Research Continues

Even in the face of the tragic events of October 7, Technion researchers have continued their work, breaking new ground in their respective fields and winning awards. Their resilience was recognized with the 85th spot in the Academic Ranking of World Universities and first place in Israeli academia in the Globes 2024 Brand Index, which focused on the relevance to the job market when choosing a university.

Industry

As the oldest university in Israel, the Technion has a deep history of ties with industry, sending a high percentage of graduates to the most respected multinational companies. Intel opened facilities in Israel as early as the 1970s, and this past year it collaborated with the Technion to open a lab on campus for manufacturing processes in the semiconductor industry. In December, the University created the position of executive vice president for innovation and industry relations in order to expand Technion activities related to implementing research, commercializing new technologies, and founding startups.

Environment

Professor Yoram Rozen, director of the Asher Space Research Institute at the Technion, and a team of academics and industrial experts made headlines in February after proposing a giant sunshade that could help counter global warming by deflecting a portion of the sun’s rays, lowering the Earth’s average temperature by 1.5°C. Prof. Rozen and his creative concept received extensive coverage in The New York Times and other major global press outlets.

Later this year, the Technion hopes to break ground on the Stewart and Lynda Resnick Sustainability Center for Catalysis. Some 90% of industrial production involves catalytic processes, methods that speed up chemical reactions. The center’s cleantech scientists intend to develop sustainable catalysts that would make manufacturing more efficient and reduce environmental damage.

Health and Medicine

As one of the only technological institutes in the world with its own faculty of medicine, the Technion has built a reputation for finding innovative solutions in health care. During this past year alone:

• Cardiac researcher Professor Lior Gepstein and psychoneuroimmunologist Prof. Asya Rolls joined forces to demonstrate the effect of the brain’s reward system on recovery from a heart attack
• Prof. Alejandro Sosnik developed a noninvasive treatment using ultrasound to treat deep-seated tumors
• Asst. Prof. Dana Solav worked with a rehabilitation center to create an orthotic walking device for a kibbutznik injured on October 7
• Technion biologists made discoveries that are essential for the proper functioning and prevention of Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s diseases

The Technion has continued to develop the Bruce and Ruth Rappaport Cancer Research Center in the D. Dan and Betty Kahn Human Health Building — aimed at bringing together biologists and oncologists to address the multifaceted nature of cancer. The Wolfe Center for Translational Medicine and Engineering, a joint venture between the Technion and the Rambam Health Care Campus, is in the advanced planning phase, and construction is nearly completed. And the Technion launched the Center for Healthy Aging (iTechAge) to tackle the challenges of improving health and quality of life as we age.

FoodTech

The Faculty of Biotechnology and Food Engineering is one of the few worldwide that combines the discipline of food science and technology with bioengineering and other life sciences. Most recently, researchers found that protein aggregates formed in processed foods break down slowly in the digestive system. This may promote controlled protein absorption and assist in preserving microbial diversity in the intestines — debunking the notion that processed foods have no redeeming health benefits. “This research opens new avenues for understanding the potential of ‘smartly’ processed food to expand human nutrition sources and improve health,” said Professor Uri Lesmes.

Computer Science

The Technion has consistently garnered high rankings in the area of computer science. Expansion of the Henry and Marilyn Taub Faculty of Computer Science and construction of the Martin and Grace Druan Rosman High Performance Computer Data Center, which started in early 2024, will ensure the Technion remains on top. The new center will include not only Technion researchers but other academic institutions in Israel as well.

Awards & Honors

Despite the war, Technion faculty and alumni were recognized with numerous honors.

• Professors Oded Beja, Benjamin Podbilewicz, and Asya Rolls became new members of the esteemed European Molecular Biology Organization.
• Alzheimer’s expert Professor Michael Glickman, dean of the Faculty of Biology, and brain researcher Professor Jackie Schiller of the Ruth and Bruce Rappaport Faculty of Medicine received prestigious grants from the European Commission’s Horizon Europe program.
• Professor Shulamit Levenberg, director of both the the Center for 3D Bioprinting and the Rina & Avner Schneur Center for Diabetes Research, was inducted into the National Academy of Inventors.
• Assistant Professor Ido Kaminer of the Andrew and Erna Viterbi Faculty of Electrical and Computer Engineering won a European Research Council (ERC) Consolidator Grant to develop research in a new field of electron microscopy.