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Electricity in the Palm of Their Hands |
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Written by Henk van Esch
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Thursday, 19 February 2009 12:25 |
300 female high school students from all over Israel come to the Faculty of Electrical Engineering in order to realize that electrical engineering and electronics are not so frightening
300 outstanding female high school students from all over Israel, who are studying for the five-point mathematics matriculation exams, came to the Faculty of Electrical Engineering at the Technion for a study day organized by the Faculty for women in electronics, computers and communications. The aim of the study day was to encourage young women to study in this field which is generally considered to be a male bastion.
They were received by the Technion’s Senior Executive Vice President, Prof. Paul Feigin, who said to them: “There is no reason for a male majority at the Technion, just as there is no reason for a male majority in the Air Force pilot-training course.”
The Dean, Prof. Israel Cidon, said that the Faculty of Electrical Engineering, which he heads, is ranked as one of the 10 outstanding faculties in the world for electronics engineering, computers and communications, and in a number of fields is even ranked number one. “During the last year, the number of young women starting to study in the Faculty has risen to 22%,” he emphasized. “It is our desire to continue to increase this number.”
Adi Weisman, a third-year student in the Faculty, related her personal story and encouraged the students to integrate into the fascinating field of electrical engineering. “Studies are not easy but when you succeed – the satisfaction is great,” she said.
Faculty member, Prof. Yonina Eldar, who organized the event, told the students about the many opportunities inherent in electrical engineering and the numerous job opportunities for Faculty graduates, who, in fact, established the high tech industry in Israel.
The high school students visited the sophisticated labs for computerized vision, signal and image processing, optics, communications, robotics and computers. They met with female students studying in the Faculty and were interested in knowing how faculty members relate to them as women and how the male students view them. “Better than they relate to the guys,” they responded.
Pictured: Control and Robotics Lab engineer, Koby Kohai, shows the robot dog AIBO to the high school students. The robot was built by Sony and is used to demonstrate robotics in the lab.  |
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Last Updated on Thursday, 19 February 2009 12:38 |
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Written by Henk van Esch
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Thursday, 19 February 2009 12:18 |
Space Research Institute Building at the Technion Inaugurated:30 Years to the Israeli Space Program, 20 Years to the first “Ofek” Satellite, 10 Years to the Technion Satellite
The Norman and Helen Asher Space Research Institute Building was inaugurated at the Technion, marking 30 years to the Israeli space program, 20 years to the first “Ofek” satellite and 10 years to the Technion satellite – “Gurwin TechSat”. The new building, which is three stories and 1,600 square meters, has six laboratories, a seminar room, conference rooms and a satellite station on the roof.
Prof. Haim Eshed, the head of the space program in the Israeli Defense Ministry, said that “the Iranian satellite is primitive and we have no reason to be afraid of it.” Nevertheless, he cautioned that the launcher which launched the satellite is dangerous and should worry the world. “Ten years ago, students at the Technion built and launched a much more complicated and complex satellite. We predicted that it would remain in space two years and today, on its 10th anniversary, it is still up there -alive and kicking and transmitting,” he added.
Prof. Eshed predicted that in another year we will begin to see space tourism. “In the first stage, tourists will go into space, see amazing sunrises and sunsets and experience weightlessness, all for $200,000,” he detailed.
A family representative of the donors, Robert Asher, said that he hopes that space research will unite people all over our planet and bring them closer together.
Technion President, Prof. Yitzhak Apeloig, said that in this case the sky is really the limit and wished the Institute’s researchers fruitful work and research.
The head of the Space Research Institute, Prof. Moshe Guelman, said that space, because of its power, influence and symbolism, must be a high priority of the State of Israel and that the Space Research Institute will contribute towards realizing this vision.
Pictured: Inaugurating the new building (from right to left): Prof. Omri Rand, Dean of the Faculty of Aerospace Engineering; Prof. Moshe Guelman; Technion President, Prof. Yitzhak Apeloig; Robert Asher and his wife Maureen Sheinbok; and Prof. Haim Eshed. 
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Written by Henk van Esch
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Friday, 06 February 2009 11:39 |
“Science” Reveals: For the First Time, Researchers from the Technion and the University of Bayreuth in Germany Succeed in Producing and Characterizing Platinum Crystalline Nanoparticles of 2 to 3 Nanometers in DiameterIn the future, the discovery will enable preparation of more efficient catalysts and will save energy and production costs in industry; the German researcher spent four months at the Technion for this research
Researchers from the Technion and the University of Bayreuth in Germany have succeeded, for the first time, in producing and characterizing platinum crystalline nanoparticles of 2 to 3 nanometers in diameter. This was published in the latest edition of the prestigious scientific journal “Science”.
In the article, the researchers describe the preparation of crystalline nanoparticles of 2 to 3 nanometers in diameter. Each particle is a single platinum crystal. Such particles have increased catalytic ability (the ability to speed up chemical reactions). The particles were formed by the research partners – Prof. Matthias Ballauff and his doctoral student Marc Schrinner from the University of Bayreuth in Germany. Their detailed characterization was carried out by Prof. Yeshayahu Talmon of the Technion’s Faculty of Chemical Engineering and Dr. Yaron Kauffmann of the Technion’s Faculty of Materials Engineering in the Technion’s advanced electron microscopy laboratories.
The particles were formed and immobilized on polymer “brushes” affixed to polystyrene particles (a type of polymer). In the first stage, nanoparticles of a gold-platinum alloy were prepared, and then the gold was dissolved by cyanide ions – leaving behind platinum nanocrystals. The polymer particles carrying the metal nanoparticles were imaged in the aqueous suspension at low temperatures by cryogenic-temperature transmission electron microscopy (cryo-TEM). The metal nanoparticles were analyzed by atomic-resolution transmission electron microscopy, showing the arrangement of individual gold atoms in the nanocrystals.
This combination of electron microscopy laboratories is unique to the Technion. Without the sophisticated equipment, the expertise and experience of the Technion scientists, this characterization work would have not been possible. Dr. Schrinner spent four months at the Technion to perform the characterization work. His visit was supported by the Technion Russell Berrie Nanotechnology Institute and the Minerva Foundation. It should be noted that the composite systems of the core particles and the platinum single nanocrystals exhibit excellent stability, as well as high catalytic activity in hydrogenation reactions (the addition of hydrogen to the molecule) in the aqueous phase.
In the future, the discovery will enable preparation of more efficient catalysts and will save energy and production costs in industry.
Photo: Atomic-resolution transmission electron microscopy picture that shows individual platinum atoms (the dark spots) inside the nanocrystal. Photo by Dr. Yaron Kauffmann using the “Titan” microscope at the Technion.
Technion Spokesman, Amos Levav: 052-4524873 |
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Last Updated on Friday, 06 February 2009 11:45 |
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