Technion – Israel Institute of Technology |
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הטכניון – מכון טכנולוגי לישראל | |
Established | 1912 |
Type | Public |
President | Professor Peretz Lavie |
Vice-Presidents | Paul Feigin, Moshe Sidi, Oded Shmueli, Avital Stein, Raphael Rom |
Students | 12,665 |
Undergraduates | 9401 |
Postgraduates | 2301 |
Doctoral students | 963 |
Location | Haifa, Israel |
Campus | Urban 1,325 dunams (327 acres) |
Website | www.technion.ac.il |
The Technion – Israel Institute of Technology (Hebrew: הטכניון – מכון טכנולוגי לישראל) is a research-intensive institute of technology in Haifa, Israel. Originally called the Technikum, it was founded in 1912.[1] Its emphasis was on natural sciences, engineering, and architecture, and a school of medicine was added later.
The Technion is home to Israel's first Nobel laureates in Chemistry: Avram Hershko and Aaron Ciechanover, who won the 2004 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for discovering the ubiquitin system — the mechanism responsible for disassembling protein in cells.[2][3] In 2011, Technion's Distinguished Prof. Dan Shechtman was named as the one Nobel Laureate in Chemistry for that year. He was awarded the prize for his revolutionary discovery of quasicrystals.
In 2011, the prestigious Academic Ranking of World Universities ranked the Technion 102–150th in the world. It ranked it 15th in the world in computer science, 42nd in engineering/technology, and 51st–75th in natural sciences and mathematics.[4]
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The Technion was conceived in the early 1900s by the German-Jewish fund Ezrah, as a school of engineering and sciences. It was to be the only institution of higher learning in then-Ottoman Palestine — other than the Bezalel Academy of Art and Design in Jerusalem (founded in 1907).
Its cornerstone was laid in 1912, and studies began 12 years later. The Technion witnessed Israel's "battle of the languages": an intense debate over the language of instruction.
In 1923, Professor Albert Einstein visited the Technion. During his visit, he planted a now-famous first palm tree, as an initiative of Nobel tradition. The first palm tree still stands today in front of the old Technion building in Hadar. Einstein founded the first Technion Society, and served as its President upon his return to Germany after his visit to the Technion campus.
As the institute celebrates its Cornerstone Centennial in 2012, international commentators are increasingly crediting Technion's History as a driving force behind the creation, success and prosperity of the Modern State of Israel.[5][6]
The Faculty of Industrial Engineering & Management at the Technion is the oldest such department in Israel. IE&M (Industrial engineering & Management) was launched as a Technion academic Department in 1958. The Department grew under the leadership of Pinchas Naor, who served as its founding Dean. Naor's vision was to combine Industrial engineering with Management by creating a large, inherently multidisciplinary unit covering a wide spectrum of activities, from applied engineering to mathematical modeling; from economics and behavioral sciences to operations research and statistics.
The Technion International School of Engineering (ISE) is an undergraduate program at the Technion, taught entirely in English. The ISE began its first year in 2009, and now offers a full BSc. program in Civil Engineering as well as various study abroad options, all taught in English. The students arrive from all over the globe – Asia, Africa, North and South America, Europe and Israel. The students live on campus and enjoy trips around Israel and activities throughout the year.
The Russell Berrie Nanotechnology Institute (RBNI) was established in January 2005 as a joint endeavour of the Russell Berrie Foundation, the government of Israel, and the Technion. It is one of the largest academic programs in Israel, and is among the largest nanotechnology centers in Europe and the US.
RBNI has over 110 faculty members, and approximately 300 graduate students and postdoctoral fellows under its auspices at Technion. Its multidisciplinary activities span 14 different faculties.
GTEP Nancy and Stephen Grand Technion Energy Program is a multidisciplinary center of excellence bringing together Technion's top researchers in energy science and technology from over nine different faculties.[7] Founded in 2010, GTEP's 4-point strategy targets research and development of alternative fuels; renewable energy sources; energy storage and conversion; and energy conservation. GTEP is presently the only center in Israel offering graduate studies in energy science and technology.
The Bruce and Ruth Rappaport Faculty of Medicine is one of four state-sponsored medical schools in Israel. It was founded in 1969, and is active in basic science research and pre-clinical medical training in anatomy, biochemistry, biophysics, immunology, microbiology, physiology, and pharmacology.
Other facilities on the Faculty of Medicine campus include teaching laboratories, a medical library, lecture halls, and seminar rooms. Academic programs are offered at the Rappaport Faculty of Medicine leading to Master of Science (M.S.), Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.), and Doctor of Medicine (M.D.) degrees. The medical campus is located in the neighborhood of Bat Galim, adjacent to Rambam Hospital, the largest medical center in Northern Israel.
It has developed collaborative research and medical education programs with various institutions in medicine and bio-medical engineering including Harvard University, Johns Hopkins University, University of Toronto, and Mayo Medical School.
The Bruce and Ruth Rappaport Faculty of Medicine offers medical training leading to a M.D. degree to qualified American and Canadian graduates of pre-med programs under the Technion American Medical Students Program (TeAM).
Techion offers degrees in architecture. A B.Arch is awarded after five years of study.[8] Its graduate program in architecture accepts about 15 students each year, and it accepts about 4–5 doctoral students, focusing on subjects such as architectural theory and philosophy, bio-climate and energy conscious design, morphology, computer application, person-environment relations, housing, architectural history, and urban design.[8]
Technion offers many after-school and summer enrichment courses for young people on subjects ranging from introductory electronics and computer programming to aerospace, architecture, biology, chemistry and physics. Two examples are Scitech[11] and the Math Summer Camp, devoted to number theory.[12]
As part of its global outreach initiative, Technion has active channels in the social media under the heading TechnionLIVE. These include an active presence on Facebook[13] and Twitter.[14]
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