Three olympic bronze medals for Technion student.
Inbal Pezaro, a 2nd-year undergraduate student in the Schulich Faculty of Chemistry, won three Paralympics Bronzes in the 2012 London games. Paralyzed at birth in her lower limbs, Pezaro competes in the women’s freestyle events. She came third in the 50 m, 100 m, and 200 m finals. Pezaro has been swimming since the age of five, and already won three silver medals in Beijing in 2008 and a silver and bronze in the 2004 Athens games.
The first beach volleyball tournament of its kind will be held as part of the Technion cornerstone centennial celebrations: the event will take place between April 1st and 4th, 2012 in the Technion Sports Center on an artificial beach to be built especially for this occasion.
The tournament is recognized by the Fédération Internationale de Volleyball (FIVB), and will be attended by some of the leading players in the world; the prizes will amount to $50,000.
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| Dr, Alian Akram, Lorry I. Lokey Center for Life Science & Engineering, Technion. |
Outsmarting HIV
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Technion Challenge – The first international beach volleyball tournament of its kind in Israel opened yesterday at the Technion, as it celebrates the centennial of the cornerstone laying for its historical building.
The tournament will be divided into two parts: an Israel State Cup and the international tournament. The competitors in the Israel State Cup will be students from various academic institutions in Israel, among them the Technion, Tel Aviv University and Ben Gurion University, and the winning pair will participate in the international tournament, which opens today.
Fourteen pairs of men and women from abroad will take part in the international tournament. Among the pairs are top ranking players from all over the world: the Brazilian pair Benjamin-Harley, who won first place in the 2011 World Championship as well as 12 gold medals over the years, and Pablo Herrera from Spain, who won a silver medal in the Athens Olympics together with his partner Adrian Gavira, who finished fifth in the two last world championships and who won a bronze medal in the European championship. The women’s tournament will be attended by Hana Klapalova and Lenka Hájec(ková from the Czech Republic, who finished fourth in the last world championship, one place before the Americans Lauren Fendrick and Brooke Hanson, who will also participate in the tournament.
During the tournament days, the Technion students will enjoy a performance by the Technion Salsa and Dance Group, a pool party and an earphone party. In addition, players from abroad will enjoy tours to Nazareth and Caesarea.
The Technion Executive Vice President and Director General, Dr. Avital Stein, said in the opening ceremony: “As someone who came from the world of sports, I am thrilled to open this unique international sports event, which is being held in the Technion at the initiative of the Student Association. This is a wonderful way to commemorate the cornerstone centennial of the Technion, a leader not only in academics and research but also in scores of sports, culture and art activities.”
Chairman of the Student Association Asaf Zinger said: “I am the first student to bring 650 tons of sand into the Technion and not be punished for it.” He wished success to all competitors, from Israel and abroad.
Chairman of the Israel Volleyball Association Jacob Shtofman said that the Technion could bring world dignitaries to celebrate with it the historical date, but has instead chosen to hold a first sports event of its kind in Israel as part of its centennial events. “We are proud to be here,” he emphasized.
The tournament finals will be held on Wednesday.
Beach volleyball is usually played by two players in each group, and most of the game rules resemble regular volleyball rules. The first beach volleyball game was played in 1920 in California. It was introduced in the Olympic Games in 1996 and today there are the beach volleyball leagues in most countries.
The tournament is held in collaboration with the Israel Volleyball Association and the Municipality of Haifa.
Above: Dr. Avital Stein opens the tournament. Photo: Roy Tal, One Frame, Technion Spokesman
The prestigious Technion prize was awarded this year to Prof. Judea Pearl and Prof. Sir Richard FriendThe Harvey Prize was awarded this year to Profs. Judea Pearl and Sir Richard Friend.
Prof. Trajtenberg added that the world’s wonder at Israel’s quality R&D is justified, and yet it is important to understand that nowadays most of investment is in the D, namely development. “We must invest so much more in the R, research, and in bridging between the two, namely between industry and academy, through programs such as MAGNET. We must also extend our pursuit of innovation beyond the realms of high-tech, as is already the case with water and energy, fields that have turned from ‘traditional’ industries to industries involving innovative technologies”.
The Harvey Prize is awarded by the Technion in recognition of great contributions to the advancement of humanity in science and technology and human health, and to the advancement of peace in the Middle East. Among the recipients of the Harvey Prize are scientists and others worldwide, many of whom have gone on to win the Nobel Prize. Technion President Prof. Peretz Lavie said the awarding of the Prize is a “celebration of science”, and added that the Harvey Prize was awarded for the first time in 1972, in the presence of Leo Harvey himself, who passed away a year later, Israel’s President at the time Zalman Shazar, and Israel’s Prime Minister at the time Golda Meir. 75 prizes have been awarded to date, and 13 of the winners later became Noble Laureates.
Prof. Judea Pearl of UCLA is a leading artificial intelligence expert, who less than two weeks ago was announced winner of the 2011 Turing Award, known also as “the Noble Prize of Computing”. Pearl is a member of the National Academy of Engineering, AAAI and IEEE, and President of the Daniel Pearl Foundation, named after his son, a journalist who was killed in Pakistan.
Prof. Pearl’s work has laid the foundations for the treatment of uncertainty in computerized systems, and its applications range over a wide spectrum of disciplines: security, medicine, genetics, and natural language understanding. Alfred Spector, Vice President of Research and Special Initiatives at
Google, said that “modern artificial intelligence applications – robotics, smart cars, speech recognition and machine translation – have an interest in uncertainty. Prior to the innovations developed by Pearl, most artificial intelligence systems relied on Boolean logic – they ‘understood’ truth and falsehood, and could therefore deal well with challenges such as chess – but they did not deal successfully with ‘maybe’.”
In its reasons for his win, the Harvey Prize Committee said that Prof. Pearl has “laid, through courageous and far-sighted research the theoretical foundations for the presentation of knowledge and reasoning in computer science. His theories of inference under uncertainty, and in particular the Bayesian Networks approach, have influenced varied disciplines, including artificial intelligence, statistics, philosophy, health, economics, social sciences and cerebral cognitive processes. The Harvey Prize in Science and Technology is awarded to Prof. Pearl in recognition of the breakthroughs that are embodied in his researches and their influence on multitudes of spheres of our life.”
Prof. Sir Richard Friend of the University of Cambridge has “invented” organic electronics (printed plastic electronics), among the applications of which are plastic LED devices (OLED displays), advanced photovoltaic cells, the electronic newspaper, and thin flexible displays.
Prof. Friend has over twenty patents to his name, and his historical paper dated 1990 was has been quoted over 8,000 time. “Happily, some of the Technion’s excellent students have chosen to do their post-doctorates with me, and have exposed me to Technion quality”, said Prof. Friend, and noted Profs. Gitti Frey and Nir Tessler. “I followed them to the Technion, and have been visiting professor here for many years”.
At the end of the 1980s, the OLED, a light-emitting organic (plastic) diode, was discovered in Prof. Friend’s lab. In 1996, the first laser based on this technology, namely on semiconductor light-emitting plastic, was manufactured. In 1998, the first integrated optoelectronic component, which paved the way to the creation of plastic integrated circuits, was released. Prof. Friend, a pioneer in the field, is a leading player both in the scientific research of these materials and in their translation into varied applications.
In its decision to award the Prize to Prof. Friend, the Harvey Prize Committee cited that “his breakthrough research made possible deep understanding of electronic and optical processes in polymer conductors for realizing a range of devices including field-effect transistors, light-emitting diodes, photovoltaic cells and lasers. Demonstrating scientific and technological leadership, Prof. Friend has made a decisive contribution to the harnessing of science to the creation of this new technology, as evidenced by, inter alia, the two successful spin-off companies he founded. The Harvey Prize in Science and Technology is awarded to Prof. Sir Richard Friend in recognition of his outstanding contributions to the development of a new semiconductor family and his impact on our lives.”
The Harvey Prize was awarded for the first time in 1972, from a fund established by Leo M. Harvey, of Blessed Memory, of Los Angeles, in recognition of great contributions to the advancement of humanity. Every year, the fund awards $75,000 to each of the winners.
Above (left to right): Prof. Judea Pearl, Prof. Sir Richard Friend, Prof. Moshe Sidi, Prof. Oded Shmueli, Prof. Gitti Frey, Technion President Prof. Peretz Lavie. Photo: Shlomo Shoham, Technion Spokesman
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| A flyer courageously advocates the use of revived Hebrew as a language of instruction for the Technion. |
In October 1909, Prussian architect Alexander Baerwald was asked to come up with a first plan for the new building. This architect – who used to play cello in a string quarter with Albert Einstein – was inspired by the idea of blending European form with Eastern elements. His oustanding design was approved by the Kuratorium, and in August 1910, Baerwald was awarded the assignment to draw up the detailed plans and supervise the execution. Aside from the stone, most of the other building material came from abroad. The lime was from France, the cement from Germany. Plumbing installations and various fixtures also came from Europe and to this day, visitors at the historic building can read the German manufacturers’ inscriptions on floor plates and elsewhere in the building. Digging of the well also created problems. First attempts could only reach 40 meters, at which point work was suspended due to a lack of skilled labor. A special permit to import the required dynamite was acquired, but it was only when a foreign expert was brought in that work on the well could finally be resumed and water was finally struck at 93 meters. The well was deepened to a 100 meters. The existence of a water source on the upper slopes of Mount Carmel would transform Haifa, becoming an elemental center for the sustenance of life for the following decades and for three invading armies. The well and its water would also become a vital source of income for the young, impoverished Technikum.
In the year of the sinking of the Titanic, and a rare, total solar eclipse, the cornerstone of the new Technikum was finally laid. On April 11, 1912, 36 years before Israel declared independence, under the auspices of the occupying Ottoman Empire the local Jewish community turned out in full to witness the first physical implementation of a dream that lasted for decades.
The Tale of the Century
The extent to which technology determines history and the creation and destiny of nations is a question of historical scholarship, with the Technion – Israel Institute of Technology cited as a striking example. Initiated with the help of increasing Jewish unity made possible by the new communication technologies of the Second Industrial Revolution, the Technion was born 36 years before Israel declared independence. In that time it educated the engineers and brought the expertise to literally lay the infrastructure for a modern state. This included the fundamental infrastructure of electricity, water supplies and roads.
Throughout the century – since the laying of the first cornerstone in 1912 – Technion has had a historic task in anticipating future needs in order to ensure the survival and growth of the State of Israel. According to a leading British journalist, the Technion story is exemplary for other groups caught in the seemingly impossible task of creating an independent nation: “For more than two decades before the state was created, Technion (Israel Institute of Technology) helped to lay the foundations of the modern state of Israel. The identity of the country as a player in the field of science and technology can be traced to the vision of Technion.”
Technion would grow rapidly, becoming a global pioneer in biotechnology, satellite research, computer science, nanotechnology and energy. In 2004, Technion professors won Israel’s first Nobel Prizes in science. In 2011, Distinguished Prof. Dan Shechtman became Technion’s third Nobel Laureate in Chemistry, for his discovery of quasicrystals, or Shechtmanite. As it celebrates its cornerstone centennial in 2012, Technion City is a thriving world center of research and teaching, with 12,850 students and 80 graduate programs. In 2011, Technion partnered with Cornell University to submit a winning proposal to New York City to set up the Technion Cornell Institute of Innovation (TCII) on Roosevelt Island.
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| A Moment in history: Nobel Laureate 2011 Dan Shechtman notates his observation of Quasicrystals in 1983. |
First Plans
From the outset, The Zionist movement had a vision of the creation of a Jewish University in the historic land of Israel. Jews were often barred from technical or scientific training, and without these skills and a grounded education in engineering, the Zionist vision of creating a nation would remain just a dream.
In 1902, Theodor Herzl envisioned Haifa as “a great park….with an overhead electrical train…. a city of magnificent homes and public institutions all made possible by applied science, engineering and technology.” (Altneuland) Herzl infused political Zionism with a new and practical urgency. By the fifth Zionist congress in 1901, the pressure was on to found a number of cultural institutions and a resolution was adopted for a “fundamental survey of the question of founding a Jewish university.”
A group of three young men in their twenties: Martin Buber of Vienna, student of philosophy and Zionist; Berthold Feiwel of Berlin – political writer and editor and Chaim Weizmann – formed a caucus emphasizing the need for a Jewish university with a first objective of education in technology. They produced a document pointing out the difficulties of Jewish youth who sought admission to universities where they lived. The lack of opportunities for technical studies, they wrote, was much more serious for Jewish students than in other studies. The problem was “eminiently economic and social”. It meant that in Russia, the Jews were practically excluded from technical professions with the result that they were pushed into commercial occupations.
The plan was to set up a preparatory Technikum, in part to train students for the university and in part to serve as an independent institution for the training of young people in technical, agricultural and similar professions. Graduates would be the basis for establishing and maintaining a Jewish industry.
In 1903, 60,000 Jews of Palestine had just held elections for the first national democratic assembly, the grandfather of the present Knesset (Israel’s parliament). It was called the Knessiah Rishonah (1st assembly). This gathering was special as a first grass-roots attempt to set up the structures of Jewish self government. Zionist leader Dr. Menahem Ussishkin used the occasion to deliver a keynote address in which he expressed the urgency for an institution of higher education in Palestine. The convention supported a resolution for the establishment of a polytechnical institute in Palestine and the Technion – Israel Institute of Technology (at least on paper) was born.
Paul Nathan of the Hilfsverein der Deutschen Juden (“Relief Organization of German Jews”), played a central role in bringing together diverse Jewish groups under the Technikum umbrella, and in raising resources.
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| Technion Centennial Stamp… already circling the world. |
First Funds
Founder Jacob Schiff was determined to ensure that the Technion would maintain its independence.
The late Russian tea merchant Kalonymous Zeev Wissotzky had left a large fund in his will from which allocations were to be made to public institutions twice a decade. Among the executors was Ahad Ha-Am, the distinguished Zionist philosopher. Ahad Ha-Am was able to recruit Wissotsky’s son David to the Technikum plan, and a first contribution of 100,000 rubles was made. In 1908, the American philanthropist Jacob Schiff was visiting the “holy land”. Schiff was affected by the poverty and destitution he found among many of the Jews of Palestine and was inspired by the idea of an institution that would provide technical training.
Back in Europe, interest in the new Technikum was kept high. In 1909 Dr. Chaim Weizmann, who would later become President of the State of Israel, reported to a Zionist conference in Manchester that things were going well with the “National Polytecnikum”. Wealthy Jews from many lands were already promising generous support.
Choice of Haifa
A campaign was mounted by the Jewish community in Jerusalem to host the Technikum, and a special committee was set up to put forward a strong, Jerusalem case. The case for Haifa proved stronger, and in the end won the day:
Haifa was destined to be the city of the future… a great port center of industry and shipping. With the building of the Hedjaz railroad, it would be linked to Damascus and Baghdad and would become an important crossroads for land transport as well.
The local Jewish community was not yet rigid in its organization and character, unlike Jerusalem, the center of Orthodoxy; or Jaffa, which was a hotbed of Jewish nationalism. The neutrality of Haifa would minimalize conflicts, they argued.
The local Jewish community was small, and its influence hardly felt in the city. The Technikum would give impetus to the expansion and growth of the Jewish population in the North.
Source: Wikipedia.
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| Prof. Judea Pearl, Harvey Prize Laureate 2011. |
Technion graduate Prof. Judea Pearl, who will receive at the end of this month the prestigious Harvey Prize at the Technion, has won the Turing Award, “the Nobel Prize of Computer Scientists.” The Harvey Prize is known to “predict” the wins of Nobel Prize Laureates (13 researches have won the Nobel Prize after receiving the Harvey Award), and it has now managed to “predict” also Prof. Pearl’s win of the Turing Award (he was told four months ago about the Technion’s decision to grant him the Harvey Prize).
The Tecnion’s announcement said that Prof. Pearl has “laid, through courageous and far-sighted research the theoretical foundations for the presentation of knowledge and reasoning in computer science. His theories of inference under uncertainty, and in particular the Bayesian Networks approach, have influenced varied disciplines, including artificial intelligence, statistics, philosophy, health, economics, social sciences and cerebral cognitive processes. The Harvey Prize in Science and Technology is awarded to Prof. Pearl in recognition of the breakthroughs that are embodied in his researches and their influence on multitudes of spheres of our life.”
ACM, the Association for Computing Machinery, announced last weekend that Prof. Judea Pearl of UCLA has won the 2011 ACM Turing Award, for innovations that enabled breakthroughs in the partnership between humans and machines that is the foundation of artificial intelligence. He has created the computational basis for processing information under uncertainty – a core problem faced by intelligent systems. “Prof. Pearl’s influence extends beyond artificial intelligence and even computer science – to human reasoning and the philosophy of science,“ said ACM’s announcement.
First and foremost, the Harvey Prize rewards excellence by recognizing breakthroughs in science and technology. The monetary Prize is a banner of recognition for men and women who have truly contributed to the progress of humanity. No less, however, the Prize is a source of inspiration. Serving as stimulus, the award urges scientists and scholars forward to further accomplishment.
The Harvey Prize was awarded for the first time in 1972, from a fund established by Leo M. Harvey, of Blessed Memory, of Los Angeles, in recognition of great contributions to the advancement of humanity in science and technology and human health, and to the advancement of peace in the Middle East. Every year, the fund awards $75,000 to each of the winners.
Among the recipients of the prestigious Harvey Prize are scientists from the USA, Britain, Russia, Sweden, France and Israel, such as Nobel Prize Laureate Mikhail Gorbachev, former leader of the USSR, who was awarded the Prize for his activity towards reducing regional tensions; Prof. Bert Sakmann, Nobel Laureate in Medicine; Prof. Pierre-Gilles de Gennes, Nobel Laureate in Physics; Prof. Edward Teller, for his discoveries in solid state physics, atomic physics and nuclear physics; and Prof. William J. Kolff, for the invention of the artificial kidney.
Candidates for the Harvey Prize are recommended by leading scientists and personages in Israel and the world. The prize laureates are selected by the Harvey Prize Council in a stringent process at the Technion.
“The Technion is confident that its experience in building the Israeli high-tech sector will serve it well in New York City. “
TCII Director Prof. Craig Gotsman.
