Technion LIVE

Fast track to building molecules - Nature

2012-11-29T02:52:00.003-08:00

Nature Reveals: Technion Researchers uncovered a novel approach to molecular architecture. The significant scientific breakthrough represents an effective solution to a major problem in organic synthesis, and could speed up processes in the pharmaceutical industry.

A "chiral" molecule is one that is not superimposable with its mirror image. Like left and right hands that have a thumb, fingers in the same order, but are mirror images and not the same, chiral molecules have the same things attached in the same order, but are mirror images and not the same.

Technion researchers have solved a major problem in organic synthesis with the successful preparation of a new molecular framework.The groundbreaking discovery is reported by the popular scientific journal “Nature.”

“Synthetic organic synthesis is a science that deals with the building of complex organic molecules from simpler elements,” explains Prof. Ilan Marek of the Schulich Faculty of Chemistry at Technion. “One of the greatest applications of this new approach is a quick and efficient synthesis of complex natural materials that may be used in pharmaceutical industry. It must be the goal of the 21st century to accomplish more with less. In today’s society, no one can afford to follow the inefficient route of long and tedious synthesis. We should think organic synthesis differently and I am sure that new transformations that were not possible to perform by conventional methods will soon appear” continues Prof. Marek.

Although, there are still molecular frameworks that are challenging to prepare, the real question of the 21st century is no longer “can we synthesize this molecule”, but rather “how can we synthesize it efficiently, using the fewest number of steps, with optimum convergence, with as little as possible functional group transformations, little or no by-products and maximum atom-efficiency and at minimal cost.” Over the years, Prof. Marek’s research team developed several innovative new synthetic methods that not only fulfil these requirements, but also offer solutions to challenging problems in organic synthesis.

One of these critical challenges is the formation of chiral all-carbon quaternary stereogenic centers in acyclic systems. A chiral molecule is a type of molecule that has a non-superposable mirror image. Human hands are perhaps the most universally recognized example of chirality: the left hand is a non-superposable mirror image of the right hand; no matter how the two hands are oriented, it is impossible for all the major features of both hands to coincide. This difference in symmetry becomes obvious if someone attempts to shake the right hand of a person using his left hand, or if a left-handed glove is placed on a right hand. This characteristic is also present in organic molecules and two mirror images of a chiral molecule are called enantiomers.

Many biologically active molecules are chiral, including the naturally occurring amino acids (the building blocks of proteins) and sugars. In biological systems, most of these compounds are of the same chirality and understanding the origin of chirality may shed some light on the origin of life. In many cases, both enantiomers of a specific material can affect the human body in completely different ways, and therefore understanding these chiral molecular characteristics is of great importance for the pharmaceutical and food industries. The most infamous case of medical disaster was caused by a misunderstanding of the different pharmacological characteristics of two enantiomers of the same material, known as Thalidomide which caused severe birth defects. Many infants were born without limbs because the drug Thalidomide, which was administered to their mothers, could in-vivo interconvert the two enantiomers.

In the context of building molecules, the aldol reaction is one of the most versatile carbon-carbon bond formation processes available to synthetic chemists but also a critical biological reaction in the context of metabolism. However, coming back to efficiency, the aldol reaction combines only two components with the creation of only one new carbon-carbon bond per chemical step. As discussed previously, better efficiency is now necessary in organic synthesis in which several new carbon-carbon bonds should be formed. Moreover, the construction of chiral all-quaternary carbon centers could not be achieved in the previously aldol-based methodologies. In the most recent report published in Nature by Professor Marek and his colleagues, a very efficient solution to this problem has been reported through a completely different approach. In a single-pot operation, starting from classical hydrocarbons, the formation of aldol products containing the desired all-carbon quaternary stereocenter have been prepared through the concomitant formation of three new bonds. This groundbreaking discovery represents an innovative solution to a challenging synthetic problem.

Prof. Ilan Marek, Technion.

For the development of original synthetic approaches, Professor Ilan Marek received the prestigious Royal Society Chemistry Organometallic Award (2011) and in 2012 the Janssen Pharmaceutica Prize for Creativity in Organic Synthesis.

Gili Bisker, Nano students, Technion, MIT & Pure Gold

2012-11-29T01:55:00.002-08:00

The launch of a new $5 million program with MIT (Massachusetts Institute of Technology) enables six Technion PhDs to take up postdoctoral fellowships at MIT, with full funding for their first year. The 10-year program is funded to a sum of $500,000 per annum. Among the five Technion PhDs who accepted the fellowship this inaugural year are two women: Gili Bisker (Nanoscience and Nanotechnology) and Lina Perelman (Civil and Environmental Engineering).

Bisker is researching gold nanoparticles under the supervision of Prof. Dvir Yelin at the Biomedical Engineering Lab. of the Faculty of Biomedical Engineering. Gili's goal is to advance new cures for cancer. "My dream is to develop new therapies and techniques especially for cancer treatments," she says, "where we use gold nanoparticles and laser irradiation to eliminate diseased tissues."

Gili Bisker, advanced student in Nanotechnology.

Chaotic Evolution and the Lives of Stars

2012-11-25T23:08:00.002-08:00

Scientists from Technion -Israel Institute of Technology and the University of Colorado, Boulder have taken a closer look at how star systems and their planets grow old together.

The influence of stellar aging on systems composed of three stars in orbit about each other is particularly intriguing. Binary stars systems where one of the stars is orbited by a planet, react similarly to stellar maturation. Stars and planets in these systems can change orbital partners. In some cases, they may even collide or be expelled from the star system all together. This wild and turbulent scenario may have produced of the brightest star system in the sky, Sirius A and B. These findings raise the possibility that collisions between stars are more common (at least 30 times over) than conventional wisdom has shown.

Most stars either live a solitary existence, or pair up with one other star to make a binary system. However 15 percent of all stars orbit at least two other stars, forming a triple star system. Similarly, planets can be “hosted” by a binary system, which then behave much like a triple star system except that one object is vastly smaller than the other two. The evolution of stars in these systems can generate dramatic outcomes. The aging process of stars involves many major changes: a star can expand to a circumference greater than hundreds of times its original size, and then lose most of its mass in intense winds. At the end of this process the stellar core, a white dwarf, is all that is left behind. While much work has been devoted to understanding the evolution of single and binary star systems, studies on the evolution of triple stars are novel As is evident in the most recent research of Prof. Hagai Perets from the Faculty of Physics at Technion University, and Dr. Kaitlin Kratter from CU-Boulder, triple-star systems and their evolution are deserving of more interest. “Binary stars are systems that are generally stable,” says Perets. “The triple-star systems, on the other hand, are much more fragile," and thus susceptible to disruption.

Prof. Hagai Perets, Technion Faculty of Physics.

When mass is lost from one star during the ageing process, all of the orbits in the system change. These changes can induce dynamical instability, driving the system into a wild dynamic ‘dance,’ whereby the stars exchange partners until one of them gets expelled from the system altogether. Because the mass losing star begins to swell as it ages, it becomes a large target, significantly increasing its chances of crashing into another star in the midst of its wild ‘dance.’

Ordinarily, stars only collide in dense star clusters (systems with millions of stars packed into a volume of only a few cubic light years; for comparison, within the same volume in the neighbourhood of the Solar system there is only one star – the sun). Even in these dense clusters, the probability of a collision is very low.

“We discovered that when it comes to triple star systems, there is a different picture all together. Star collisions outside of dense star clusters can occur at a rate of 30 times higher in comparison to those coincidental collisions that occur within star clusters,” says Perets.

An answer to a Sirius mystery

According to Perets and Kratter, this type of chaotic evolution may be relevant to one of the best known stars, Sirius – the brightest star in the sky. Sirius is accompanied by a white dwarf in a binary system, but on a very eccentric orbit. This configuration is unusual for a star in a close orbit to a white dwarf; astronomers normally expect such orbits to be nearly circular, due to the exchange of mass between the stars as they age. The most recent findings show that this strange configuration may be explained if the Sirius binary system is the remnant of a triple system that became unstable and lost a star. “This surprising revelation that the triple evolution scenario we studied could solve the decades old mystery related to our brightest night-time star, Sirius, is very exciting; it appears that Sirius had a much wilder history than we could have ever imagined,” adds Perets.

Planetary “star-hoppers”

What would you do if your neighbourhood started to deteriorate? Would you consider moving to a better neighbourhood? It seems as if planets might make the same decision. Kratter and Perets also investigated systems where one of the three elements is not a star but a planet. Much like the case with three stars, mass loss by the planet-host can drive the planet into an unstable, chaotic orbit. The outcome, says Kratter, is surprising. “A planet can actually change which star it orbits, bouncing back and forth between the two." Sometimes, such a star-hopper will settle down into a new, stable orbit around the companion star. More often, this story has an unhappy ending. It is more likely that the planet will collide with one of the two stars during its voyages between the two. Such a collision would obliterate the planet.

See source paper: Star Hoppers: Krater and Perets, 2012

Visit Technion's Asher Space Research Institute on Facebook!

Technion in Chinese

2012-11-19T02:06:00.000-08:00

Welcome to Israel's most advanced scanning electron microscope.

2012-11-19T00:01:00.003-08:00

Inaugurating the innovative microscope. From right to left: Nobel Laureate in Chemistry Prof. Dan Shechtman, Technion Executive Vice President for Research Prof. Oded Shmueli, and Prof. Wayne D. Kaplan. Photo: Yoav Becher, Technion Spokesman

The Technion has bought the most advanced scanning electron microscope in Israel, at a cost of 1.3 million dollars. This is a substantial contribution to the learning process at all levels, and that the microscope will serve all researchers in Israel, as well as the high-tech industry, says Dean of the Faculty of Materials Science and Engineering, Prof. Wayne D. Kaplan

The microscope has sophisticated detectors that not only provide extremely high resolution, but also provide direct information about the material composition and local defects. It has a heating system with temperatures of up to 1100 degrees Celsius, which allows researchers to carry out manufacturing processes in-situ in the microscope, and to directly characterize changes to a material during a specific manufacturing process. Thus, for example, one can directly see solidification of a molten alloy inside the microscope, or track the mechanism by which thin films break-up or agglomerate into individual particles during thermal treatments.

"With this innovative microscope, we can follow the process and discover how to prevent agglomeration, or utilize it", emphasizes Prof. Kaplan. "Thus we developed, together with Prof. Gadi Eisenstein of the Department of Electrical Engineering, new flash memories with a stability and working range that are not currently available, and that are based on tiny platinum particles 4-5 nanometers in size. We produced these particles at the desired size and form, by following the agglomeration process of a continuous layer inside the microscope. This provides us with engineering criteria that we have not had to date".

Dr. Alex Berner and Michael Kalina are responsible for the operation of the advanced microscope, which is part of the Technion's advanced Electron Microscopy Center, and for related training.

Robots to the Rescue

2012-11-18T23:54:00.003-08:00

A team of top engineers from Technion and the Ben gurion University are pooling resources to get the robotic rescue services up and running for use in disaster zones around the world.

Technion snake robot reaches danger zones to save lives.

Extracted from the Times of Israel.

Robots can go places where man dare not, into disaster zones, both natural and man-made. Governments, universities, and corporations around the world are putting significant resources in developing robots to deal with the aftermath of floods, mining collapses, oil spills, nuclear accidents, and other industrial and natural disasters.

The Robotics Challenge program is sponsored by DARPA (Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency), an agency of the United States Department of Defense responsible for the development of new technologies for use by the military. The Israeli team, Robil, is one of eleven that will develop software for the GFE Platform being developed by Boston Dynamics, Inc., based on its Atlas humanoid robot platform and modified to meet the needs of the DARPA Robotics Challenge. The team, the only non-American group invited to participate, was awarded $375,000 to develop the software over the next nine months.

The program was initiated in the wake of some of those modern disasters — including the nuclear accident at Japan’s Fukushima power plant, the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, and the Chilean Copiapó mine collapse. In all those instances, robots were able to accomplish what humans could not, entering danger zones to render assistance. While the robots in those instances acted well, they could have done so much more, said DARPA — and with the help of the Israeli group and 10 other teams, the software to improve and enhance robot performance will soon be available, the US organization said.

“Robil’s team is an ad-hoc consortium led by BGU composed of the leaders of the Israeli robotics industry, including IAI and Cogniteam, and academia, including Ben Gurion Univesity, Bar-Ilan University, and the Technion. It includes 20 key personnel and over 40 graduate students and engineers,” says Robil team leader Prof. Hugo Guterman of BGU’s Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering.

Among the things DARPA wants robots to be able to do are driving utility vehicles at disaster sites, removing debris that prevents rescue workers from entering a disaster zone, opening doors, climbing ladders, opening or closing valves, and even breaking through a concrete wall.

“The DARPA Robotics Challenge program,” according to the organization, “will help directly meet these needs by developing robotic technology for disaster response operations. This technology will improve the performance of robots that operate in the rough terrain and austere conditions characteristic of disasters, and use vehicles and tools commonly available in populated areas. This technology will also work in ways easily understood by subject matter experts untrained in the operation of robots, and be governed by intuitive controls that require little training.”

Nature: New Power for Solar Energy

2012-11-18T23:40:00.000-08:00

Rust and sunshine could replace fossil fuels

Using sunlight and ultrathin films of iron oxide, or rust, Technion-Israel Institute of Technology researchers have found a new way to split water molecules into hydrogen and oxygen.

The breakthrough, they say, could lead to less expensive, more efficient ways to store solar energy in the form of hydrogen-based fuels.

"Our approach is the first of its kind," says associate professor Avner Rothschild. "We have found a way to trap light in ultrathin films of iron oxide that are 5,000 times thinner than typical office paper. This is the enabling key to achieving high efficiency and low cost. "

Iron oxide is cheap to produce, stable in water, and – unlike other semiconductors such as silicon – can oxidize water without itself being oxidated, corroded, or decomposed. But it comes with its own problems, most notably its poor electrical transport properties.

Researchers have struggled for years with the tradeoff between light absorption and the separation and collection of photogenerated charge carriers before they die out by recombination.

"Our light-trapping scheme overcomes this tradeoff, enabling efficient absorption in ultrathin films wherein the photogenerated charge carriers are collected efficiently," says Rothschild.

"The light is trapped in quarter-wave or even deeper sub-wavelength films on mirror-like back reflector substrates. Interference between forward- and backward-propagating waves enhances the light absorption close to the surface, and the photogenerated charge carriers are collected before they die off."

The team says the breakthrough could lead to the development of inexpensive solar cells that combine ultrathin iron oxide photoelectrodes with conventional photovoltaic cells based on silicon or other materials to produce electricity and hydrogen. According to Rothschild, these cells could store solar energy for on demand use, 24 hours per day - unlike conventional photovoltaic cells, which provide power only when the sun is shining.

And a bonus, says the team, is that the new light trapping method could cut the need for rare elements such as tellurium and indium by 90 percent, with no compromise in performance.

Iron Dome: the inside story from Technion

2012-11-18T23:30:00.003-08:00

"Without Iron Dome, Israel would be in Gaza..." John McCain.

Israel’s Iron Dome system, a relatively new umbrella to stop the Gaza rockets that have been raining down over southern Israel, has achieved a claimed success rate of roughly 90 percent in its most rigorous test yet.

Each battery includes a radar detection system, a command and control center, and mobile launchers that can be repositioned as necessary.

When a rocket is fired from Gaza, the batteries calculate whether it is headed for a populated area or sensitive target; if so, one of the interceptors is quickly dispatched, at a reported cost of $50,000. If the rocket is headed for an open area, however, no action is taken.

Read more about the talented Technion graduate team behind the Iron Dome in the story below.

The Challenge and the Mission

Lead team of Iron Dome, all Technion grads, discuss the key to its success

By Itzhar Vardi

“The development of Iron Dome transformed our lives; dictating a hectic work week and some weekends. I never got home before 11 pm, and of course I didn’t take a single day off for three whole years. But I don’t regret a single moment,” says H., a graduate of the Technion’s Faculty of Mechanical Engineering (1975), who heads the Iron Dome project at Rafael Advanced Defense Systems Ltd.

“Here is the project’s core team: G., D., A. and C.; all are Technion graduates. Of course, credit for the systems success is shared by the hundreds of engineers, technicians, and managers who took part in its development; but the people sitting here with me are definitely the key players.”

In 2004, the Israel Ministry of Defense issued a call for proposals for a system to intercept short-range rockets. A team of experts in the Ministry’s R&D Agency (MAFAT) assessed 24 proposals and Rafael’s Iron Dome, capable of operating in all weather conditions, was selected as the most suitable.

The challenge was to develop a system capable of identifying aerial threats - mainly rockets - and eliminating them autonomously. H. explains, “Our system includes a sensor that locates the threat, a command and control center that analyzes the rocket’s trajectory and its damage potential, and an interceptor (missile) that eliminates it. It’s a very complex system. Qassam rockets are comprised of make-shift components, and their trajectories are very ‘wobbly’ rather than smooth.

Imagine a coke bottle flying several times faster than the speed of sound on an irregular course. Intercepting it seems far-fetched.”

“A project’s success always depends on choosing the right people.”

D., chief engineer for Iron Dome “Now if that weren’t enough, we were faced with some grueling constraints: developing a system within a 30-month timeframe. Just to clarify, we spent over 10 years on developing the previous missile. Also, the approved cost for the missile firing unit was a mere eighth of the price compared to the previous system we developed.”

It had been said that Iron Dome is not as efficient as the alternatives. In response, A., a graduate of the Faculty of Aerospace Engineering (2000), says, “Maybe we should thank the media. Because when you read a cynical article, you say to yourself, ‘let’s show them’ and you tackle the project, invigorated. We knew that eventually our critics would get our response, which came in April when the first operational deployment destroyed eight out of eight rockets aimed at Ashkelon and Beersheba.”

A., systems engineer for the interceptor and launcher, continues, “One Friday in 2007 I was home, frustrated by the rocket attacks being launched on Sderot; I said to myself, we just have to do something. Early the next week D. took me aside and invited me to join the Iron Dome team. It was like a dream come true.”

“We rapidly developed excellent screening capacities that helped us decide when to let go of an idea and move on. That doesn’t mean along the way there weren’t crises and failures, but we never despaired. We developed a work culture of risk-taking, based on the understanding that failures teach you a lot too.

“Each experiment - whether successful or not - was followed up with a professional and thorough investigation. We learned to create solutions within hours and then repeat the experiment.”

“A project’s success always depends on choosing the right people,” says D., a graduate of the Faculty of Aerospace Engineering (1972) and chief engineer for Iron Dome. “The best people in the field came together for this project. Rafael’s decision to prioritize this project and bring on excellent people from other projects undoubtedly had a lot of weight.”

H. adds, “People fought to participate in the project. Clearly this transcends the technological challenge: it is a national mission.”

“We believed we would succeed, yet it was an unprecedented challenge. In retrospect, it was the constraints, which seemed almost insurmountable, that led us to develop creative and successful solutions. The system’s simplicity was also demonstrated through the manufacturing process - the production people told us it was the most straightforward missile they ever made.”

“One of the guidelines for this project was not to be wise guys, not to reinvent the wheel,” says G., a graduate of the Faculty of Agricultural Engineering (1976), who was responsible for the launcher. “That’s why we approached different manufacturers for any available relevant technologies. For example, I talked to the manufacturer of the Patriot Missile System to inquire about purchasing certain parts, but the price was very high so we had to develop the parts ourselves. As a result, the parts are very much simpler and inexpensive.”

“It was an incredible experience. I’ve been working at Rafael for 30 years and I don’t think there was ever such a great team,” says G..

“Clearly this transcends the technological challenge: it is a national mission.”

H., Iron Dome project head C., who holds a master’s in Systems Engineering (2010), adds, “A very large number of hardware and software components must be integrated to put together Iron Dome’s systems (interceptor, launcher, command and control center, and radar). We had to use a novel integration and testing strategy that enabled us to quickly combine sub-systems from the different development teams and test the complete functioning system.

“Time constraints forced us to continue developing the system while we tested it. This resulted in much more work with the corrected versions in the labs compared with any other project. We formulated work practices learned from other projects, but mostly based on our own experience.”

“We couldn’t have done it without Technion graduates.”

H. concludes, “We had to remember that the mission wasn’t a perfect system, but rather a system that works well. Our relationship with the people in the field was unprecedented; this was essential for adapting the system to all the constraints in the field.”

On the Job

Yedidya Ya’ari (l), CEO of Rafael Advanced Defense Systems Ltd, said at the Technion Job Fair that he had come to collect the best engineers for his company. “You have an obligation to provide them,” he told Technion President Prof. Peretz Lavie (r), “and we have an obligation to collect!”

On display was a replica of Iron Dome, Rafael’s anti-missile missile. “We couldn’t have done it without Technion graduates,” Ya’ari stated bluntly. “Probably some 80 percent of the entire engineering force at Rafael are Technion graduates - and that’s a fact!”.

Letter from Technion President Prof. Peretz Lavie

2012-11-18T23:14:00.003-08:00

November 16, 2012

Dear friends, members of the Technion worldwide family,

Once again, the State of Israel has been compelled to defend itself against indiscriminate and unprovoked attacks on our citizens – on children, women and men living in southern Israel. And now – in central Israel and the Jerusalem area as well.

As always, we in Israel are deeply touched and encouraged, and our fortitude and determination strengthened, by the outpouring of support and expressions of concern and solidarity from our friends around the world.

Some of our students have been called up for emergency military duty, and more will likely be called in the coming days. As always, we will provide all possible moral and material support to them while they are defending our country, and after they return to their studies and work at the Technion.

Technion’s role in defending the State of Israel is too big a story to be told here; but we all take enormous pride in the dramatic, “game-changing” success of the Iron Dome system, which has intercepted and destroyed many dozens of rockets aimed to kill and injure innocent civilians, destroy property, and wreak havoc on life in southern Israel. Iron Dome was developed by a team of Technion graduates, and there can be no doubt that their technological prowess and creativity, problem-solving ability, and sheer determination, are a direct product of their Technion education. You can read more about this here.

I am sure that you will all join me in hoping for a rapid and decisive end to this conflict, that the people of southern Israel, and the entire country, can return to the normal endeavors of life.

Shabbat shalom from Haifa,

Peretz Lavie

Incoming Brainpower: a New Academic Year at Technion.

2012-10-28T08:01:00.001-07:00

A warm welcome to incoming and returning students as a new academic year opens at Technion!

You are the next generation of global innovation!

Of Sleep, Trauma & Healing.

2012-10-28T00:31:00.000-07:00

Technion and Stanford Researchers:
Sleep Can Reactivate Frightening Memories and Alleviate Them

[Technion Press Release]

According to a new mice model research, sleep can reactivate fearful memories and alleviate them. This finding could lead to the development of more effective treatments for post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). The finding was presented at Neuroscience 2012, the annual meeting of the Society for Neuroscience and the most extensive source of neuroscience and brain health news.

The research, conducted by Dr. Asya Rolls and Megha Makam of the research groups headed by Profs. Heller and de Lecea of Stanford University, finds that when a frightening memory is connected with smell, this trigger (the smell) can be used to reactivate the memory during sleep without actually interrupting the sleep. The researchers found that if the reactivation is repeated, the frightening memory is strengthened; but if the recreation is accompanied by a treatment that blocks the creation of proteins in the basolateral amygdala, the area of the brain associated with fear, the frightening memory is weakened.

PTSD is characterized by intense, highly emotional memories that are awakened by specific social and environmental triggers. In extinction therapy, the patient repeatedly recreates the memory in non-threatening surroundings, such as a clinic; however, the treatment is sometimes identified with the clinic to the extent that it ceases to be effective, and the patient experiences the traumatic trigger elsewhere, such as while out on the street.

"Sleep is not linked to a specific location, and thus changes that occur in traumatic memories during sleep could weaken the fear response regardless of where the memory awakens," Prof. Heller explains. "This fact could provide a significant solution to the limitations of existing PTSD treatments".

In their experiments, researchers created conditioning that paired certain smells and an electrical shock in mice while they were awake. This smell, or control smell, was released in the mice's cages while they were asleep in the presence of a protein synthesis inhibitor. The activation of the conditioning smell during sleep resulted in a substantial reduction in the fear response in later tests, while the mice were awake. Most important, the decrease in the fear response was general, and was not connected to a specific location.

"This is where the significant potential of the treatment of traumas during sleep actually lies. While we sleep, our brain works differently, some of our protective systems are not activated, which, in principle, allows us to access associations which might not be accessible to treatment while we are awake," says Dr. Rolls, now a member of the Technion's Rappaport Faculty of Medicine. "Moreover, many treatments terminate prematurely because the patient finds it difficult to deal with the repeated mention of the traumatic memories. Therefore, treatment during sleep could be an easier alternative to dealing with such memories. Of course, there is still quite a distance between these preliminary experiments and actually treating people, but it is a start".

Summer 2013 - Technion EWB - Opportunity in Nepal

2012-10-08T03:34:00.001-07:00

Engineering for Developing Communities

July 21 through August 15, 2013

English language summer program in Kathmandu, Nepal

The Technion-Israel Institute of Technology sits at the forefront of Israeli science and the nation’s impressive high-tech, bio-tech and agro-tech industries. But the Technion is also deeply committed to research, development and action in sustainable community development. Since May of 2008, the Technion has been home to a chapter of the international Engineers Without Borders NGO. Engineers Without Borders is a non-profit humanitarian organization established to partner with developing communities worldwide in order to improve their quality of life. This partnership involves the implementation of sustainable engineering projects, while involving and training internationally responsible engineers and engineering students. The Technion EWB chapter is actively involved in development projects in Israel’s Negev desert Bedouin community, as well as elsewhere in the Middle East.

Continuing this tradition of engineering outreach, the Technion International School and Technion-EWB chapter, in cooperation with Kathmandu University, has launched an ambitious, pioneering program bringing the world’s brightest science and engineering students forward to solve basic development questions in impoverished and underserved communities in Nepal’s Kathmandu Valley. At the same time, students participating in the Engineering for Developing Communities program gain invaluable skills in a variety of subjects as well as practical field experience on the ground, bringing their projects and ideas to life for the benefit of others.

Students completing the program will be awarded 2.5 academic credits from the Technion- Israel Institute of Technology. Additional credits may be available through Kathmandu University.

About the Program

As Israel’s premier science-technology university and the country’s largest center of applied research, the Technion is uniquely positioned on the cusp of academic inquiry and practical technological applications. This position comes to the fore in the Engineering for Developing Communities program.

Students will study and practice sustainable community development (SCD) and participatory community development (PCD) in real world conditions. In addition to field trips, social activities and fascinating cultural and language studies (basic Nepalese), the program includes an academic curriculum covering eight core engineering and community development topics:

1. Challenges Facing Developing Communities

Including developed vs. developing world issues, links between health, education, poverty, gender, security and business, corruption and ethics issues, and the UN Millennium Development Goals

2. State of Human Development

Covering concepts of ‘development,’ and their history, politics and economics, and a review of relevant institutions

3. Sustainable Development

Exploring paradigm and components of sustainability and sustainable community development (SCD), systems approaches, sustainability applications on the local, regional and global levels, capacity building as a means to SCD, and an examination of failures and success in existing SCD endeavors

4. Participatory community development

Covering principles, methodology, and tools for carrying out participatory action research (PAR) on local populations and the environment

5. Health and Development

Discussing global health inequalities, addressing poverty and health, principles and goals of global health, environmental health and development

6. Appropriate Technology

Including water, hygiene and sanitation, energy, shelter, research and development, implementation, laboratory research and development

7. Social Entrepreneurship

Business-based community and charitable giving, and fostering local small entrepreneurs and businesses

8.Community Projects: An Integrated Approach

Giving students an opportunity for hands on experience in real Nepalese communities

Laboratory Work

In addition to the core academic topics, students will take part in laboratory work covering a wide range of concepts, material and skills, including:

· Water-born diseases, water infrastructure and community sanitation infrastructure

· Energy needs and technology solutions in developing communities, including solar panel components, wind power, turbine construction, energy briquettes, and bio-reactors for production of bio-gas

· Locally sourced building materials, compressed earth blocks, and resource management

· Construction and community planning

Housing, Accommodations and Travel

Students will spend part of the program at Kathmandu University’s campus in Dhulikhel, Nepal, located about 30 kilometers east of Kathmandu. With a population of over one million people, Kathmandu is Nepal’s capital and the largest city in the Himalayas. In recent years, Kathmandu has become a major international tourism destination and is home to an exciting array of art, culture and history, including several UNESCO World Heritage Sites.

In addition to classroom and laboratory work on the Kathmandu University campus, students will venture out to small villages in the Kathmandu valley. During this field work, students will be able to practice hands on engineering in order to address real life problems, energy needs and infrastructure shortages facing local residents. At the same time, students will also have a truly once in a life time opportunity to experience life in this unique and fascinating region. Students will be housed in local accommodations or field tents during this portion of the program.

The Engineering for Developing Communities program will provide students with all meals, housing and program related transportation within Nepal. Participants are responsible for the cost of flights to and from Kathmandu’s Tribhuvan International Airport.

Applications and Admissions

The Engineering for Developing Communities program is open to undergraduate engineering and science students with at least a 3.0 GPA. Medical students are also invited to apply.

Students are asked to submit their current university transcripts along with a letter of recommendation from a professor or academic advisor and a personal statement regarding their interest in the program.

Application forms and further details are available on our website: www.ise.technion.ac.il

Program Costs and Tuition*

Participation in the program costs $5,000.

Additional fees for registration and health insurance may apply.

*Prices are subject to change due to Technion decision, fluctuations in market prices and currency exchange rates. Tuition fees do not cover applicants’ airfare to and from Nepal. Please see our website for further details and additional costs.

Israel PM Netanyahu to UN: Technion ingenuity, hope & the future.

2012-09-27T12:35:00.002-07:00

On September 27, 2012, Israel Prime Minister Benjamin (Bibi) Netanyahu addressed the General Assembly of the United Nations. In his address, Netanyahu showcased Technion as an institute producing many of the life saving innovations that are making the world a better place. (5:49)

"At the end of Yom Kippur we celebrate the rebirth of Israel... we celebrate the marvel of the flourishing modern Jewish State," said Netanyahu, sharing the blend of ancient and state-of-the-art which characterizes Israeli culture, "We blaze new trails in science. technology, medicine, agriculture... in Israel the past and the future find common ground..." Netanyahu outlined the vision of modernity, in which Israel is seeking "a bright future in which the rights of all are protected, in which an ever expanding digital library is available in the palm of every child, in which every life is sacred."

"Israel is also making the world a better place. Our scientists win Nobel Prizes, Our know-how is in every cellphone and computer that you're using. We prevent hunger by irrigating arid land in Africa and Asia," said the Israeli Prime Minister. "Recently, I was deeply moved when I visited Technion, and I saw a man paralyzed from the waist down climb up a flight of stairs fairly easily with the aid of an Israeli invention. Israel's exceptional creativity is matched by our remarkable compassion. When disaster strikes anywhere in the world... Israeli doctors are among the first on the scene performing life saving surgery... It's because Israel cherishes life that Israel cherishes peace and seeks peace."

The innovation described to the general assembly is the ReWalk, produced by the company Argo Medical. Literally giving paraplegics the means to walk, climb stairs and even drive, the device was recently featured on the popular TV show 'Glee'. You can find out more about the ReWalk in the Technion video below.

On PM Netanyahu's recent visit to Technion, he urged the institute to carry on with its vision. Inspired, the Israeli Prime Minister has now opened the window for that characteristic force of modernity to inspire the United Nations General Assembly.

Israel PM Netanyahu : inspired by the ReWalk at Technion , 2012

2012-09-20T01:30:00.000-07:00

Technion General Presentation 2012

A Trinity of High-tech Giants for NYC

2012-09-19T23:56:00.002-07:00

Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg, Qualcomm Founder Irwin Jacobs and Google Executive Chairman Eric Schmidt to Guide Growth of Cornell NYC Tech.

Three of world’s leading tech entrepreneurs will provide guidance to university leadership, helping to shape the vision for the new campus, including the Technion-Cornell Innovation Institute (TCII).

Shaping the global future:
Eric Schmidt (left), Irwin Jacobs, Michael Bloomberg.

“This is a dream team of three of the best entrepreneurs in the world. Their guidance will ensure that the Roosevelt Island campus will become a world leader in technology innovation with a global impact. I cannot think of a better guiding team." Technion President Peretz Lavie.

Cornell NYC Tech today announced that New York City Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg, Qualcomm Founder Irwin Jacobs, and Google Executive Chairman Eric Schmidt will provide ongoing guidance on the programmatic and physical development of the new world-class tech campus in New York City, including the Technion-Cornell Innovation Institute - the premier academic partnership at Cornell NYC Tech. This senior group brings together three of the world’s leading tech entrepreneurs to lend unparalleled expertise to the campus in this critical early stage.

Mayor Bloomberg, who is serving ex-officio in his official capacity as mayor, Dr. Jacobs and Dr. Schmidt – will provide advice to tech campus leadership on the educational, research, economic development and community engagement functions of the campus, helping to promote new national and international models connecting academia and industry. The group’s focus will include critical elements that will shape the campus and its programs, including topics such as the interface between the campus and New York City, the role of the local and global tech community, the approaches to intellectual property and commercialization of technology, and the creation of partnership strategies.

“New York City’s growing tech industry is about to be infused with new talent, thanks to the historic investments made by the City and Cornell for the new campus on Roosevelt Island,” said Mayor Bloomberg. “Ensuring that the new campus is connected in the right way to the thriving entrepreneurial sector is important to delivering on the promise of economic growth that is at the center of this project. I look forward to advising the university leadership on how we can achieve these goals.”

"Both Cornell, where I received an excellent undergraduate engineering education, and Technion, which has trained many of the engineers working at Qualcomm Israel in Haifa, have the energy and experience to surpass our great expectations." Qualcomm Founder Irwin Jacobs.

"Throughout my career as an educator and as founder of two companies based on innovation, I have experienced great satisfaction in developing unique products and growing large markets by exploiting rapid advances in applied science and engineering," said Irwin Jacobs. "I am excited by this opportunity to work with Mayor Bloomberg and Eric Schmidt in guiding Cornell NYC Tech and the Technion-Cornell Innovation Institute through a rapid transition from startup to major player in applied science education and the formation of impactful new companies. Both Cornell, where I received an excellent undergraduate engineering education, and Technion, which has trained many of the engineers working at Qualcomm Israel in Haifa, have the energy and experience to surpass our great expectations."

“I am pleased to join the steering committee for Cornell NYC Tech as they build their presence in New York City,” said Google Executive Chairman Eric Schmidt. “This campus is an important step forward for the development of the city’s tech sector and its continued economic growth.”

"Cornell University is honored to have the wisdom and guidance of three legends in tech entrepreneurship as we develop and shape this groundbreaking new campus," said Cornell President David J. Skorton. "Our vision for Cornell NYC Tech is already bold, and Mayor Bloomberg, Dr. Schmidt and Dr. Jacobs are leaders who will raise the bar even higher. We are committed to harnessing this extraordinary brainpower as we establish a center of technology leadership in the heart of New York City."

“This is a dream team of three of the best entrepreneurs in the world,” said Technion President Peretz Lavie. “Their guidance will ensure that the Roosevelt Island campus will become a world leader in technology innovation with a global impact. I cannot think of a better guiding team."

The new campus is offering a distinctive model of graduate tech education that fuses educational excellence with real-world commercial applications and entrepreneurship, rooted in the latest academic research. Students, faculty and industry experts will learn and work together to launch ideas and create new ventures that have global impact. The campus will attract the best and brightest in technology, immerse them in an entrepreneurial culture with deep ties to the local business community, and spur the creation of new companies and new industries in New York City.

The addition of this senior-level guidance is another major milestone for the campus. Cornell NYC Tech is now accepting applications for a “beta” class of computer science master of engineering students, which will begin classes in January in temporary space donated by Google in its New York City headquarters in Chelsea. The campus soon will be launching additional academic programs including interdisciplinary Technion-Cornell dual degrees, is actively recruiting star faculty, developing a distinctive new model of tech entrepreneurship, and designing its permanent campus on Roosevelt Island.

The City's groundbreaking Applied Sciences NYC initiative was designed to capitalize on the considerable growth presently occurring within the science, technology and research fields in New York, and builds on the Bloomberg Administration’s record of creating a more diversified and competitive economy for the future. In July of 2011, New York City Economic Development Corporation issued the Request for Proposals seeking a university, institution or consortium to develop and operate a new or expanded campus in the City in exchange for City capital, access to City-owned land – at the Navy Hospital Campus at the Brooklyn Navy Yard, the Goldwater Hospital Campus on Roosevelt Island, or on Governors Island – and the full support and partnership of the Bloomberg Administration. In October, the City received seven responses from 17 world-class institutions from around the globe. In December of 2011, the Cornell and Technion partnership was selected by the City as the first winner of the competition and was provided with land on Roosevelt Island and $100 million in City capital to build the $2 billion, 2 million square foot tech campus. When completed, the new Roosevelt Island campus will house approximately 2,000 full-time, graduate students.

IATI at Technion. The Future is Now.

2012-09-12T07:48:00.000-07:00

Israel's International High Tech Conference at the Technion

The conference was formally opened with a salute to the Technion in celebration of 100 years to the laying of the cornerstone for our historic building in Hadar Hacarmel

(r-l) Maiko Nishimoto and Kazunari Nawa of Toyota, Alfonso Gutierrez of Finland, and the Senior Executive Vice President of the Technion, Professor Paul Feigin.

Israel's main high tech conference, hosted by IATI (Israel Advanced Technology Industries), began Septrmber 10th, 2012, with a visit to the Technion's laboratories by dozens of guests from Israel and abroad. In the evening an event took place at Krieger Hall in French Carmel, in a tribute to the Technion's cornerstone centennial. The conference sessions will continue at the Jerusalem International Convention Center.

This year's conference boasts an unprecedented concentration of Israeli and international disruptive technologies. It will showcase a unique 'Invented in Israel' exhibit of innovative developments by the Israeli R&D centers of multinational companies. It will also showcase the first display of its kind in Israel of the leading Israeli startup accelerators, and, as it does every year, will present new and intriguing Israeli startups. The conference will also serve as a stage for a unique summit meeting of senior representatives of worldwide telecom leaders – Ericsson, Nokia Siemens, ZTE, Alcatel Lucent, and SingTel.

Among the main speakers at the conference are the President and CEO of eBay, John Donahoe; President of Samsung Semiconductors, Dr. Nam-Sung Woo; CEO of SingTel, Allen Lew; President of Intel Israel, Mooly Eden; President of RAD, Zohar Zisapel; President of Cadence, Lip-Bu Tan; CEO of Mellanox, Eyal Waldman; CEO of Y&R, David Sable; and the CEO of Bank Leumi, Rakefet Russak-Aminoach – in addition to a long, illustrious line of senior vice presidents for technology, mergers and acquisitions, from Microsoft, IBM, Google, Citibank, SAP, eBay, Ericsson, Nokia Siemens, Alcatel Lucent, ZTE and others.

The conference will be attended by senior government, academy and local authority officials, notably Israel's President Shimon Peres, Haifa Mayor Yona Yahav, Jerusalem Mayor Nir Barkat, Technion President Professor Peretz Lavie, former Ministry of Finance Director General Haim Shani, and others. The conference Chairs are Yossi Vardi and Yahal Zilka.

This would be the largest high tech conference in Israel for the third year in a row, and it will be attended by hundreds of senior executives from leading companies in Israel and worldwide, as well as by dozens of Israeli start-up companies that will participate in panels and present innovative technologies to representatives of companies from all over the world. IATI expects 4,000 participants from Israel and the world to attend the three conference days; international delegations of senior high tech representatives from the European Union, India, China, the US and others, venture fund representatives, senior executives of technology leaders from Israel and the world, the CEOs of leading Israeli start-up companies, entrepreneurs, and additional industry and high tech partners.

This year's conference will be also attended by extended delegations of leading international companies, who are here to pursue business opportunities in the Israeli high tech and to obtain a personal impression of the local industry and entrepreneurship. The conference will address urgent issues in the global and local high tech, among them trends in fundraising, investments, funds and angels, technological innovations from the chip level to the future of man-computer interface, the telecom market and the transition to LTE, and the world of social media and online advertising.

Aaron Mankovski, outgoing Chairman of IATI and Managing General Partner of Pitango Venture Capital: "the international high tech conference taking place in Jerusalem for the third year now has succeeded in establishing itself as one of the top international conferences in the field, and in attracting the senior executives of leading companies worldwide. Last year, the annual high tech conference provided a platform for meetings and for the creation of professional and business relations between Israeli entrepreneurs and companies and worldwide leaders, which resulted in agreements, transactions and joint developments."

Yahal Zilka, co-chairman of the conference and Managing Partner of Magma Venture Capital: "This year the conference is attended by an unprecedented concentration of global internet, telecom, chip and capital market senior executives - from China, India, the US and European Union countries. This summit meeting of key players from all over the world under one roof is a tremendous opportunity to create a collaborative growth engine for the Israeli high tech".

Karin Mayer-Rubinstein, CEO of IATI: "During the conference, IATI will sign cooperation agreements with international companies that will bring added value to its members. This, further to cooperation agreements that IATI signed last year with Indian delegations, and which have strengthens relations with the Indian high tech industry."

About Israel Advanced Technology Industries (IATI)

IATI is an umbrella organization for the high tech, venture capital and life science industries in Israel, including for individuals and companies that engage in research, development and marketing in knowledge intensive fields such as hardware, software, internet, telecommunications, bio-pharma and medical devices. The organization initiates and assists in developing policies and activities aimed at advancing the Israeli high tech and life science industries by promoting its interests vis-à-vis government authorities, creating collaborations between its members, promoting innovation and technology, and generating opportunities for the creation of business relations in Israel and worldwide.

Israel Advanced Technology Industries is the largest umbrella organization in Israel, representing over 300 companies and organizations of the entire industrial spectrum in Israel - high tech, life sciences, venture capital, start-up companies, technological incubators, commercialization companies and service providers – that employ hundreds of thousands of high tech and life sciences employees in Israel.

Technion mourns the passing of Shalom Zielony.

2012-09-02T19:46:00.001-07:00

“Mr Zielony, your actions cannot be described simply; you are a true visionary. You have provided us with the tools for genuine development. You have given us the foundations for our community. Thank you for giving our campus a heart and our students homes close to that heart. We truly feel blessed.”

Ori Avi-No’am, former chair of the Graduate Students Organization.

"My mission in life is to provide others with the tools to realize their dreams and goals."
Shalom (Stanley) Zielony ז"ל

Shalom (Stanley) Zielony

Born in Jerusalem in and educated in Haifa, Stanley Shalom Zielony served in the communications division of the Hagana during the War of Independence and in the Israel Defense Forces after the establishment of the State.

He moved to North America, settling in Canada, where he became involved in the export of pulpwood to Europe. He demonstrated his ingenuity by developing a more efficient machine to debark wood prior to process, and also designed Ways to improve the loading of pulpwood on cargo ships for transatlantic journeys. His ability to improve machinery transformed into his aptitude to improve processes. In 1967 Zielony founded New York Publications Expediting Services (PES.) that distributes scientific literature Worldwide. This was the first US company to use air freight and mail to import and export scientific journals and books between Europe and the US, Zielony became a World leader in scientific literature distribution as P.E.S. became the major conduit for leading international scientific publishers.

Throughout his life Stanley Shalom Zielony committed himself to help strengthen Israel by buttressing its scientific and technological character. His generosity and modesty are legendary. In 2003, he received a Technion Honorary Doctorate in appreciation of his recognition of the Institute's critical role in the development and wellbeing of Israel, and in profound gratitude for his outstanding support of the quality of life at Technion, transforming the face of campus, improving Student life and supporting academic programs.

The inauguration of the Stanley Shalom Zielony Student Union Building

Zielony's remarkable dedication to priority projects at Technion included funding for faculty recruitment, research, and campus life. The Shalom Zielony Plaza, dedicated in 2002, transformed the Technion into a more beautiful and vibrant campus with attractive waterfalls, a scenic promenade and an expansive central lawn providing a vvonderful location for large gatherings and ceremonies.

The quality of student life has been greatly enhanced and revitalized by the Stanley Shalom Zielony Student Union Building the Stanley Shalom Zielony Graduate Student village, and the strengthening of the Unit for Student Advancement. Loved across campus, March 18th 2009 was declared "Zielony Day" to express the gratitude of Technion students and faculty.

Zielony's wish was to be buried at the family plot in Haifa, near Technion. His funeral, attended by his daughter Tamara, close family, friends, Technion staff and students, was a poignant yet optimistic tribute, a celebration of a life that touched so many. A recurring theme was the nobility of a man who felt lucky to be able to help others, especially young people. "Whenever I thanked Shalom for his magnificent gifts, he would respond: 'My mission in life is to provide others with the tools to realize their dreams and goals. I feel privileged to have the opportunity to give, and to ensure the education of the next generation in Israel," said Technion President, Professor Peretz Lavie.

"Mr. Zielony's abundant generosity to the Technion and the Student Association has had a significant impact on the students here and will continue to do so for generations to come," said Assaf Zinger, chairman of the Technion Students Association. "Sir Winston Churchill once said: 'We make a living by what we get, but we make a life by what we give.' Mr. Zielony's gifts are a testament to a life well lived."

Technion Supercomputing & the Octopus

2012-09-01T14:08:00.001-07:00

Image courtesy of SGI

An SGI computer which has been nicknamed the 'Octopus' and which is currently the largest civil server cluster in Israel has been installed at the Technion computer labs.

The computer will mainly serve researchers at the Minerva Center for Cognitive Processes and the Russell Berrie Nanotechnology Institute (RBNI) but researchers from a variety of fields that demand high performance computing will also have access.

The Technion purchased the computer with all available management tools including administrative, applicative and compilers. The SGI InfiniBand Cluster supercomputer is equipped with over 1260 cores has 96 gigabytes of memory for every node with the nodes connected through an infiniBand communication protocol developed by Israel's Mellanox Technologies and has a storage system with a minimum of 60 terabytes.

Speaking at a ceremony to launch the 'Octopus' at the Technion computer labs, Technion Deputy Senior Vice President Professor Daniel Rittel said: "The Octopus places us on equal footing with the world's leading academic institutions." Dr. Joan Adler a researcher at the Faculty of Physics noted that researchers are already reporting that the code is running 11 times faster on the Octopus than previous systems.

New Life - The Healing Promise of Stem Cells

2012-09-01T13:46:00.003-07:00

Diseases and conditions where stem cell treatment is promising or emerging. Source: Wikipedia

Since the late 1990s, the Technion has been at the forefront of stem-cell research. Stem cells are the master keys because they can be converted into many different kinds of cells, opening many different doors to potential cures and treatments. Beating heart tissue is one of the major stem cell achievements from the Technion.

Healing the Heart

Technion scientists showed this year that they can turn skin tissue from heart attack patients into fresh, beating heart cells in a first step towards a new therapy for the condition. The procedure may eventually help scores of people who survive heart attacks but are severely debilitated by damage to the organ.

By creating new heart cells from a patient's own tissues, doctors avoid the risk of the cells being rejected by the immune system once they are transplanted.Though the cells were not considered safe enough to put back into patients, they appeared healthy in the laboratory and beat in time with other cells in animal models.

"We have shown that it's possible to take skin cells from an elderly patient with advanced heart failure and end up with his own beating cells in a laboratory dish that are healthy and young – the equivalent to the stage his heart cells were in when he was just born," Prof. Lior Gepstein told the British national paper The Guardian.

Pancreatic Tissue for Diabetes

Prof. Shulamit Levenberg of the Technion, who has spent many years trying to create replacement human organs by building them up on a “scaffold,” has created tissue from the insulin-producing islets of Langerhans in the pancreas surrounded by a three-dimensional network of blood vessels.The tissue she and her team created has significant advantages over traditional transplant material that has been harvested from healthy pancreatic tissue.

"We have shown that the three-dimensional environment and the engineered blood vessels support the islets – and this support is important for the survival of the islets and for their insulin secretion activity", says Prof. Levenberg of the Department of Biomedical Engineering.

A Robotic Review from Israel

2012-09-01T12:41:00.000-07:00

Robotics is the branch of technology that deals with the design, construction, operation and application of robots and computer systems for their control, sensory feedback, and information processing. These technologies deal with automated machines that can take the place of humans, in hazardous or manufacturing processes, or simply just resemble humans. Many of today's robots are inspired by nature contributing to the field of bio-inspired robotics.

Watch robots come to life with this New Year Hip Hop greeting from Technion to its friends and colleagues around the world.

The creation of machines that could operate autonomously dates back to classical times, but research into the functionality and potential uses of robots did not grow substantially until the 20th century. Throughout history, robotics has been often seen to mimic human behavior, and often manage tasks in a similar fashion. Today, robotics is a rapidly growing field, as we continue to research, design, and build new robots that serve various practical purposes, whether domestically, commercially, or in search and rescue.

In 2012, Reuters reported that Intel will be collaborating with Technion scientists in research that could yield devices that even mimic the human brain by 2014 or 2015.

Many of the robotic solutions emerging around the world today can save lives, such as the micro robot marketed by the company Mazor, founded out of innovations from the laboratory of Technion Prof. Moshe Shoham. Yet beyond the first frontier of research, robots also offer a great way to inspire the upcoming generation with an interest in technology and ingenuity.

These future young engineers can be seen below receiving a class from RoboThespian™. As its name implies, RoboThespian is a dramatic actor robot complete with gestures, facial expressions and flirtatious eyes. This experimental live lesson was given in the framework of the project conducted by Prof. Igor Verner of the Technion's Department of Education in Technology and Science and Dr. Takuya Hashimoto of Tokyo University of Science together with Alex Polishuk and Niv Krainer of MadaTech and Technion. RoboThespian™, produced by "Engineered Arts" of the UK, was bought two years ago by MadaTech for the robotics exhibition held there.

Watch the video below to see some of the Technion's other robots in action. Students and Faculty members from Mechanical Engineering, Electrical Engineering and Computer Science create these amazing robots in the Biorobotics and Biomechanics, Control and Robotic and Intelligent Systems laboratories.

Give me a Voice. Brain Science & Speech

2012-08-21T23:57:00.001-07:00

Technion & UCLA researchers have identified a structured code for representing speech movements by neurons in the human brain. The researchers were able to directly decode vowels from neural activity - a finding which could allow individuals who are paralyzed to "speak" to people around them through a brain-computer interface

In the photo: the two language areas where cell reactions during speech were researched. The graphs present a selective code for vowels in an area in the frontal lobe and a non-selective code in an area in the temporal lobe (each color represents a neuron). The image highlights the brain areas where neurons with a structured code for speech generation were found. In the frontal region neurons were highly vowel-selective while in the temporal region (on the right) the code was broad and non-selective.

Technion and UCLA researchers have directly decoded vowels from the neural activity which leads to their articulation - a finding which could allow individuals who are paralyzed to "speak" to the people around them through a direct brain-computer interface.

Prof. Shy Shoham and Dr. Ariel Tankus of the Technion Department of Biomedical Engineering, together with Prof. Itzhak Fried of the University of California Los Angeles (UCLA) and the Tel Aviv University and Medical Center departments of Neurosurgery, describe the way in which neurons in different areas of the human brain encode different speech segments (vowels) during their articulation in the scientific journal Nature Communications.

The discovery will indirectly enable scientists to decode the content of the subjects' speech based on brain activity alone. One of the possible applications of speech decoding from brain activity is the creation of a brain-computer interface that can restore speech faculties in paralyzed individuals who have lost them.

"There are diseases in which the patient's entire body is paralyzed, he is effectively 'locked in' (locked-in syndrome) and is unable to communicate with the environment, but his mind still functions", explains Prof. Shoham, Head of the Neural Interface Engineering Laboratory in the Technion Department of Biomedical Engineering. "Our long term goal is to restore these patients' ability to speak using systems that will include implanting electrodes in their brains, decoding the neural activity that encodes speech, and sounding artificial speech sounds. For this purpose, we wanted to first understand how the information about the articulated syllable is encoded in the electrical activity of an individual brain neuron and of a neuron population. In our experiments we identified cell populations that distinctly participate in the representation. For example, cells we registered in an area in the medial frontal lobe that includes the anterior cingulate cortex, surprised us in the manner in which they 'sharply' represented certain vowels but not others, even though the area is not necessarily known as having a major role in the speech generation process".

The experiments were conducted in the UCLA Medical Center with the participation of epilepsy patients, in whose brain Prof. Fried and his team implanted depth electrodes. The objective of the implant is to locate the epileptic focus, which is the area in the brain where epileptic seizures begin. After the surgery, the patients were hospitalized for a week or two with the electrodes in their brain, and waited for the occurrence of spontaneous seizures.

During that time, Dr. Tankus, who was a post-doctoral fellow at UCLA and is now a researcher at the Technion, conducted experiments in which he asked patients to articulate vowels as well as syllables comprising a consonant and a vowel, and recorded the resulting neuronal activity in their brain.

The researchers discovered two neuron populations that encode the information about the vowel articulated in an entirely different way. In the first population, identified in the medial frontal lobe, each neuron encodes only one or two vowels by changing its firing rate, but does not change its activity when other vowels are articulated. However, in the second population, located in the superior temporal gyrus, each neuron reacts to all vowels tested, but the cell's reaction strength changes gradually between vowels.

Moreover, the researchers were able to deduce a mathematical arrangement of the manner in which the vowels are represented in the brain, showing it to match the phonetic vowel trapezoid, which is built according to the location of the highest point of the tongue during articulation. Thus, the researchers succeeded in connecting the brain representation with the anatomy and physiology of vowel articulation.

Understanding brain representation of speech generation constitutes a significant step on the road to decoding cellular activity using a computer, as Dr. Tankus explains: "We have developed a new algorithm that improves the ability to identify from brain activity which syllable was articulated, and this algorithm has allowed us to obtain very high identification rates. Based on the present findings, we are currently conducting experiments toward the creation of a brain-machine interface that will restore speech faculties".

A new year - and the robots are ready to party!

2012-08-19T00:29:00.002-07:00

The Jewish year of

~5773~

Geeks are boring? NO way. Nobel Laureates live in ivory towers? University presidents are inaccessible? Perhaps you should ask Technion President Prof. Peretz Lavie for some Hip Hop.

Join the entire Technion family and the world community of lovers of education, science and technology with some of the hottest robots from Technion - Israel Institute of Technology as they strut their stuff to a hip-hop cover of the traditional Jewish song, Shana Tova, or happy new year. Save it and share it with children and loved ones everywhere as a special new year's greeting!

Bonne année, З Новим роком, نیا سال مبارک ہو, Yeni iliniz mübarək, Buon anno, Hamingjusamur Nýtt Ár, Athbhliain faoi mhaise daoibh, Gëzuar Vitin e Ri, Head uut aastat, Bonan Novjaron, Честита Нова Година, З Новым годам, শুভ নববর্ষ, გილოცავთ

ახალ წელს, હેપ્પી ન્યુ યર, Feliz ano, Glückliches neues Jahr,
Godt Nytår. Gelukkig Nieuwjaar, नया साल मुबारक, Blwyddyn Newydd Dda, Chúc mừng năm mới, புத்தாண்டு, Yeni Yılınız Kutlu Olsun, హ్యాపీ న్యూ ఇయర్, Ευτυχισμένο το Νέο Έτος, מזל ניו יאָר, 明けましておめでとうございます, Laimīgu Jauno gadu, Felix Novus Annus, Naujųjų Metų, Selamat Tahun Baru, Godt Nyttår, Heri ya Mwaka Mpya, 新年好, Srečno novo leto, Šťastný Nový Rok, Feliz Año Nuevo, Срећна Нова Година, سنة جديدة سعيدة, Manigong Bagong Taon, Onnellista uutta vuotta, سال نو مبارک, Šťastný Nový Rok, Bonne année, 새해 복 많이 받으세요, Feliç Any Nou, La mulți ani, С Новым годом, Gott Nytt År, สวัสดีปีใหม่!!!!!!!!!!!

An optical spin - the nanoscience of electrons

2012-08-12T07:12:00.000-07:00

Prof. Erez Hasman, Technion.

The spin Hall effect - the impact of the intrinsic spin on the particle trajectory, which produces transverse deflection of the particle - is a central tenet in the field of spintronics regarding particles of electrons. Now, its optical equivalent has been observed.

The Magnus effect is seen in a wide range of systems. For example, it describes the sideways force applied to a spinning ball as it travels through the air explains Prof. Erez Hasman, head of the Micro- and Nanooptics Laboratory and an avid tennis player.

Light waves, comprising mass-less particles called photons, also demonstrate spin. Light's spin is determined by its polarization: whether the wave vibration rotates in one direction or the opposite as it travels. Hasman, together with his PhD student Avi Niv, Dr Vladimir Kleiner - a senior scientist in the lab - and Ukrainian visiting scientist Dr Konstantin Bliokh, were the first to observe the effect of spin on the trajectories of polarized light beams.

The researchers launched a laser beam at a sliding angle to the internal surface of a glass cylinder. Once inside the cylinder the beam traveled in a helical trajectory along the glass-air interface, and was collected and analyzed at the far end using polarization optics and a camera. They observed a transverse spin-dependent deflection of the optical beam. These results have promising applications in nano-optics leading to much faster and more accurate computational data processing.

Physics Prof. Mordechai (Moti) Segev, a world leader in the area of Nonlinear Optics, comments, "Nanophotonics is a field where light is manipulated and controlled on a scale that is smaller than the optical wavelength. Erez Hasman has written a series of important papers in this area, leading to a new branch in optics - spinoptics. His discoveries offer an unprecedented ability to control light and its polarization state in nanometer-scale optical devices, thereby facilitating a variety of applications related to nanophotonics."

Applied to other areas Hasman says, "There are a number of systems where the spin of a particle couples with its trajectory in high-energy and condensed matter physics. The math is the same in all cases, but experimentally it's hard to understand what's going on. Our experimental system offers a new way to get at some of these fundamental questions clearly and precisely."

What is Photonics?

Photonics is the science of generating, controlling, and detecting photons. Photonics researchers investigate the emission, transmission, amplification, detection, and modulation of light. Applications include laser manufacturing, biological and chemical sensing, medical diagnostics and therapy, display technology, and optical computing.

Spinoptics: The Magnus effect for light, also called the optical spin Hall effect, causes the light to deflect due to the interaction between the intrinsic spin of the photons and the shape of the light's trajectory.

Can you see Mars? Technion Science.

2012-08-12T00:30:00.000-07:00

Mars is live - thanks to the Lempel Ziv algorithm for lossless data compression developed at Technion.

"The video compression on Curiosity rover is indeed a version of the LOCO system that was developed by Marcelo Weinberger and Gadiel Seroussi -both are Technion graduates," says Technion Distinguishe Prof. Jacob Ziv,

Images sent back to Earth from the Curiosity rover are using a version of the LOCO system for video compression developed by Technion alumni, Drs Marcelo Weinberger and Gadiel Seroussi. Weinberger and Seroussi’s doctoral advisors were Profs. Abraham Lempel and Jacob Ziv, developers of the Lempel-Ziv coding algorithm – a world standard for compressed information transmission.

NASA's groundbreaking mission seeks to determine whether Mars is or has ever been capable of supporting life and to assess the planet's habitability for future human missions.

To maximize the number of images acquired during the mission, virtually all image data will be compressed by the rover CPU (using either lossy or lossless compression) prior to placement into the telemetry stream. To perform this task the rovers will utilize a software implementation of the JPL-developed ICER wavelet-based image compressor [Kiely and Klimesh, 2003], capable of providing lossy and lossless compression. In cases where lossless compression is desired and speed is particularly important, compression will be performed (in software) by a modified version of the low-complexity (LOCO) lossless image compression algorithm [Klimesh et al., 2001; Weinberger et al., 1996]. The MER mission is utilizing state of the art image compression technology by flying compressors that deliver compression effectiveness comparable to that achieved by the JPEG- 2000 image compression standard [Adams, 2001], but with lower computational complexity [Kiely and Klimesh, 2003].

Did you know?
Mars's average distance from the Sun is roughly 230 million km (1.5 AU, or 143 million miles) and its orbital period is 687 (Earth) days as depicted by the red trail, with Earth's orbit shown in blue.(Animation)

The Technion Birthright

2012-08-07T00:05:00.001-07:00

Birthright Bar Mitzvah Celebrated in Haifa
Date: 06/08/2012
Source: Technion FOCUS.

Taglit - also known as the Birthright Israel program - is celebrating its Bar Mitzvah (13th anniversary). To mark the occasion, more than 500 current participants came to Technion where they heard two lectures from dynamic faculty who are both immigrants to Israel: Dr. Josue Sznitman of Technion's Faculty of Biomedical Engineering and Prof. Mark Talesnick of the Faculty of Civil and Environmental Engineering.
Talesnick spoke about Technion's Engineers Without Borders outreach program that he initiated and Sznitman discussed his cutting-edge research.
Albert Sweet, of Los Angeles, CA, has been one of Technion's generous supporters for many years as well as a supporter of the Birthright program. Through an initiative he started a few years ago Birthright participants are brought to Technion to get a sense of Technion's contribution to Israel's becoming a high-technology superpower and a critical player in helping drive Israel's economy, medical research and security.