Yearly Archives: 2020

Almost everyone has witnessed the Coandă effect — which is when a jet of fluid follows a curved surface. An easy way to visualize the effect is to place the back of a spoon pointing vertically downwards under a water jet flowing from a faucet. What most people don’t know is that, more than a hundred years ago, Lord Rayleigh¹ proved, theoretically, that the jet can be centrifugally unstable. In simple terms, this means that mini-tornadoes may be embedded in the jets with their funnels pointing in the jet direction. In the 1980s the critical conditions for their existence were determined theoretically² but they remained elusive, yet to be observed experimentally.

Left: side view – Coandă jet (blue) flowing over a curved surface.
Right: front view – Mini-tornadoes (red steaks) embedded in the Coandă jet.

This all changed when Technion Ph.D. student, Lev Dunaevich, began studying the problem under the supervision of Professor David Greenblatt of the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering. By propelling a two-dimensional jet-stream over a circular cylinder they were able to visualize these stationary tornadoes for the first time (see image). In a Featured Article in the journal Physics of Fluids, Dunaevich and Prof. Greenblatt experimentally determined the critical conditions for the existence of the tornadoes, which corresponded remarkably well with theory. They also showed how the tornadoes lose their shape and become wavy, before breaking-down into incoherent turbulence. Formation of the tornadoes and their subsequent breakdown has a dramatic non-linear effect on the location at which the jet ultimately detaches from the surface.

Prof. Greenblatt was amazed that this instability had never been seen before in Coandă flows and suggested that it could be widespread in blood flow, and in medical devices such as ventilators. “The Coandă effect has long been suspected as the reason for unequal ventilation of the lungs in intubated patients and, with the prevalence of COVID-19, the discovery of this instability can play a decisive role in the design of more effective ventilators.” Prof Greenblatt also envisions the great potential for the design of microfluidic mixers, micro air vehicles, and electronics cooling systems. Using recently secured funding from the Israel Science Foundation, Dunaevich and Prof. Greenblatt are presently finding ways to manipulate the tornadoes artificially with the intention of controlling the Coandă effect and exploiting it for the design of medical devices, and for industrial applications.

1. Lord Rayleigh, Proceedings of the Royal Society of London, Vol. 93, No. 648, 1917, pp. 148-154.
2. J.M Floryan, The Physics of Fluids, Vol. 29, 1986, pp. 2380-2387.

Click here for the paper in Physics of Fluids

Technion President Prof. Uri Sivan congratulated him, saying: “Your birthday is a holiday for the Technion”

Prof. Emeritus Ruben Pauncz from the Schulich Faculty of Chemistry at the Technion – Israel Institute of Technology celebrated his 100th birthday on August 8^th and was joined by family, students, and Technion faculty.

1. Prof. Emeritus Ruben Pauncz (sitting) with his son and students and those continuing in his path at the Technion. From right to left: son Avri Pauncz, Prof. Maytal Caspary Toroker from the Faculty of Materials Science and Engineering, Prof. Uri Peskin and Prof. Nimrod Moiseyev from the Schulich Faculty of Chemistry

Prof. Pauncz, a pioneer in the field of quantum chemistry, was born in 1920 in Hungary and was appointed senior lecturer at the University of Szeged. At the outbreak of the Hungarian uprising (1956), at the age of 35, he fled Hungary with his pregnant wife and their toddler child. A few days later, they landed in Israel. Without knowing Hebrew, Prof. Pauncz traveled to the Technion, where he found his own scientific articles in the library, He took these to the Dean of the Faculty of Chemistry Prof. David Ginzburg., who soon invited him to join the Technion faculty.

“Your birthday is a holiday for the entire Technion. You chose Haifa and the Technion as your home and this is where your youngest son was born and raised, who also graduated from the Technion,” wrote Technion President Prof. Uri Sivan in a birthday greeting card. “The course in quantum chemistry that you taught at the Technion was the first of its kind in Israel and probably also in the Western world. There is no doubt that your pioneering contribution put the Technion on the world map as a center for research and teaching in quantum chemistry.”

Prof. Nimrod Moiseyev, founder and head of the Institute for Advanced Studies in Theoretical Chemistry at the Technion was Prof. Pauncz’s “scientific grandson” (a student of Prof. Jacob Katriel who completed his doctoral studies under the supervision of Prof. Pauncz). He visited the family home together with students and other faculty members to honor the occasion. “For a long time, quantum chemistry was confined within the boundaries of physics,” said Prof. Moiseyev. “In the 1950s, Prof. Pauncz was one of the pioneers in the application of quantum mechanics in the field of chemistry and molecules.”

Prof. Pauncz nurtured generations of students who continue his scientific research at the Technion, in Israel, and around the world.

For the scientific autobiography published by Prof. Pauncz in 2017 in the journal of the American Chemical Society (ACS) click here.

In late March, the Technion announced one of the first personal protective equipment (PPE) developments for protecting medical teams from COVID-19, the disease caused by the SARS-CoV-2 virus. Comprised of a nanofiber sheet, the unique sticker can be easily adhered to a protective mask, significantly improving its effectiveness against the novel coronavirus. With an agreement now in place, mass production of the “Maya” sticker has begun in Israel.

The sticker was developed under the leadership of Professor Eyal Zussman of the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering at the Technion, under the clinical guidance of Professor Samer Srouji, the director of the Maxillofacial Surgery Department, at the Galilee Medical Center in Nahariya.

Prof. Zussman, an expert on the development of nanometer fibers for various uses, mobilized his knowledge to create a sticker based on a nanofiber sheet to improve the protection capability of protective masks against the novel coronavirus. Due to its tiny size – 130 nanometers – the virus can penetrate a standard protective mask, where the pores between fibers are comparatively large, in the order of hundreds of microns. The nanoscale pores of the sticker prevent the virus from penetrating the mask, and the researchers incorporated biocides into the fiber sheet that neutralize trapped viruses within a few seconds.

An important milestone was recently reached with the signing of an agreement between the Technion and the DYKAM printing plant in Kibbutz Ein Harod. The agreement will enable the innovative sticker to be available to medical staff and the general public with exclusivity agreements to countries such as Canada, Japan, and Spain. The product has been approved by the authorities in Israel (Medical Equipment Division of the Ministry of Health), and is expected to be approved by the authorities in the United States (FDA) and Europe (CE) soon.

The agreement with Kibbutz Ein Harod will not only accelerate the availability of Maya to hospitals and the general public, but may provide the DYKAM paper plant with significant business momentum. The factory, established in 1982, produces various paper products, including thermal papers for medical monitors, transportation cards, boarding passcards, leisure and entertainment cards, and more. However, the pandemic has led to severe financial distress. Some of the key markets the plant relies on were hit hard, sales fell by 50%, and about a quarter of the company’s workers were dismissed.

Now, following the commercialization agreement for the manufacturing of the innovative Maya sticker, DYKAM operations will enter high gear. The plant management hopes the new production line will be just the first of many new lines of profit and activity.

Israel’s Chemistry Team that was trained at the Technion has been awarded a gold medal, two silver medals and a bronze medal at the International Chemistry Olympiad, which recently took place online due to COVID-19.

Over the past week, 240 young girls and boys from 60 countries around the world participated in the 52nd International Chemistry Olympiad, hosted this year by Turkey. The event was held via Zoom due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.

The State of Israel has been participating in the Olympiad since 2006. This year’s achievements were outstanding – all team members won medals and for the first time in a decade, and one student won gold.

The four high school students who formed Israel’s Chemistry Team were:

• Roi Peer from Gan Haim – Gold
• Bar Sheffer from Ein Vered – Silver
• Ron Shprints from Ashdod – Silver
• Ward Yahya from Taibe – Bronze

Since 2017, Israel’s Science Teams have operated under a joint venture between Israel’s Ministry of Education and the Maimonides Fund’s Future Scientists Center, who together have supported and managed Israel’s participation in the International Olympiads for high school students in four disciplines. The Chemistry team was trained at the Schulich Faculty of Chemistry at the Technion – Israel Institute of Technology.

The team was selected over a year-long process overseen by Professor Zeev Gross of the Technion’s Faculty of Chemistry, who also serves as Dean of the Unit for Continuing and External Studies, as well as heading a variety of national youth programs in chemistry, together with the team’s head coach, Dr. Izana Nigel-Etinger. The training process was also assisted by ex-medalists Raz Lotan, an undergraduate student in mathematics, Assaf Mauda, who holds a B.A. and M.Sc. in chemistry and is currently a master’s student in computer sciences, and Ron Refaeli, an undergraduate student in chemistry, all at the Technion. 

Education Minister Yoav Galant congratulated Israel’s Chemistry Team: “Israeli students, the country’s future generation, reach extraordinary international achievements in science competitions time and time again – even during this complex period. The Ministry of Education will continue to invest in and support training of Israel’s Science Teams. This goes hand-in-hand in developing and boosting capacities of all Israeli students throughout the country, and providing equal opportunity for all students to maximize their potential across a range of fields.”

Amit Edri, Director General of the Ministry of Education: “Israel’s education system is recording another impressive achievement in science. The victories of the students at the International Olympics in Chemistry and the European Competition in Physics place Israel at the forefront of the world of science. And on this front, we would like to see a broader representation of female students later on. Given the importance of the issue, I intend to advance this important goal. I congratulate our students on their impressive achievements and would like to thank the dedicated team of coaches who worked tirelessly to reach this important moment. “

Dr. Ofer Rimon, Deputy Director Computer Communication: “Israel’s Chemistry Team has represented the State of Israel and our education system with great honor. The team is a model for excellence in which we will continue to invest, in order to provide our students with the best tools to enable them to conquer mountains and allow Israel to be among the world’s leading countries. “

Eli Fried, Director General of Maimonides Fund’s Future Scientists Center: “I congratulate the students in Israel’s Chemistry Team, who have brought much pride to the State of Israel. Notwithstanding the challenging times we face, our students stayed the course throughout the year, demonstrating an extraordinary level of perseverance and determination that ultimately paid dividends. The Maimonides Fund’s Future Scientists Center, together with the Ministry of Education, will continue supporting the highly gifted students that participate in Israel’s Science Teams, as an investment in the future of Israel’s scientific leadership.”

Professor Zeev Gross, Technion’s Faculty of Chemistry and Head of Youth Programs: “Congratulations to our students who bravely shouldered the high preparatory demands and took on the maximum in real-time: a 5-hour theoretical test of more than 100 questions. Extensive and in-depth training efforts were led by Dr. Izana Nigel Etinger. 

Schulich Faculty of Chemistry Dean Professor Moris Eisen and his head of administration Hanna Olshtein, program coordinator Shirley Kaplan and laboratory engineers Gabriela Halevi and Emma Gretz, also assisted in this comprehensive effort. Special thanks to former Olympiad medalists and current Technion students – Assaf Mauda, Raz Lotan, and Ron Refaeli – who contributed their experience and time.” 

The above mentioned four pupils alongside Michael Balgola from K’far Hayarok and Itamar Steinitz from Ramat Hasharon also participated in the Asian-European Mendeleev Chemistry Olympiad (online). The competition took place 10 days earlier and was joined by representatives from 27 countries. The Israeli team won 2 silver and 3 bronze medals.

Professor Meytal Landau

Antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) are an important part of the immune system and can self-assemble, often enhancing their antimicrobial activity. Professor Meytal Landau and Ph.D. student Yizhaq Engelberg, both of the Technion Faculty of Biology, have uncovered the atomic structure that gives a human-derived AMP the advantageous ability to form active and highly stable materials. Their discovery, published in the journal Nature Communications, has the potential to enable the design of similar artificial materials for technological and medical applications such as treating infections and even killing cancer cells.  

The study focused on elucidating the structure of the active core of the human AMP: LL-37 (residues 17-29). The researchers found that LL-37’s core is comprised of a self-assembled, ribbon-like protein fiber of densely packed helices. The fiber’s surface properties can destroy various microbes, such as bacteria, by disrupting the outer membrane of the microbe. Further experimental observation demonstrated that the unique structure is chemically stable and possesses high heat resistance. 

In addition to being used as an antibacterial therapy – which is very relevant in today’s age of antibiotic resistance – the researchers envision that the fiber’s nanostructure can be used to create scaffolds for long-lasting and durable biomaterials.  The finding opens the door to applications in nanotechnology, regenerative medicine, and bioengineering – such as an antimicrobial coating on medical devices.   

The mapping of the peptide structure was conducted and based on research done at the European Synchrotron Radiation Facility (ESRF), in Grenoble, France; at the PETRA III storage ring; at DESY particle accelerators in Hamburg, Germany and; at the Technion: Center for Structural Biology (TCSB), Russell Berrie Electron Microscopy Center of Soft Matter, and the Life Science and Engineering Infrastructure Center. 

Ph.D. student, Yizhaq Engelberg

The researchers’ discovery was lauded by The Israel Society for Microscopy (ISM). The Society recently announced it will award the 2020 Lev Margulis Memorial Prize to Yizhaq Engelberg, for this research breakthrough. The award committee noted that the discovery is an “impressive achievement in the study of the structure of a human antimicrobial peptide” and that it is expected to lead to diverse applications in biotechnology, nanotechnology, antibacterial drug production, tissue restoration, and more.

The study was supported by the Israel Science Foundation (ISF); the Israel Ministry of Science, Technology, and Space; the iNEXT consortium of Instruct-ERIC; and the US-Israel Binational Science Foundation (BSF).

For the article in Nature Communications click here

The fiber structure of antimicrobial peptide LL-37 (17-29) uncovered in the present study interacting with bacterial cells. (Credit: Sharon Amlani )

Among the festive closure of the academic year at the Technion’s prize-winning Faculty of Architecture & Town Planning, final projects are showcased, and this year’s guest lectures include themes such as Globalization, Mega Scale, and the Public Realm.

More details are available on the Faculty website.

Marilyn and the late Henry Taub

In what was a highlight of the recently held virtual Technion-Israel Institute of Technology Board of Governors meeting, the University announced that its Faculty of Computer Science will henceforth be known as the Henry and Marilyn Taub Faculty of Computer Science. According to the official statement released by the Technion, the naming of the Faculty is in consideration of some six decades of leadership and financial support from the late Henry Taub, his wife Marilyn Taub, and their family foundation, including a recent decision to provide a major donation that will make possible a much-needed expansion of Technion’s Computer Science facilities, faculty and research programs.

The expansion made possible by the Taubs is of critical importance to Israel’s future, since it will directly translate into a substantial increase of high-tech employees in the workforce to match the incredible growth of the country’s tech sector. 

The Family’s generosity will enable the University to improve on the already top-tier status of the Faculty of Computer Science at the forefront of global research, recruit and retain leading faculty members, expand undergraduate and graduate enrollment, and upgrade the teaching and research infrastructure.

“We are grateful to the Taub Family, whose support and engagement spans six decades,” said Technion President Professor Uri Sivan. “Since Henry Taub, of blessed memory, and his wife Marilyn, first became engaged with the Technion in the 1960s, they have been supportive and generous partners. The Faculty of Computer Science is celebrating its fiftieth anniversary, a period of remarkable achievements, and we are proud of its continued success. The most recent support from the Taub Family will help the Faculty to continue to expand and lead the field of computer science in Israel and worldwide.”

A legendary businessman who founded Fortune 500 Company Automatic Data Processing (ADP) and led it as president and chairman for many years, Henry Taub provided wise and visionary leadership to the Technion and the American Technion Society. He was recognized with the highest honors during his decades of leadership which included   President of the American Technion Society and Chairman of Technion’s Board of Governors.

Mr. Taub’s first contribution was for the Morris and Sylvia Taub Computer Building, in honor of his late parents. He and Marilyn later made possible the construction of the Henry and Marilyn Taub and Family Science and Technology Center, inaugurated in 2000, and continue to support its enhancement, including a new Student Learning Center and Terrace. The Taubs’ vision and generosity were also the driving force behind the Leaders in Science and Technology Faculty Recruitment Program, which provides critical funding for state-of-the-art labs and requirements of newly recruited researchers.

The new sign on the Henry and Marilyn Taub Faculty of Computer Science Building at Technion

In the fifty years of the Faculty of Computer Science’s existence, research has expanded and deepened, with several faculty members responsible for groundbreaking inventions, developments, and research. In 1972, the first class graduated from the Faculty with 10 students. Nearly 50 years later, a class of 300 graduates completed their baccalaureate studies.

“The Faculty is the backbone of the Israeli hi-tech industry and its graduates serve in key positions in the Israeli economy,” said Professor Dan Geiger, dean of the Henry and Marilyn Taub Faculty of Computer Science, “The Taub Family has played an important part in our development and success on a global scale. Henry Taub once said: “Buildings are just walls. People are what matters.” Indeed, the generous contributions of the Taub Family will help the Faculty of Computer Science maintain and advance its leadership position in Israel’s tech-based economy.”

Vision 2020 – Meet brilliant Technion researchers in their labs.

Come take part in the Technion International Board of Governors for 2020. This is the year of new vision, new possibilities, and new dimensions of engagement.

Tune in live with the Technion global family!

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Novel Method Can Diagnose Cancer and Determine Metastatic Risk Within Two Hours

Novel Method Can Diagnose Cancer and Determine Metastatic Risk Within Two Hours

Professor Daphne Weihs’ mechanobiology-based technology can predict the metastatic potential of a tumor. The method entails seeding tumor-sampled cells on a specialized gel that mimics tissue-stiffness and quantifying the number of cells that push into the gel surface and other measures.

Metastasis, the spread of cancer cells from the primary tumor to new areas of the body and the generation of secondary tumors, is responsible for 90% of cancer-related deaths. A research team led by Professor Daphne Weihs of the Technion Faculty of Biomedical Engineering has developed and tested a mechanobiology-based technology to predict whether a tumor is cancerous and, if so, its clinical metastatic potential. The study was published in the scientific journal Annals of Biomedical Engineering.

Prof. Weihs’ technology can rapidly determine metastatic risk by evaluating the invasiveness of cells sampled from a tumor by seeding them on a synthetic gel that mimics tissue stiffness and wherein invasive cells will rapidly and forcefully push into the gel’s surface. Quantification of the number of indenting cells and other measures provides the likelihood of metastasis formation. 

Currently, Prof. Weihs and her team successfully tested the technology on pancreatic tumor cell samples collected from volunteers at the Rambam Health Care campus and on established breast and pancreatic cell lines. The results were validated against the current standard clinical protocols and agreed with the clinical diagnoses, prognoses, and patient outcomes. The results also matched established cell lines of the same cancer types. The mechanical invasiveness assay, which may be applied to many, and potentially all, solid tumor types, successfully differentiates between benign (not cancerous), non-metastatic, and metastatic tumor samples, and concurrently gages their metastatic likelihood.

Cancer morbidity is caused by uncontrolled tumor progression, which results in tumor growth and, potentially, metastatic spread. Early prediction of increased metastatic risk can significantly affect disease management and improve treatment outcomes. Current methods used to estimate the likelihood of metastasis and tumor recurrence are time-consuming, qualitative, and require extensive examinations that take days or even weeks – valuable time that cancer patients may not have. Rapidly progressing tumors require swift and aggressive treatment. Moreover, current methods are not infallible. For example, 30% of cancer-negative lymph node assessments in breast cancer patients fail to predict eventual metastases development.      

In previous research, Prof. Weihs established that invasive, cancerous cells will push into synthetic, polyacrylamide gels to cell-scale depths within 1-2 hours, while normal or non-invasive cells do not significantly indent the gel. Prof. Weihs explained: “The gels are a customized platform that mimics the physiological stiffness of soft tissue. The invasiveness of cells sampled from tissues is rapidly and quantitatively evaluated using our innovative mechanical invasiveness assay, which we are currently developing into a clinically applicable technology.” 

The great advantage of this technology is that it rapidly provides physicians with quantitative measures to determine patient-specific treatment protocols within hours after an initial biopsy. Consequently, informed decisions can be made, such as, if an aggressive chemotherapy course is needed (for highly invasive tumor cells) or an aggressive surgical approach is warranted (for less invasive tumor cells, where the tumor will likely remain localized). Such a swift assessment, at first diagnosis, can improve disease management and patient survival by increasing the precision of the chosen treatment plan and reducing psychological and physical stress brought on by long wait times and potentially overly aggressive treatments.   

The research was partially funded by the Elias Fund for Medical Research, the Polak Fund for Applied Research, the Ber-Lehmsdorf Foundation and the Gerald O. Mann Charitable Foundation. 

For the article in Annals of Biomedical Engineering click here