SolarEdge Awards Prizes, Grants
Technion held an award ceremony sponsored by SolarEdge, in memory of the late Guy Sella. "He wanted to make the world a better place."
On January 3, 2022, the Technion held an award ceremony for prizes, research grants and scholarships as part of a project, sponsored by SolarEdge, in memory of the late Guy Sella. A Technion graduate, Guy Sella founded SolarEdge in 2006 together with Lior Handelsman, Meir Adest, Yoav Galin and Amir Fishelov. The company they founded became a world leader in smart energy technology, and particularly for solar-power generation.
Guy Sella passed away in August 2019. The project set up in his memory includes the establishment of PEARL (Power Electronics and Renewable Energy Lab) in the Andrew and Erna Viterbi Faculty of Electrical and Computer Engineering at the Technion; research prizes, research grants, and graduate student scholarships in the field of energy; a biennial energy hackathon for students; and tours for high-school students to the Grand Technion Energy Program (GTEP).
Technion President Prof. Uri Sivan
The award ceremony was attended by Technion President Prof. Uri Sivan, SolarEdge CEO Zvi Lando, Guy’s widow, Barbara Sella, and representatives from the Grand Technion Energy Program. “I’m sorry that I did not get to know Guy personally,” said the Technion president “I don’t know what impact the Technion had on him, but he certainly left an impact on so many others. The partnership with SolarEdge is a pillar in the strategy that the Technion has been leading in recent years – a true partnership between industry and academia and the removal of boundaries between basic and applied research. Over the next decade, these boundaries will blur even further, and we will realize new breakthroughs and achieve new goals together.”
“Guy wanted to make the world a better place,” SolarEdge’s CEO said. “Our mission is to turn Israel into a sustainable energy powerhouse, and with cooperation between academia and industry, we will continue to push the limits and achieve research goals.”
The ceremony was hosted by the director of the Grand Technion Energy Program, Prof. Yoed Tsur from the Wolfson Faculty of Chemical Engineering, who said: “Since its establishment in 2007, the Grand Technion Energy Program has been active in creating research infrastructure and promoting research in this field. GTEP-led activities have generated significant scientific discoveries and major national initiatives and have forged strong industrial and academic collaborations within Israel and with prominent international institutes. We and SolarEdge share a common goal; each of us aspires to be part of the global energy revolution and to provide the necessary solutions to leave a slightly better world for future generations.”
The Guy Sella Research Prize was won by two members of the Grand Technion Energy Program: Prof. Gideon Grader from the Wolfson Faculty of Chemical Engineering and Prof. Avner Rothschild from the Faculty of Materials Science and Engineering. They received the award for developing innovative technology to produce hydrogen – the technological basis upon which the start-up company H2Pro was established.
Prof. Avner Rothschild
The research grant was awarded to Prof. Yair Ein-Eli from the Faculty of Materials Science and Engineering, and Dr. Nadav Amdursky from the Shulich Faculty of Chemistry.
Dr. Nadav Amdursky
The Guy Sella Scholarships were awarded to Shalom David Aksman Kleingesinds from the Faculty of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Amir Marzouq from the Faculty of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Aviad Navon from the Viterbi Faculty of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Natalie Levyfrom the Faculty of Industrial Engineering and Management, and Daniel Gino from the Faculty of Architecture and Town Planning.
From right to left: Prof. Yoed Tsur, student Amir Marzouq, Barbara Sella and Zvi Lando