The Technion purchased a sophisticated scanning electron microscope that will serve all the universities and the industry, the government will promote the developments in the field of water, wind on the bar at the University of Haifa
Five of the friends of the Weizmann Institute of Science were crowned as part of the 64th annual session of the institute's board of directors held this week, with the title of honorary doctor. The five are: Prof. Georg Klein, Shimshon Harel, d. Ronald Daniel, Rene Breginsky, and the former President of the Supreme Court, Dorit Beinish.
Prof. Georg Klein is among the leading cancer researchers in the world and a humanist with broad horizons and interests. Klein is a member of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences. He won prestigious awards and honors: the Griffith Award (1974), the Hervey Award (1975), the Gardner Award (1976), the Salon Award (1979), the Robert Koch Gold Medal (1998) and more.
Shimshon Harel has been known for four decades as a respected figure in the Israeli business community, and today - as a prominent leader among the global Weizmann Institute family. Harel, born and resident of Haifa, currently serves as a partner and CEO of the America-Israel Investment Company Ltd., a company specializing in real estate investments and the construction of residential neighborhoods in Israel and abroad.
d. In 1957, Ronald Daniel joined the McKinsey Company in New York, for what was then a strategic consulting organization of 110 consultants, which operated only in the USA. Today he serves as a member of the board of directors - and in the past he was also a co-director - of the company, which he navigated for over five decades and led to the status of a global company, employing approximately 8,000 employees
in 99 branches. Daniel is a dedicated supporter and volunteer in the ranks of important non-profit organizations, including Harvard University and the Weizmann Institute of Science.
Rene Berginsky is a businessman, president and chairman of the financial management company he founded in Zurich, InCentive Asset Management AC. Before that, he served for 20 years as CEO of the Swiss bank Sal. Oppenheim Jr. & Cie. Breginsky was also known as a collector of rare illustrated Hebrew manuscripts and books. In 2010, the Weizmann Institute of Science established the Barginsky Center for the Integration of the Natural Sciences and the Humanities.
Dorit Binish, the first woman in the position of President of the Supreme Court in Israel, strove throughout her professional life to establish a tolerant and open society and to fortify the legal system. In 1982 she was appointed Deputy State Attorney, and in 1989 she was promoted to the position of State Attorney, becoming the first woman in this position. In 1995 she was unanimously elected as a judge of the Supreme Court. In this position, she determined that it is possible to disqualify evidence obtained illegally, and many other rulings anchoring rules and reservations in the areas of security, human (and child) rights, social rights, equality before the law and freedom of expression. Judge Beinish did not come to the ceremony, due to an accident, but sent her guest lecture on video.
The cornerstone laying ceremony for the permanent building of the Faculty of Medicine of Bar-Ilan in Safed was held
At the Faculty of Medicine of Bar-Ilan University in Safed, a transition ceremony was held on Tuesday this week with the participation of Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu, Bar-Ilan University President Prof. Moshe Kova, Deputy Prime Minister, Negev and Galilee Development Minister Silvan Shalom, Education Minister Gideon Sa'ar, Lt. The Minister of Health, Yaakov Litzman, the Dean of the Faculty of Medicine Prof. Ran Tor Kespa and the heads of the university.
At the ceremony, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said: "I want to congratulate the president of Bar Ilan Moshe Keva, you have an important part in the realization of this vision. The university has taken it upon itself to do this, and I want to say to the board of trustees that you can trust us. This faculty will be established faster than people think, I took it upon myself to shorten the bureaucratic procedures. It is a great pleasure for me. This is a general reform for me, but I take it upon myself to do it here as well. Not only to lay a cornerstone but also to cut the blue ribbon." I heard that there is already 50 million dollars for the second phase and with God's help we will achieve it too. Netanyahu pledged to assist in speeding up the construction procedures of the permanent buildings."
The President of Bar-Ilan University, Prof. Moshe Koa, welcomed: "This is a great day for the State of Israel, the Galilee and Bar-Ilan University. Today, the 300th of March, I can wholeheartedly repeat what I said last year, "This is the day God made a revelation and we rejoice in it." We took in 100 students in record time. We received 8 dunams for the permanent settlement on the southeastern slopes of Safed Ha'Scofus to the Sea of Galilee, where XNUMX research and infrastructure buildings will be erected."
In his words, Prof. Koa mentioned the agreement signed with the government on raising a total of 400 million dollars for the faculty, 200 of which Bar-Ilan will raise through donations and the other half on behalf of the government. Prof. Koa noted that out of the 200, Bar-Ilan has already managed to raise 130 million. Prof. Koa announced another donation - 50 million dollars donated by the Jewish philanthropist born in Tiberias, Aharon Dahan for the establishment of a research and teaching center on the permanent campus.
The Deputy Prime Minister, Minister Silvan Shalom noted the great development and contribution that the faculty will bring to the Galilee. "We take care of students, 300 in number. They have the possibility to fulfill their dream. The students at the faculty receive an opportunity and benefits that only they receive. Also to study medicine, both to study in Safed and to receive an exemption from tuition fees and a living stipend. There is no other such thing in Israel."
Minister of Education, Gideon Sa'ar: "Establishing the faculty is Zionism at its best. The faculty will become a magnet for the best lecturers, outstanding researchers and groundbreaking students"
Prof. Ran Tor, as dean of the Faculty of Medicine of Bar-Ilan University in Safed, said "When the Faculty of Medicine is built, it will be a mini-university and a mega-faculty that will include a school of pharmacy and dentistry. Already now in its second year, the faculty occupies a place of honor among the medical faculties in Israel. When the construction of the permanent building is completed and 1000 students will study at the Faculty of Medicine of Bar-Ilan in the Galilee. Today, 300 students are studying there, about half of them in the three-year course intended for medical students who have studied at universities abroad, about half in the four-year course for graduates of bachelor's and science degrees who wish to come and study medicine, and another fifty students for master's and third degrees. In the future, another six-year track will be added."
The Technion purchased a scanning electron microscope that is sophisticated in Israel
The Technion purchased a sophisticated scanning electron microscope in Israel, at a cost of 1.3 million dollars. The Dean of the Faculty of Materials Science and Engineering, Professor Wayne Kaplan, said that this is a great contribution to the learning process at all levels, and that the microscope will serve all researchers in Israel, as well as knowledge-rich industry workers.
The microscope has sophisticated detectors that allow not only excellent separation, but also receiving direct information about the composition of the material and its defects. It has an oven whose temperatures reach up to 1100 degrees Celsius, which allows the researcher to carry out a production process inside it and characterize it with certainty, without the need for guesswork. So, for example, he can see the solidification process under the microscope, or follow layers of materials that are unstable and over time break down. "With the help of the state-of-the-art microscope, we can monitor the process and know how to prevent the decomposition or how to take advantage of it," emphasizes Professor Kaplan. "This is how we developed, together with Professor Gadi Eisenstein from the Faculty of Electrical Engineering, new memories with stability and a field of work that do not exist today, and they are based on tiny platinum particles with a size of 4-5 nanometers. We produce these particles in the size and shape we want by following the disintegration process of a continuous layer inside the microscope. It gives us criteria for engineering that we didn't have until now."
Dr. Alex Brenner and Michael Kalina are responsible for the operation and training of the sophisticated microscope, which is part of the Technion's advanced center for electron microscopy.
In the picture: the new microscope is being brought up. From right to left: Nobel Laureate in Chemistry, Professor Dan Shechtman, Technion Vice President for Research, Professor Oded Shmueli and Professor Wayne Kaplan. Photographed by: Yoav Bacher, Technion Spokesperson
The government will promote Israeli water technologies
Further to the government's decisions from 2006 and 2008, regarding the promotion of water technologies in Israel, the proposal of the decision-makers, approved on Sunday this week, includes extending the program for the development of water technologies in Israel and running it during the years 2012-2014.
According to the proposal, the central steering committee for the implementation of the plan will continue to operate under the leadership of the director general of the Ministry of Natural Resources and Energy, who will serve as the chairman of the steering committee and will include the director of the program for the promotion of water and renewable energy technologies at the headquarters for the promotion of investments in the Natural Resources and Energy Ministry, the chief scientist in the Ministry of Natural Resources and Energy, and representatives The Water and Sewerage Authority, the Ministry of Water and Energy, the Treasury Budget Officer, the Accountant General of the Treasury, the Ministry of Science and Technology, the Ministry of Education, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Environmental Protection, the Ministry of Health, the Ministry of Tourism, the Nature and Parks Authority, the National Economic Council as well as observers from the Export Institute and the Council for higher education.
The role of the steering committee will be to coordinate and promote all governmental activity in the field of water technologies, among other things through:
• National Information Center for Water Technologies - the program team will gather the relevant information for the program's target populations and operate a website, in order to bring an interface point to all the parties concerned. Accordingly, the program's website will include the following content: study programs, announcements regarding Israeli and international tender projects, exhibitions and conferences in which the program takes part, information for the program's partners, information for potential investors, as well as additional content to achieve the goals underlying the program
• Experiential - educational water center "Tel Apek" - as part of the program and in collaboration with the inter-ministerial cooperation of the Ministry of Natural Resources and Energy, the Ministry of Energy and Water, the Ministry of Tourism, the Ministry of Finance and the Nature and Parks Authority, an experiential educational water center will be established which will combine nature, landscape, heritage, industry , Israeli water science and technologies. The center will be a central place for a display and an updated permanent exhibition of the Israeli water industry, in the field of advanced water solutions. In addition, the center will offer a variety of tours and activity days for professional visits, seminar days, training centers for Israeli water industry products for professionals, delegations from abroad, for school students and students and doctoral students in the water fields
• Giving priority to the development of academic curricula for bachelor's degrees, engineering degrees and advanced degrees in the field of water technologies in institutions of higher education and the awarding of scholarships for advanced degrees in the field of water to be awarded by the Water Authority.
• Training of employees within the Professional Training Division at the Ministry of Water Technology in the field of water systems and technologies, at the various levels, including engineers, with the aim of encouraging the training of Israeli employees and their integration into the labor market, including in the water industry and water corporations, where the students of the courses will be able to carry out practical experience, with the aim of facilitating their placement At the end of the course,
• Encouraging research in the field of water and environmental technologies, using the industrial R&D assistance tools of the Office of the Chief Scientist in the Office of the MOT, to encourage companies and entrepreneurs in the field of water technologies, to use the generic assistance tools for industrial R&D operated by the Office of the Chief Scientist, including the R&D fund F, the technological incubators program, the Tnufa program, the magnet program, the international cooperation programs and more.
• Awarding a prize for global innovation - as part of the international conference to be held in Israel, a prize for global innovation, research and business, in the field of water will be awarded once every two years. This is with the aim of increasing global awareness of new technologies and initiatives in the field of water.
• Promoting companies in the field of water technologies and providing assistance in marketing the produce in international markets through the operation of demonstration centers for Israeli companies abroad, broad participation in world conferences and exhibitions on water technologies to be held in Israel. Also, the program team will lead the participation of delegations, companies from the Israeli industry and the water corporations in leading conferences and exhibitions abroad. Promotion of cooperation agreements with countries and water bodies in cooperation with the Water Authority and Water Bodies in Israel, a branding and positioning plan, locating prominent international bodies and organizations in which Israeli presence is important, as well as promoting Israeli bodies worthy of representing the country in these organizations. The program team will formulate an international marketing plan to expose the water industry in selected target markets. This is with the aim of encouraging cooperation between foreign players and Israeli technology companies, thereby increasing their activity and positioning Israel as a world leader in the water sector
• Marketing the program in Israel - with the aim of encouraging young people, students, entrepreneurs, companies and academics to turn to the water sector and utilize the existing tools, as well as in order to maximize exposure to selected sectors, in order for them to adopt technological solutions from Israeli companies.
• Membership in international organizations - the program team will prepare an action plan to promote the involvement of Israeli bodies in at least two international organizations in the field of water, for the entire period of the program
• A program for international cooperation and assistance - as part of the promotion of Israeli technologies and as part of cooperation programs with developing countries, the effort to carry out aid, cooperation and development operations in the field of water will be increased, including bringing professionals to Israel, sending experts for consultation with the aim of creating international cooperation.
• Standardization in the field of water - The Standards Institute will continue to carry out the work plan on international standardization in the field of water technologies which will include, among other things, financing the participation of Israeli representatives in international standardization committees.
Minister of Water Resources Shalom Simhon: "The program for the promotion of water technologies in the Ministry of Water Resources works to pool Israeli capabilities at all levels, in order to realize the business potential of Israeli technologies in the world market. The program includes a very broad partnership of more than 10 government ministries and government organizations, where they all share one goal: maximizing the business potential in the international arena. The entire set of commercial annexes of the Foreign Trade Administration in the Ministry of Foreign Trade, the Headquarters for the Promotion of Investments, and the Israel Export Institute are being mobilized for this important purpose and I hope that the growth trend of the technological industry in the field of water will be maintained in the years to come."
Oded Distal, director of the NewTech program - the governmental water and energy program: "The global water challenge is growing. According to forecasts by international bodies, all the inhabitants of the planet will be required to face this challenge, with varying levels of urgency. The urgency stems both from the increase in the standard of living as well as from urbanization and the burden on water infrastructures, as well as the need to provide food and the close connection between all branches of agriculture, including livestock, to water consumption. Israel is considered a powerhouse in the fields of agricultural technologies. The UN and OECD reports on this matter, present Israel as a global model to follow when it comes to water management and agricultural consumption. On this basis, technologies, off-the-shelf products as well as accumulated knowledge and experience were developed in Israel and these become relevant to the global market. For example, Israeli exports, which in 2007 were about 700 million dollars, exceeded 2011 billion dollars in 2, and old and new Israeli companies - including startups with a wide range of technologies - are major players in the world market. The Israeli government, through the relevant government ministries, made a decisive contribution to the promotion of the water technology industry, which included working with international financial bodies, international investment funds and bodies, financial institutions, governmental and non-governmental organizations around the globe.
The most prominent trend in recent years deals with the smart, efficient and economical management of water bodies. This trend came to meet two needs: dealing with the global economic crisis, which caused a significant cut in the development and construction of new infrastructure expenditures, and the growing need for water supply of adequate quality and quantity and adequate waste water treatment. These two opposing directions create a tremendous opportunity for the Israeli water sector, whose strengths relate to efficiency, savings, precision and, in short, smart management.
The wind that swept the pubs in Haifa:
Hundreds participated in the "Spirit on the Bar" lectures by the lecturers of the Faculty of Humanities of the University of Haifa
Hundreds of Haifa residents went out yesterday (Sunday) to pubs in the city to hear the "Spirit on the Bar" lectures - lectures by the lecturers of the Faculty of Humanities at the University of Haifa that took place in a relaxed atmosphere and over a glass of drink.
"The hundreds of young people who arrived tonight showed once again that there is a tremendous thirst for the fields of knowledge of the humanities. We hope that this evening will become a long and successful tradition, which will further strengthen the connection between the University of Haifa and the residents of Haifa and its surroundings. The University of Haifa plays a central role in strengthening the northern region and we are happy to share our knowledge with the public," said university president Amos Shapira, who heard Prof. Oded Laban's lecture on the connection (or lack of connection) between politics and ideology.
"Spirit on the Bar" is a collaboration between the University of Haifa, the Haifa Municipality's Youth Center and the association "Derech Ruach". During the evening, 12 of the best lecturers of the Faculty of Humanities lectured in 12 different pubs and cafes around the city in front of a crowd that included mostly young people but also quite a few adults who came despite the rainy weather to buy opinions. In all the places the occupancy was completely full and most of the places were reserved in advance, while the lively discussion that developed at the end of each lecture showed how much the spiritual fields create interest among the audience.
Among the lectures given: Prof. Oz Almog, a sociologist of Israeli society, spoke at "Beit Habira" about the characteristics of the Israeli generation Y, at "Jack and the Peas" Prof. Shariel Shalu revealed the thriving hi-tech industry of the Stone Age and Rabbi Uzi Elide told in "Mandarin" about bohemian life in the cafes of Paris at the beginning of the 20th century.
"The partnership with the university and the municipality in the field of humanities is a first-of-its-kind collaboration to bring the spirit back to the forefront, and we hope that a long-standing tradition will begin here. At the end of the day, every person is faced with essential questions for which the humanities have answers", said Lior Perlberg, founder of Derech Roach.
