Newsletter of Technion Canada Spring 2017 DOV MORAN TECHNION ALUMNI IS AN ISRAELI ENTREPRENEUR, THE DRIVING FORCE OF THE ISRAELI ECONOMY INVENTOR, AND INVESTOR, BEST KNOWN AS THE INVENTOR OF THE USB MEMORY STICK. YAEL VIZEL IS Co-founder AND CEO OF ZEEKIT LTD., A FASHION STARt-up THAT REMOVES THE hit-and-miss ASPECT OF ONLINE CLOTHES SHOPPING BY ENABLING SHOPPERS TO “TRY ON” CLOTHING — VIRTUALLY — BEFORE BUYING. ZEEKIT WON ISRAEL’S SMARTUP2 COMPETITION IN 2014, AND YAEL HAS BEEN NAMED ONE OF THE TOP THREE ENTREPRENEURS IN ISRAEL. DOV FROHMAN , AN ELECTRICAL ENGINEER AND BUSINESS EXECUTIVE IS A FORMER VICE PRESIDENT OF INTEL CORPORATION, THE INVENTOR OF THE ERASABLE PROGRAMMABLE READ ONLY MEMORY (EPROM) AND THE FOUNDER AND FIRST GENERAL MANAGER OF INTEL ISRAEL. YOELLE MAAREK IS A VICE PRESIDENT AT YAHOO ANDREI ZARY BRODER IS A AND THE HEAD OF YAHOO RESEARCH. IN 2006, SHE DISTINGUISHED SCIENTIST AT GOOGLE. FOUNDED THE GOOGLE HAIFA ENGINEERING CENTER, PREVIOUSLY HE WAS A RESEARCH WHERE ONE OF HER KEY PROJECTS INVOLVED AUTO FELLOW AND VICE PRESIDENT OF COMPLETION FOR GOOGLE AND YOUTUBE QUERIES. COMPUTATIONAL ADVERTISING FOR SHE MOVED TO YAHOO IN 2009 TO START THEIR YAHOO! RESEARCH INITIATIVES IN ISRAEL. AT INNOVATIONS’ FOREFRONT FOR THE BENEFIT OF THE WORLD Message from DOREEN GREEN & MARVIN OSTIN National Chair National President We have penned many messages for our newsletter, all of them Oded Ben Dov lives in Israel and graduated, Summa Cum Laude, expressing our pride in being associated with this outstanding with a BSc in Computer Science, from Technion in 2010. He is the university. We have talked about the history of the university, the co-founder of Sesame Enable, a start-up, developing hands-free students and faculty, and we have recognized the impact of the smartphone technology that can also be of tremendous help for support and leadership of Technion Canada and invited you to join children and students with motor disabilities. He currently serves at us and get involved. the CEO, CTO and Chair of the Board of Directors. This message is about another group for whom the impact of a Born in Montreal, Shawn Bramson graduated from McGill University Technion education has changed lives, gained knowledge and in 2014 with a BEng in Software Engineering. During his time at McGill revolutionized industries both in Israel and around the world – he spent a semester at Technion. In 2016 he graduated in the first Technion Alumni. graduating class of Cornell Tech with an MSc in Information Systems (Connective Media). Presently Shawn is a Senior Product Engineer at Technion alumni play a major role in the global evolution of science Verizon in New York. and technology while tackling the greatest challenges facing humanity. They comprise 70 percent of the leaders of the high- Sam Spanglet was raised and educated in Israel. In 1973 he graduated tech workforce in Israel, serve as the CEOs of two-thirds of Israeli from the Technion with a Chemical Engineering degree. After working companies listed on the NASDAQ, and have created Israel’s industrial for four years at the Petrochemicals Industries in Haifa he moved to infrastructure, reinforced its defense capabilities and pioneered its Canada. His career in Canada began with an engineering position at technology-based enterprises. As a result, Israel has the highest Monsanto and culminated as VP Shell Operations and President of concentration of high-tech start-up companies anywhere outside the Albion Sands, a Shell company. Sam retired in 2006. Silicon Valley. International giants such as Google, Yahoo!, Intel, IBM, HP and Microsoft have been attracted to set up R&D facilities in Haifa Oded, Shawn and Sam and those Alumni on the front cover, are only a in order to recruit quality Technion graduates. very small sample of what the Technion’s Alumni have accomplished. The alumni are the Technion’s brand ambassadors, dispersed around Technion graduates have devised the world’s first wireless technology the globe and contributing to the reputation of their alma mater microprocessors; first intestinal pill camera; first stand-alone, anti- every day. ballistic missile defense system; leading Internet search engines; the largest reverse osmosis desalination plant in the world, and much Wishing all the joys of the Passover holiday to you and your family. more. May you be blessed with happiness, prosperity and peace and good health on Passover and always. At our recent Annual Meeting in Toronto we had the privilege of meeting and listening to three Technion graduates who shared both their life achievements and the acknowledgment of the role that Technion played in those achievements. Technion Canada 2016-2017 Board of Directors EXECUTIVE CHAIR PRESIDENT VICE-PRESIDENTS TREASURER SECRETARY OFFICERS AT LARGE Doreen Green Marvin Ostin Harry Bloomfield Harold Garfinkle Neil Closner Steve Merling, Irwin Tauben, Edward Nagel Ben Wygodny DIRECTORS Jack Bensimon Ronnie Kaplan Arnold Recht Leesa Steinberg Howard Berish Eliot Phillipson Harry Sheres Bill Wiener Steve Bramson Paul Raducanu Melissa Singer HONOURARY LIFE PRESIDENTS HONOURARY DIRECTORS HONOURARY VICE CHAIR David Azrieli z”l Sydney Cooper, Pearl Sperber Gameroff, Sheva Honig, Morley Blankstein z”l Sydney Cooper Alex Magil , Eugene Riesman, Barrie Rose NATIONAL OFFICE MONTREAL OFFICE 970 Lawrence Avenue West, Suite 206 Toronto, ON M6A 3B6To 6900 Decarie Boulevard, Suite 3435 Cote St. Luc, QC H3X 2T8 GOVERNOR GENERAL DaVID JOHNSTON AWARDED AN HONORARY DOCTORATE BY TECHNION Technion President Prof. Peretz Lavie and Governor Governor General David Johnston Mrs. Sharon Johnston, Governor General David General David Johnston Johnston and Prof. Peretz Lavie Governor General, David Johnston is the first between Canada and Israel. It was a privilege with lots of encouragement from my rabbi, Governor General of Canada to lead a State to have been part of this relationship during I began to attend the ultra-Orthodox pre- visit to Israel. Johnston came to Technion my time at the University of Waterloo and academic preparatory program at Technion, heading a large delegation which included, earlier at McGill University, and I have great graduated with a grade of 99, and began among others, members of parliament, memories of our collaboration.” my medical studies.”; and Yazan Safadi, an academics and business people, as well as the undergraduate student at the Faculty of Civil Israeli ambassador to Canada, Rafi Barak, and Technion President Prof. Peretz Lavie praised and Environmental Engineering who intends the incoming Canadian ambassador to Israel, Johnston for his motto, “To envisage a better to continue studying there for his master’s Deborah Lyons. world” and said that the Governor General degree. Safadi, an Arab from Nazareth who is indeed advancing the world by fostering attended the prestigious Hebrew Reali School The degree was awarded to Johnston “in higher education. in Haifa, said that “many of the Arab students recognition of your contribution to the come from small villages and from poor advancement of academic research and Prior to the degree ceremony, Governor families, some of them never spoke Hebrew, education in Canada; and in tribute to your Johnston and his delegation took part in and most of them come with a low level of longstanding public activities including a special panel discussion on the broad high school education. Technion does a lot the realm of the economy, society and the diversity in the Technion student community to advance these students and has already environment in Canada. With gratitude for your and the ways in which Technion helps the managed to significantly reduce the dropout promotion of academic relations between various student populations. The four student rate among them.” Canadian universities and universities around panelists were Dorin Gez from Tiberias, a the world and especially for your steadfast student in the Atidim program at the Faculty of “I believe the future belongs to those who support towards establishing academic Industrial Engineering and Management; Halo embrace diversity and build cultures of cooperation between Israel and Canada; and Salem, who immigrated from Ethiopia at age innovation with global reach. ” said Governor with gratitude for your warm and supportive 6 and began studying last year at the Faculty Johnston. “Of course, diversity is viewed as a relationship with the Jewish community in of Industrial Engineering and Management; strength at Technion. This is a microcosm of Canada and with the State of Israel.” Yehuda Saviner, an ultra-Orthodox Jew and diversity, and it’s also the epicenter of Israel’s father of three from Bnei Brak, who was to ‘start-up nation’ mentality. There is a strong “I thank you for this distinguished degree become a rabbinical judge but from an early intersection of diversity and innovation here, and accept it not only on my behalf but on age dreamed of becoming a doctor and is now which no doubt helps to explain your global behalf of all Canadians,” said Johnston. “I’m a fourth-year medical student at Technion. success.” very proud of the innovation links that exist “Since I knew only basic level arithmetic, and L-R Harry Bloomfield, Governor General David Johnston, Prof. Panel Discussion on Student Diversity Peretz Lavie and Irwin Tauben TECHNION CANADA AND Together, we’re building the future of collaborative innovation On Thursday December 15th, in investments of $10,000 per deal. The initial conjunction with OurCrowd, Technion focus of OurCrowd will be the dynamic Canada, hosted an exciting breakfast early stage funding market in Israel and program and demo at the MaRS Discovery only companies that have passed a Building in Toronto. rigorous due diligence process will be added to the platform. Rami Parham, CEO of MUV Interactive, a successful innovator and Technion MUV has developed a pioneering state-of- Institute of Technology graduate gave a the-art solution for interacting with multiple very informative presentation.