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Tel Aviv University Marks One Year Since October 7

TAU commemorates the victims and fallen of October 7th.

On October 7, 2024, Tel Aviv University held a solemn commemoration for the tragic events of October 7, 2023, when Hamas launched brutal attacks that left around 1,200 civilians dead and many others injured and traumatize, impacting Israel for years to come.

The event began at Smolarz Auditorium with an installation honoring TAU’s fallen members, displaying their names, pictures and affiliation with the university.

Reflecting on the installation honoring the 96 fallen members of the TAU community.

The ceremony commenced with the lowering of the flag and a moment of silence. Wreaths were laid, including one by Professor Meir Ariel from the School of Electrical Engineering at Tel Aviv University, who tragically lost his son, Dan Ariel, during the attacks at the Nova Festival.

Meir Ariel, standing over the wreath he laid for his son, Dan Ariel RIP.

In his speech, TAU President Prof. Ariel Porat reflected on the profound loss experienced by the university community: “Tel Aviv University has lost 19 of its students. Ninety-six families from the TAU community have lost immediate family members. Many more suffer physical or psychological harm. In the coming academic year, we will receive—with great awe—many students who have risked their lives so that we may live… We will do everything we can to help them, so that they can successfully study and complete the academic year. We are forever indebted to them for their courage and sacrifice”.

Daniel Zilber, head of the Tel Aviv University Student Union, spoke about the significance of this day: “Today is not just a day of remembrance; it is a day of outcry. We’re living in an absurd situation of trying to combine our civic lives with the reality of war. For us, today is not about the past; it is still the present. We’re not just remembering those who have fallen—we’re still trying to fulfill their legacy. We will commemorate them later”.

During the ceremony, friends and family members shared their memories of loved ones who were lost. Gal Itzkovitz, a student in the Social Sciences department, spoke about her dear friend Bruna Valeanu, a victim of the Nova Festival tragedy.

“I miss her terribly. She’s greatly missed at the university, in my life, and in the lives of everyone who crossed paths with her” – Gal Itzkovitz.

Gal Itzkovitz speaking about her friend, Bruna Valeanu RIP.

Itai Silber, father of Yuval Zilber, a TAU student who was killed in combat described Yuval as a compassionate leader who dedicated his life to helping others, from establishing a Scouts chapter to empowering local youth through education, all while pursuing his dream of serving as a commander in the IDF before his tragic death.

“Yuval taught me so much. I chose life. I ask everyone to choose life. Choose life with love, and ‘love thy neighbour as yourself,’ because that is the central thing” – Itai Silber.

The ceremony included the reading of the names of 96 fallen members of the Tel Aviv University community, followed by a heartfelt message from Gil Leor, a medical student and PhD candidate. He expressed solidarity with those serving in the field and their families: “I want to send strength and encouragement to our soldiers in the field and on the home front, to all the university’s reservists—students, faculty, and staff—who don’t know when or how they’ll be called back. Let’s continue to support them and their families until this war is behind us. Thank you”.

Students reading the names of the fallen members of TAU.

The event concluded with a moment of silence, counting up to 101 to acknowledge the 101 hostages who remain in Gaza.

Ending the ceremony with Shirat Hatikva.

In addition to the commemoration, the Steinhardt Museum of Natural History at Tel Aviv University hosted the “Testimony 710” project, inviting the community to engage with personal stories from the tragic events of October 7, 2023. Attendees participated in a moving screening of survivor testimonies, gaining insight into the experiences of those affected by the attack.

For full speeches and detailed coverage of the ceremony, click here.

TAU President’s Speech for October 7 Commemoration

TAU marked one year since the October 7 tragedy and the Iron Swords War.

A year has gone by since Israel went through the most terrible calamity in its history, the Jewish people’s worst disaster since the Holocaust. A year has passed, and 101 hostages are still held by Hamas in the dreadful tunnels of Gaza, with no rescue in sight. A year has passed, and almost every day we hear of more soldiers killed or wounded. A year has passed, and most evacuees, from the north and south of Israel, are still refugees in their own land.  A year has passed since that horrible Saturday, and as time goes by we discover that very few of those accountable for the bloody fiasco are willing to take responsibility.

Tel Aviv University has lost 19 of its students. 96 families from the TAU community have lost immediate family members. Many more suffer physical or psychological harm. In the coming academic year, we will receive—with great awe—many students who have risked their lives so that we may live. Some of them have been deeply scarred in their bodies or souls. We will do everything we can to help them, so that they can successfully study and complete the academic year. We are forever indebted to them for their courage and sacrifice.

In the past year, it seems, we have all swayed constantly between hope and despair. So, I wish to speak to you of some truths that, despite the numerous challenges, arouse real hope in my heart:   

The first is the exceptional personal quality of so many Israelis, especially the younger generation. Over the past year we have discovered in our society a strength we never knew we had. Even though we disagree on many issues, at the moment of truth we stand together, and do what must be done so that we can continue to live in our land.

The second truth is our military power, backed by outstanding technological capabilities. To be sure, military power is a means, not an end. And yet, in our part of the world, we probably could not exist without it. Despite their horrendous failure a year ago, Israel’s army and other security forces have been able to recover from the terrible blow and show the world that Israel is not defeated. Military power bolstered by innovative technology is the only way to keep our enemies deterred. And this advantage, we must remind anyone who needs reminding, cannot be attained or preserved without a powerful academia. We can only hope that in the future our country will choose a path in which diplomatic solutions, not only daunting military force, ensure our continued existence.

The third truth is the somewhat surprising resilience of Israeli democracy, with its institutions and civic society organizations. Without going into political controversies, I will just say that I believe that Israeli democracy, despite the cracks it has incurred, is still very strong. Anyone who believes in Israeli democracy should also believe that it will produce upstanding leaders who will lead us on the right path.

I cannot speak of hope without touching on the terrible despair of the families of our hostages in Gaza. We cannot embark upon a new path of recovery, revival and hope without bringing the hostages back to their homes. Many of us are deeply concerned that the state of Israel might not be doing everything in its power to achieve this. Freeing the hostages – who were abandoned to their fates in the dreadful fiasco of Oct. 7 – is not only a moral obligation. It is a strategic goal of the highest importance. Anyone who has served in the Israeli army is familiar with the ethos: you do not leave an injured brother-in-arms behind. Moreover, the Redemption of Captives, “pidyon shvuyim,” is an all-important Jewish commandment. Without this ethos, without solidarity as a paramount value, the state of Israel will never be the same again.

Many of us were born to parents or grandparents who came to this land before the state of Israel was established. They fought to make it a reality. Now our time has come to do whatever we can to protect this land, each in his or her own way, each according to his or her abilities.

ERC 2024 Awarded to 11 TAU Researchers

Congratulations to 11 TAU Researchers on the Prestigious ERC Starting Grant 2024.

The European Research Council (ERC) announced the winners of the ERC Starting Grant for 2024. Among the winners are eleven researchers from Tel Aviv University from various research fields. The grant is aimed at promising early-career scientists, enabling them to achieve their research goals, work independently, promote cooperation and take initial steps in the commercialization of technology.

 

Prof. Dan Peer, TAU Vice President for Research and Development and Head of the Laboratory of Precision NanoMedicine: “We at Tel Aviv University take pride in our researchers being at the forefront of the international science community, contributing to the development and promotion of research and development of applied and commercialized technologies in a variety of different research fields.

 

“I am excited to see so many of our researchers on the list of winners this year, as well as the wide range of research fields. It is wonderful to see the recognition our researchers are receiving” – Prof. Peer.

 

The winners of the ERC Starting Grant from Tel Aviv University:

 

Prof. Yasmine Meroz, School of Plant Sciences and Food Security, and Center for the Physics and Chemistry of Living Systems

Photo Credit: Naomi Meroz.

 

Prof. Yasmine Meroz is a physicist whose research focuses on the physical processes underlying plant computation and behavior, enabling them to adapt to changing environmental conditions. Plants do not have a brain or a nervous system, yet they know how to grow strategically according to changing stimuli from the environment, such as light. The research for which Prof. Meroz received the grant elucidates the physical mechanisms enabling plants to perform complex computations in a distributed manner, from the microscopic level to the organismal level, and unravels how they use these computational abilities to navigate an unknown and unstructured environment that changes over time.

 

 

Dr. Nadav Cohen, Blavatnik School of Computer Science

Photo Credit: Aric Hoek.

 

Dr. Nadav Cohen focuses in his research on mathematical theories for Neural networks (NNs). NNs are delivering groundbreaking performance in various machine learning frameworks: from the basic framework of supervised learning to the powerful and challenging framework of control (also known as reinforcement learning). The success of NNs has led to immense interest in developing mathematical theories behind them. Recent years witnessed breakthrough results in the theory of NNs for supervised learning. On the other hand, from a theoretical perspective, much less is known about NNs in the powerful framework of control. Consequently, implementation of NNs in control is predominantly heuristic (much more than in supervised learning), and this hinders their use in control application domains where safety, robustness and reliability are critical, for example manufacturing, healthcare and aerospace. The overarching goal of the research is to develop a mathematical theory of NNs for control, providing explanations to mysterious empirical phenomena, as well as breakthrough practical techniques that promote safety, robustness and reliability.

 

Dr. Tomer Shenar, School of Physics & Astronomy

Photo Credit: Tel Aviv University.

 

Today, it is known that massive stars in the Milky Way galaxy – those that collapse into black holes and neutron stars at the end of their lives – tend to live their lives in pairs, which affects their development in a dramatic way. Dr. Shenar’s research aims to check for the first time whether this fact is also true in the ancient and distant universe, which is now at the forefront of space exploration. Although the early universe is too distant to observe its massive stars, it is possible to analyze massive stars in neighboring galaxies whose conditions resemble those of the early universe. In his research, for which he received the grant, Dr. Shenar proposes to test this by using some of the largest and most sophisticated telescopes on Earth and in space.

 

Dr. Lior Medina, School of Mechanical Engineering at the Iby and Aladar Fleischman Faculty of Engineering

Photo Credit: Tel Aviv University.

 

Dr. Lior Medina’s research focuses on developing a new class of smart structures, called micro-meta-structures. With the entrance of AI and the Internet-of-Things, sensory input in integrated systems is expected to increase, thus increasing the load on CPUs. As such, systems will be required to become efficient in terms of size and energy, as well as becoming autonomous. The new microstructures are expected to achieve that, while taking micro-electromechanical systems (MEMS) based sensors to their next evolutionary step, granting them new abilities such as multistability, non-volatility, and reconfigurability. These new features will not only foster further miniaturization and simplify design processes but also unlock new possibilities in sensor technology. Indeed, a recent breakthrough has shown that meta-structures can achieve multiple stable states, paving the way for a new class of mechanical sensors with new capabilities such as mechanical-based built-in computation and in-memory programming. However, that discovery was just the beginning, since multistability has the potential to create a cornucopia of new MEMS applications, from multivalued non-volatile mechanical memories to multivalued sensors with integrated logical gates. These advancements promise to revolutionize the field, enabling mechanical sensors to perform computations independently with reduced reliance on traditional CPUs, thereby supporting distributed and parallel edge computing, reversible computing, and beyond.

 

Dr. Aldema Sas-Chen, Shmunis School of Biomedicine and Cancer Research

Photo Credit: Shauli Lendner.

 

Dr. Aldema Sas-Chen’s research focuses on the regulation of gene expression by RNA-based mechanisms in health and disease. A major aspect of her work addresses the profiling and functional characterization of ribosomes, which are responsible for all protein production in cells. In her current research, for which she received the grant, Dr. Sas-Chen investigates the involvement of ribosomes in the regulation of cancer progression. Her research will focus on mapping the natural heterogeneity in ribosomal composition during cancer progression and will uncover unique ribosomal patterns that contribute to metastasis formation. The research will answer cardinal questions regarding general functions of the ribosome and will provide clinical insights into its involvement in disease progression.

 

Dr. Roy Barkan, Porter School of the Environment and Earth Sciences

Photo Credit: Tel Aviv University.

 

Dr. Roy Barkan is a physical oceanographer specializing in geophysical turbulence. His winning grant will focus on the oceanic mixed layer, which is the near-surface layer of the ocean that comes in direct and continuous contact with the atmosphere. Consequently, the physics of the mixed layer determines the exchange of heat and carbon dioxide between the atmosphere and the deep sea. To date, the underlying physical processes that determine the oceanic mixed-layer depth and the exchange rate of properties at its base remain poorly constrained, posing one of the greatest uncertainties in climate models. The research will include detailed numerical modeling and field measurements of the various physical processes that govern mixed-layer dynamics, to develop new theories that can improve the representation of the mixed-layer processes in climate models and therefore improve climate projections.\

 

Dr. Ayala Lampel, Shmunis School of Biomedicine and Cancer Research

Photo Credit: Tel Aviv University.

 

Dr. Ayala Lampel, a biotechnologist, focuses on the regulation of catalytic processes within engineered microenvironments constructed through the phase separation of biomolecules. The primary research question her project addresses is how the chemical composition, physical, and material properties of these compartments affect reaction rate, conversion, and reactivity. The project is expected to lead to new green chemistry technologies, including innovative tools for regulating organic reactions and enabling cell-free drug synthesis in aqueous environments, free from organic solvents. The long-term vision is to develop micro-factories for targeted drug synthesis within living tissues.

 

Dr. Arseny Finkelstein, School of Medical and Health Sciences and Sagol School of Neuroscience

Photo Credit: Nina Travitsky.

 

Dr. Arseny Finkelstein is a neuroscientist who focuses his research on memory formation. How are memories formed? A central hypothesis in neuroscience posits that changes in the patterns of connections between neurons enable the brain to learn from experience and create new memories. To test this hypothesis, he will employ innovative optical methods that allow us to ‘read’ changes in connectivity and neural activity over time in the learning brain – at unprecedented scales, involving tens of thousands of individual neurons. He will also test fundamental constraints of memory formation by creating artificial memories via the direct ‘writing’ of new information into the brain. This research is expected to address long-standing questions about the physical basis of information storage in the brain and uncover the essential building blocks of learning and memory.

 

Dr. Roee Levy, Eitan Berglas School of Economics

Photo Credit: Tel Aviv University.

 

Dr. Roee Levy is an economist who studies the impact of social media, news consumption, and political outcomes such as polarization and the rise of populism. In the research for which he received the grant, Dr. Levy studies the slant of news (its political leading). Previous studies have measured the slant of news outlets (for example, the New York Times site versus Fox News). However, nowadays consumers no longer get all their content from one or two outlets but are exposed to many articles from various sources through social media. Dr. Levy and his research partners will fine-tune a large language model to estimate the slant of millions of articles and use this data to estimate the extent to which people are exposed to and consume like-minded news. The research will examine whether people reside in online echo chambers and what influences those echo chambers: the consumers’ choice to avoid content they disagree with, social media algorithms, or the tendency of outlets to produce more biased content.

 

Dr. Shani Danieli, School of Physics & Astronomy

Photo Credit: Chen Zirinski.

 

Dr. Shany Danieli is an astrophysicist specializing in observational cosmology and astrophysics. She studies galaxies to gain insights into various physical phenomena in the universe. As part of the ERC grant-funded project, Dr. Danieli will focus on faint and low-mass galaxies, which are nearly impossible to detect using traditional telescopes and methods. These galaxies are particularly important for studying dark matter – a mysterious substance that makes up over 80% of the matter in the universe, but whose nature and properties remain unknown. Dr. Danieli will use advanced telescopes on Earth and in space to discover and study faint galaxies beyond the Milky Way. This study has the potential to provide answers to important questions such as: How common are low-mass galaxies beyond the Milky Way? What are their compositions and the physical processes responsible for their formation and evolution? And what is the relationship between dark matter and visible matter in galaxies? Answers to these questions could shed light on the nature of dark matter, its impact on galaxy formation, and the evolution of the universe.

 

Dr. Dominik Maximilian Juraschek, School of Physics & Astronomy

Photo Credit: Oren Sarig.

 

Dr. Dominik Maximilian Juraschek is a physics and astronomy researcher. He studies hidden states of matter that can be induced in quantum materials through light-induced dynamical and in particular vibrational (phononic) processes. His current research focuses on chiral phononics: An electric current flowing through a conducting coil produces a magnetic field, an effect that is at the heart of electromagnetic induction. Similarly, the circular vibrational motion of atoms in a solid also called a chiral phonon, can produce microscopic currents that act as atomistic electromagnetic coils and produce effective magnetic fields. The ERC Starting Grant project CHIRALPHONONICS investigates how this mechanism can be utilized to control the functional properties of materials, to develop ultrafast switches for magnetic and topological properties that may form the basis of a new generation of electronics.

Building Bridges Through Cuisine

TAU graduate fosters unity in Tel Aviv through culinary creativity

Aliya Fastman, the founder and owner of Citrus&Salt cooking studio in Tel Aviv, is a California native who has made a significant impact on the city’s culinary landscape. A graduate of Tel Aviv University’s International MA in Conflict Resolution and Mediation, Fastman now calls Tel Aviv home, where she combines her love for cooking with her dedication to building connections between people through the shared experience of food.

In our interview, Aliya Fastman shares her journey and insights on how cuisine can serve as a powerful medium for promoting understanding and unity.

From Conflict Resolution to Culinary Diplomacy

I first came to Israel for a year abroad. After finishing school, I came back for the army, left again, then came back for my master’s degree. I’ve been here ever since.

I finished my master’s degree in Conflict Resolution and Mediation at TAU in 2016, and I thought I wanted to go into traditional diplomacy, but instead, I found myself, like many, needing to have a job. So I went into public relations in the high-tech sector, where I worked for several years. I really liked it, and it was a good learning experience. 

But on nights and weekends, I started building a business called Citrus and Salt, which was originally intended to teach Israeli cooking and other local cuisines to tourists. It started out of my home, and then I got a bigger home, so I had more students. Now we’re actually on to our second brick-and-mortar studio. 

At our current studio, we offer both cooking classes and different cultural events.

With fewer tourists now, we have started offering cuisines that locals are interested in. I am passionate about traveling to places like Thailand, India, and Italy to learn from chefs there, getting to know their culture through their kitchen and bringing those cuisines and flavors back to Israel. 

In addition, we have an initiative that I hope to grow, which is cultural nights for cross-cultural awareness through food. Our first Indian night was sold out with a waiting list – it was with a family of Olim from Mumbai who shared their story. I’d love to replicate this with Ethiopian culture, Arab-Israeli culture, and more. 

Connecting People Through Food

In a way, although I didn’t realize it in the beginning, what we do is very much diplomacy through food. Essentially, as we learned in our degree, whenever you gather people together in a shared activity, it helps them get to know each other and helps create good relations. There’s almost no activity that’s better for that than cooking. 

Our business has brought together people from many countries, including Germany, Uruguay, Hong Kong, the United States, and South Africa. They cook together and share their stories.

Regarding Israel, which is my passion, our studio provides a safe and calm space for people who are visiting Israel and who have heard a lot about it, to ask me questions about the culture, the conflicts, the food, and everything in between. 

I don’t think any questions, if they’re coming from a good place, are unpleasant. People want to be informed and understand more. This has allowed me to be a bit of an advocate for Israel through the kitchen. 

Showcasing Israeli and Diaspora Cuisines

Our classic Israeli menu has falafel, hummus, perfectly puffy handmade pita, shakshuka, and smoked eggplant with tahini, and Israeli salad. It’s vegetarian-friendly and accommodating to a range of dietary needs. 

We also offer Moroccan, Iraqi, and Yemenite dishes to introduce our visitors to diaspora cuisines.

Personally, I love North African Moroccan cuisine, like tagine and couscous. The way the spices simmer together is unlike anything I experienced in the United States.

During my year at TAU, I traveled to Morocco with friends from the program for a couple of weeks and we were able to dive more into the culture there.

Citizen’s Kitchen: Bringing Comfort to Soldiers and Families

From October 9, we opened a war kitchen out of our cooking studio, and have made over 65,000 meals since then, feeding soldiers, families of hostages, displaced people, and families of reservists. It’s very much a community initiative where people from around the world and local Israelis came together to cook. 

We rely on donations from international volunteers and donors to fund Citizen’s Kitchen, and we also have a GoFundMe.

The initiative emerged during rocket fire, at a time of great trauma, so we started also offering some therapy and different Shabbat community events to help create a foundation for people, while also doing a public service.

As locals go back to work, we’re inviting groups from Europe and the United States to volunteer. We’re pushing forward with both the volunteer and the regular studio activities in tandem.

We’ve gotten a lot of praise for our food, with soldiers saying it’s the best food they’ve had. We believe that if we’re doing this, the food should be tasty and of good quality.

Our ethos is comfort through food.

In the beginning, we made a lot of schnitzel. Our chefs really put together a fabulous recipe with the chicken marinated in coconut milk and spices overnight.

Now we’ve been making a lot of sandwiches because we’ve been sending them to the North and in armored vehicles to soldiers in Gaza. We try to do really nice ones, such as freshly baked ciabatta rolls with teriyaki chicken and a crisp cabbage salad.

For families, we make dishes like stuffed onions and grape leaves, roast chicken, egg noodles with grilled vegetables and sesame seeds, fresh watermelon, baked food, and Israeli salad. Sometimes, we also send smoked eggplant with tahini, different cabbage salads, or meatballs in fresh tomato sauce.

More important than even the food is the fact that we’re here as an international community of Jews and allies, supporting the soldiers on the frontline and the survivors, saying that it’s not over. 

Although a lot of kitchens have had to close, and we’re not at the same capacity we were, cooking just twice a week now, each meal counts and each partnership counts. We’re still cooking because they’re still fighting.

We’re also sending letters to soldiers from our international volunteers just to emphasize that we support them: “We have your back. You’re not alone in this.”

Looking Back on Studying at TAU

My degree taught me to communicate with different cultures, which is vital for my work even though it’s not formal diplomacy. 

I loved the advanced mediation course—diving into it and doing the simulations really helped me. 

It’s proved invaluable with some problematic situations and in dealing with students and volunteers of different cultural backgrounds. 

Every culture has its particularities, and I need to be able to bring all students together around the table. For example, Americans love little spoons to taste what they’re making, while Israelis use their hands.

Being aware of cultural differences is almost more important than how the food tastes because that leaves people feeling understood and having a nice experience. 

I also found it absolutely wonderful to be able to study from people who were instrumental in making history. Professor Daniel Reisner, for example, was involved in creating some of the laws and deals and offered us a refreshing perspective on them.

I’m a true believer in the fact that everything you do is a building block, whether it’s my waitressing after the army, or my job in PR.

This applies to my formal education as well—I didn’t know it would lead me here, but it’s definitely something that I needed, and I’m glad I did it.

I still have great friends from the course who stayed in Israel and we always speak about how it has helped us.

Connecting Education, Israel, and Global Advocacy

From my personal experience, I loved the education and the experience at TAU. It has been valuable for me and other alumni that I’ve spoken to.

I think that it’s very special to come and study in Israel and to be able to maintain connections here. 

First and foremost, Jews need to be in a safe place. I think coming to strengthen the state here is very important. I also find great inspiration in Eylon Levy’s citizen spokesperson initiative to find people who are able to speak to Western audiences. Even if it doesn’t help the person you’re talking to, it might help the people on the sidelines. 

The more well-educated, articulate, and well-informed internationals are in getting our message out there, to their communities, the better.

It does make a difference, and I believe there is hope for people who don’t necessarily have antisemitic beliefs, but simply follow the crowd. 

Photos courtesy of Aliya Fastman and Citrus&Salt

 

How TAU Is Navigating Campus Co-existence:

In classrooms, labs and cafeterias, Jews and Arabs confront the reality of a post-October 7 world

When the first academic term after October 7 was about to begin at Tel Aviv University (TAU), Prof. Neta Ziv, TAU’s vice president of equity, diversity and community, wasn’t sure exactly what to expect, however she knew it would be complicated. For instance, there was the lab in the School of Medicine made up of three Arab doctorates, with family members in Gaza, and five Jewish researchers, including one whose best friend was killed at the Nova Music Festival massacre and another who had family members held hostage. Furthermore, there were the many, many classrooms across campus where Jewish and Arab students studied together and were expected to continue learning in the same space.

TAU and Israeli universities had a task no other academic institution had ever had to confront to the same degree: trying to ensure coexistence, safety and wellbeing among Jews and Arabs on campus amid a tragic and violent crisis that has personally affected so many.

Preparing for the Return to Campus

Campuses across Israel are some of the most diverse spaces in Israel and where most Arab- and Jewish-Israeli citizens first really get to know one another; approximately 20 percent of students on Israeli campuses are Arab, consistent with the percentage of Arabs in Israel’s population. (While some Arabs in Israel identify as Palestinian, others do not, which is why the more general term tends to be used when referring to non-Jewish Middle Eastern Israelis.)

Regarding the return to campus on December 31, 2023, Ziv and others at TAU determined that they really needed a plan both for classrooms and public spaces that prioritized safe coexistence.

“The first thing we did was we set up a task force of Arab and Jewish faculty, as well as representatives from the Dean of Students, and we looked around and we tried to identify all the places where issues could arise.”—Prof. Neta Ziv, TAU’s VP of Equity, Diversity and Community

The University immediately hired social psychologists and organizational consultants to be on hand to assist faculties with any conflict that might arise, and more than 800 faculty members were given training on how to handle tensions in class. TAU President Prof. Ariel Porat met with all of the University’s Arab student organizations and political Jewish organizations to solicit their help in promoting coexistence on campus.

Arab-Israeli journalist Yoseph Haddad speaks at a 2024 TAU Board of Governors panel.

Ziv’s team met with all Arab faculty members as well as staff at the dormitories to reassure and offer support. For the beginning of the return to campus, many faculty members were recruited to welcome all students to campus and make them feel more comfortable returning.

“We did a lot of different things to make sure that the school year would start peacefully.”—Prof. Neta Ziv

A Faculty-Specific Approach

Ziv’s team also doubled down on their support for faculty management, empowering each faculty to do what made the most sense for their students. For example, Ziv recently attended a meeting with TAU’s School of Psychological Sciences, where they discussed how to decrease barriers for Arab students interested in clinical psychology. “We’re thinking of ways to enhance the successes of these students because we know that there are very few psychologists right now serving the Arab community in Israel,” she says. 

For the Faculty of Social Sciences, which houses the School of Psychological Sciences, another main concern since October 7 has been adapting course content so that it is both relevant and sensitive to Jewish and Arab students in today’s context. 

Students attend one of their first classes after the semester started on December 31, 2023

“If you teach in the social sciences … you speak immediately about students’ own lives and their lives have been changing tremendously and rapidly in the last year. So how do you maintain the high academic level, but at the same time be sensitive to their feelings about what’s going on?” asks Prof. Amal Jamal, vice dean of the Faculty of Social Sciences and head of the Walter Lebach Institute for the Study of Jewish-Arab Coexistence.

“This combination is not easy and cannot be taken for granted, and this is what we are trying to accomplish.”— Prof. Amal Jamal, Vice Dean of the Faculty of Social Sciences

Other schools and faculties are focused on alternative approaches. In the Coller School of Management, where about a third of accounting students and a quarter of management students are Arab, a pilot project will resume next academic year requiring Arabs and Jewish students to work together on group projects. “That’s the big question we have now, is how do we get back to the activities we had before October 7,” says Prof. Dotan Persitz, an inclusion advisor for Arab students in the Coller School.

Beginning the Dialogue Process 

While many at the faculty level are actively finding ways to support students and bolster coexistence, there are others who are focused on confronting division by offering Jewish and Arab students a framework for coming together to hold space for the difficult truths. 

The Dugri course at TAU is one example—the term “dugri” is known in both Arabic and Hebrew and means talking bluntly and without reserve to confront the hard truths and trauma of the Israeli-Palestinian crisis. The intensive TAU course, which takes place over three all-day sessions and involves 20 Arab and Jewish students from across TAU faculties, is offered by Youssef Masharawi, an Arab professor from the Department of Physical Therapy, and Uriel Abulof, a Jewish professor from the Department of Political Science. 

“This is dealing, hardcore, with the issues between Arabs and Jews by discussing the truth honestly, but with a lot of respect,”—Prof. Masharawi

The Dugri class, led by Masharawi and Abulof, in session. 

Another program, MiddleMeets, was conceived during a student-led TAU hackathon called The Day After. Initially, MiddleMeets was intended to bring international students and Israeli students together in conversation; however, program organizers quickly realized that dialogue was first needed at home.

The program brings together approximately 35 students from across Israeli universities. First-year TAU student Maysan Madi, who is Palestinian, is one of the participants. “It made me feel much less helpless,” she says.

“There’s something so comforting and so unique about expressing your pain to the so-called other side and that has been MiddleMeets for me.”

For the initial meeting of MiddleMeets, the Arab and Jewish groups of students met separately with a Hebrew-speaking or Arabic-speaking facilitator to discuss expectations and fears. During other meetings, shared conversation revolved around a particular theme like rights on the land, shame and guilt, and sympathy and empathy.

Regarding one meeting held at TAU, the academic advisor for the program, Prof. Elitzur Bar-Asher Siegal, recalls a particularly tense encounter between a student recently stationed in Gaza and an Arab-speaking student who asked the Jewish student if he had killed anyone. 

“When you actually hear someone coming back from the war, talking with someone who blames him for genocide, and they have a sincere conversation and each one gets for a second, for a moment, that the other side is not just pure evil … I think that this is an experience that I wish everyone had for a moment,”—Prof. Elitzur Bar-Asher Siegal   

The MiddleMeets initiative also led to representatives, including Madi and Bar-Asher Siegal, being invited in June to speak at the Vatican and meet the Pope. “We told him to pray for the war to end and for the hostages and for the children killed in Gaza, and we gave him the shirt of MiddleMeets and he read it in English and said thank you. He was very sweet,” says Madi.

Bar-Asher Siegal and Madi (both standing, left-hand side) offering the Pope a MiddleMeets shirt.

Madi has decided to continue with the MiddleMeets project, which is entering its second phase as organizers fundraise and work to bring together a diverse Israeli delegation with American and European students:

“I hope we get many more Palestinian and Jewish students involved, as well as international students—with what has been going on, they need to hear more from the people that live here.”—Maysan Madi

The War Isn’t Over Yet 

While Ziv credits the work of the dialogue groups as well as the faculties in supporting students, she is still cautious, reflecting that the war in Gaza continues. 

“Tel Aviv University is an open, democratic campus, and we are really fighting to ensure that even during periods of real tension between groups, especially now during the war, we maintain an opportunity for our students to express their views,” says Ziv. “It’s a continuing challenge, and I think it’s important to put that on the table.” 

At the same time, hope persists that facilitating dialogue at TAU will have an effect and even reverberate more widely in Israeli society: “Universities are very sensitive and unique zones for Jewish and Arab relations,” says Jamal.

“Getting students to take an active role in facilitating these relationships not only helps them feel better during their studies, but they also then become messengers of better relations in their own communities.”—Prof. Amal Jamal

Global Day of Engagement: Celebrating International Ties

Tel Aviv University hosts three international delegations

On July 25, a remarkable convergence of events took place at Tel Aviv University, showcasing the spirit of innovation, solidarity, and learning. The Lowy International School hosted visits from Columbia University faculty, leadership of several Indian universities, and a large group of American undergraduate students.

Columbia University Solidarity Delegation 

As part of the ongoing series of solidarity visits from elite universities and TAU partners, Columbia University faculty came to Tel Aviv to talk about antisemitism, BDS in the context of international collaborations, freedom of speech, and the state of TAU post-October 7th.

TAU President Prof Ariel Porat talking about Tel Aviv University initiatives post-October 7

The discussions were led by Prof. Ariel Porat, TAU President, who described all the challenges TAU has been facing since October 7, including assisting student reservists return to their studies, joining the country-wide volunteer efforts, and protecting academic freedoms.

Despite the challenges, Israeli academia, particularly at Tel Aviv University, has seen significant international support from colleagues and institutions abroad.  “At the same time, we’re at a point in which we are seriously concerned about the state of international collaborations in Israel and at Tel Aviv University,” noted Prof. Milette Shamir, VP for International, highlighting increasing institutional boycotts from European universities and silent disengagements by individual faculty, which could severely impact young researchers first and foremost. 

Prof. Milette Shamir, Prof. Ariel Porat, Ms Camellia Darawscha at the meeting with Columbia University faculty

Prof. Shamir described some of TAU’s new initiatives to support internationalization:

“We give support to faculty to prepare them as they go abroad now for how to conduct themselves and how to cultivate ties despite the situation.”

The university has also joined a task force formed by the VERA committee of university presidents to counter the boycotts: “They’re collecting the data, but they’re also leading, for example, the efforts to have a legal stance at the European Commission,” explained Shamir.

Columbia University delegation and students of the Dual Degree TAU–Columbia BA Program in Liberal Arts

In addition, the Lowy International School is actively promoting study abroad programs for international students and exchange programs for TAU’s Israeli students. This fall, over 200 undergraduate and graduate students will spend a semester abroad.

“It’s very important for Israelis now to be present on campuses around the world,” – commented one of the delegation participants.

Ms Camellia Darawscha, Diversity Officer at the TAU Equity, Diversity, and Community Office Commission, spoke about the measures the university undertakes to ensure a safe campus environment for all students, including staff training sessions and personal consultations on dealing with diverse classes, monitoring and regulating incidents of microagression and harassment, and regulating hate speech. 

Columbia University faculty

“Despite the complications, inspiring things are still happening. One example is a project named The Artist’s Lake. It’s a community theater of Arab and Jewish students who have never studied acting, and they act together on stage. Another example is Force and Dialogue through Palestinian artists.”—Camellia Darawscha

The visit also featured a discussion about antisemitism, its current meaning, origins, and implications with Prof Dina Porat, Emeritus in the Department of Jewish History and the Chief Historian of Yad Vashem.

As part of the visit, the delegation met with students and alumni of the Joint Dual Degree Liberal Arts BA program between Columbia and TAU. Lisa Rosen-Metsch, the Dean of the Columbia School for General Studies, while not present at the meeting, sent her message:

“While these past months since October 7th have been extremely difficult, I have no doubt that our dual degree students will pull through, and the intellectual, social, and emotional education that they are receiving will yield the outcome of our students becoming future leaders in the world who has never needed them more.”

Prof Krasna (right), Associate Dean of Columbia Mailman School of Public Health reading the address from Prof. Rosen-Metsch, the Dean of the Columbia School for General Studies

Rosen-Metsch added in her letter: “I and my colleagues at Columbia, as demonstrated by their presence today, are doing everything possible to make sure we remain the destination Ivy League school for every student from Israel, and that our students are welcomed, supported, and receive the best intellectual experience at Columbia.”

“I’m very grateful to our colleagues at Tel Aviv University for being such outstanding academic partners.”—Prof. Rosen-Metsch

Elisha Baker, Columbia junior, described the initiatives of the Jewish community on campus and answered questions from students who will be starting their classes at Columbia this fall.     

“I will double down on needing more Jewish students to apply to Columbia so that we can build a stronger community. We already have a very strong one, but build it even stronger, raise our voices even more.”—Elisha Baker, Columbia student

Columbia University delegation and students of the Dual Degree TAU–Columbia BA Program in Liberal Arts

Expanding Collaborations with India

Another solidarity visit was organized by the Israeli Embassy in Delhi and the Foreign Ministry. The delegation comprising university vice-chancellors and leaders, representing the Thapar Institute of Engineering & Technology, Karunya Institute of Technology and Sciences, University of Mumbai, and 12 other institutions from across India met with Prof. Milette Shamir and Prof. Colin Price who gave a talk on sustainability and climate crisis. 

“We come to Israel to show solidarity.”— Prof E J James, Karunya University

Since 2016, Thapar Institute of Engineering & Technology and Tel Aviv University have collaborated on food security and advanced manufacturing research. Professor Yossi Shacham from Tel Aviv University initially led the Center for Excellence in Food Security, succeeded by Professor Nir Ohad.

Prof Ohad, head of the Food Security Center; Prof Batish, Thapar Institute of Engineering and Technology; Prof Shamir, VP for International at TAU; and Konstantin Platonov, TAU Asia Engagement Director (from left to right)

Professor Noam Eliaz is the inaugural Chair Center of Excellence in Advanced Manufacturing. There are also joint projects with Prof Ram Fishman and Prof Hadas Mamane, including Digital Villages, water treatment and irrigation models, and perishable fruit sensor technologies.

“The water treatment model has been adopted by the government of Panjab and is implemented in 13000 villages.”—Prof Ajay Batish, Thapar Institute of Engineering and Technology.

The partnership also includes student exchange, with Thapar University sending top students to Tel Aviv University for life sciences and engineering programs and hosting Israeli MSc students who work in the farms with Indian farmers and experimenting with various aspects of the Digital Villages project.

“I’m very proud of them because these boys, despite not knowing the local language and handicapped with not knowing the way to that place and also needing support to get there, they’ve done extremely well. They’re like mini celebrities in those farms and villages because people love them there. So I think that way it has been a big success from both sides,” comments Batish.

The leader of the Indian student community at TAU meeting with the delegation

Members of the delegation expressed a lot of interest in building connections with TAU, particularly in the fields of agriculture, climate, cyber security, and also fine arts. As Prof Avkash Yadav from the University of Mumbai said, “Our relations with Israel have a lot of potential.”

“We can collaborate in the space of climate change and thunder-lightning.”—Bal Raj Singh, Vice Chancelllor of Sri Karan Narendra Agriculture University.

As part of their visit, guests from India went to other Israeli universities, toured Jerusalem, kibbutzim in the south, towns in the north, and met with families of hostages.

The Indian delegation to Tel Aviv University

They also went to the Israeli Chamber of Commerce and met with some young innovators who are in the process of setting up their own companies or startups. 

“They have really brilliant ideas. One of them has already reached out to me on LinkedIn because his product looks very exciting to me. So, I am going to try and work with him and see what we can do together.”—Prof. Batish

Largest Student Visit to TAU Led by Jewish Learning Initiative on Campus

For the second consecutive year, The Lowy International School hosted 250 JLIC summer students to learn about Tel Aviv University and its multi-disciplinary academic offerings. American undergraduates came to Israel to learn Torah and intern in Jerusalem or Tel Aviv. 

Rabbi Eitan Philips, head of JLIC at Tel Aviv University

Rabbi Eitan Philips, who is leading the JLIC at Tel Aviv University, shared his journey with students, emphasizing the significance of their choice to come to Israel and Tel Aviv University despite the challenges:

“Think about what Tel Aviv means to you, think about what this university can offer you, and think about how your Judaism, which you’ve spent a whole summer now involved in, what it has to say to the whole world.”—Rabbi Eitan Philips

Reflecting on the turmoil before October 7th and his own experiences in Gaza, he highlighted Tel Aviv’s role as Israel’s face to the west: “Tel Aviv represents what we have to give to the world, what we have to give to humanity, our particularism and our universalism.”

Prof Rosen, TAU Faculty of Engineering

Professor Brian Rosen, from the Faculty of Engineering, discussed the intersection of his scientific and religious life, emphasizing that both realms seek different aspects of truth. 

In his talk entitled ‘The Halachic Engineer’ he shared a story from the 1960s about the discovery of the Big Bang Theory, illustrating how scientific advancements can complement rather than contradict religious beliefs.

“The advancement in one field does not need to come at the expense or the dignity of another.”—Prof. Rosen

JLIC students at Tel Aviv University

He encouraged students to see their academic pursuits and Torah study as integrated rather than conflicting: “To study science and engineering and any other discipline here can be done in parallel to Torah study because you’re looking for a single answer.” 

Quoting Rabbi Jonathan Sacks, he concluded, “Science takes things apart to see how they work, Judaism puts things together to see what they mean, and we need them both,” stressing the importance of a harmonious balance between scientific inquiry and spiritual meaning.

JLIC students visiting the new Nanotechnology building

As part of their visit, students met with representatives from TAU faculties: Nanotechnology, Business, Neuroscience, Engineering, Social Sciences, Environmental Studies, as well as the Moshe Dayan Center. Each faculty introduced a topic within their field of study allowing students to experience the breadth of learning and innovation that takes place at TAU. 

An olah hadasha and TAU Sofaer MBA graduate Rachel Thau talking to JLIC students about her startup that verifies the validity of news statements online

They also got to see the lab and learning facilities of Tel Aviv University, including a neuroscience lab that uses EEG equipment and an industry-grade clean room at the recently inaugurated Roman Abramovich Building for Nano and Quantum Science & Technology.

JLIC students on their visit to the Sagol School of Neuroscience

The day events of the day exemplify the spirit of collaboration, resilience, and academic excellence of Tel Aviv University. From hosting international delegations and holding meaningful discussions to showcasing cutting-edge research and innovation, TAU continues to strengthen its global ties and inspire future leaders. 

TAU Launches New MSc in Digital Health

Program helps students to take charge of the digital healthcare revolution

With artificial intelligence (AI) and other digital technologies revolutionizing nearly all aspects of health care, Tel Aviv University (TAU) is launching the MSc in Digital Health – a new master’s program anchored in a multinational network, which aims to equip those in healthcare with the tools they need to thrive in this new reality. 

“The healthcare sector is currently undergoing a digital revolution. As technology continues to evolve at a rapid pace, there is a growing need for professionals to bridge the gap between healthcare and technology,” says Dr. Tal Soffer, codirector of the new program.

“This program is designed to meet that need, prepare students for the future of healthcare, and open up a variety of new career opportunities in areas that are currently in high demand.”—Dr. Soffer

Embedded in a European Network  

Soffer, who directs digital pedagogy for TAU, is running the new MSc program with her colleague Prof. Noam Shomron, a global expert in gene expression and translating data for clinical settings. In addition to support from Soffer and Shomron, students will have access to a much wider international network, given the program is embedded in an EU Digital Europe collaboration that includes six universities, eight research centers and industry partners from Austria, France, Germany, Greece, Israel, Italy, Luxemburg, Portugal and Slovenia.

“Collaboration with diverse academic and industry partners enhances the learning experience by providing students with access to a wide range of expertise, cutting-edge technologies and real-world applications.”—Prof. Shomron

Through his own work, Shomron has become a global leader on digital applications within a clinical setting.

“This international network also opens doors for collaborative research projects, internships and job opportunities, ensuring that graduates are well prepared to contribute to the global healthcare landscape.” 

How the Program Works 

The two-year MSc in Digital Health, which is taught in English, is organized according to two tracks: one is focused on helping healthcare professionals to build digital competencies, while the second helps data experts to become leaders in areas like MedTech and BioTech.

The coursework and approach of the program is multidisciplinary, allowing students to gain a broader understanding of how to approach the digital transformation taking place in healthcare. 

“The most important takeaway for students will be a comprehensive understanding of how to integrate and apply digital technologies in healthcare settings.”—Prof. Shomron

“This includes practical skills in AI, robotics, cyber- and quantum-computing and data science.” Soffer adds that students “will also learn to think critically about the ethical, legal and social implications of these technologies, ensuring that they can advocate for responsible and patient-centered use of digital health solutions.”

The Benefits of Studying Digital Health at TAU

The program also takes advantage of its strategic location in one of the digital health innovation capitals of the world: Tel Aviv.

“TAU is located in the heart of Israel’s tech industry, providing students with direct exposure to cutting-edge innovations and opportunities to engage with leading tech companies.”—Prof. Soffer.

“This unique ecosystem fosters creativity, entrepreneurship and practical learning experiences that are hard to find elsewhere.” 

 

 

 


 

Interested in learning more about the new MSc in Digital Health, including application requirements?

Visit our program page to learn more and apply.

The application deadline for the new program is September 1, 2024.

Andi Murez Carries Flag at Paris Olympics

TAU alumna and sports scholarship recipient couldn’t be prouder of representing Israel on world stage

For Andrea “Andi” Murez—a newly-minted Tel Aviv University (TAU) international medical school alumna and recipient of a TAU Sylvan Adams Olympic scholarship—being able to compete and carry Israel’s flag at the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris has been one of the biggest honors of her life.

“I think what made it really obvious that this is such an honor was actually when we recently competed in the European championships and won the relay … to be on such a large stage like that at an international competition and be able to hear the Hatikvah and raise the Israeli flag … from that I have a lot of motivation”—Andi Murez.

“Just the messages I received at the time made it clear what an impact it can have, and how special it is in such a difficult time.”

Three-Time Olympian Finds Meaning in Family Legacy

Murez made aliyah from California in 2014 and is now representing Israel for a third time at the Olympics, participating in the mixed 4×100 meter medley relay. She was the first woman in Israel to qualify for the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympics and also competed in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. 

This is the third time Murez is competing in the Olympic Games. Photo: Simone Castrovillari.

However, it is being able to compete at the Olympics in the country of her step-grandfather that is most meaningful: he is the only survivor in his family of Nazi-occupied France, and he later became a swimmer on the French national team. “My aunt messaged me the other day and reminded me that my step-grandfather is from France,” says Murez. “That adds a particularly special component to competing in Paris.” 

Credits TAU Sports Scholarship for Helping Career 

While Murez comes from a family of competitive swimmers, which also includes her other grandfather and her brother, she additionally credits the sports scholarships she received at Stanford University and then at TAU with helping to keep her afloat both in the water and financially.

“In medical school especially, it’s hard to be a student and have enough time … I was able to train instead of squeezing in a part-time job and having to think about how I would manage financially,” says Murez.

“Having a scholarship for athletics while at TAU was amazing, and I’m so happy that there’s an opportunity out there like this.” 

Since graduating in 2023, Murez has most recently been dedicating her time to swimming. In the fall, however, she will begin a medical residency in psychiatry at the Mayo Clinic in the United States. She plans to specialize in sports psychiatry and bring back everything she learns to Israel. “I want to bring it back and help bring more awareness here to mental health in sports,” she says. 

Murez is competing in the 4×100 meter medley relay and swimming the last leg. Photo: Simone Castrovillari.

As Murez begins to transition into this next phase of life, she looks back fondly on how swimming has help to shape who she has become:

“Looking back at the career I’ve had so far … moving to Israel, making aliyah, learning a new language, becoming a part of a new culture and then competing and meeting swimmers and athletes while traveling around the world … it has just been an amazing opportunity and I’m so thankful.”


 

Interested in how TAU can support you as an athlete and student? Learn more about our international sports scholarship.

 

TAU is Going Abroad

Outgoing Exchange Meeting Sees Highest Turnout Ever

This year, with the largest turnout ever, The Lowy International School once again held an event for upcoming outgoing exchange students. Approximately 140 Tel Aviv University (TAU) undergraduate and graduate students attended as they prepared to study at universities in Europe, Asia, Australia, North America, and elsewhere.

“The exchange program gives TAU students a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to experience another university and another culture, and to get a taste of the international life,” says Galia Netzer Erlichmen, who oversees the exchange program as the Head of Internationalization at Home for TAU. “These students who have signed up to go this year are enthusiastic, and they know it’s a really meaningful opportunity right now.” 

Netzer Erlichmen speaks to exchange students about their upcoming adventure.

While the tradition of exchange between TAU and its partner institutions continues, with each TAU student going to one of the more than 50 study destinations available this year, preparations for outgoing exchange has recently necessitated a more unique approach given the global unrest following October 7 and the war. While students were given advice and training related to usual exchange program considerations – like adapting to a new culture – they were also provided with a workshop on conflict management.  

“Israel is in a certain position, and we know across the world there are many questions and sometimes severe accusations, so we made it a point of giving our students tools to, as much as possible, deal with these questions,” says Netzer Erlichmen. “Whether they don’t want to answer or whether they want to hold a discussion … we wanted to help them feel comfortable responding.”

At the same time, Netzer Erlichmen emphasized that, should an issue ever arise, the students aren’t alone and have the full support both of TAU’s outgoing exchange office, as well as the institutions they will be attending.

Outgoing exchange students during one of the workshops held on July 9.

“Throughout these tense times, if there’s been a [campus] demonstration that a TAU exchange student has been worried about, there has always been someone directly at that university who has been wiling to check the situation out and provide help,” says Netzer Erlichmen. “Our exchange partners have always been welcoming to our students and we are so glad to have that continued support. These are challenging times and it means so much to us to be able to continue to work with our partners.”

And while the TAU students going on exchange have been prepared slightly differently this year, they are still very excited for what will hopefully be one of the best experiences of their lives.

“Students at TAU have gone through a lot,” reflects Netzer Erlichmen. “On top of all the other benefits an academic exchange opportunity offers, it’s also a chance for our students to get a breather for a bit and really enjoy themselves. They deserve that.”  

Interested in going on exchange and joining us in Tel Aviv? Visit our Incoming Exchange Program to learn more. Are you at TAU and want to go abroad for a bit? Learn more about our Outgoing Exchange Program.

 

Could Graphene be the Future of Nanoelectronics?

New study offers a breakthrough development that may facilitate the use of graphene nanoribbons in nanoelectronics

An international collaborative study that features researchers from TAU presents a new method for growing ultra-long and ultra-narrow strips of graphene (a derivative of graphite), which exhibit semiconducting properties that can be harnessed by the nanoelectronics industry. The researchers believe that the development may have many potential technological applications, including advanced switching devices, spintronic devices, and in the future, even quantum computing architectures. The study was conducted under the leadership of an international research team, that included Prof. Michael Urbakh and Prof. Oded Hod from TAU’s School of Chemistry, as well as scientists from China, South Korea, and Japan. The study was published in the scientific journal Nature.

Prof. Michael Urbakh.

Prof. Urbakh and Prof. Hod explain that graphene is a single layer of graphite made of carbon atoms and built similarly to the shape of a beehive. Graphene is very suitable for technological uses. Apart from its extraordinary mechanical strength, additional properties have been discovered in recent years regarding certain structures made of a small number of twisted (laterally rotated with respect to each other) graphene layers. These properties include superconductivity, spontaneous electric polarization, controlled heat conduction, and structural superlubricity – a state in which materials demonstrate negligible friction and wear.

Prof. Oded Hod.

One of the limitations we find for using graphene in the electronics industry is that it is a semi-metal, namely that charge carriers can move freely in it, but their density is very low. Hence, graphene cannot be used either as a conducting metal or as a semiconductor used by the electronic chip industry.

However, if long and thin strips of graphene (termed graphene nanoribbons) are cut out of a wide graphene sheet, the quantum charge carriers become confined within the narrow dimension, which makes them semi-conducting and enables their use in quantum switching devices. As of today, there are several barriers to using graphene nanoribbons in devices, among them is the challenge of reproducibly growing narrow and long sheets isolated from the environment.

Graphene Nanoribbons in Action

In this new study, the researchers were able to develop a method to catalytically grow narrow, long, and reproducible graphene nanoribbons directly within insulating hexagonal boron-nitride stacks, as well as demonstrate peak performance in quantum switching devices based on the newly-grown ribbons. The unique growth mechanism was revealed using advanced molecular dynamics simulation tools developed and implemented by the Israeli teams. These calculations showed that ultra-low friction in certain growth directions within the boron-nitride crystal dictates the reproducibility of the structure of the ribbon, allowing it to grow to unprecedented lengths directly within a clean and isolated environment.

The researchers see the development as a scientific and technological breakthrough in the field of nanomaterials, one which is expected to open the door to a wide range of studies that will lead to their utilization in the nanoelectronics industry.

Prof. Urbakh and Prof. Hod summarize: “The importance of this new development is that for the first time, it is now possible to fabricate carbon-based nanoelectronic switching devices directly within an isolating matrix. These devices will likely have many technological applications, including electronic and spintronic systems, and even quantum computing devices”.

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