoproteins is critical for the survival of cancer cells, presenting important avenues in cancer research and therapy.

Assistant Prof. Dan Bracha

As part of a collaborative international research project, three scientists from the Technion – Israel Institute of Technology and two researchers from Germany will investigate the molecular mechanisms that stabilize oncoproteins in cancer. As a potential means to treat aggressive cancers, the researchers will explore new approaches to attack resistance mechanisms. Their ultimate goal is to ensure these proteins are broken down quickly and their concentration returns to normal physiological levels. The group research project has been awarded a grant of 1.6 million euros from the DIP research program for collaborative research between Germany and Israel.

Prof. Amir Orian

The Technion researchers participating in the project are Professor Ashraf Brik from the Schulich Faculty of Chemistry, Professor Amir Orian from the Ruth and Bruce Rappaport Faculty of Medicine, and Assistant Professor Dan Bracha from the Faculty of Biotechnology and Food Engineering. From Germany, the project collaborators include Professor Ivan Đikić from the Goethe University in Frankfurt and Professor Markus Diefenbacher from the Helmholtz Center in Munich.

Prof. Ashraf Brik

In honor of International Women’s Day, on Thursday, March 7 the Technion held a special event with the participation of dozens of female graduate students. The event aimed at honoring female students during this challenging time featured a panel entitled “Keeping All the Balls in the Air.” This was followed by a lecture from Lihi Lapid, wife of former Israeli Prime Minister Yair Lapid. The event took place at the David and Janet Polak Visitors Center, initiated by Technion Vice President for Diversity and Inclusion, Prof. Adi Salzberg.

“This war has proven the central role women play both on the front lines and on the home front – and I have no doubt that each and every one of you has experienced it firsthand,” said Technion President Prof. Uri Sivan at the event’s opening. “I strongly believe in the importance of diversity and gender representation, not only from a social justice perspective, meaning that diversity and representation allow everyone to fulfill their full potential. These values also enable the organization itself and society to fulfill their best. In recent years, we have formed a diverse administration at the Technion with significant female representation, and I have no doubt that it is better thanks to this diversity. It is an administration that reflects a range of opinions and approaches, and therefore understands the campus and its needs better and is capable of leading the organization in the best possible way.

Technion President, Prof. Uri Sivan

“The current reality in the faculty of the Technion is the result of decades of effort to increase female representation – a particularly complex challenge in technological universities. This effort has very encouraging results: 48.8% of new undergraduate students are female. This figure is almost equal to the number of women in the population of Israel. In advanced degrees, female representation reaches 41%. To my delight, the fruits of change are also noticeable in the number of academic staff, and no less importantly, in the Technion’s administration. The Technion’s administration is more diverse, and we have reached a historic peak of eight female deans.”

One of the changes led by the administration, based on the recommendation of a special committee that dealt with the issue, is the appointment of Prof. Salzberg as vice president for diversity and inclusion.

“The place of women in this war is no longer in question,” said Prof. Salzberg. “We’ve seen 40,000 female combat soldiers, fighters, combat support, front-line medics, intelligence personnel, and more. Behind them stands a huge army of women who remained on the home front and ensured that life continued to thrive at home, at work, in massive civilian volunteer efforts, and wherever working hands and a willing heart were needed.” She told the doctoral candidates: “Your success in continuing to engage in research despite the difficulties and despite the abnormal reality is worthy of great appreciation, and therefore I thought it right to mark International Women’s Day together this year and say to you: well done and many thanks.”

Prof. Uri Peskin, dean of the Jacobs Graduate School, told the doctoral candidates: “You are an excellent group of superwomen who combine studies, work, research, and practice, and I take my hat off to you. The percentage of women in advanced degrees is improving steadily, but we continue to think about how to maintain this trend.”

Panel participants from right to left: Naama Cohen, Adina Fried, Rony Ben-Zvi Elimelech, Coral Hamo Goren, and Prof. Tzipi Horowitz-Kraus.

Four doctoral candidates from various faculties at the Technion participated in the panel “Keeping All the Balls in the Air.” The panel moderator, Prof. Tzipi Horowitz-Kraus from the Faculty of Education in Science and Technology and the Faculty of Biomedical Engineering, said that her husband, a pediatric neurologist, was called up as a trauma doctor and served for 100 days. “I was left bewildered, with three children aged 8 to 15. As a faculty member, I had to continue managing a very diverse lab with both female and male members, Arabs, Jews, and Druze. In addition to everything else, my research is based on MRI imaging in children, and it’s not easy to find parents and children who will come to campus for such tests at this time. Therefore, even though I am no longer a doctoral student, I am very familiar with your feelings and the level of concentration needed during this time. And most importantly, I embrace you.”

Adina Fried, a doctoral student in the Faculty of Biomedical Engineering, resides in the Technion’s Graduate Student Village. In her doctoral work, she researches models for developing drugs for intestinal diseases under the guidance of Prof. Shulamit Levenberg. “On October 7, I was nearing the end of my maternity leave, with a small baby and a three-year-old child, approaching qualifying exams. My husband and I are both from a special forces unit, and on that Saturday, he immediately went to the base. He recently returned home after 152 days of reserve duty. I was left with two young children, which wasn’t easy, but the thought of returning to the United States, where I was born and where my parents live, never crossed my mind. I requested to postpone my return from maternity leave due to the situation, and Prof. Levenberg fully supported me and strengthened my decision. When the situation stabilized, I took the exams and passed them successfully.”

Doctorate panel, led by Prof. Tzipi Horowitz-Kraus

Rony Ben-Zvi Elimelech, who is about to complete her doctorate degree in the Ruth and Bruce Rappaport Faculty of Medicine, researches mechanisms of retinal nerve regeneration. Additionally, she is the founder and CEO of the Wisemama Mentoring Project, which supports women combining parenthood and academic studies. “At the beginning of October, I was recovering from a very difficult childbirth experience, during which I faced medical challenges resulting from the pregnancy, and when I started to recover, October 7 happened. In the reserves, I am a administration officer in the Air Force, and when I wasn’t called up, I was offended. After I got over my offense, I decided that my role in holding down the home front was no less important. I viewed taking care of my children as a national mission. I returned to research, planned how to progress with my supervisor, and then suddenly, I was called up for reserve duty. I consulted with my supervisor, and she immediately said, ‘Now is not the time to say ‘no’ to reserve duty.’ In the end, I completed 45 days of reserve duty, juggling duties in the lab, managing the organization, and preparing for the opening of another challenging year of our mentoring project for student mothers. I want to thank the Technion and the Jacobs Graduate School for doing everything for the sake of its students.”

Naama Cohen recently began her doctorate studies in the Andrew and Erna Viterbi Faculty of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science. “After watching the initial reports on October 7, which seemed as strange as watching 9/11, the alarm bells rang for me, and I said to my husband, ‘Let’s get ready for reserve duty.’ Indeed, we were both called up immediately – he to the Telecommunications Center and I as an IDF officer in the reserves. The period in the reserves was challenging, but it allowed me to contribute. Since I didn’t find the time or mental space to engage in research, I put the research aside for this period, and during home leaves, I allowed myself to rest. Only in the past month have I tried to return to my routine – I organized documents, reread things, everything needed to return to research and be prepared to continue the Ph.D. I feel that to some extent, this break allowed me to look at the research with a fresh perspective and critique.”

Coral Hamo Goren, a doctoral student in the Faculty of Architecture and Town Planning, focuses on integrating machine learning in urban analysis. “When the war broke out, my husband immediately told me ‘You’re an operations officer in the Givati brigade, they need you, I’ll stay with the kids.’ And indeed, I went to reserve duty and I’m still there. At first, I put my doctorate on hold and every home leave was dedicated to the children. Even that wasn’t easy, because at night, I was in the operations room receiving and relaying reports on casualties and injuries, and then I came home to be with them, to comfort them. Only recently did I return to my doctorate and thankfully, the professors and mentors at the Technion understand the difficulty and provide significant assistance. That’s the spirit of the Technion – seeing the person.”

Professor Emeritus Joshua Zak, one of the founders of the Technion’s Faculty of Physics and a recipient of the 2022 Israel Prize in Physics and Chemistry, passed away on March 14, aged 94. Professor Zak led scientific breakthroughs that led to significant applications. He was responsible for numerous achievements in physics, two of which are named after him: the Zak transform, which is used today in signal processing, and the Zak phase, a unique phenomenon in one-dimensional crystals, which he published in 1989 in the scientific journal Physical Review Letters. He completed his doctorate at the Technion under the guidance of Professor Nathan Rosen, a student and assistant to Professor Albert Einstein; and Professor Yoel Racah from the Hebrew University. Professor Zak was awarded the prestigious Wigner Medal in 2014 and was elected an honorary fellow of the Israel Physical Society (IPS) in 2018. In 2022, he was awarded the Israel Prize in Physics and Chemistry Research.

Prof. Joshua Zak z”l

Zak was born in Vilnius in June 1929. When he was 12 years old, he was moved to the ghetto with his family and later endured forced labor camps and a concentration camp, where he lost both of his parents and two of his siblings. As a young teenager, he participated in the death march to the west; he was liberated by the Red Army, and immediately drafted into it, before he turned 16. Upon his release in 1948, he returned to Vilnius and began studying at a high school, completing his studies with excellence despite losing many years of study due to the war and military service.

In 1955 he completed his studies in physics with distinction at Vilnius University, and also became a kayaking champion in Lithuania. In the same year he began studying advanced studies in Leningrad. In 1957, he immigrated to Israel, was accepted to the Technion, and continued his PhD studies under the guidance of Professor Nathan Rosen. In 1960, he received a doctorate in science, spent some time at MIT, and then returned to the Technion, where he began teaching at the Faculty of Physics. Ten years later, he founded the Solid State Institute at the Technion and served as its head.

Technion President Professor Uri Sivan said: “Today we bid farewell to a distinguished scientist, one of the pillars of the Faculty of Physics at the Technion and a trailblazer in his field. His research work paved new paths in understanding fundamental phenomena in quantum mechanics and accelerated the development of important engineering applications. Professor Zak is counted among the pioneers who laid the foundations for theoretical physics in Israel. As a faculty member in the Physics Department, I had the privilege of knowing him well and engaging in fascinating scientific discussions with him. Professor Zak’s achievements earned him international recognition, and we were all delighted when he received the Israel Prize for Physics and Chemistry Research in 2022, a prize that he truly deserved.”

The dean of the Faculty of Physics at the Technion, Professor Adi Nusser, said: “Professor Zak was one of the founders of the Faculty of Physics, and one of its leaders. Beyond the quality science that emerged under his guidance, he made a significant contribution to the faculty. Professor Zak made important contributions to the field of physics, which earned him the Wigner Medal and the Israel Prize. Even after his retirement, the Faculty of Physics and its academic quality remained important to him until his last day.  Until recently, he regularly visited the faculty and participated in all activities.”

The Israel Prize was awarded to Professor Zak on the 74th Independence Day of the State of Israel, in May 2022, for “developing mathematical tools such as the ‘Zak transform’ and ‘Zak phase,’ used for interpreting phenomena of electrical conduction in a magnetic field. These tools enable the prediction of materials with unique properties for building electronic devices.” The committee also emphasized that “his scientific contributions serve and will continue to serve in understanding the chemistry and physics of matter.”

2022 Israel Prize ceremony – former Minister of Education Dr. Yifat Shasha-Biton presenting the Israel Prize to the late Professor Joshua Zak. Photographer: Oded Karni / Courtesy

In 2023 the Technion’s Faculty of Physics held a special four-day international conference dedicated to Professor Zak. The conference, which focused on the relationship between topology and physics, was organized by Professors Eric Akkermans and Ari Turner. “Topology, like set theory, is an elegant field of mathematics that allows us to describe geometric shapes anywhere they occur,” said Professor Akkermans. “It’s surprising how dramatic the implications of some of these concepts can be on experiments. The conference, attended by around 200 people, mostly young researchers, brought together many of the leading physicists who creatively contribute to this topological revolution in the physics of condensed matter – a field in which Professor Zak was a pioneer.”

Alongside the scientific sessions, a special session was dedicated to Professor Zak. In this session, his former students recounted his role as a teacher and educator who dedicated much effort to the education of new generations of engineers and researchers, and his colleagues spoke of his groundbreaking work in the topology of condensed matter physics. According to Professor Akkermans: “throughout his career at the Technion, Professor Zak emphasized the importance of a vibrant and active research environment in the faculty to attract talented researchers. At the conference, we succeeded in meeting his criteria for excellence and camaraderie, both in the standard of the invited lecturers, including Nobel Prize laureates, and in the standard of participants. This demonstrated once again that the Technion is a beacon of excellence in physics.”

May his memory be a blessing.

The immune system can be roughly divided into two – the innate immune system, which is the first barrier against disease-causing pathogens, and the acquired immune system, which is activated later and responds in a more targeted manner. Current research conducted by Professor Katrien Vandoorne of the Faculty of Biomedical Engineering focused on the innate immune system.

The immune system’s blood cells are produced in the bone marrow, which is situated in the spongy part of certain bones throughout our bodies.

Prof. Vandoorne developed a new technique that makes it possible to track the production of the blood cells in the bone marrow. To do so, she used tiny magnetic particles from iron oxide, which she tracked using various imaging techniques, including in vivo magnetic resonance imaging.

Prof. Katrien Vandoorne of the Faculty of Biomedical Engineering

The research, which was carried out on mice, examined the effect of different levels of inflammation on the production of blood cells.

Prof. Vandoorne found that the more severe the inflammation, the larger the number of immune system blood cells that are produced in the bone marrow which absorb more nanoparticles. In other words, the body reacts to infection by producing inflammation – increasing the number of immune system blood cells so that they will react to the infection.

She concluded that bone marrow is not just a “cell factory.” Regarding possible applications, this discovery will enable immune cells to be monitored more precisely.

The study also emphasizes the potential of these nanometric particles for delivering drugs, which would be relevant for a variety of diseases, including cancer, heart diseases and degenerative diseases.

According to Prof. Vandoorne, “We will now be able to offer physicians an efficient tool for the early detection of infections, based on monitoring bone marrow. We believe that this discovery will significantly improve the way physicians diagnose various diseases, which would lead to more personalized and effective treatments.”

Prof. Katrien Vandoorne joined the Technion’s Faculty of Biomedical Engineering in September 2020, following her academic journey spanning from Ghent University in Belgium, where she completed her bachelor’s and master’s degrees in veterinary medicine, to a Ph.D. in the Department of Biological Regulation at the Weizmann Institute of Science. Subsequently, she pursued postdoctoral research at Harvard Medical School and earned the title of Assistant Professor from the Department of Biomedical Engineering at Eindhoven University in the Netherlands.

On 13/03/2024 between the hours of 11:00 – 14:30 no traffic of any kind will be allowed on campus. Additionally, in order to ensure the safety and security of runners, entry and exit of vehicles to and from the campus will not be allowed.

• In preparation for the race, on Tuesday, 12/03/2024 from 17:00 and until the end of the race at 14:30, parking will not be permitted between the Neve Sha’anan Gate and Lev HaCampus.

• To all those taking part in the race we wish you a challenging race.

Please remember, the Security Center emergency telephone number is 2222.

Currently an engineer in the R&D department at Biosense Webster, Alon Barash is someone who never gives up on his dreams. Despite being born with a hearing impairment, he recently completed his undergraduate degree in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science at the Viterbi Faculty of Electrical and Computer Engineering, and is pursuing a second degree in the same field.

Alon Barash

In addition to the usual challenges that accompany adolescence, military service, and education, Alon’s first challenge in life was learning to hear. “Hearing problems cause you to miss a lot of information and limit your scope of opportunities. As a person who cannot hear, you have to make a significant effort to grasp what others simply perceive. This is a limitation that has accompanied me at every stage of life and continues to challenge me in various areas – academic, social, and more. But at a young age, I decided that my hearing impairment would not dictate the course of my life.” Alon was born in Holon; at school he participated in the “Nachshon” leadership course. Later, he volunteered in the IDF and after completing his service, began a preparatory program that paved the way for his studies at the Technion. During his studies, Alon was introduced to cochlear implant technology, which allows hearing-impaired individuals to hear. During his undergraduate degree, he underwent surgery for a cochlear implant. He recalls, “After a long and difficult period of training and adaptation, there was a significant improvement in my hearing. Before the implant, I could only hear in one ear, which always required me to think about where I stood in relation to the person talking to me. Now I don’t have to think about it because the implant added another ear, a bionic ear, and that’s a huge change, even if it doesn’t replace a normal ear.”

During his degree in electrical engineering, Alon learned about signal processing. His personal story prompted him to explore the world of hearing impairments. At the end of his degree, he started a special project on spatial hearing research under the guidance of Prof. Yossi Atias and Nimrod Peleg, in a collaboration between the Technion and the University of Haifa. Through this research, Alon understood more about the challenges faced by people who have had hearing impairments since childhood. “I continued to act out of a desire to normalize the experiences of hearing-impaired individuals so they could integrate into society without the difficulties that I experienced.” While the company where Alon works, Biosense Webster, is not involved in the field of hearing devices, it does strive to improve people’s quality of life. The company focuses on three-dimensional mapping of the heart for the treatment of arrhythmias. Alon continues to bridge the technological world of electrical and computer engineering with the medical field.

In addition to his professional pursuits, Alon participated in the BrainTech hackathon at the Technion, with a project related to improving the lives of deaf people. He and his team (Ron Liraz, Gal Brown, Aviv Burshtein, Gal Baron and Ezra Ozery) developed an interactive game for learning sign language, based on a depth-sensing camera that identifies the user’s hand movements. The project won first place in the hackathon. Alon explains that with this game, people without hearing impairments can learn how to communicate with those who have hearing impairments more effectively and positively. “Despite the difficulties that come with a hearing impairment, I believe it also generates a mental resilience that allows people to succeed, even in challenging situations. If someone had told me that volunteering for the army or going to the Technion would be too hard for me – I wouldn’t have listened to them.”

According to Alon, family support played a decisive role. “A deaf or hearing-impaired child needs more assistance to bridge the linguistic gap and integrate. With the help of intensive treatment with a speech therapist and a lot of hearing exercises, I managed to integrate into regular education instead of special education. Fortunately, at the Technion, I received significant support from the Unit for the Advancement of Students. Dalia Peled, Sigal Blum, and Gil Berkovich helped me with various aspects. I would also like to thank Danit Cohen from the faculty for her help. In general, I think that since I started studying here, the Technion has improved significantly in assisting students in need. I can also say that I learned a lot of things I didn’t know before about accessibility.” Alon explains that in addition to the importance of tailored organizational support, the students’ collaboration is also required. “They are the ones determining what happens on the ground. The faculty can allocate reserved places for people with disabilities, but these places might be taken by regular students. Such situations taught me that I have to be always proactive. I turned to the faculty and the Unit for the Advancement of Students, emphasizing my and others’ special needs, and I didn’t give up. I used to think that I wanted to receive the same treatment as everyone else, but I learned to accept that due to my impairment, I need a different approach.

“Leaders of Hope – Intel’s Maker Group”

In recent months, Alon has volunteered for several initiatives: providing online lessons for students through “Lema’an Hatalmidim,” (For the Students) participating in “Leaders of Hope – Intel’s Maker Group,” delivering packages to soldiers, and more. Accessibility is a vast and complex world, and as Alon mentioned before, even those with disabilities do not understand it enough. “Social awareness of people’s limitations is like a muscle that requires training, or a flame that should not be extinguished. People live their lives and are not always attentive to the needs of others, especially those with disabilities. For this reason, one must know how to ask and remind people. In the end, I see myself not as an advocate of rights but as a regular student who doesn’t let his impairment define him, and I hope that other disabled students will feel the same.”

In conclusion, he summarizes, “My message is that anyone aspiring to overcome their limitations needs to deeply understand their boundaries, remember that it’s okay to ask for help, and that it’s possible to succeed just like anyone else.”

The Technion is the leading university in Israel and Europe, and one of the top one hundred in the world in terms of patents approved in the United States. This is reflected in the ranking by the National Academy of Inventors (NAI), based on data from the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) for the year 2023.

The updated ranking places the Technion at 65th in the world, with 48 patents in the past year – a few places behind Yale, New York University, and the University of Washington. In first place in Israel and Europe, and also among the top 20 in the world for the number of approved patents in the United States, relative to the research faculty. This marks a rise of three places from 2022 when the Technion was ranked 68th in the world. The ranking editors note that: “the list highlights the importance of patents in the application of research and innovation in academia, as well as the central role of academic institutions in the field of innovation.”

Rona Samler, General Manager of T3 – the Technology Transfer Office at the Technion, expressed, “I am immensely proud to spotlight our remarkable achievement for the third consecutive year, securing the top position in Israel and Europe and among top 20 universities worldwide for the number of granted US patents per faculty. This outstanding feat underscores the scientific excellence of our esteemed faculty members and highlights T3’s leadership in effective intellectual property management. Our unwavering commitment to innovation and collaboration remains a driving force behind impactful contributions to the global landscape, solidifying Technion’s reputation as a pioneer in cutting-edge research and technological advancements.”

Prof. Lihi Zelnick-Manor

Prof. Lihi Zelnik-Manor, Executive Vice President for Innovation and Industry Relations at the Technion, commented: “the Technion invests significantly in fostering innovation and developing technological breakthroughs. As the Executive Vice President for Innovation and Industry Relations, I am proud to be part of an institution that invests resources in the technological market, ensuring that research breakthroughs do not remain confined to the boundaries of academia but positively impact the industrial sector and, consequently, society as a whole. Our commitment to bridging the gap between academia and industry is a central part of the Technion’s mission, as we strive to cultivate partnerships and promote innovation for the benefit of dual-world developments.”

The Technion’s patent portfolio currently includes 1815 registered patents and patent applications. The processes of commercialization and patent registration are led by T3 – Technion’s Technology Transfer Office, which collaborates extensively with industry and promotes the establishment of startup companies based on Technion’s technical knowledge—approximately 15 new startups each year.

The Technion has been transforming itself in the last few decades and, as a result of substantial efforts, the percentage of female undergraduate students has consistently increased. This year, half of all new undergraduate students are women. The share of women pursuing advanced degrees is also on the rise.

Doctoral student Keren Or Greenberg in the Ullman Building’s new nursing room

A comprehensive study among female students and alumnae, led by Vice President for Diversity and Inclusion Professor Adi Salzberg, revealed the need to establish a nursing and lactation room in every academic faculty. As a result of the survey, the University charted the exact requirements, set uniform standards for nursing rooms on campus, and purchased suitable furniture and equipment for each faculty, as well as for the Zielony Student Union Building and the Ullman Building, where all first-year students have classes.

Liza Shamaliov Zaretski, who headed the project

The project was headed by Liza Shamaliov Zaretski, who manages the Facebook groups “Women Students at the Technion” and “Moms at the Technion.” She explains that, “in December 2022, I checked the nursing room situation on campus. Since many students return to the University after maternity leave, and combine research with being a mom, I decided to take up the gauntlet and ensure that they would have nursing rooms that are close, accessible, and equipped – a room to nurse and to pump milk during the first few months after childbirth, which would make it easier to return to the University without having to give up nursing.”

All of the nursing rooms at the Technion are air conditioned and equipped with a nursing chair, a diaper changing station, a special refrigerator to store breast milk, and a work area that includes a computer table and chair. There is either a kitchenette next to each room or a sink inside each room for washing the pumping equipment.

“The welcome growth in the number of women studying at the Technion means that it is all the more important to provide the new mothers among them with suitable and respectful conditions for nursing or pumping milk in every department and faculty where they study or work,” says Prof. Adi Salzberg. “Maneuvering between family life and work or studies is often difficult and challenging – even more so for nursing mothers. The new nursing rooms are another way to help these women feel at home at the Technion. I would like to thank all those who worked on this important project and made it a success: deans and administrative heads; Deputy Director General of Operations Zahava Laniado; Efrat Barkai-Goral, who is charged with diversity, equality, and inclusion; and Liza Shamaliov Zaretski, who led the project with great dedication.”