2023 President's Report BAR-ILAN CELEBRATES FULFILLING THE DREAM ISRAEL
2 MESSAGE FROM THE PRESIDENT 4 The Begin-Sadat Center for Stragtegic Studies Winning a Hybrid War A WORD FROM THE CHAIRMEN School of High-Tech and Cyber Security Kicking Learning Up a Level EnICS: The Emerging Nanoscaled Integrated Circuits and Systems Labs It Takes a Kibbutz PRIZES AND AWARDS The Humanities Machine Learning and the Meaning of Life Jewish Studies Faculty in Motion The Psifas PersonalizedMedicine Project Small State, Big Data, and Outsized Impact for Healthcare The Laboratory of Tumor Immunotherapy Fighting to Win Bar-Ilan celebrates Israel's 75th Fulf illing the Dream 6 12 14 CONTENTS 16 24 National Institute for Energy Reseach A State's Ambitions, and a University's Boundless Energy 10 32 34 38 40 The Undergraduate Program in Product Management Highway to High-Tech 18 A VIBRANT ISRAELI CULTURE A SECURE AND INDEPENDENT STATE SOURCES OF NATIONAL PRIDE 20 A LEADER IN DISCOVERY AND INNOVATION Psychotherapy Research Laboratory Letting Data do the Lifting 41
3 The Alexander Grass Computer Science Building Where the Future Takes Place The Goal Optimization using Learning and Decision-Making Lab Even Better Than the Real Thing BAR-ILAN’S DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION The Russell Berrie Galilee Diabetes SPHERE Putting Better Health in Reach for Israel’s Northern Periphery 42 44 46 62 68 ERC Grantees Research that Goes the Distance Bio-Convergence Research Smart Materials Save Lives 48 UnBox Ventures’ Healthcare Accelerator From Research to Revolutionary Product 50 PARTNERS IN A VISION 52 A COMMITMENT TO EXCELLENCE IN EDUCATION The Division of Teaching and Learning Learning: Different and Smart 56 The Immersive Room Learning All Around 58 The Atidim-IDF Mathematics Program Raising the Periphery to the Power of Higher Ed 60 The Leaders Management Program Leveraging Potential into Leadership 61 MOVING IN PLACE: BAR-ILAN CAPITAL PROJECTS 64 A JUST AND INCLUSIVE SOCIETY ROM Galil Family Physician Program All in the Family 70 ETGAR for Advancing Health Equity FromHospital to Home and Beyond 71 The Center for Insolvency Mediation From Conflict to Civil Discourse 72 The Bar-Ilan Course for Women’s Senior Management Training Equality in Higher Ed 74 The Seminar on Female Researchers’ Media Empowerment Speaking Up for Themselves 75 Interfaith Beit Midrash Sharing the Faith 76 The Jonathan Sacks Institute of Bar-Ilan University Creating a Living Legacy 78 The Erasmus Mundus Program All Neural Pathways Lead to Bar-Ilan 82 A COSMOPOLITAN COUNTRY The Bar-Ilan University International School Dreams Without Borders 84 BAR-ILAN MANAGEMENT 86
4 There’s an apocryphal story about an exchange between Lillian Disney, thewife of then-lateWalt Disney, at the grand opening of Florida’s Disneyworld in 1971. Walking down the park’s Main Street in the company of more than 10,000 guests, a friend expressed his regret that Walt wasn’t been able to see this. To which Lillian responded, “He did see it. That’s why we’re here.” History is full of visionaries, perhaps none more so than the founder of modern Zionism. When Theodor Herzl died in 1904, a national home for the Jews was still far from a reality. In his day, many doubted that it would ever come to pass. That’s why, on the 75th anniversary of the founding of the State of Israel—both despite and even because of the recent unrest surrounding the government’s proposed judicial reforms—it seems only right to recall his impossible vision, without which we would not be here. To be sure, the vision is just the beginning. The act of building a nation, meanwhile, is a project that never ends. But in many ways, and unlike many other nations, we in Israel are forever striving to fulfill our founders’ dreams. David Ben-Gurion’s dreamof a strong, secure country. Eliezer Ben-Yehuda’s dream of a resurrected Hebrew. And the dreamof Rabbi Meir Bar-Ilan that academic excellence meet Jewish ideals—all these are still works in progress, and arguably nowhere more so than at Israel’s universities. This understanding that dreams require not only bold visions, but also a commitment to the long game, has informed the six major initiatives we recently established, and the several more that we plan to establish in the year to come. From the search for renewable energy to personalized medicine, these research and education “mega projects” address some of the biggest challenges facing Israel and all of humanity. At first glance, their goals may seem as unattainable Herzl’s used to be. But there is no doubt that they will be attained—although, in all likelihood, not by us. By design, these ambitious projects aremeant to last for years, ideally decades. They are not the work of just one researcher, one department, or one faculty. They are, in many instances, not even the work of just our University. Animated by the value of collaboration, these projects bring our brightest minds together with those in government, healthcare, culture, and industry. In the case of Psifas, for example, our data scientists are working with Israel’s health-management organizations Message from the President
5 to create a genome-sequencing and medical database. The findings will then fuel research and development into nextlevel precision medicine—both in Israeli academia, and in the country’s biomedical companies. Likewise, our investment in the emerging field of bioconvergence, which includes a new Unit for the Synthesis of Smart Materials and the 949 Initiative, a collaboration between the Sheba Medical Center and Bar-Ilan, will result in new technologies for more effective diagnoses, treatments, and life-saving therapies. Together, these initiatives underscore our strategic commitment to strengthening and advancing the field of healthcare in Israel. The new Institute for National Energy Research, the result of a $37 million contract awarded by the government last year, will leverage the innovations of scientists at both Bar-Ilan and the Technion to achieve the state’s goal of 30-percent reliance on renewable energy by 2030. A major part of the institute’s success will be our prototype lab, where ideas will be developed, tested, and translated into products with commercial potential. In the area of society, our new Jonathan Sacks Institute, based in our Department of Political Studies, will create a network of professionals dedicated to advancing Rabbi Sacks’ ideals through their work in every profession and field. In this way, a cohort of citizens will have an outsized influence, shaping the Jewish and democratic character of the state. Also vital to Israel’s security, prosperity, and particularity is our Hebrew in the Age of AI Initiative, which includes our work in the Hebrew digital humanities and the Hebrew NLP (natural language processing) Lab. The former will allow the Jewish people’s historical texts and modern scholarship to be a part of the global academic conversation. The latter—the only one developing technology, models, and algorithms for enabling data science-based applications in Hebrew— will almost single-handedly ensure that our ancient tongue remains a key part of any future Israeli identity. In every instance, these projects will extend way beyond our campus, and realize their full potential through robust partnerships. Indeed, as in the case of our Russell Berrie Galilee Diabetes SPHERE, which is working to close the healthcare gap between the country’s center and periphery, the vision has nowbeen adopted by five northernmunicipalities. As such, it’s no longer accurate to call the vision ours alone. And I can think of no better indication of the initiative’s ultimate success. LikeWalt Disney, and like Theodor Herzl, wemight not see the end result of all our ambitious work. But there is no question that we have set in motion multiple visions with the power to change the world. And when they begin, as they are doing now, to bear remarkable fruit, it will be our privilege to have planted the seeds of their impact. Prof. Arie Zaban President of Bar-Ilan University
6 Michael G. Jesselson Chairman, Board of Trustees Shalom. It’s been another great year at Bar-Ilan. We are in the first year of the second Five-Year Strategic Plan, led by our President Arie Zaban. We continue to achieve great things. Here are just a few: • Alongwith theTechnion, wewere selectedby thegovernment to establish a National Center for the Promotion of Basic and Applied Academic Research on Energy Storage, Fuel Cell, and Hydrogen Economy. This will help Israel achieve energy independence, and help the world lessen its dependency on fossil fuels. • We established, as part of our Russell Berrie Galilee Diabetes SPHERE, partnershipswithmajor national healthcare providers andmunicipalities in five pilot cities in the northern periphery. These partnerships will provide education on pre-diabetic care and the management of diabetes and its dangerous complications among the diabetic community in the Galilee. • We were ranked highly among the world’s top universities for natural language processing and are the leading university in Israel developing technology, models, and algorithms for AI-based applications in Hebrew. This work will ensure that Hebrew remains a key part of the Jewish national identity in this new and changing world of “AI.” •We completed a newhome for our Department of Computer Science and renovated six classrooms for the new School of High-Tech and Cyber Security, both of whichwill provide Israel with the skilled professionals that its tech sector needs. • We were chosen to establish the Jonathan Sacks Institute at Bar Ilan, which will expose our undergraduate and graduate students to the values-based political science and theological teachings of the late Chief Rabbi Jonathan Sacks. It will also create an alumni network that will impact Israeli society with his teachings. • In the area of education, we hired new staff for the Division of Teaching and Learning. We also revamped 70 courses, the first of thousands that will eventually be modified to make themmore relevant and engaging. We also won a multi-year award from the Council of Higher Education to bridge the classroom environment to future careers that are in demand. •We launched two newprograms, a leadership training course for female researchers and a conference to encourage those researchers’ media presence. This will further improve our commitment to gender balance in the University’s leadership and encourage women to aspire to greater influence and involvement. • Of the eight lawyers involved in leading the negotiations for judicial reform under the auspices of President Isaac Herzog, four are renowned professors of law at Bar Ilan. • Two Bar-Ilan Professors were awarded the prestigious “Israel Prize”: Prof. Dov Schwartz for elucidating the development of Jewish philosophy and the worldview of religious Zionism, and Prof. Zmira Mevarech for her groundbreaking work in the fields of cognition and metacognition and her promotion of mathematics education in Israel. Again, all this would not be possible without everyone’s participation: the academic community, the administration, our committed Lay leaders, and the leadership of President Zaban. While we are living in difficult and trying times that are affecting our people and country, Bar-Ilan and its Jewish values can be both a beacon of light and hope to our nation, to the global Jewish community, and to all. Together we will do great things! With the blessing of Shalom Al Yisrael, בברכת שלום על ישראל, A Word from the Chairmen
7 Shlomo Zohar Chairman, Permanent Committee Dear Friends, It is my pleasure to be able towelcome you all back to campus after almost three years. And yet, despite the long separation, our community has grown even closer than before: The concern we showed toward one other, and the support we gave to Bar-Ilan, proved the strength of our friendship and clarified our sense of shared goals. At this difficult moment for Israel on both matters of security and internal disputes, our Board of Trustees has shown that a strong foundation can weather even the most difficult of challenges. We will need to call upon that foundation as we enter our state’s next three quarters’ century. Indeed, it is precisely the emphasis on developing the proper foundations that lies behind Bar-Ilan’s advancements in the last few years in so many important areas. The decision to invest in the skills and leadership development of the University’s management tier, for example, means that all departments and administrative units are functioning more efficiently and feel more committed to the larger purpose of their work. Likewise, the investment in an advanced digital infrastructure for BarIlan has resulted in better managerial and information systems, better student services, better communication with potential applicants, and more engaging, effective instruction on the part of faculty. It will also soon ensure that our researchers’ publications are more widely available and properly credited, too. In turn, this improvement will result inmore support from Israel’s Council for Higher Education, which awards funding as a percentage of research output. This support will fuel more original scholarship, technological innovation, and scientific discovery, and will attract more top students and faculty. The dedication of our newAlexander Grass Computer Science Building, which we will be able to celebrate together during our board meeting, is just one of a number of capital projects that are improving our research infrastructure and facilitating needed growth. The soon-to-be-started teaching building at the Azrieli Faculty of Medicine, along with the now-occupied new student village, will also enable the University to accept and educatemore students, not just from the country’s center, but from everywhere in Israel and abroad. Last, our great work bringing the Bar-Ilan story to all parts of Israeli society has raised awareness of our impact and increased our appeal among new audiences. Today we are home to students from every community in Israel, and all its nationalities, religions, ideologies, levels of observance, and ways of life. This diversity, perhaps more than any other factor, will ensure that we are a key to the state’s prosperity and the cohesion of Israeli society. All these accomplishments, the result of our firm adherence to our strategic plan, have created a solid foundation on which to build more and from which we will attain even greater accomplishments in the years to come. It is a privilege to be able to share these accomplishments with you, and to start to concentrate onwhat can be Israel’smost successful 75 years yet.
8 View of Jerusalem
9 “It is...up to all of us, acting out of a sense of Jewish fraternity, to devote every ounce of our strength to building and defending the State of Israel.” David Ben-Gurion A Secure and Independent State
10 Whenworld-renowned Bar-Ilanmaterials scientist Prof. Doron Aurbach completed his Ph.D. in 1983, he applied to the leading electrochemistry labs in America in the hopes of pursuing postdoctoral studies. To his surprise, he received a positive answer from the number-one researcher in the field—an offer, he explains, he had to decline, once he learned that Austin, Texas had no Jewish community. Determined to combine his academic career with a commitment to full engagement in Jewish life, Aurbachwent instead to Cleveland, where another researcher was open to exploring a newfield: lithiumbatteries. Four decades, one Israel Chemical Society Gold Medal, and countless transformational battery innovations later, Aurbach is now poised to take his dual passions for energy science and for the Jewish state and people to their highest level yet, as co-director of Israel’s first national energy initiative. In December, Bar-Ilan was awarded, together with the Technion—Israel Institute for Technology, a $37million contract by the Israeli government to establish the state’s first National Institute for Energy Research. The contract, which calls for basic and applied research in energy storage, fuel cells, and hydrogen economy, is a profound acknowledgment of both universities’ extraordinary accomplishments in the field to date. Indeed, thanks to their longstanding investment in outstanding energy researchers and in opportunities for leveraged impact, Bar-Ilan and the Technion are uniquely positioned among Israel’s academic institutions to address the full continuum of clean-energy economies, combining electro-chemistry, materials science, network engineering and environmental regulation to pave Israel and the world’s path away from the dangerous dependence on fossil fuels. “Today, Israel develops most of its own defense technologies. We at Bar-Ilan believe that by bringing together the incredible brain power of Israel’s energy scientists, industry players, and entrepreneurs, Israel can also achieve full independence in the area of energy.” Prof. Doron Aurbach A State’s Ambitions, and a University’s Boundless Energy As part of its efforts to strengthen Israel’s energy ecosystem and support entrepreneurship in the energy industry, the Center for Energy and Sustainability joinedthe JewishNational Fund inrunning a “bootcamp” thispast summer for Israel’s entrepreneurial community. Directed by Prof. Malachi Noked, the program featured six on-campus meetings and two tours of leading energy companies. Selected from a pool of more than 120 applicantswitha viable energy-company idea, the program’s 35 participants heard lectures from energy-industry experts, honed their business skills with entrepreneurship experts, and worked withmentors to advance their proposed ventures to the launch stage. Participants were joined by representatives from the Doral Group, the Bazan Group, and the Israel Electric Company, and thewinning ventures received grants to help make their project a reality. National Institute for Energy Research A Bootcamp for Energy Entrepreneurs
11 The national institute, which will be headed jointly by Prof. Doron Aurbach and Prof. Yoed Tsur of the Technion, will launch operations with the expansion of both universities’ energy research groups, the establishment of new energy labs, and the facilitation of multi-group andmulti-disciplinary research in line with the institute’s goals. In addition, and in recognition of Bar-Ilan’s successful history of academicindustry collaboration, Bar-Ilan will establish a prototype lab where ideas can be developed, tested, and translated into products with commercial potential. The leadership at Bar-Ilan will also include the prolific energy researchers Profs. Malachi Noked and Lior Elbaz of the Department of Chemistry. In its second stage, the institutewill create academia-industrygovernment interfaces for energy R&D, provide training for tomorrow’s workforce for Israel’s clean-energy industry, and help establish new clean-energy companies based on the institute’s research. The expected outcome of the institute’s activities is a revolutionary upgrade to Israel’s clean energy capabilities, and the attainment, within four decades, of David BenGurion’s dream of energy self-sufficiency. No less important, the institute is expected to provide all countries with effective solutions to our shared environmental crisis, thus advancing Bar-Ilan’s mission of making impact for tomorrow, today. Building Bridges Across Sand: The Israel –MoroccoEnergyCollaboration In what Israel’s then-Minister of Education Dr. Yifat ShashaBiton described as “a historical stepping stone for scientific collaboration between our region’s states,” the Israel-Morocco agreement for energy cooperationwas signed last September betweenMohammad VI Polytechnic University, which includes 20 research groups fromvariousMoroccan universities, and the Israel National Energy Research Consortium, which represents 33 research groups from seven Israeli academic institutions, including several from Bar-Ilan. Under the agreement, whichwas designed in large part by BarIlan Prof. Doron Aurbach, bilateral research will be carried out in such areas as rechargeable batteries, recycling, solar energy, and the hydrogen economy. Indeed, this past March, an Israeli delegationheadedbyAurbachand including researchers fromsix universities visitedMorocco for a three-dayworkshop. Together with their Moroccan counterparts, the researchers determined the optimal way to promote the formal collaboration between both countries’ energy communities. Moreover, beginning thisApril, 15doctoral students fromMorocco will arrive in Israel for up to six months’ work with university energy-research groups, including several at Bar-Ilan. The goal of their stay is to grant them the knowledge they need to help advance energy solutions in their home country. And they’ll need it: Last year, Morocco set a national goal of producing 52 percent of its electricity through renewable energy by 2030. Thanking his Moroccan counterparts for their participation in the agreement, Bar-Ilan President Prof. Arie Zaban noted that while energy is today a cause for war in Europe, “we in the Middle East are showing that it can also be a tool for peace.” Helping Companies Go Green: A Club for the Energy Industry They say that membership has its benefits—and for the six companies in Bar-Ilan’s first-of-its-kind club for the energy industry, those benefits’ value would be hard to overstate. “When ICL (Israel Chemical Ltd.) wanted to power its Ein Gedi production plant by means of green energy, they turned to us and said, ‘we need your help.’ Over the next few months,” explains club coordinator Dr. Hagit Aviv, “we organized a series of troubleshooting sessions between a group of Bar-Ilan hydrogen, battery, and solar-panel experts and ICL engineers. We put our expertise at their service, and in turn they’re helping create a cleaner country.” Currently featuring the six leading players in Israel’s energy industry—the Israel Electric Company, Doral Energy, the Bazan Group, Hon HaTeva, Ratio Energies, and ICL—the club offers members access to Bar-Ilan’s energy researchers for consultations on such issues as technology investments and transformations to clean energy, aswell as to Bar-Ilan students for help with their research. “Our goal is to get knowledge into the hands of all of Israel’s energy players, so they can apply it for the benefit of the state as a whole,” says Prof. Lior Elbaz. “Solving Israel’s energy problems can only happen through the efforts of an entire ecosystem, and we’re happy to work within that system to move it forward and maximize its potential.” The National Institute for Energy Research, housed in Bar-Ilan’s Center for Energy and Sustainability, will be led by three leading Bar-Ilan energy scientists: Profs. Doron Aurbach, Malachi Noked, and Lior Elbaz. Noked, the recipient of the prestigious Yigal Alon Fellowship for young scientists, heads a lab designing next-generation electrodes for batteries and rechargeable metal anodes. Elbaz is director of the Israeli Fuel Cells Consortium, which develops fuel cells for use by the Israeli Defense Forces in ground vehicles, boats, and submarines. The Brain Power Behind an Energy Revolution
12 Anonymous cyber-attacks, subversive online campaigns, and the destruction of critical infrastructure for which no country can be definitively blamed: Welcome to hybrid warfare, a relatively new, dangerously ambiguous, and highly effective collection of threats. Indeed, while this form of warfare almost never involves someone opening fire with a weapon, responding requires no less assessment, information, and training—and arguably, in the future, even more. To help countries understand the phenomenon and prepare their counter offense, Begin-Sadat Center for Strategic Studies (BESA) Director Dr. Eitan Shamir and Research FellowDr. Shay Attias joined the EU’s Erasmus+ Hybrid War Project at the Romanian Military Academy in Sibiu last fall. The result of a major grant from the European Union’s Erasmus+ project to conduct research on hybridwarfare, the BESA researchers and their six European partners presented recommendations for decision-makers, military leaders, and diplomats tasked with addressing non-conventional challenges to states’ security. Ultimately, the project aims to provide lectures and produce a definitive textbook for use by institutions of higher education, military academies, police forces, and civil service leaders. Research for the HybridWar Project is part of BESA’s program of renewal, which last year included establishing a new academic board, led by Rector Prof. Amnon Albeck, Dean of the Faculty of Social Sciences Prof. Gil Epstein, and Head of the Department of Political Studies Prof. Jonathan Rynhold; recruiting new staff members and researchers whowill expand the center’s fields of expertise; upgrading the center’s website and its social-media presence; and reviving the distribution of “Perspectives,” email digests containing short expert analyses. Together, explains Shamir, these changes “will enhance BESA’s standing as a leading source of analysis and expertise related to Israel’s national security and foreign policy, and directed toward regional peace and stability.” Winning a Hybrid War The Begin-Sadat Center for Strategic Studies 1. The School of Applied Military Studies, University of Torino and the Italian Army Education and Training Command, Torino, Italy 2. University of Public Service – Ludovika, Budapest, Hungary 3. BESA Center, Bar-Ilan University, Ramat Gan, Israel 4. The Nicolae Balcescu Land Forces Military Academy, Sibiu, Romania 5. Centre for the Study of New Security Challenges, Galashiels, Scotland 6. TheArmed Forces Academy of GeneralMilanRastislav Štefánik, Liptovský Mikuláš, Slovakia Worthy Allies: Partners in theHybridWar Project Image generated by AI
13 Preparing for the Future Battlefield: The IDF Land-Warfare Conference In today’s national-security debates, big landwars are out, and unmanned systems in. Yet betting too heavily on cyber warfare and new technologies may miss an important point: Namely, the enemy has a say, too. To ensure that Israel’s defense forces are equally ready for the land-warfare possibility, the IDF’s Land Warfare Research Institute held a conference in December hosted by Bar-Ilan’s Begin-Sadat Center for Strategic Studies (BESA) and organized in collaboration with Bar-Ilan’s Spokesperson’s Unit. Titled “The Future Battlefield,” the conference focused on four main topics: strategies for building tomorrow’s land forces; strengthening tomorrow’s land forces through the use of AI; the place of unmanned drones in tomorrow’s land battles; and the role of industry. Featuring keynote speeches by leading generals—including Major General Tamir Yadai, commander of the IDF’s Ground Forces; Major General Sa’ar Tzur, commander of the Northern Corps and head of Maneuver Array; and Major General (res.) Gershon Hacohen, former commander of the IDF Military Colleges—as well as BESA experts, researchers from other Israeli universities, and industry executives, the conference was the first to bring the military, the academy, and industry together for knowledge-sharing on the topic. Among the Bar-Ilan researchers who spoke at the conference were military historian Dr. Eitan Shamir, head of the BeginSadat Center for Strategic Studies, who discussed landwarfare from a historical perspective; computer scientist Prof. Noa Agmon, who spoke about the latest developments in military robots; electrochemist Prof. Doron Aurbach, who explained the potential of energy storage to remake battle capabilities; and President of Bar-Ilan Prof. Arie Zaban, who explained that tomorrow’s top soldiers may well need a computer science degree. “Just as Bar-Ilan has adapted itself to meet the needs of Israel’s high-tech industry,” he promised, “wewill also ensure that Israel maintains its defensive advantage.” Dr. Eitan Shamir Image generated by AI
14 Given the fast pace of technological development, even hightech employees sometimes struggle to keep up. Fortunately, a new Bar-Ilan initiative offers them a way both to gain needed knowledge and advance in their industry. The best part? They can do it all while they’re working—no need for a professional timeout. Launched in December of last year, the new School of HighTech and Cyber Security offers continuing-education courses in data analysis, information systems, business intelligence, and more, with an emphasis on the practical experience required in the field. Taught by industry leaders with expertise in hightech training, school courses are held in special classrooms with advanced multimedia equipment and computing capacity. In addition, many are offered jointly with the HighTech Companies Forum, which includes companies such as VMware, Ec-Council, and Fortinet. The collaboration means that students can receive international certification for highly sought-after skills. Kicking Learning Up a Level School of High-Tech and Cyber Security “Our vision,” explains school Director Eran Shaham, the founder of numerous authorized training programs in the fields of cyber, networking, and virtualization, is “to accompany high-tech employees from the outset of their journey and on through the rest of their lives. High-tech professions require lifelong study and the continued acquisition of new tools—and the new school at Bar-Ilan will enable high-tech employees in Israel to do both.” Bar-Ilan CEO and Senior Vice President Zohar Yinon agrees. “This new school’s opportunities for reskilling and upskilling offer a highway to Israel’s the high-tech sector and a way to increase Bar-Ilan students and alumni’s employability. It’s all part of our commitment to enable life-long learning, for our students and the wider community.”
15 Eran Shacham
16 “Everything needs silicon-based systems,” says Dr. Adam (Adi) Teman of the Alexander Kofkin Faculty of Engineering. “Everything.” Fromquantumcomputing and 5G to big data andAI, integrated systems and circuits are the force that powers technology, doing, as former Intel Corp. senior executive David Perlmutter once said, “for the digital worldwhat fuel does for industry.” Yet despite the semiconductor’s indispensability, it has long played second fiddle in the Israeli tech scene, considered the lesssexy sibling of splashy software companies. Now, however, that may be about to change: As the U.S. and Europe seek to up their chip-design game—and decrease their dangerous dependency on the global chip-design and manufacture leader, Taiwan—multinational giants such as Google, Intel, and Microsoft are setting up and expanding their chip-design operations in Israel. All they’ll need to succeed, smiles Teman, is Bar-Ilan engineers. Ranked the top university in Israel for electrical engineering by the Times Higher Education, Bar-Ilan boasts the largest number of Israeli researchers in the field of hardware design. And in 2015—“years before theworldwas focused this problem,” points out Teman—they had formed EnICS, the researchcooperative cum lab almost single-handedly preparing the next generation of chip designers for Israeli industry. Formally titled the Emerging Nanoscaled Integrated Circuits and Systems Laboratory, EnICS was the elegant solution to a problem plaguing all institutions and companies trying to design a new chip: Namely, limited resources. “Developing a prototype generally requires at least two years andmore than 50 dedicated engineers. But even then, the average cost per chip is $50 million,” explains Teman, one of the six Bar-Ilan researchers who head the EnICS lab. “This means that most companies able to raise that kind of capital have little incentive to take risks when designing new chips; as it is, they can barely afford to pay the needed number of engineers. It also means It Takes a Kibbutz EnICS: The Emerging Nanoscaled Integrated Circuits and Systems Labs Image generated by AI
17 that academic institutions, the natural site for innovation, are largely locked out of the chip-design space.” To overcome these challenges and ensure Israel’s competitive edge, EnICS founders “decided to create a kibbutz,” Teman continues, “in which we’d pool our infrastructure, research teams, budgets, and knowledge to overcome the challenges in the chip-design process.” Today, EnICS has succeeded in designing more than 40 working chips whose functionality push the boundaries of today’s silicon-based systems, including a chip described by the Cadence Academic Network as “one of the most complex chips ever designed within an academic environment.” What’s more, the EnICS model ensures a continuity of knowledge and research, as all members share findings with the others and create a whole far greater than the sum of its parts. Alongside innovation and research for chip design, EnICS also advances semiconductor education: Recognizing that most Israeli engineering graduates finish their studies with no real knowledge of chip design, EnICS’s researchers launched the Hardware and Chip Design Engineering Track within the computer-science degree—the first such undergraduate degree of its kind in the country. With 20 outstanding students in its first year alone, the track is poised to play a key role in packing Israel’s hardware-engineer pipeline. Finally, the lab runs an academy for upskilling experienced engineers who want to transition into Israel’s emerging hardware-design field. “The design of new chips is one of the most complicated tasks there is, but when you pull it off, you take giant leaps forward for humankind,” concludes Teman, who offers as examples of chips’ applications genome analysis, quantum computing, and hardware security. “There’s no doubt that the talent needed for this challenge exists in our universities, and we’re determined to leverage it for the benefit of all Israel.” 15 new academic courses $20+million in grants 85 patents ˜500journal papers The EnICS team today, with research heads Dr. Itamar Levy (second row, third from left); Prof. Alex Fish (second row, fourth from left); Prof. Adam (Adi) Teman (second row, fifth from left); Prof. Joseph Shor; and Dr. Osnat Keren (third row, first on the right). One Hardware Lab, One Giant Leap for Humanity
18 No, Bar-Ilan’s new undergraduate program for product management doesn’t include a course in calligraphy—at least, it doesn’t include one yet. But when it came to designing a curriculum that would prepare students in the humanities and social sciences to contribute to Israel’s vibrant high-tech sector, the program’s founders definitely took to heart Steve Jobs’ famous anecdote about the value of inter-disciplinarity. A collaboration of Bar-Ilan and the Israel Growth Forum (IGF), a consortium of the top Israel-based “unicorns,” or multinational tech companies listed onNASDAQ, the programoffers outstanding students from the humanities and social sciences an opportunity to augment their undergraduate degrees with a carefully selected course load in product management, currently the fastest-growing sector in high-tech companies. Comprising studies in data science, information systems, programming, business management, online marketing, and more, the program—initiated by Faculty of Law Prof. (emeritus) Yaffa Zilbershatz, President Prof. Arie Zaban, and CEO and Senior Vice President Zohar Yinon—will combine academic and guest lectures, workshops, a final project, and internships at a range of high-tech companies. Moreover, the program will be accompanied by a committee of senior industry executives, whowill ensure that alongside its rigorous academic standards, the program maintains its relevance to industry. According to Israel Growth ForumCEO KeremNevo, the goal is not only “creating additional and diverse entrance doors to Israeli high-tech,” but also ensuring that “thoughtful and superb personnel” from non-technological backgrounds help advance the growth engine of Israel’s economy. Open to rising sophomores, the one-year program—led by head of the Unit for Special Programs Prof. Nissim Leon with the support of Rector Prof. Amnon Albeck and Vice Rector Prof. Arie Reich—is completely free of charge and provides its graduateswith a dual certificate fromBar-Ilan and the IGF. The Highway to High-Tech The Undergraduate Program in Product Management
19 initial cohort of 35 students, which began its studies thisMarch, was selected from among more than 130 qualified applicants. “The launch of this innovative program is another way that Bar-Ilan is working to bridge the worlds of academia and industry,” said President Prof. Arie Zaban at the program’s launch last December. “It’s an example of the mutual benefit that each can derive from the other, when they permeate and erase the boundaries that have traditionally kept them apart.” In Good Company Established in 2006 by Wix President and VP of Operations Nir Zohar, the Israel Growth Forum features 24 leading Israeli technology companies, which together helped design the Program for Product Management’s curriculum. They include: At the Program in Product Management’s launch event were, from left to right, Bar-Ilan Chief Marketing Officer Naama Gat; Wix Government Relations Manager Michal Sarig-Kaduri; Israel Growth Forum CEO Kerem Nevo; Bar-Ilan Faculty of Law Prof. (emeritus) Yaffa Zilbershatz; and Bar-Ilan CEO and Senior Vice President Zohar Yinon.
20 National Pride SOURCES OF PROF. DOV SCHWARTZ Department of Jewish Philosophy, Faculty of Jewish Studies, for receiving the Israel Prize in Jewish thought Prof. Dov Schwartz will receive the Israel Prize in the field of Jewish thought, philosophy, and Kabbalah on Israel’s 75th Independence Day for “establish[ing] new norms and research methods in various areas of the study of Jewish thought.” PROF. ZMIRAMEVARECH Faculty of Education, for receiving the Israel Prize in education Prof. ZmiraMevarechwill receive the Israel Prize on Israel’s 75th Independence Day for being “a trailblazer, [and] one of Israel’s leading researchers in the field of cognition, metacognition, and the promotion of mathematical education in Israel and the world.” PROF. SHULAMIT MICHAELI The Mina and Everard Goodman, Faculty of Life Sciences, for receiving the Katzer Award VicePresident for ResearchProf. ShulamitMichaeliwas awarded the prestigious 2023 Katzer Award at the ILANIT conference in recognitionof her pioneering research in thefieldof RNAbiology. The ILANIT conference, held once every three years, brings together all the Societies of Experimental Biology in Israel. PROF. AVI SAGI Department of General Philosophy, Faculty of Humanities, for receiving the prestigious Bialik Prize Prof. Sagi was awarded the prestigious Bialik Prize for literature for hismore than40books andhundreds of articles in thefields of general and Jewish philosophy, halacha, and literary and cultural criticism.
21 Faculty of Law, for their contributions to President Isaac Herzog’s People’s Framework Distinguished jurists Profs. Yedidia Stern, Yaffa Zilbershats, Shahar Lifshitz, and Ariel Bandor contributed their expertise in Israeli and Jewish law to the task of forging a compromise in the current struggle over the government’s proposed judicial reform. Together with legal scholars from across Israel’s universities, they helped to formulate the People’s Framework, offered by President Herzog as a basis for discussion. PROF. SHMUEL REFAEL The Joseph and Norman Berman Department of Literature of the Jewish People, Faculty of Jewish Studies, for receiving Spain’s Order of Civil Merit Prof. Shmuel Refael, dean of the Faculty of Jewish Studies, was awarded the La Cruz de la Orden del Mérito Civil by the King of Spain for strengthening ties between Spain and Israel through his writings on Ladino and Sephardic Jewish culture. A playwright, poet, translator, and expert on Judeo-Spanish literature, Refael directs research on Ladino at the University’s Salti Institute. PROF. ZEHAVIT GROSS Faculty of Education, for winning the Jerusalem Academy Award Dean of the Faculty of Education Prof. Zehavit Gross was awarded the 2023 Jerusalem Academy Award in recognition of her years of dedication to the study and remembrance of the Holocaust, both in Israel and around the world. The award was presented by Foreign Minister Eli Cohen and Jerusalem Mayor Moshe Leon. PROF. YEDIDIA STERN PROF. YAFFA ZILBERSHATS PROF. SHAHAR LIFSHITZ PROF. ARIEL BANDOR
22 DR. AYELET OREG The Louis and Gabi Weisfeld School of Social Work, Faculty of Social Science, for their Full-Bodied Philanthropy project Dr. Ayelet Oreg and her students organized a campus donors’ event as part of their course on philanthropy and civil society. Studentswereencouragedtodonatebloodandhairandtoregister for organ-donor cards, and were introduced to Israel’s National Human Milk Bank and the Gift of Life organization for altruistic kidney donations. DR. RAVEH HARUSH and students OFIRE YABLONKA, YONATAN HOFFMAN, AVI TURGEMAN, and MEIR COHEN The School of Business Administration Faculty of Social Sciences, for being serial winners in the global business simulation challenge Ofire Yablonka became the fourth Bar-Ilan student, after Yonatan Hoffman, Avi Turgeman, and Meir Cohen, to win first place in the Capsim Challenge, a biannual international competition for business students that simulates the management of a multi-million-dollar company. YARON ALON and ALMOG FRANJI, fourth-year undergraduate students, Faculty of Law, for winning an international competition in mediation and negotiation Yaron Alon and Almog Franji won first place in a prestigious international commercial-negotiation competition held in Dubai. Sponsored by ADR ODR International, a world leader in negotiation training, the conference promotes alternative methods for resolving disputes. ROI SHLOMI, M.A. student, Department of Arabic, Faculty of Humanities, for publishing an original collection of Arabic poetry Roi Shlomi published Parashat , acollectionof experimental Arabic poetry, with the Jordanian publishing house Dar Ward. PAVEL SHTEYNER, postdoctoral researcher, Department of Mathematics, Faculty of Exact Sciences, for research on the theory of matrix majorizations After making aliyah fromRussia following the outbreak of war with Ukraine, he was accepted to Bar-Ilan’s Department of Mathematics. In his first year, he published two articles in the high-ranking journal Linear Algebra and its Applications.
23 DR. NISAN OZANA The Alexander Kofkin Faculty of Engineering, for receiving the fNIRS Research Excellence Award in the field of neuro-engineering New faculty member Dr. Nisan Ozana received the fNIRS Research Excellence Award for his development of highly sensitive optical methods for measuring cerebral blood flow in real time. PROF. EITAN GILBOA School of Communication Faculty of Social Science, for receiving the ISA Distinguished Scholar Award Prof. Eitan Gilboa, the founder of Bar-Ilan University’s School of Communicationand a world-renowned expert in U.S. policy in the Middle East, received a Distinguished Scholar Award from the International Studies Association for advancing the understanding of international, transnational, and global affairs. PROF. LIAT AYALON The Louis and Gabi Weisfeld School of Social Work, Faculty of Social Science, for being recognized by the UN for her research on healthy ageing Prof. Liat Ayalon is one of 50 individuals from around the world who were recognized by the United Nations as part of the first-ever “Healthy Ageing 50: Leaders Making the World a Better Place to Grow Older.” PROF. OREN PEREZ and DR. OMER PELLED Faculty of Law, for receiving the Cheshin Prize for Academic Excellence in Law Prof. Oren Perez won the senior researcher prize and Dr. Omer Peled the young researcher prize in the field of legal research. Awarded jointly by the Shneur Zalman Cheshin Foundation and the Faculty of Law of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, the Cheshin Prize is in memory of former President of the Supreme Court Judge Shneur Zalman Cheshin. DR. GILLY HARTAL The Prof. Dafna Izraeli Gender Studies Program, Interdisciplinary Studies Unit, for winning the Experience-Based Academy Award Dr.GillyHartal’sGender intheFieldproject won the Experience-Based Academy award for the second year in a row. The project mobilizes 15 students for work on activistprojects relatedtogender equality, withthegoal ofhelpingthemtogainwork experience in their field. PROF. MAAYAN ZHITOMIRSKYGEFFET Department of Information Science Faculty of Humanities, for winning the PICCASO award for privacy on the web Prof. Zhitomirsky-Geffet’s CSI-COP (Citizen Scientists Investigating Cookies and App GDPR Compliance) project won a 2022 PICCASO award in the category of “Best Innovative Privacy Project.” The PICCASO Privacy Awards recognize outstanding contributions to the field of privacy and data protection. AVIVMESIKA, M.D./Ph.D. candidate The Azrieli Faculty of Medicine, for The Teva Fellowship in the BioInnovators Forum AvivMesika, a student in the Prof. Tzipora Falik-Zaccai’s lab in the Galilee Medical Center’s Research Institute, is studying themechanismbehind NGLY1 deficiency, a rare but devastating genetic disease prevalent in the Galilee. He recently created a zebrafish model as a platform for the development of NGLY1 therapies. ADI SHPERLING, fourth-year graduate student, The Mina and Everard Goodman Faculty of Life Sciences, for the Teva Fellowship for Outstanding Graduate Students Adi Shperling studies genetics, molecular biology, and RNA editing in Prof. Shay Ben-Aroya’s laboratory. Adi was awarded the prestigious Teva fellowship for outstanding graduate students.
24 PROF. LIAT AYALON of the Louis and Gabi Weisfeld School of Social Work on being selected for inclusion in the UN’s “Healthy Ageing 50” list. DR. DORITGOTTESFELD, head of the Department of Arabic, on being appointed to the Academy of the Arabic Language in Israel. PROF. GABRIEL DANZIG of the Department of Classical Studies on being selected president of the International Society for Socratic Studies for the next three years. PROF. (EMERITUS) ELY MERZBACH of the Department of Mathematics on being awarded the 2021-22 Katz Prize. PROF. YOSEF OFER of the Zalman Shamir Department of Bible on being appointed vice president of the Academy of the Hebrew Language. PROF. YUVAL FELDMAN of the Faculty of Law on his appointment as committee member of the Fund for the Advancement of the Humanities and Social Sciences in Israel. PROF. BENNY PINKAS of the Department of Computer Science on his appointment as a fellowof IACR– International Association for Cryptologic Research. PROF. ARIE REICH of the Faculty of Law on his appointment as president of the International Academy of Commercial and Consumer Law. PROF. RIVKA TUVAL-MASHIACH of the Department of Psychology on being invited to appear before the UN Global Congress of Victims of Terrorism. Prizes and Awards DR. LEORE SACHS SHMUELI of the Department of Jewish Philosophy, DR. NATALIA MEIR of the Department of English Literature and Linguistics, DR. MOR MITRANI of the Department of Political Science, and DR. GUY RONGILBOA of the Department of Arabic on being appointed to the Young Scholars Forum of the Israel Academy of Sciences and Humanities for 2022-23. PROF. RACHELLE ALTERMAN, Academic Coordinator of the ROM Real-Estate and Appraisal Program, on being elected to the Israel Academy of Sciences and Humanities. PROF. MASADBARHOUM of the Azrieli Faculty ofMedicine on being named a Knight of Quality Government in the LifeWork category by the Movement for Quality Government. PROF. (EMERITUS) EYTAN GILBOA of the School of Communication on receiving theDistinguished Scholar Award in International Communication fromthe International Studies Association. PROF. SHARONGANNOT of the Alexander KofkinFaculty of Engineering on receiving a Best Paper Award at a conference in signal processing. PROF. ZEHAVITGROSS of the Faculty of Education on being appointed to the Ministry of Education’s Steering Committee “Living Together: Fostering Identity and Creating Solidarity Across Israeli Society.” PROF. (EMERITUS) ED GREENSTEIN of the Zalman Shamir Department of Bible on receiving an Honorary Doctorate from the Jewish Theological Seminary. PROF. SIMI HABER of the Department of Mathematics and DR. OR SHEFFET of the Alexander Kofkin Faculty of Engineering on receiving the Artificial Intelligence Journal’s 2022 Prominent Paper Award for their 2015 paper co-authored with other researchers. FACULTY MEMBERS
25 DR. DOV COHEN of the Joseph and Norman Berman Department of Literature of the Jewish People on his appointment to the Governing Council of the Autoridad Nasionala del Ladino. PROF. YEHUDA HALPER of the Department of Jewish Philosophy on receiving the 2022-23 Goldstein-Goren Book Award for the Best Book in Jewish Thought. DR. DAVIDZADA of the Mina and EverardGoodman Faculty of Life Sciences on being selected a 2022-23 Zuckerman STEM Leadership Postdoctoral Scholar. PROF. ZEEV ZALEVSKY of the Alexander Kofkin Faculty of Engineering on receiving the prestigious Humboldt Research Award by the Humboldt Foundation – Federal Republic of Germany. DR. ASSAF HAMO of the Department of Physics on being selected a Zuckerman STEM Leadership Faculty Scholar. DR. SHAI COHEN of the Department of Music on receiving the Menachem Avidom Achievement Award for his piece “Darkness.” PROF. YEHUDA LINDELL and PROF. BENNY PINKAS of the Department of Computer Science on receiving the IACR Test-of-Time Award for their 2007 joint paper, presented at the prestigious Eurocrypt Conference. PROF. RACHELI MAGNEZI of the Department of Management on her appointment to the Ministry of Health’s Quality Standards Advisory Committee. PROF. GILBERT DANIEL NESSIM of the Department of Chemistry on being conferred the prestigious Order of the Star of Italy for his contribution to the development of scientific and technological innovation and the promotion of academic collaboration between the two countries. PROF. ELY PORAT of the Department of Computer Science on receiving the PODS Test-of-Time Award. PROF. BENNY PINKAS of the Department of Computer Science on receiving the TCC Test-of-Time Award for a 2005 paper he co-authored with other researchers. DR. YONATANROCHMAN of the Department of Physics on being awarded the 2022 Krill Prize. PROF. SHMUELREFAEL, deanof the Facultyof JewishStudies, on his appointment to the Autoridad Nasionala del Ladino. PROF. AVI SAGI of the Department of Philosophy on receiving the 2022 Bialik Award for Jewish Thought. PROF. ONN SHEHORY of the School of Business Administration on being elevated to the level of seniormember of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE). PROFS. EHUDBODNER and AMITSHRIRA of the Department of Social and Health Sciences; PROF. CHAIM NOY of the School of Communication; PROFS. SHIRA OFFER and LARISSA REMENNICK of the Department of Sociology and Anthropology; PROF.ONNSHEHORY of the SchoolofBusiness Administration; PROFS. LIATAYALON, NEHAMI BAUM, ORIT TAUBMAN-BEN-ARI, and JONATHAN RABINOWITZ of the Louis and Gabi Weisfeld School of Social Work; PROF. TOVA ROSENBLOOM of the Department of Management; PROF. JONATHAN FOX of the Department of Political Science; PROF. (EMERITUS) ARYE HILLMAN of the Department of Economics; and PROFS. ILANIT HASSON-OHAYON, RONIT KARK, and SHLOMO YEHUDA (EMERITUS) of the Department of Psychology on their inclusion in the Stanford University – Elsevier database listing of the top 2 percent of most-cited scientists and researchers in their respective fields. Previous Bar-Ilan researchers included in the databasewere the late PROF. YONAAMITAI of the Department ofManagement and the late PROFS. ISRAEL ORBACH and VICTOR FLORIAN of the Department of Psychology. Far from an ivory tower, Bar-Ilan emphasizes engagement with and meaningful impact on the wider Israeli and international societies. Whether through scientific discovery, technological innovation, or pathbreaking scholarship, our faculty and students consistently further this mission, as evidenced by the following list of remarkable accomplishments. That they do so in a spirit of collaboration, and are driven by a desire to advance their state’s health, security, and prosperity, demonstrates that our University’s dual commitment to timeless Jewish values and academic excellence are a source not of tension, but of inspiration, and a catalyst for influence and productivity. It is therefore with the deepest pride that I congratulate the recipients of this year’s prestigious appointments, prizes, and awards. Message from the Rector Prof. Amnon Albeck
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