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Twenty-nine-year-old Daniella Bar-Lev was drawn to mathematics in high school where she studied in a class for gifted teens, while at the same time taking courses at the Open University. “In these courses, I was exposed to mathematics beyond the calculus that you study in high school, and I realized that this is the field I would like to pursue,” Daniela explained. “When I enrolled at the Technion, the well-known warning that ‘you can’t do anything with a mathematics degree’ echoed in my head, so I enrolled in both mathematics and computer science, in order to get a taste of both fields and choose the one I liked best. I came to realize that I loved the connection between the two, and completed a double degree.”

Daniella was raised in Ashdod, where she continues to live today with her partner. Her parents immigrated from the Soviet Union in the 1970s. Her mother worked for many years in the finance department at the Wolfson Medical Center in Holon and her – father at the Ackerstein brick factory in Ashdod. “Neither of them is a computer person, the love for the field is something I developed on my own,” Daniella recalled. The choice to pursue higher education wasn’t trivial either. “There are no universities in Ashdod, so academia doesn’t have a presence in one’s daily experience. Nonetheless, here I am, after my bachelor’s and master’s degrees and in the middle of my doctoral studies.”

Bachelor’s degree graduation

She completed her bachelor’s degree with commendable honors as part of “LAPIDIM” – the Faculty of Computer Science’s excellence program, designed to train future leaders in the hi-tech industry. Towards the end of her degree, Daniella started working as a teaching assistant at the Henry and Marilyn Taub Faculty of Computer Science. Among other things, she tutored her younger sister, also a student at the faculty.

It was already clear to her then that she wanted to earn a master’s degree, but the search for an advisor was not bearing fruit. Eventually, she began to look for advisors at other universities. However, a meeting with Prof. Shaul Markovitch, who was the faculty vice dean for undergraduate studies at the time, changed her course.

“He strongly suggested that I speak with Prof. Eitan Yaakobi from the computer science department before making any decisions. I met with Prof. Yaakobi, and he explained his research to me. Shortly after, we continued to a meeting with Prof. Tuvi Etzion, who was Eitan’s advisor for his master’s degree. It was love at first sight, both personally and academically, and I was thrilled when they agreed to be joint supervisors for my master’s degree. The very next day, I began working on my research proposal,” said Daniela.

At the ISIT (International Symposium on Information Theory) conference in Finland with Prof. Eitan Yaakobi and two doctoral students from the group

Daniella’s graduate research, which later evolved into her doctoral thesis, delves into various aspects of DNA storage. This field, which has been developing rapidly in the last decade, explores the potential of using biological material, rather than traditional electronic devices, as a means of information storage. This approach offers several benefits, including the significant miniaturization of storage systems, long-term storage of information 1,000 times longer than in current solutions, and a substantial reduction in both energy and economic costs.

The DNA molecule is composed of four nucleotides, which are organic building blocks denoted by the letters A, C, G, and T. Unlike the binary language of zeros and ones used in current technologies, DNA storage relies on sequences of these four letters to encode information.

To write (that is, to store) the information with this technology, synthesis is required. This is the process of creating the DNA molecules that represent the sequence, and to read the information, sequencing of those molecules is required.

The process of reading information stored in DNA is a complex one, and writing it is even more so. During these processes, errors of various types can occur. These are the main focus of Daniella’s research. “Errors in DNA storage differ significantly from those in typical hardware, which impact the encoding and decoding process as well as the process of retrieving the stored information. This requires the use of mathematical tools, so familiarity with math is required here, a field that I very much enjoy and can contribute to,” Daniella explained.

She emphasizes another aspect that brings her satisfaction in her research work – the knowledge that it can have a significant impact. “When I started my master’s degree, it was considered a promising field. Today, it is already clear to me that this is a field that will change the future. Electronic storage is reaching its limits of capacity in all aspects – physical space, costs, energy, and the environmental impact – and a dramatic alternative is needed, not just minor improvements. I have no doubt that DNA storage is an excellent option, but more work is needed before it can become widely available. Unlike conventional memory, where we know the specific address that we need to access in the hardware, working with DNA is entirely different. It is like a ‘soup’ of molecules. Therefore, I hope that our contribution in the field of error correction will be apparent soon on the applied level as well.”

With Prof. Tuvi Etzion

Her decision to pursue a Ph.D. after completing her master’s degree was solidified during the COVID-19 pandemic. “It was a time of remote work and introspection, and I discussed the idea with Eitan. The smile on his face confirmed that I was on the right track, and more importantly, that I’m good at what I do. This recognition is invaluable because we often struggle to accurately assess ourselves, especially during periods of isolation when we are working from home and spend most of our time alone.”

Daniella’s performance in her master’s thesis paved the way for her acceptance into a direct path towards a doctorate, which she now sees as just the beginning of her academic journey. “I have a passion for both research and teaching, and in my Ph.D. I work closely with graduate students. The academic world is one that I knew very little about until I arrived at the Technion, but it has become clear that this is where I belong. In addition to my academic work, it is also important to me to introduce children and teenagers to this world. I volunteer in elementary schools where I present what I do and what the academic track is like. Through this, I address the common fears among young girls and work to break down gender biases surrounding academia and higher education. I hope that my efforts have a significant impact.”

Throughout her academic journey, Daniella has received numerous scholarships and awards, including the Gutwirth Excellence Scholarship, Faculty Excellence Scholarship, Faculty Persistent Excellent Teaching Assistant Award, the Best Paper Award at a conference, and the Student Research Prize for Cross-PI Collaboration in Data Science. “Daniella is the best student I have ever had,” declares Prof. Yaakobi. “Not only does she help me supervise graduate students, but she also leads my research group while guiding and assisting many students. I’m certain she will become a faculty member and I hope it will be at the Technion.”

In Israel, the sea almost literally flows into our taps. We Israelis pride ourselves on the achievements of our country in the field of desalination, with 5 desalination plants spread across the Israeli shores of the Mediterranean, which produce drinking water equivalent to about 75% of the national domestic water consumption, and more facilities to be built in the coming years.

A perfect solution for a desert country? Perhaps, yet everything comes at a cost: to make seawater or brackish water drinkable, the desalination plants in Israel consume a lot of electricity. A new invention, recently presented at the 5^th biannual student conference of the Stephen and Nancy Grand Water Research Institute (GWRI), tries to solve this energy problem, and might even create a revolution in the availability of desalinated water worldwide. This invention by the Technion researchers consists of a unique wind turbine that does not require any electricity for it to run, and is inexpensive and easy to use and maintain.

Dr. David Keisar. Photo by Sharon Tzur

Enter the vertical axis wind turbine

The electric energy consumed today by desalination processes stands at about 3.5 kilowatt-hours (kWh) for each cubic meter of water. For the sake of illustration, approximately 4 percent of all electric energy produced in Israel in 2015 was used for desalination. In addition to the high environmental costs of such vast energy consumption – energy which is produced in Israel mainly by burning fossil fuels – the need for so much electricity keeps the technology of desalinating and purifying water beyond the reach of over a billion people around the world who have no access to clean drinking water.

At the core of the new invention lies a turbine not known by many – the vertical axis wind turbine (VAWT). This turbine rotates around an upright axis (to visualize the movement of the turbine blades, imagine a giant egg-beater), unlike the more familiar wind turbines, whose axis is horizontal. Despite the prevalence of horizontal axis turbines, highly efficient VAWT blade configurations have been developed in the Technion’s Flow Control Laboratory, headed by Professor David Greenblatt. “The tip of the blade of a ‘normal’ wind turbine spins about 7 times faster than the wind that moves it, while our blades spin at about the same speed as the wind – that is, up to 7 times slower than traditional wind turbines,” explains Dr. David Keisar of the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering at the Technion, who conducted the research – guided by Prof. Greenblatt – as part of his doctoral thesis in the Grand Technion Energy Program (GTEP). “Our vertical axis turbines operate well even at low wind speeds, and they are very efficient in producing energy, considering their size and rotational speed.” According to Keisar, the fact that the vertical axis turbines spin slowly makes them much quieter than the horizontal axis ones, as well as safer for birds – who can see their blades and don’t fly into them.

Keisar says that another benefit of using VAWTs is in the fact that the blades that spin are connected to a shaft spanning the whole height of the turbine – this way, any device that uses the rotational speed of the turbine – be it an electric generator or any other device – can be placed close to the ground, and not at the top of the turbine, as the horizontal axis turbines require. This fact simplifies their installation, as well as their regular operation and maintenance. Another important advantage of VAWTs is that they can spin no matter the direction of the wind blowing at them, as opposed to horizontal axis turbines which run optimally only when they face the direction of the wind (or against the wind, according to their design).

First experimental setup. Illustration by David Keisar

Turbines for small-scale systems

Mentioning all of these advantages begs the question: why don’t we always use vertical axis turbines instead of the well-known horizontal axis ones? “Horizontal axis turbines are still better at generating high-power electricity, and economically they are the most efficient ones at large scales,” explains Keisar. Additionally, he says, the axis and the bearings (parts that reduce friction while spinning) of VAWTs tend to fall apart and break faster than their horizontal axis counterparts.

“However, this problem rises mainly when the vertical axis turbines are large,” Keisar reassures. “When small, they work well and are far more robust.” Therefore, in small systems that are meant to be used in distant places by non-professionals, the advantages of vertical axis turbines – being able to run at a low-speed wind, no matter which direction it blows, as well as their ease of installation and maintenance – make them a better solution than the horizontal axis ones.

On the drawing board

The goal of the research headed by Prof. Greenblatt was to develop a small and simple desalination system powered directly by wind energy. The researchers focused on desalinating brackish water, with a concentration of salts of up to 1% (for reference, the salt concentration in seawater is more than 3%). “We realized that the axis of VAWT can be connected mechanically and directly to a water pump on the ground (without the need to generate electricity to run the pump) which starts the desalination process,” recalls Keisar. That is, in such a setup, the axis that the turbine blades spin around is connected directly to an axis in the water pump. As a first step, the researchers connected a water pump to a VAWT in a wind tunnel (a large channel with a fan in one end that can blow wind at a controlled speed). The pump pressurizes brackish water through a reverse osmosis desalination system – the main kind of system for desalination nowadays, both in Israel and around the world. Reverse osmosis involves using high pressure to drive seawater or brackish water through a partially permeable membrane: water is allowed to flow through it freely, but about 99% of the salts are blocked. After passing through the membrane, water is drinkable and almost completely free of salts.

“We managed to create a system that converts around 12-17% of the input wind energy directly into hydraulic force, for almost any wind speed and an especially wide range of salinity,” says Keisar. “It is as efficient, if not more so, as generating electricity from wind energy and then converting it to hydraulic energy using an electric pump. For example, when wind speed is at 5 meters per second, which is its average speed at Haifa, where our lab is located, the system is capable of producing between 500 and 1000 liters of desalinated water and removing approximately 93-98.5% of the salts (depending on the salinity and pressure of the water).” It is admittedly a very modest amount of water, but consider the fact that the experiment used only a small demonstration system; for a follow-up experiment, the researchers plan to build a bigger system and test it in the Negev or the Arava, for simulation of how it would function in remote places, where such a system could be used to produce fresh drinking water for communities in need.

Good news for the thirsty

Concept illustration of the turbine & the pump. Illustration by David Keisar

This simple system developed by the researchers might be revolutionary at a global scale for its possible use by energy-poor communities with no access to clean fresh water. According to the UN, there are about 1.2 billion people today in such communities, and according to current predictions, this number should grow to about 1.6 billion people by 2030. “Actually, the system we’ve developed works entirely without electricity – none needs to be generated or to be drawn from an external source such as an electric grid or any energy storage system,” says Keisar. “The system is small and relatively cheap because it requires no electronic components. Being mechanical, it is also much easier to maintain and to repair when needed, and it can be set up and taken care of even by people who weren’t extensively trained for that purpose.

The researchers are presently patenting their system, and aiming to commercialize it. The first systems to supply fresh water to communities in need should be up and running in a few years, they hope. According to Keisar, desalination is not the only purpose these systems could serve: “they can also be used for the improvement of drinking water quality in general, as they can be connected to machines able to clean many kinds of pollution from water, thereby purifying it,” he says. “The idea is to develop different systems which combine vertical axis wind turbines with water treatment machines, all simple, inexpensive, and easy to manage.”

This article was prepared by ZAVIT – The News Agency of the Israeli Society of Ecology and Environmental Sciences

Johnathan Sher, Zavit

At the beginning of February, the Technion hosted the kickoff meeting for LUCIA, an international project and consortium supported by the Horizon Europe Program and headed by coordinator Prof. Hossam Haick of the Wolfson Faculty of Chemical Engineering. The two-day event was attended by sixty experts from Israel and several EU countries.

The consortium’s goal is to improve the early detection and management of lung cancer by in depth study of risk factors from exposure to individual biology, in order to improve prevention strategies, provide policy recommendations, help implement screening programs, improve diagnosis and enable precision medicine approaches.

Every thirty seconds, someone, somewhere in the world, dies of lung cancer, making this disease the deadliest in terms of the number of lives it claims. The average 5-year survival rate is presently 17% for men and 24% for women. Although smoking is considered a significant risk factor for this disease, lung cancer often also occurs among nonsmokers. Accordingly, the consortium will work on identifying all risk factors and on developing new methods for the diagnosis, prevention, and treatment of the disease.

Group photo

“The LUCIA Project is being launched at the right time, with the right partners,” said Prof. Haick at the opening of the conference. Indeed, the project starts when recent early detection and screening recommendations have been proposed in the EU, Israel and other countries. “We are fortunate to have many skilled, outstanding partners from a variety of fields, and we will be working together for the next four years, applying a multidisciplinary approach, to further the understanding of the disease and develop methods to prevent, diagnose and treat it more effectively. Our work will not focus exclusively on the medical aspects of lung cancer; rather, we will be assisted by experts on law and ethics and by decision makers to put our findings into effect for the benefit of society as a whole.”

The establishment of the consortium, headed by the Technion, was funded by the EU’s research and innovation program, Horizon Europe, which supports international collaborations expected to deliver practical technological solutions to modern-day challenges, and was awarded 14.6 million euros. LUCIA is part of the new Mission of Cancer within Horizon Europe, a key research and innovation instrument within Europe’s Beating Cancer Plan to understand the complexity of cancer through multidisciplinary collaboration in disciplines such as medicine, bioengineering, biology or computer science together with key legal, ethical and social aspects. LUCIA is part of two Clusters within the EU Cancer program, ‘Understanding’ and ‘Prevention’.

LUCIA Consortium has 22 members – academic institutions and other entities – all working together to map risk factors for lung cancer while focusing on three aspects: individual risk factors, including lifestyle and exposure to pollutants; external factors, including urban or built-up areas, traffic, climate and socio-economic aspects; and biological reactions, including aging and genetic, epigenetic and metabolic changes. To this end, LUCIA’s experts are working on gaining an understanding of the molecular mechanism of the disease, the identification and analysis of relevant data repositories, and other areas.

R-L: Prof. Yuval Shaked and Prof. Hossam Haick of the Technion with Prof. Jonathan Sleeman of the University of Heidelberg

The Technion’s Executive Vice President for Research, Prof. Jacob (Koby) Rubinstein, commented: “Today, we understand that basic research isn’t enough; academia must keep in close touch with the field – industry, hospitals, and all other relevant bodies. When this relationship isn’t there, implementing basic research conducted in the academic world for the

good of mankind is very difficult. I say this from personal experience – it took 12 years for my development in optics to become a reality. Today, the Technion works based on a clear strategy that calls for bridging the gap between academia and industry, and the rewards are already evident – the Technion is the leading university in Israel in terms of the number of startups it has engendered. Your consortium well reflects this spirit, so I ask you – don’t stop until your research is implemented, meaning – until you have translated your findings into products and methods that will save the lives of lung cancer patients.”

As mentioned, the consortium is headed by coordinator Prof. Haick and the members of his research group: Dr. Yoav Broza (project manager), Liat Tzuri (administrative manager), and laboratory manager, Walaa Saliba. Prof. Yuval Shaked of the Ruth and Bruce Rappaport Faculty of Medicine is a partner in the consortium and is researching the mechanisms of lung cancer to support early diagnosis.

On Thursday, February 9, 2023, a special ceremony took place at the Technion’s historic campus, where Madatech – the National Museum of Science, Technology and Space in Haifa – is housed today. The event, attended by Technion President Prof. Uri Sivan, and Chairman of Madatech’s Board of Directors Mr. Leon Recanati, was held to celebrate 100 years since the historical palm trees were planted by Prof. Albert Einstein and his wife, Elsa, on February 11, 1923, in the courtyard of the Technion’s historic campus in Haifa.

A tribute plaque in three languages, Hebrew, English and Arabic, was placed by the newly planted tree, bearing the following inscription:

“This tree was planted on 9 February 2023 by Technion President Prof. Uri Sivan and Madatech Board of Directors Chairman Mr. Leon Recanati.

This festive occasion marks 100 years since Prof. Albert Einstein and his wife Elsa planted two palm trees in this courtyard of the Technion’s historic campus.

These trees symbolize Technion’s deep-rooted role in the establishment and blossoming of the State of Israel and signify its continuing success for the next 100 years.”

R-L: Yossi Ani, Madatech General Director; Mr. Leon Recanati; Technion President Prof. Uri Sivan and his three grandchildren, Shakked, Carmel and Ofri

“The Technion’s history is closely intertwined with the life of Prof. Albert Einstein, a genius among the Jewish people and all of humanity,” said Technion President, Prof. Uri Sivan, who planted the tree with his grandchildren Shakked, Carmel and Ofri. “Prof. Einstein did a great deal for the Technion, even before it opened its doors, and his visit exactly one hundred years ago was intended to express his support for the institution, which would change the face of the Jewish community in Mandatory Palestine, and shape the character of the country that would be established twenty-five years later. Now, one hundred years since, we are gratified to be planting an oak tree together with the future generation, in honor of the next one hundred years.”

Mr. Leon Recanati, Chairman of Madatech’s Board of Directors: “We are proud that Einstein’s vision and his dreams for the future generations are being realized here, in a place that imparts the experience of the beauty and wisdom of science to thousands of visitors each year, especially to the youngest among them, who get to experience and enjoy, to understand and investigate. I am certain that some of them absorb the inspiration and later, transform it into the choice of science subjects and the pursuit of a career in the field. The museum experience and fascinating scientific exhibits, in tandem with the Department of Education and lab experiments, delivers a complete, firsthand experience that encourages people to touch, to experience, and most of all, imparts the insight that science is everywhere, it is present, and it touches every sphere, it is the magic, the essence and the spirit of our existence.”

The tree planting ceremony took place with the participation of the fifth- and six-graders of the Hebrew Reali School in Hadar, Haifa.

During his historic visit, Prof. Einstein met Jewish children who were raised and lived in Mandatory Palestine, and wrote in his diary: “For the first time, I see so many Hebrew children, and I express my deep gratitude to you for the pleasure you have given me”. Had he met Israeli children and members of the young generation today, he would most certainly have been proud. At the ceremony, the Reali students read aloud letters to the children of the future, who in one hundred years’ time will enjoy the shade of this tree. Reali fifth-grader Naomi Yuval wrote, “I am proud to be standing here, next to the palm tree planted by Albert Einstein, the man who is considered the greatest genius of all time, in the Madatech courtyard at our school”.

Sixth-grader Noa Krimmer wrote, “May these be one hundred peaceful years, with no wars, only success and achievements, only the laughter of children, sounds of joy, without tears.”

The palm tree planted by Albert Einstein in front of the Technion historical building

Prof. Einstein’s first visit to the Technion was in February 1923. An article covering the visit, published in the Palestine Daily Mail on February 14, 1923, stated that the festive reception held for the couple in Haifa was attended by 1,500 people. “At 11 a.m., the committee held a communal reception in the Technikum [Technion] courtyard, and the heavens helped and decided to treat the guest well, when after Friday’s rain the skies cleared and a half-springlike sun baked the earth, as if it sought to emphasize to the guest that his one foot was still in the Diaspora, while the other was standing on the soil of our country”.

At the Reali School, Prof. Einstein told his hosts that on the ship sailing to Palestine his pipe had broken, and he couldn’t fix it himself because, “With us Jews, everything has been concentrated in the brain, and nothing was left in the hands.” For this reason, Einstein added, “In this Technikum building, I see the desire to develop the hands.” He added that the concept of the Technikum was close to his heart, and he hoped to help promote it as much as possible.

Prof. Abraham Lempel

The Technion mourns the passing of Professor Emeritus Abraham Lempel and sends heartfelt condolences to his family. Prof. Lempel from the Henry and Marilyn Taub Faculty of Computer Science was one of the authors of the Lempel-Ziv algorithm, which revolutionized data compression and is considered to be one of the most important technological breakthroughs achieved by Israeli researchers.

Prof. Lempel was born in Poland in 1936. He commenced his studies at the Technion in 1959, and finished his PhD 8 years later. He taught Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, and in 1981-1984 served as dean of the Henry and Marilyn Taub Faculty of Computer Science. He founded the HP Labs Israel, and was put in charge of the global HP research activities in computer science and engineering, and in Physics. He was also an IEEE fellow, “for contributions to the theory of data complexity and to the practice of data compression, and to the algebraic analysis and synthesis of digital sequences”.

In 1977, Prof Lempel, together with Professor Jacob Ziv from the Andrew and Erna Viterbi Faculty of Electrical and Computer Engineering, published the first version of the Lempel-Ziv algorithm, and in 1979 – the second version. This algorithm enables lossless data compression. Compression algorithms are nowadays an enabling technology for multiple file formats including GIF (images), PDF (files), MP3 (music), and more, as well as digital Cable and Satellite TV, and many other modern technologies.

Here is a quote from the ACM announcement of the 1998 Paris Kanellakis Theory and Practice Award, one of many awards Prof. Lempel received: “The LZ algorithm can be found in virtually every modern computer. Most workstations run with one or more LZ compression algorithms in its software, hardware or both. We use the LZ algorithm often without being aware of it, archiving files; installing software that is compressed on a disk; backing up hard drives; and going online. These examples are of the practical impact added to the well-recognized theoretical significance of the work of Dr. Lempel and Dr. Ziv.”

Prof. Lempel

Prof. Uri Sivan, president of the Technion: “Prof. Emeritus Lempel, was an inspiration to all of us. He’s considered one of the greatest researchers who worked in the Technion in the 100 years of its existence. The Lempel-Ziv algorithm contributed to the world an unprecedented technology which enables fast and lossless data transfer. Prof. Lempel exemplified a combination between in-depth basic science and excellent applied research. Few scientists have as much impact as he did on technological progress and on our day-to-day. May his memory be a blessing.”

Researchers from the Andrew and Erna Viterbi Faculty of Electrical and Computer Engineering at the Technion – Israel Institute of Technology, together with the staff of the Micro and Nano Fabrication Unit (MNFU) at the Sara and Moshe Zisapel Nanoelectronics Center, have developed unique vertical cavity surface emitting lasers, known as VCSELs, to be used in chip scale atomic clocks. Because of their extremely small size – roughly 1000 of them could fit in a grain of salt – VCSELs are highly energy efficient, a crucial property for the battery-driven, mobile atomic clocks.

The team who worked on the project. R-L: Yana Milyutin, Dr. Lior Gal, Valentina Korchnoy, Amit Shacham, Prof. Meir Orenstein, Dr. Orna Terniak, Dr. Visorian (Beso) Michaekshvili, Aya Cohen, Arkadi Gavrilov, Guy Seri

The team who worked on the project. R-L: Yana Milyutin, Dr. Lior Gal, Valentina Korchnoy, Amit Shacham, Prof. Meir Orenstein, Dr. Orna Ternyak, Dr. Visorian (Beso) Mikhelashvili, Aya Cohen, Arkadi Gavrilov, Guy Seri

Atomic clocks are the most precise man-made machines, and have major impacts on fundamental science and numerous applications, including GPS navigation, synchronization of communication and computing systems, as well as defense systems including Iron Dome, to name but a few. The most precise clocks are very large systems, found only in a few national laboratories around the world. Such a clock would miss one second in a time longer than the life of the universe. The so-called cesium fountain clock is somewhat more abundant and is used universally to define one second. Small chip scale atomic clocks were developed to enable very small, inexpensive, and mobile, yet accurate, time measurement. These battery-driven clocks would lose one second in 10,000 years. At its heart is a special VCSEL that was recently developed by the Technion.

This particular VCSEL has many characteristics that are difficult to implement, including very high accuracy of their light emission color, shape, and polarization, as well as the ability to operate at extremely high temperatures. The Technion successfully developed such VCSELs, that even outperform the best commercially available competitors.

Prof. Meir Orenstein examining the unique oxidation process in the clean room in the MNFU

The VCSEL development project was part of an industry-academia consortium initiated by the Israel Innovation Authority (IIA). It includes, in addition to the Technion, commercial companies such as NVIDIA, SCD, Civan, Accubeat, and PCB, and the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. The roots for establishing the VCSEL development lie in the vision of the IIA for the significance of VCSELs to the Israeli industry, and in a long-term collaboration between the Technion and the Israeli branch of NVIDIA (formally Mellanox). However, the most important contribution to the success is the Technion itself whose scientific and technological excellence enabled this major breakthrough.

The Technion researchers within the consortium include Professors Meir Orenstein, Gadi Eisenstein, and Mordechai (Moti) Segev from the Andrew and Erna Viterbi Faculty of Electrical and Computer Engineering. Professor Eisenstein, the director of the Russel Berrie Nanotechnology Institute and the present head of the MNFU explains that the key figure in this project is Prof. Orenstein, a well-known expert in VCSEL technology. He designed the material structure and the device processing procedures and supervised their fabrication in the MNFU. The excellent MNFU staff, led by Director Aya Cohen, showed unequivocal capability in developing state-of-the-art devices that rival those fabricated by commercial manufacturers.

Prof. Meir Orenstein

The consortium is developing other types of VCSELs, in addition to those for atomic clocks. NVIDIA leads a working group on high speed VCSELs for data communication and SCD is responsible for high power VCSEL arrays. The latter has two parts. Prof. Orenstein is developing one based on his invention of a coherent VCSEL array, a light source composed of hundreds of VCSELs working in conjunction to produce a high brightness light beam. The second solution is an array of topological VCSELs, which are unique in that they are immune to external disturbances, developed by Prof. Mordechai (Moti) Segev – the inventor of the topological laser.

Prof. Moti Segev

The field of microelectronics was brought to the Technion in the early 1970s by Professor Izhak Kidron. Semiconductor device fabrication started after the 1973 war when the Technion took it upon itself to develop a solution to a crucial deficiency: infrared detection systems that no country was willing to supply Israel with. The successful development of those devices marked the starting point of microelectronics in Israel. Micro – and later nano – electronics activities at the Technion have continuously grown ever since and are considered “the cradle of the flourishing Israeli electronics industry.”

Prof. Gadi Eisenstein

The present Technion fabrication facility is the MNFU, which boasts 700 sqm of cleanrooms, making it the largest center of its kind in any Israeli university. It is a shared research and development facility supporting numerous academic researchers, graduate students, and industrial researchers. The Center offers a complete set of micro- and nano-fabrication tools, as well as process and prototype developments led by its excellent engineering staff. This combines the best of two worlds: academic expertise, flexibility, and creativity together with the high-performance standards required by the industry.

Microscope image, a tight array VCSELs, ~2000 units per square cm

Microscope image – single VCSEL

In the hundred years that have passed since it was founded, the Technion faculty members have taught and educated the technological and scientific leadership of society in Israel – Tens of thousands of engineers, scientists, doctors, and architects who are entrusted with the responsibility of preserving, developing and nurturing the security and health of the citizens of the country and the environment in which they live. The actions of our graduates led to so much good and right in our culture, economy, security and more.

The Technion does not operate in a vacuum. An academic environment cannot be separated from the values by which society functions. When the value base in the civil environment that surrounds us is blurred, the Technion Senate and Council adhere to the basic values that have guided the institution for a hundred years and strengthen the hands of those who work to reinforce freedom and justice, social equality of rights for all citizens of the country regardless of religion, race and gender, freedom of conscience, language, education and culture.

The Technion will do whatever it takes to preserve and uphold the fundamental values that appear in the Declaration of Independence, the Technion’s constitution and its code of ethics.

Members of the Technion Senate and Council call on the leadership – in all its guises – to regain their composures, unite forces and remove any threat to the fundamental values. Surely, there is room for disputes in a free society, but on the shoulders of the officials elected by the people is the responsibility to make every effort to seek the truth and resolve disputes with full intent and with a matter-of-fact and straight-forward approach. The Technion Senate and Council call on the Knesset of Israel to stop legislative processes that undermine the democratic structure in the State of Israel, and to create a framework that will allow changes to be made with due care and with broad consensus. We call on the Prime Minister and his fellow leaders to do everything in their power to listen attentively and respectfully to the opinions of professionals who are leading Israeli society to extraordinary achievements in the social sciences and the humanities, in law and medicine, in the exact sciences and in engineering.

The Senate and the Council call on the Technion management to resolutely defend the Technion’s fundamental values: to denounce and halt in advance the seeds of discrimination, infringement of freedom of expression, offensive discourse and deviation from the pursuit of truth, responsibility and integrity. The Senate and the Council call on the Technion management to urgently formulate practical ways of dealing with the daily threat to our fundamental values, in education and in research.

At the beginning of the academic school year, the Technion – Israel Institute of Technology inaugurated the Marc Hamon Anières House – a dormitory designed to house 120 male and female students studying at the Technion and are a part of the Anières Program. In addition to housing, the building includes shared study spaces, a club, a large balcony, a gallery, and more.

Made possible thanks to the initiative and contribution of Marc Hamon, the Anières House at the Technion is named after ORT Central Institute that Hamon studied at in the town of Anières, Switzerland, near Geneva.
A few years after the closure of the Anières Institute, the program was brought back to life in Israel at 2012, as an educational project of World ORT – Kadima Mada in collaboration with the Na’aleh program of the Ministry of Education, the Jewish Agency, the Technion, and the Wizo Nahalal Youth Village.

“The Technion gives male and female students the best tools to become leading engineers, industry pioneers and technological pioneers, entrepreneurs, and founders of startup companies,” said Mr. Hamon. “Somewhere in history, the World ORT organization gave me the opportunity to study at a leading institution in the town of Anières, an opportunity I grabbed with both hands. Today I wish to give a similar, and even better, opportunity to our students studying at the Technion.”

Anières Program students in front of their dorms building

Mr. Hamon is supported and joined with enthusiasm by Mr. Jacques Levy, president of the Anières Alumni Association who said, “It is a dream come true. It will become a place where all students under the same roof and via their Technion studies and their great determination to know and develop their thoughts will become human beings who take responsibility for their lives and fulfill their hopes for the future,”

During their Technion studies for degrees in engineering and computer science, the students in the Anières Program receive an envelope of financial, academic, and social support. A skilled team that is personally and directly responsible for each one of them and a program that includes plenty of workshops, interesting and cultural content, and mutual guarantees ensures that the students of the Anières Program become a strong and supportive community.

“Since its inception, the Technion has had an important social role,” said Technion President, Professor Uri Sivan. “Academic education is the key to social and economic leadership, and studying at the Technion opens a door to a promising future for its graduates. The participants in the Anières Program are outstanding students, and we will give them everything they need to reach their full potential. The Technion is grateful to each and every donor, but here the thanks are twofold – because of the identity in the worldview and social commitment and because the donor, who is a graduate of the program, is now contributing to these wonderful young people and giving them an opportunity for a better future.”

Anières Program students in front of their dorms building

The process of establishing the Marc Hamon Anières House, and thus recreating the ORT Central Institute in Anières, had been led by Mr. Robert Singer, chairman of the board of trustees of World ORT and a co-founder of the Anières Program. Mr. Singer expressed that “the common goal between the project and the Technion is 1,000 graduates who are outstanding engineers who will lead the Israeli economy. Many engineers will continue Marc Hamon’s path both in industry and as a future leadership of the Jewish people.”

“The Anières program supports students from the geographic and socioeconomic periphery in Israel and single soldiers,” explained Professor Ayelet Fishman, dean of students at the Technion. “The Office of the Dean of Students at the Technion works to help all students deal with personal problems and reach their potential, and we are happy about the cooperation with the Anières Program. The male and female students in the program are entitled to live in the dormitories in any case, and now they will live together in the Anières building and enjoy designated activities after school hours. I am so thankful to Marc Hamon, who chose the Technion as a partner, and I wish success to all the students in the 2023 academic year.”

Ira Lotman, who leads the Anières Program in Israel, said, “Marc Hamon Anières House is a very significant step that will advance the program towards achieving its goals – building a large community, based on the values of the historical institution that World ORT established in Switzerland. The male and female students join as another link in the chain where each individual becomes stronger, so that he or she can pass it on.”

“The historical Anières Alumni Association, led by Mr. Jacques Levy, continues to support and inspire our students,” she continued. “Today, after a decade of activity, the first 50 graduates of the Anières Program who started their journey with us as teenagers at Wizo Nahalal finished their studies at the Technion last year, will receive their graduation certificates this summer and emerge to influence the outside world. This is the cutting edge of Israeli society.”

One of those students is Mykola Fedotov, from the Wolfson Faculty of Chemical Engineering, who recently started his third year of study at the Technion. He was born in Kharkiv, Ukraine, where he participated in the Jewish Agency’s youth movement.

“My grandparents immigrated to Israel when I was a child and wanted me to move to Israel, too. My mother also supported me,” shared Fedotov. At the age of 15, he came to Israel as part of the Na’aleh program of youth coming on aliya before their parents and began studying as part of the Anières Program at Wizo Nahalal High School. At the end of the 10th grade, he completed the Technion’s “Archimedes” chemistry program, which awarded him a score of 100 in chemistry in the matriculation exams.

After that he began to study biology and physics in high school and at the end of his studies, was accepted into the academic reserve and began his education at the Technion. After two years in the Canada Dormitory, he now enters the Marc Hamon Anières House and is very satisfied – not only because of the view and the level of maintenance but mainly because he will live together with his friends in the Anières Program. He will take part in the program’s student committee to promote personal and community formation and enrichment. According to Fedotov, he will also continue to enjoy dancing bachata and salsa at the student house.

Anières Program students

Another student, Inbar Isso, recently began her second year of study in the Henry and Marilyn Taub Faculty of Computer Science. Her sister is completing a degree in computer science and her brother has earned a degree in electrical and computer engineering. Isso herself studied in the program of excellence at a high school and went on to join the military service in the information technology field.

This is Isso’s second year living in the dorms, something she enjoys, “because living at the Technion saves on travel and allows us to enjoy the social life here.” She is even more enthusiastic about the new building. “It’s an amazing building, and I’m really grateful for the opportunity to live in it. We’ve already been told about the annual activity plan, and it’s really excellent. There are going to be Shabbat receptions, evenings together, workshops, lectures, and meetings that I’m really looking forward to participating in.”

On Wednesday, January 18, the Technion – Israel Institute of Technology and the University of Haifa held a scholarly conference as part of a first-ever collaboration on the subject of technology and science in the study of archaeology and maritime cultures. The research collaboration, which has already begun at both universities, will propel the study of the past into the era of modern technology.

According to Professor Israel Finkelstein, head of the School of Archaeology and Maritime Cultures at the University of Haifa, “These days, there is no archaeological research without exact sciences and technology – beginning, of course, with radiocarbon dating and including isotope analysis to identify the origins of metals, genetic sequencing to determine the origins of people who lived long ago and studying molecular remnants in clay pots to track early trade routes. At the University of Haifa, we are opening an Archaeological Science Department and nothing is more natural than collaborating with the researchers at the Technion, who are located just a short cable car ride away. This collaboration will boost our understanding of the past and of historical and social processes that occurred here thousands of years ago.”

Prof. Kobi Rubinstein, Executive Vice President for Research at the Technion (right) and Prof. Israel Finkelstein, head of the School of Archaeology and Maritime Cultures at the University of Haifa

Professor Kobi Rubinstein, Executive Vice President for Research at the Technion, said that, “Archaeology might be the most fascinating profession I know. Few people are interested in my field, Mathematics, but Archaeology affects a very large group of people because it teaches us who we are and what we are. Research in this field deals with the smallest details, but can not make progress without creating – and seeing – the larger picture, even when it is clear that some of the pieces of the picture are missing. Therefore, I was delighted when the rector of the University of Haifa suggested that we cooperate in this field, and I wish everyone much success with the conference and with the collaboration.”

Prof. Kobi Rubinstein, the Technion’s Executive Vice President for Research, at the conference

In recent years, archaeological studies have developed into multidisciplinary research field that combines advanced scientific and technological tools with traditional archaeological methods. DNA analyses of bones and other organic substances such as plants, observations of sediment under a microscope to understand economic patterns in ancient sites, chemical and molecular analyses to determine the origins of tiny cotton fibers, and the use of powerful microscopes to reconstruct ancient techniques have all become an integral part of archaeological research. Innovative methods enable researchers to build three-dimensional models of ancient sites, discover lost secrets thanks to innovative laser scanners, and use AI and deep learning to create Big Data databases that amass enormous amounts of information from the profusion of findings that have already been discovered.

“These techniques, which are based on technologies at the forefront of science, are also used in the field of biological anthropology to study human evolution, so the collaboration between the institutions on archaeological research is a synergy in our endeavor to study the human past,” adds Dr. Assaf Marom, head of the Anatomy and Human Evolution Lab at the Technion’s Rappaport Faculty of Medicine, who is leading the collaboration on behalf of the Technion.

Dr. Assaf Marom, head of the Anatomy and Human Evolution Lab at the Technion’s Rappaport Faculty of Medicine, who is leading the collaboration on behalf of the Technion

The collaboration will harness the unique skills of the researchers at both institutions in order to conduct cutting-edge interdisciplinary research, especially given the enormous wealth of archaeological discoveries in Israel. For example, Professor Guy Bar-Oz of the University of Haifa is working with Professor Sima Yaron, dean of the Faculty of Biotechnology and Food Engineering at the Technion. Prof. Bar-Oz is in possession of numerous chicken eggs, some of which are thousands of years old. Together with Prof. Yaron, he is attempting to determine when and how salmonella bacteria passed from chicken eggs to humans, and how our forefathers dealt with the new disease. Professor Deborah Cvikel of the University of Haifa and Professor Moris Eisen of the Technion’s Schulich Faculty of Chemistry are collaborating in an effort to understand how early seafaring people used sails and how they protected the sails from the ocean’s humidity and salt and made sure they would be sufficiently strong and flexible.

Prof. Efraim Lev, dean of the Faculty of Humanities at the University of Haifa

The joint conference officially launched the collaboration between the two institutions. An “Introduction to Archaeology” course will soon be offered as part of the Technion’s Department of Humanities and will be taught by researchers from the University of Haifa’s School of Archaeology and Maritime Cultures, in order to impart the foundations of archaeology to Technion students during their undergraduate studies. The course “Evolution of Humans,” which will be offered at the Technion and will be open to students from both universities, also promotes the partnership. In the future, research students will receive grants for research projects that combine archaeology and science.

Prof. Deborah Cvikel of the University of Haifa

“This collaboration is the beginning of a process that will enable us to better understand the past, and it will turn Haifa – with its two prominent research institutions – into a global hub for researching the history of humanity,” the partners concluded.

The Technion hosted a festive evening in honor of the 18 new researchers who recently joined the academic faculty. “You have joined an institution whose legacy spans more than 100 years,” said Technion President Professor Uri Sivan. “In its first decades, the Technion laid the foundations for the establishment of the State of Israel, and its national and social mission has always been our guiding light. I recently attended a ceremony for retired Technion employees and now I am speaking to you at a welcoming event for new faculty members. These two extremes illustrate the Technion’s role as a link in the historical chain – a chain that has always had an impact on, and continues to impact, the State of Israel and all of humanity. You were accepted thanks to your outstanding abilities and we anticipate that this excellence will be manifested in your research, in the education of our students, and on campus life. I wish you much success.”

“Congratulations on joining the Technion,” said Professor Naama Brenner, Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs. “I hope you will view the Technion as your home and wish you success in all your research and teaching endeavors.”

New faculty in group photo

These are the new faculty members who recently joined the Technion:

Faculty of Aerospace Engineering:
- Prof. Vitaly Shaferman
- Igal Gluzman
Faculty of Architecture and Town Planning:
- Guy Austern
Faculty of Biotechnology and Food Engineering:
- Dr. Dan Bracha
Wolfson Faculty of Chemical Engineering:
- Dan Mendels
Faculty of Civil and Environmental Engineering:
- Nicolo Pollini
Faculty of Data and Decision Sciences:
- Omer Ben-Porat
- Allon Vishkin
Faculty of Education in Science and Technology:
- Areej Mawasi
Viterbi Faculty of Electrical and Computer Engineering:
- Prof. Joseph Keshet
- Uziau Pereg
- Kiril Solovey
Department of Humanities and Arts:
- Dustin Lazarovici
Faculty of Mathematics:
- Ron Levie
Faculty of Mechanical Engineering:
- Leeya Engel
- Christian Grussler
Rappaport Faculty of Medicine:
- Ariella Glasner
- Dr. Boris Slobodin