Tel Aviv University Review | 2018 Surprising Research Duos Len Effect 12 TAU benefactor Len Blavatnik believes in providing opportunities for the best and most talented young minds Cover story: Food Security 14 Unusual pairings The Manna Center Program’s Food Safety and Security Summer Institute of researchers attracts international students from across campus can around the world. yield surprising new directions 6 National Tel Aviv University Review | 2018 Imperative 18 A pioneering program is helping integrate Ultra-Orthodox students Issued by the Strategic Communications Dept. into university life. Development and Public Affairs Division Tel Aviv University sections Ramat Aviv 6997801 Tel Aviv, Israel Tel: +972 3 6408249 Fax: + 972 3 6407080 innovations 2 E-mail: [email protected] www.tau.ac.il TAU global campaign 21 Editor: Louise Shalev Home for Nano 26 TAU’s new Roman Abramovich Contributors: Rava Eleasari, Ruti Ziv, Melanie Tafekman, Building for Nanoscience and David Jozsef, Idit Nirel, Lisa Kramer, Michal Alexander, next big ideas 28 Nanotechnology will raise the Tallie Liberman, Marina Gorbonosov standard of scientific research in Graphic Design: TAU Graphic Design Studio/ Israel. Michal Semo-Kovetz Photography: Michal Roche Ben Ami, Israel Sun, events 31 Chen Galili, Israel Hershkowitz, Samuel Sadoun, Laura Bohler, Erez Harodi, Ouriel Morgenstein Administrative Assistant: David Jozsef digest Printing: Shavit Print 34 newsmakers Follow us! Global TAU 39 TAU Review 2018 Issue Officers of Tel Aviv University Prof. Jacob A. Frenkel Chairman of the Board of Governors Dr. Giora Yaron Chairman of the Executive Council Prof. Joseph Klafter President Prof. Yaron Oz Rector Mr. Gady Frank Director-General Prof. Raanan Rein Vice President Prof. Yoav Henis Vice President for Research and Development Mr. Amos Elad Vice President for Resource Development Mr. Robert Goldberg, Dr. h.c. Michael H. Steinhardt Chairmen Emeriti of the Board of Governors Dame Shirley Porter Deputy Chairperson of the Board of Governors Dear Friends, Mr. Sylvan Adams, Dr. h.c. Marcus Besen, The world’s complex challenges require multifaceted solutions. These Dr. h.c. Josef Buchmann, Dr. h.c. Boaz Dotan, solutions – whether they involve finding a cure for cancer or deciphering Mr. James Dubin, Dr. h.c. Sami Sagol ancient texts – can often no longer be generated by research focused within Vice Chairpersons of the Board of Governors a single academic field. Rather, they are best realized through fertile col- Prof. Eyal Zisser laborations both on and off the campus. Vice Rector In this issue of TAU Review, we look at some exciting new scientific Prof. Aron Shai directions that have resulted from unique pairings of researchers from Pro-Rector different fields. We also describe new frameworks for cross-disciplinary Prof. Zvika Serper Dean of the Yolanda and David Katz dialogue such as the Manna Center Program’s Food Safety and Security Faculty of the Arts Summer Institute, expansion of the Edmond J. Safra Ethics Center, the Prof. Yossi Rosenwaks Roman Abramovich Building for Nanoscience and Nanotechnology, the Dean of the Iby and Aladar Fleischman Zimin Institute for Engineering Solutions Advancing Better Lives, and Faculty of Engineering the TAU Impact program for embedding social leadership into the arts, Prof. Michael Krivelevich humanities and sciences curricula. Dean of the Raymond and Beverly Sackler Faculty of Exact Sciences At Tel Aviv University we are making it a priority to create conditions to Prof. Leo Corry foster a spirit of creativity and innovation. Our $1 billon Global Campaign Dean of the Lester and Sally Entin is providing the resources and infrastructure to make it possible. I’m Faculty of Humanities pleased to report that, as of press time, we’ve almost reached the halfway Prof. Sharon Hannes mark with pledges totaling $485 million. We invite our veteran and new Dean of the Buchmann Faculty of Law supporters to join us on this inspiring shared journey. Prof. Daniel Chamovitz Dean of the George S. Wise Faculty of Life Sciences Prof. Moshe Zviran Warm regards, Dean of the Coller School of Management Prof. Ehud Grossman Dean of the Sackler Faculty of Medicine Prof. Tammie Ronen Dean of the Gershon H. Gordon Professor Joseph Klafter Faculty of Social Sciences President, Tel Aviv University Prof. Tova Most Dean of Students 1 Laser Power A Discovery That Will Make Your Jaw Drop An adult human jawbone complete years old. They also analyzed the re- 200,000 years ago, and that they began with teeth discovered at Israel’s Misliya mains using microCT scans and 3D migrating out of Africa only around cave, one of several prehistoric cave sites virtual models, carried out at digital 100,000 years ago. “But if the fossil located on Mount Carmel, has been laboratories at TAU’s Shmunis Family at Misliya dates to roughly 170,000- dated to 177,000-194,000 years ago. Anthropology Institute, to compare it 190,000 years ago, the entire narrative The TAU finding, recently published with other hominin fossils discovered of the evolution of Homo sapiens must in Science, pushes back the history of in parts of Africa, Europe and Asia. be pushed back by at least 100,000- Homo sapiens migration from Africa The research was supported by the Dan 200,000 years,” says Prof. Hershkovitz, by at least 50,000 years. David Foundation. who suggested that “… while Africa “This discovery – that early mod- The common consensus of anthro- was the origin of our species, some of ern humans were present outside of pologists has been that modern humans our traits must have evolved or been Africa earlier than commonly believed appeared in Africa roughly 160,000- acquired outside of Africa”. — completely changes our view on modern human evolution and dis- persal,” says Prof. Israel Hershkovitz of the Sackler Faculty of Medicine and Head of the Dan David Center for Human Evolution and Biohistory Research at TAU’s Steinhardt Museum of Natural History. Prof. Hershkovitz Maxilla led the international team of anthro- upper jaw pologists who conducted the study in collaboration with archaeologist Prof. Mina Weinstein-Evron of the University of Haifa. Together, the team applied various dating techniques to determine that the jawbone is at least 170,000 2 TAU Review 2018 Issue Since their invention in the 1960s, “Our work in the lab focuses both on detection in airports. lasers have been used in medicine, secu- understanding how intense light inter- The High-Intensity Lab was estab- rity, manufacturing and more. Now, in acts with matter to accelerate particles lished thanks to the Zuckerman STEM a landmark for Israeli science, the largest and on using these particles to study Leadership Program, which provides and most powerful laser in Israel has frontier areas like materials science, over $100 million in scholarships and been installed in the lab of Dr. Ishay plasma physics and nuclear physics,” educational activities to researchers Pomerantz of TAU’s Raymond and says Pomerantz. The team will also be and universities participating in the Beverly Sackler School of Physics and attempting to scale down the size and program. Dr. Pomerantz was a 2016- Astronomy. It can fire single pulses at cost of the laser equipment to make it 17 Zuckerman Scholar and a 2016-17 about 1,000 times the nation’s total more readily accessible for cancer re- Blavatnik Young Faculty Recruit. electricity consumption. search in hospitals and for contraband TAU is Making TLV Smarter Tel Aviv is a smart city – designated together Donio and her advisor Dr. eral and privacy perceptions regarding for its digital outreach to citizens through Eran Toch of the Fleischman Faculty the internet. Donio’s statistical model smartphone apps, real-time transporta- of Engineering with Prof. Michael analyzed this survey. tion updates and digital bill payment. Birnhack, expert in digital era pri- Donio was awarded the Ethel But do all Tel Aviv citizens enjoy equal vacy, and Prof. Issachar Rosen-Zvi, Friedman Research Prize from the access to services? And do these services local government law specialist, both Tel Aviv municipality for her work, answer the needs of all citizens? of the Buchmann Faculty of Law, as and she will present further findings MSc student Shahaf Donio created well as with Dr. Tali Hatuka, Head of to municipal researchers. Says Donio: a complex statistical model to map the the Laboratory of Contemporary Urban “Tel Aviv wants to drive up digital us- city and pinpoint exactly who is us- Design, Department of Geography & age. We set out to understand how to ing the city’s digital services, where, Human Environment. They developed close technological gaps in the smart and why. Funded by the Blavatnik a survey for Tel Aviv citizens examining city. Coming from the outside, we can Interdisciplinary Cyber Research demographics such as language, age, open their eyes to what they can do to Center at TAU, the project brought education, technology usage in gen- reach that goal.” 3 Each year, in the USA alone, some toxic secretion system and the two million people become infected arsenal of anti-bacterial poisons with bacteria that are resistant to an- it produces. Using genetic engi- tibiotics and 23,000 people die as a neering and synthetic biology, the King David is admired by Jews as direct result of these infections. The team is transferring the secretion one of the Bible’s most fascinating he- US Centers for Disease Control (CDC) system to “friendly” bacteria so roes: the boy who slew Goliath, the forecast that by 2050 drug-resistant they can fight harmful bacteria for leader who united the kingdoms of bacteria will be the leading cause of us. These engineered bacteria will Judah and Israel, the warrior who wrote death in the world. be safe for human consumption. poetry.