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The whole of the Technion celebrated last weekend with Nobel laureate, Distinguished Prof. Danny Shechtman, who leaves next week for Stockholm for the award ceremony. \u201cOur delight is not just because one of our own won the world\u2019s most esteemed prize but, rather, because scientific truth won,\u201d said Technion President, Prof. Peretz Lavie.<\/p>\n
The Swedish ambassador to Israel, Elinor Hammarskj\u00f6ld, in her talk also spoke of Prof. Shechtman\u2019s firm stand for many years against the opinion of the entire scientific world regarding his discovery. \u201cWe admire not only the discovery of quasicrystals, but also your scientific way,\u201d she told the Nobel laureate.<\/p>\n
Haifa Mayor, Yona Yahav (Attorney), made Prof. Shechtman an honorary citizen of Haifa. \u201cThe good news is that the decision was a unanimous one by the City Council. The not-so-good news is that the decision does not exempt you from having to pay city taxes,\u201d said the Mayor to the laughing listeners.<\/p>\n
The Nobel winner for Chemistry in 2004, Distinguished Prof. Aaron Ciechanover of the Technion\u2019s Rappaport Faculty of Medicine, said to Prof. Danny Shechtman: \u201cWelcome to the club. Today you are joining an exceptional group.\u201d Regarding the winning of the Nobel Prize for Chemistry thus far by four Israeli scientists (Professors Avram Hershko, Ada Yonat, Danny Shechtman and himself), Prof. Ciechanover said, \u201cChemistry today is a much broader concept than the narrow one that up to now has been generally recognized.\u201d<\/p>\n
Prof. Shechtman thanked the large audience: \u201cI usually do not get emotional,\u201d he said. \u201cThis evening I am overwhelmed. I feel a lot of warmth here. I feel good standing next to the lectern. Here is where I began teaching the course I founded 25 years ago in order to encourage technological entrepreneurship in the state of Israel. I am a Zionist and I want this country to be a good place to live. From here I call for good education for everyone because without good education there will be no revitalization.\u201d<\/p>\n
He revealed that he and Mayor Yona Yahav have decided to promote an initiative for scientific education for preschool children in Haifa. \u201cI will do all I can to promote education in the state of Israel,\u201d he promised.<\/p>\n
The ceremony moderator was the Dean of the Faculty of Materials Engineering at the Technion, Prof. Wayne Kaplan.<\/p>\n