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TAU Experts on Omicron: “Don’t Panic”

Written by AUFTAU on . Posted in Newsroom.

Our COVID-19 researchers weigh in on the latest strain.

As scientists race to understand the newest Omicron variant of COVID-19, Tel Aviv University experts share insights—largely reassuring—on the situation. The latest coronavirus strain dominating headlines was first discovered in South Africa in November. Cases have since emerged around the globe, including in Israel. Under the auspices of TAU’s Center for Combating Pandemics, dozens of teams across campus are contributing to global efforts to understand and combat the pandemic. Here is what they are saying about Omicron:  

“Keep Calm and Carry On”— with Protection 

Amid the media maelstrom and uncertainty surrounding Omicron, Dr. Oren Kobiler of the Sackler Faculty of Medicine proscribes the popular adage “keep calm and carry on.” 

“It is best not to panic over Omicron,” he says.​ “This new variant will not change the entire dynamic of the disease. Vaccine efficacy against severe illness was maintained against all variants so far, and it is unlikely that their efficacy will decrease against this variant.” ​

​From a biological and virological perspective, he notes that the Omicron variant is unique and needs further examination. However, the best thing for the general public to do is get fully vaccinated and wear masks. 

“The worst-case scenario is that we will face another wave of infection, but that should not lead to higher rates of mortality due to current vaccination rates,” he says.  

Kobiler, a virology expert, says that Israel is among countries with the highest rates of COVID-19 booster vaccination among its population. “Several immunological studies indicated that this gives us an edge for fighting new variants.” 

“Until everyone is vaccinated, though, we will keep seeing more mutations and variants,” he stresses, adding that widespread inoculation is particularly critical in developing countries where infection and mortality rates are significantly higher than in wealthier nations.  

Get Booster Shots ASAP 

  Prof. Eran Bacharach

The emergence of the Omicron variant has raised questions about the efficacy of booster shots in their current form as opposed to revamped inoculations that may emerge in the future.

Prof. Eran Bacharach, of the Wise Faculty of Life Sciences and a member of the Israeli Ministry of Health’s COVID-19 Vaccine Advisory Team, implores the public to get third injections as soon as possible of COVID-19 vaccines rather than waiting for new versions that may be better formulated to target Omicron. 

“It will still take at least several months before new versions of COVID-19 vaccines are available on the market,” says Bacharach, the head of the molecular virology lab at the Shmunis School of Biomedicine and Cancer Research.  

Prof. Adi Stern, also of the Shmunis School, echoes Kobiler and Bacharach’s calls, adding that until there are updated vaccines, additional new variants will likely emerge. She explains that the spread of infection within a population—or “chain of infection”—is what enables the development of mutations and variants.  

“Inoculation, even with vaccines that aren’t specifically formulated to target a certain strain, is the only thing that will break these ‘chains of infection’ and prevent the emergence of new variants,” says Stern, whose lab has been studying the evolution of SARS-CoV-2, now including the origin and behavior of the Omicron variant.  

 

Prof. Adi Stern

Furthermore, she notes that current vaccines are based on the original wild-type strains seen early in the pandemic. “These vaccines have proved effective thus far in protecting against severe disease and death from existing variants, including the Delta strain. Considering all this, it’s much better to be vaccinated now to promote individual and herd immunity.” 

Minding the Balance 

Between “pandemic fatigue” and hyperbolized fears stoked by some officials, the latest variant outbreak renews questions about how to manage the situation. To avoid spurring panic, Dr. Bruria Adini cautions that public officials should not jump to conclusions about the severity of the Omicron variant when addressing the public. 

“The public needs to be a full partner in the pandemic response. If officials lose the public’s trust, the situation will deteriorate,” says Adini, head of the Department of Emergency and Disaster Management in the School of Public Health, Sackler Faculty of Medicine. 

 

Dr. Bruria Adini

Adini, who has been conducting long-term studies of COVID-19 since March 2020, surveys the public every few months to gauge their emotional status and level of resilience over time. Her research continuously incorporates new developments that contribute to public perceptions, such as the risk versus reward of vaccinating children.  

“It could be Omicron today or a new variant tomorrow, but we’ll live with COVID-19 for at least the near future,” she says.

One of the main concerns countries need to manage now is the prevention of healthcare system overloads.”Strengthening the capacity of medical systems with measures such as more ICU and internal medicine beds will foster more public resilience, which my research has found to be the greatest predictor of behavior such as agreeing to get vaccinated,” she says.  

As opposed to earlier in the pandemic, she notes that the public and governments have shifted their mindset toward coronavirus. She points to the lessening of widespread lockdowns and closures of workplaces and schools amid each new development as a positive indication of evolving pandemic responses.  

Select Omicron media coverage featuring TAU experts:  

 

Ancient Climate Crisis Transformed Us from Nomadic Hunters to Settled Farmers

Written by AUFTAU on . Posted in Newsroom.

Researchers used plant remains to reconstruct the climate in the Southern Levant at the end of the last ice age.

What made the residents in the Southern Levant, tens of thousands of years ago, put down their walking sticks and hunting gear and instead become settled farmers? Apparently, it was the result of a climate crisis that took place at the end of the last ice age, about 10,000 to 20,000 years ago.

A new record of significant climate changes in the region, based on the identification of ancient plant remains, sheds light on the dramatic transition. Against the background of the Glasgow Climate Change Summit, the researchers believe that understanding the response of the region’s flora to the dramatic past climate changes can help in preserving the regional variety of plant species and in planning for current and future climate challenges.

The Crisis that Marched Humanity Forward

The research was conducted by Dr. Dafna Langgut of the Department of Archaeology and The Steinhardt Museum of Natural History at Tel Aviv University; Prof. Gonen Sharon, Head of the MA Program in Galilee Studies at Tel-Hai College, and Dr. Rachid Cheddadi, expert in evolution and palaeoecology of University of Montpellier, Institute of Evolutionary Sciences (ISEM) Montpellier, France. The groundbreaking study was recently published in the leading scientific journal Quaternary Science Reviews.

The study was conducted at the prehistoric archaeological site Jordan River Dureijat (“Jordan River Stairs”) on the shores of the ancient Lake Hula. The site is unique for its exceptional preservation conditions yielding finds that enabled discovery of the primary activity of its early local residents – fishing. Preserved botanic remains also enabled researchers to identify the plants that grew 10,000 – 20,000 years ago in the Hula Valley and its surroundings. 

 

The prehistoric archaeological site Jordan River Dureijat (“Jordan River Stairs”) on the shores of the Paleo Lake Hula

Two major processes in world history took place during this period, the first of which was the transition from a nomadic to a settled lifestyle that occurs during a period of dramatic climate change. Prof. Sharon, supervisor of the Madregot Hayarden (“Jordan Stairs”) excavation, explains: “In the study of prehistory, this period is called the Epipalaeolithic period. At its outset, people were organized in small groups of hunter-gatherers who roamed the area. Then, about 15,000 years ago, we are witness to a significant change in lifestyle: the appearance of settled life in villages, and additional dramatic processes that reach their apex during the Neolithic period that followed. This is the time when the most dramatic change of human history occurred – the transition to the agricultural way of life that shaped the world as we know it today.”

Dr. Langgut, an archaeobotanist specializing in identification of plant remains, elaborates on the second dramatic process of this period, namely the climatic changes that occurred in the region. “Although at the peak of the last ice age, about 20,000 years ago, the Mediterranean Levant was not covered with an ice sheet as in other parts of the world, the climatic conditions that existed nevertheless differed from those of today. Their exact characteristics were unclear until this study. The climatic model that we built is based on reconstruction of the fluctuation of the spread of plant species indicating that the main climatic change in our area is expressed by a drop in temperature (up to five degrees Celsius less than today), whereas the precipitation amounts (rain, snow, sleet, or hail) were close to those of today (only about 50 mm less than today’s annual average).

 

Dr. Dafna Langgut

Temperature Fluctuations

However, Dr. Langgut explains that about 5,000 years later, in the Epipalaeolithic period (about 15,000 years ago) a significant improvement in climate conditions can be seen in the model. An increased prevalence of heat-tolerant tree species, such as olive, common oak, and Pistacia, indicate an increase in temperature and precipitation.

During this period, the first sites of the Natufian culture appear in our region. It could very well be that the temperate climate assisted in the development and flourishing of this culture, in which permanent settlement, stone structures, food storage facilities, and more first appear on the global stage.  

The next stage of the study deals with the end of the Epipalaeolithic period, about 11,000-12,000 years ago, known globally as the Younger Dryas period. This period is characterized by a return to a cold, dry climate like that of the ice age, causing somewhat of a climate crisis around the world. The researchers claim that until this study, it was unclear whether and to what extent there was any expression of this period in the Levantine region.

Little Rain, but Throughout the Year

According to the researchers: “The findings that arise from the climate model presented in the article show that the period was characterized by climatic instability, intense fluctuations, and a considerable drop in temperatures. Nevertheless, while reconstructing the precipitation, a surprising phenomenon was discovered: the average quantities of rainfall reconstructed were only slightly less than those of today; however, the precipitation was distributed over the entire year, including summer rains.”

The researchers claim that such distribution assisted in the expansion and thriving of annual and leafy plant species. The gatherers who lived in this period now had a wide, readily available variety of gatherable plants throughout the entire year. This variety enabled their familiarity just before domestication. The researchers are of the opinion that these findings contribute to a new understanding of the environmental changes that took place on the eve of the transition to agriculture and domestication of animals.

Summary

Why did humans settle down and start farming the land? While this study doesn’t fully answer this questions, it does reconstruct the climate in what is today Israel from 20,000 to 10,000 years ago, revealing the dramatic environmental and climatic changes that uniquely combined with social and technological innovations 12,000 years ago and formed the background for the development of acriculture in the Levant. 

The warmer, more humid climate between 15,000 and 13,000 years ago coincided with the Natufian culture, and may have supported their practice of living in one place for a long time, thanks to increased gathering and storage opportunities. Around 13,000 years ago, temperatures sunk a bit and rains would fall throughout the year, favoring open-field vegetation and plants. 12,000 years ago, the Holocene (the current geological era) began, which in the Near East meant long hot and dry summers necessitating gathering and storing food during winter and spring. The new environmental conditions pushed people to make greater efforts to domesticate, farm and store their crops – setting the stage for the Neolithic revolution. 

Dr. Langgut concludes: “This study contributes not only to understanding the environmental background for momentous processes in human history such as the first permanent settlement and the transition to agriculture, but also provides information on the history of the region’s flora and its response to past climatic changes. There is no doubt that this knowledge can assist in preserving species variety and in meeting current and future climate challenges.”

 

Dr. Dafna Langgut collects sediment samples for pollen investigation.

Featured image: An Israeli farmer in his vineyard 

Coexistence – Israel’s Inevitable Faith

Written by AUFTAU on . Posted in Newsroom.

The Arditi Prizes for coexistence were awarded to students for their original plays on Jewish-Arab relations.

Tel Aviv University presented the Arditi Foundation Awards to outstanding students in the field of art in Jewish-Arab relations. Students from various disciplines at six Israeli universities – Tel Aviv University, Ben Gurion University of the Negev, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Bar-Ilan University, University of Haifa, and The Open University of Israel – took part in the competition to write short original plays on Jewish-Arab relations in Israel, with the shared theme of “smells, sounds and tastes.”

The three winning plays were selected by a panel of judges from TAU’s Department of Theater Arts, The Department of Literature, and The Department of Arabic and Islamic Studies. The event was hosted by The S. Daniel Abraham Center for International and Regional Studies, sponsored by the Arditi Foundation, and in collaboration with the Department of Theater Arts in The David and Yolanda Katz Faculty of the Arts.

First Place – Emulsion

The prize for first place was awarded to Emulsion, a play by Nir Cohen Rothschild and directed by Riki Assor. The play is about Wajdi, the pantry chef in a successful restaurant. On a particularly difficult shift, when new apprentice Uri is shadowing Wajdi, another cook is running late, pressure’s high – as are the kitchen manager’s high expectations – Wajdi and Uri are experiencing communication issues that are preventing the kitchen from running efficiently. The play shows how communication problems arise and how they can be dealt with.

“Emulsion is exactly what we need – not only here in Israel but throughout the world,” said Hanna Birach, the student who played the role of Wajdi.

“The message of the play is that it is mixing, or unmediated contact that creates a delicious dish. We mustn’t judge those who have a different faith than us, and we are not the sole bearers of the truth. Only when we learn to listen will we achieve true coexistence.”

 

From Nir Cohen Rothschild’s winning play – Emulsion (Photo: Chen Galili)

Second Place – The Country’s Chef

Second place, went to The Country’s Chef, a play by Doron Rechlis and directed by Yochai Hacker. The play follows an Arab and a Jewish contestant competing against each other in the grand finale of the popular reality cooking show.

 

From Doron Rechlis’ play The Country’s Chef (Photo: Chen Galili)

Third Place – Being Only You for the Rest of Your Life

The play Being Only You for the Rest of Your Life, written by Sigi Golan and directed by Mor Halevi, won third place. The play is about a young woman who decides to meet with a man from a dating app. He is not at all what she expected, but they learn that there is much more to the other person than what meets the eye.

 

From Sigi Golan’s play Being Only You for the Rest of Your Life (Photo: Chen Galili)

No Choice But to Live Together

Prof. Raanan Rein, head of the S. Daniel Abraham Center for International and Regional Studies, said, “The COVID-19 pandemic which affected everyone, regardless of national or ethnic identity, in combination with the sequence of violent events between Arabs and Jews that took place in May 2021 following the military Operation Guardian of the Walls, highlighted the need to find ways to live together in this country.”

“Tel Aviv University, as a leading research institution, has a cultural and social commitment. In a time of public discourse characterized by a degree of xenophobia and racism, there is a lot of value in a competition that expresses the pluralistic nature of the University and of Israeli society and the importance we place on the need to know ‘the other.’”

The founder and head of the Arditi Foundation, Mr. Metin Arditi, is a Jewish Swiss writer and philanthropist. He congratulated the participants, saying, “In Israel, Jews and Arabs have no choice but to live together.”

“Coexistence between Jews and Arabs is the inevitable fate of the State of Israel,” he concluded.

Features image: The winning playwrights (left to right): Nir Cohen Rothschild (1st place), Sigi Golan (3rd place), Doron Rechlis (2nd place) (Photo: Chen Galili)

Cybermania

Written by AUFTAU on . Posted in Newsroom.

How did Israel become a global cyber-power?

Did you know that 40% of all private cyber investments in the world are invested in Israel? Or that a third of the unicorn companies – private start-ups worth more than a billion dollars – are Israeli? How on earth did Israel become a cyber-power, amongst the first countries in the world to recognize the significance of the cyber revolution?

Israel – A Global Cyber Powerhouse in Absolute Numbers

“It’s a unique phenomenon,” says Prof. Eviatar Matania, founding head and former director general of Israel National Cyber Directorate, a member of Tel Aviv University’s Blavatnik Interdisciplinary Cyber Research Center and head of TAU’s International MA Program in Cyber-Politics and Government and the MA in Security Studies and an adjunct professor at Oxford University’s Blavatnik School of Government.

“Israel leads in various indices in the world of technology and security, but always in relative terms, i.e. per capita or by relative size. In cyber, on the other hand, Israel is a global powerhouse in absolute numbers: 40% of all private investments in the world in cyber reach Israel, and every third Unicorn company is Israeli. Today, cyber accounts for 15% of Israeli hi-tech exports, which is about half of the total exports of the State of Israel, and it will only grow.”

In Cyber, We’re All Neighbors

Prof. Matania established and served as the head of the National Cyber bureau and later as the director general of the National Cyber Directorate in the Prime Minister’s Office, reporting directly to the PM, from 2012 until 2018.

“The tipping point of Israel’s journey to become a cyber-power was a visit by then Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to [Israel Defense Forces’ Intelligence Corps] Unit 8200 in 2010,” continues Prof. Matania. “Netanyahu was astonished by what he heard from the soldiers. He understood that the new world of cyber posed an extraordinary risk to Israel, as the country would be vulnerable to attacks from anywhere in the world.”

“It should be understood that regarding cyber, everyone is everyone’s neighbor – Israel is a neighbor not only of Syria and Egypt but also of Russia and China. At the same time, Netanyahu was able to see the cyber opportunity for a small country like Israel, which specializes in both technology and security, to take the initiative.”

 

The IDF is awarded the Cyber Shield Award for its contributions to Israel’s cyber ecosystem at Tel Aviv University’s annual Cyber Week 2021. From left to right: Major General Lior Carmeli, Major General Tamir Hayman, Gili Drob-Hiesten Managing Director ICRC, TAU President Prof. Ariel Porat and Prof. Isaac Ben Israel

Building a National Cyber Ecosystem

Netanyahu had a three-vertices cyber system designed, at the top of which stands security and its two bases being academia and industry. Major General (Res.) Prof. Yitzhak Ben-Israel, today head of the Cyber Center at Tel Aviv University, was tasked with leading Israel’s national cyber venture – the purpose of which was to formulate a comprehensive national cyber plan. This was the first of its kind in the world. Netanyahu set a tangible goal for the project: For Israel to be one of the five leading cyber powers in the world. 

“The national cyber system that I headed was the first of its kind in the world,” says Prof. Matania who, together with Amir Rapaport, founder of the Israel Defense magazine and “Cybertech” conferences, has written the book Cybermania: How Israel Became a Global Powerhouse in an Arena That Shapes the Future of Mankind on how Israel evolved into a cyber-power.

“Large budgets were invested in academia and industry and in building dedicated cyber defense capabilities. For example, six cyber research centers have been established at universities, including at Tel Aviv University, and the Chief Scientist has directed investments in startups in the general direction of cyber activities. Additionally, government projects invested in defense initiatives by former intelligence corps soldiers.”

According to Prof. Matania, Israel’s cyber capabilities – in the private sector, in the government and in the defense establishment – also leverage its political achievements. “When Israel signs a cyber-defense alliance with Cyprus and Greece, it does not necessarily need Cyprus or Greece to upgrade its cyber defense – but in return for defense we get payback in other areas. Israel has become synonymous with cyber.”

Tel Aviv University and Rutgers University Strengthen Ties

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Latest move to boost TAU’s global presence includes US-Israel tech exchange.

Tel Aviv University and Rutgers University have inked a deal to enhance the existing partnership between the two universities and establish a TAU presence at the New Jersey Innovation & Technology Hub. The Hub— an over 50,000-m², $665 million project—will house a new Rutgers Translational Research facility for applying scholarly findings into practical applications, and the university’s Robert Wood Johnson Medical School.

Amplifying Existing Alliance

The agreement between the two universities comes amid a wave of new initiatives aimed at strengthening Tel Aviv University’s global ties. Other recent strides include a new dual master’s degree program with Johns Hopkins University and TAU’s launch of Israel’s first completely online MBA.

TAU and Rutgers University have previously collaborated on projects, including a monthly series of joint scientific symposia exploring research topics such as COVID-19, cybersecurity, gene therapy, nanomaterials, and ancient and modern identities in Yemen. The new agreement will amplify the universities’ alliance by establishing a research grant program to seed what are expected to be enduring collaborations across disciplines between Rutgers and TAU.

The grant program will provide seed funding for up to five collaborative research projects, each with two principal investigators—one from Rutgers and one from TAU—as determined by a selection committee.

No Limit to the Power of Partnerships

TAU President Prof. Ariel Porat and Rutgers President Jonathan Holloway signed the agreement in a ceremony last week at the Tel Aviv campus. New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy joined the ceremony virtually.

The partnership between the two universities began in 2020 with a trip by a New Jersey business delegation to Israel to strengthen economic ties and deepen connections between the two nations. The latest agreement signing was a part of this year’s mission sponsored by Choose New Jersey, a nonprofit organization that helps companies and corporations expand their business into the US and New Jersey.

“I traveled to Tel Aviv to sign this memorandum of understanding in person because this is an important initiative that reflects Rutgers’ commitment to excellence and our recognition that there is no limit to the power of partnerships,” Holloway said. “Our growing partnership will advance educational and scientific exchanges that will not only benefit our students and faculty but our local economies and the people in our communities.”

Porat added, “TAU and Rutgers share the strategic goals of enhancing research through global collaboration and of strengthening the ties between academia and industry.”

Featured image: TAU President Prof. Ariel Porat and Rutgers President Jonathan Holloway at the signing ceremony on TAU campus 

TAU’s Tisch Film School Among Global Best

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Achievement comes as our alumni win international Emmy for “Tehran”.

The nonstop (lights, camera,) action at Tel Aviv University’s Steve Tisch School of Film and Television has earned it another international distinction. Industry experts have named the School among this year’s top 21 film schools outside the United States, in a survey released by popular American entertainment magazine The Wrap.

Israel’s Sole Chart-Topper

TAU’s Film School is the only Israeli institution listed in the ranking that includes other global powerhouses such as the London Film School, the University of Television and Film Munich, and the Australian Film, Television and Radio School.

Contributing to the selection of The Steve Tisch School of Film and Television, the outlet noted Tel Aviv University’s standing as the largest institution of higher education in Israel and the Tisch School’s extensive international relationships, including with NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts. The TAU School is named for Academy Award-winning filmmaker and philanthropist Steve Tisch, whose generous support has catapulted the establishment’s world-class capabilities and offerings.

More than 1,200 entertainment industry insiders, educators, filmmakers and film pundits were among the anonymous experts polled for the sixth-annual edition of the ranking. The survey considered both graduate and undergraduate programs in its analysis, pitting large schools against small ones. The poll also incorporated a ranking of the top 50 US-based programs in 2021.

 

Cinema in the making in the center of Tel Aviv

Generator of Star Power

The ranking is the latest to recognize the internationally-acclaimed achievements of TAU’s film school, which Hollywood Reporter has listed multiple times among the top 15 international film facilities.

Founded in 1972, the Tisch School has fostered many local stars who have been instrumental in the celebrated evolution of Israeli cinema and TV, and in bringing local productions to the world stage. Films by TAU students are regularly screened at prestigious international festivals and have won numerous awards, while graduates include many of Israel’s most prominent filmmakers, scholars and critics.

TAU alumni Omri Shenhar and producer Alon Aranya together with Moshe Zonder, who studied at the Tisch School, co-created the hit series Tehran, which recently won the International Emmy Award for Best Drama. Additionally, Zonder and TAU alumni Avi Issacharoff and Michal Aviram teamed up to helm the acclaimed TV thriller Fauda. Other esteemed alumni filmmakers include Golden Globe winner and Oscar-nominated director Ari Folman (Waltz with Bashir, The Congress), Emmy and Golden Globe winner Hagai Levi (In Therapy, Scenes from a Marriage, The Affair), Emmy Award winner Maya Zinstein (Forever Pure), Emmy and Golden Globe winner Gideon Raff (Homeland, Prisoners of War, The Spy), Academy Award winner Dror Moreh (The Gatekeepers), Yaron Shani (Oscar-nominated Ajami), Tawfik Abu-Wael (Our Boys), Eitan Fox (Walk on the Water, Yossi & Jagger) and many more.

The School’s international status is also reflected in the number of renowned showbiz leaders who regularly visit and hold master classes on campus, among them the Coen Brothers, Roger Corman, Richard Gere, Liev Schreiber, Atom Egoyan, and Sarah Polley. Furthermore, the School hosted webinars with Hollywood legends Robert De Niro, Michael Douglas, and Martin Scorsese during the coronavirus pandemic.

 

With Scorsese in our living rooms. The webinar that upgraded our days of Covid-induced self-isolation.

Academic Hitmaker for Nearly 50 Years

Prof. Yaron Bloch, head of the Steve Tisch School of Film and Television, said: “I am delighted that the School, nearing its 50th anniversary, continues to evolve, lead and innovate while maintaining the highest levels of education.”

Noting the School’s unique edge and proximity to cutting-edge research across campus, he added, “Our students direct features films and are exposed to innovative research, encouraging them to combine cinema with disciplines like neuroscience, for example. Our students create artistic works through a variety of digital media platforms, and produce one of the most important student film festivals in the world (the Tel Aviv Student Film Festival), and direct documentary projects for major broadcasters.”

View The Wrap’s full ranking: https://www.thewrap.com/top-50-film-schools-2021-thewrap/ 

Featured: “Tehran” – the series that conquered the world. By TAU alumni Moshe Zonder, Alon Aranya and Omri Shenhar

TAU 8th in World for Entrepreneurship

Written by AUFTAU on . Posted in Alumni News, Newsroom.

Ranked first among universities outside the US that produce successful entrepreneurs.

For the fourth year in a row, Tel Aviv University graduates are at the top of global entrepreneurship: 912 TAU undergraduate alumni, who have founded 761 companies and raised $26.8 billion in venture capital, make Tel Aviv University 8th in the world and 1st outside the US among universities that produce successful entrepreneurs, according to financial data company PitchBook.

Proud of Our Alumni

“We are proud to be included, for the fourth year in a row, among the top ten of the Pitchbook index,” says Sigalit Ben Hayoun, head of the Tel Aviv University Alumni Organization. “The entrepreneurial spirit of Tel Aviv University graduates is recognized among the business community and entrepreneurs around the world, and again we are in 8th place in the capital raising category. This list includes the founding alumni of the leading companies: Pioneer, Monday, Iron Source and many more. We are very proud of our alumni.”

TAU also leads in PitchBook‘s world ranking of female entrepreneurs who have founded companies with venture capital backing, placing 20th for TAU’s female undergraduate alumni and ranking 14th for female graduates of the Coller School’s MBA program.

Coller School’s MBA Program 13th in World

In PitchBook‘s separate global ranking for MBA programs, TAU’s Coller School of Management ranked 13th of 25 in producing MBA graduates who have founded venture capital-backed companies. Harvard, Stanford, and Whaton MBAs placed at the top of this list, while the MBA programs at Yale, Oxford, Cornell, Duke and other leading institutions ranked after TAU’s Coller School.

Altogether, 351 alumni with MBAs from TAU have raised a total of $8.8 billion for founding 330 companies, with the highest investments registered in Wiliot, Fabric, BlueVine, Forter, Houzz and others.

Prof. Moshe Zviran, Dean of the Coller School of Management and Chief Entrepreneurship and Innovation Officer at TAU says, “We are proud of the high international positioning of Tel Aviv University and the Coller School of Management. Our place among the world’s leading institutions reflects the achievements of our alumni and their contribution to the establishment and accelerated growth of many companies. The extensive knowledge, insight and toolbox acquired by students in all our programs and specializations assist our alumni in their entrepreneurial activities, giving them significant added value in the global technological and business arena.”

Close Connection with Industry – Key to Success

One of the reasons for the success of TAU alumni in entrepreneurship is the close connection that Tel Aviv University has with industry in Israel and around the world. The University’s Entrepreneurship Center plays an important role in providing a variety of ways in which students can work on projects with industry, connect to the entrepreneurial ecosystem and sources of funding for start-ups.

“Not everyone can be an entrepreneur, but everyone can study entrepreneurship,” says Yair Sakov, founder and head of the Entrepreneurship Center. “Each year, more than 4,000 students participate in the activities of the Center. The very exposure of such large and diverse audiences to the field, encourages creativity, innovation and in many cases leads to the establishment of start-ups. The center teaches entrepreneurial thinking and makes entrepreneurship tools accessible to students in all faculties, both as part of academic courses and in workshops, incubators and accelerators.”

Featured image: TAU students studying in group (Photo: Rafael Ben-Menashe)

Climate Action: From Campus to Glasgow

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TAU researchers report on global summit.

As more than 130 heads of state and thousands of delegates converged in Glasgow for the two week-long United Nations global climate summit known as COP26 and Tel Aviv University researchers were there as well, taking part in the international conversation.

This year’s summit aimed to set new targets for cutting emissions from burning coal, oil and gas that are heating our planet, as scientists urge nations to make an immediate switch away from fossil fuels to avoid the most catastrophic impacts of climate change. TAU has placed climate change research and action among its top priorities and has launched the Center for Climate Change Action to drive innovative solutions to the climate crisis.

Inside the Climate Summit

TAU researchers attended the summit, exchanging knowledge and gathering observations to apply on campus and throughout Israel. They shared with us their perspectives on what comes next to ensure a cleaner, healthier and safer world for the future:

Prof. Colin Price, Head of the Center for Climate Change Action and the Department of Environmental Studies at TAU, attended COP26 as a member of Israel’s 120-person delegation. “Academia has a role in advising the government and addressing uncertainty,” said Price, who debriefed Israel’s Prime Minister Naftali Bennett on local and global climate matters in the weeks preceding COP26. “It is the role of scholars to provide neutral views based on science that policy-makers can use to swiftly guide decisions. Otherwise, they could be misinformed by people with less expertise.”

 

Israel’s Prime Minister Naftali Bennett addresses the plenary at COP26. (Photo: Colin Price)

Price added that the national security risks posed by climate change, as discussed at COP26, are an imminent concern for Israel and that academia can help address this challenge by providing objective data and analysis. “Climate-spurred humanitarian issues in neighboring countries are perhaps one of the biggest external threats to Israel,” he stressed. He mentioned droughts in Syria that led to mass migration, civil unrest and resource drainage during the country’s ongoing civil war, noting similar cases could cause further instability in the Middle East. For example, rising sea levels could expel millions along Egypt’s Nile River, leading to an overwhelming refugee crisis at Israel’s door.

He said the topics of discussion covered at COP26 were in line with the Center for Climate Change Action’s four main foci this year: regional cooperation on finding solutions, the financial sector’s role in addressing climate change, public behaviors that influence our environment, and the public health risks of the growing crisis. Price pointed toward a reported UAE-backed deal between Israel and Jordan for a solar energy and water exchange as a current example of how these forces are taking shape on the ground.

“COP26 was the beginning of the hard work ahead of us all,” he concluded.

 

Prof. Colin Price (right) and PhD student Tsur Mishal at the climate conference in Glasgow.  

Meital Peleg Mizrachi, a PhD student at TAU’s Department of Public Policy and social entrepreneur turned government advisor, attended COP26 on behalf of Israeli grassroots climate organizations “Change Direction” and “Life and Environment.” Locally recognized as a promising young leader in the field, her activism and research focus on sustainable fashion and environmental justice. She aims to raise awareness of the environmental and social ramifications of the fashion industry—the second-most polluting industry on the planet after oil—and to drive policies for greater ecological integrity in textile production and consumption.

“The unique encounter at COP26 of politicians, environmental activists, green entrepreneurs, researchers and so many different parties involved in global climate efforts allowed for new connections that otherwise would not have happened,” she reflected after the summit. “For the first time, I met with other sustainable fashion researchers from around the world. This was particularly beneficial as the field is rarely studied in Israel, and it is difficult to develop a professional network without such opportunities.”

 

TAU PhD student Metial Peleg Mizrahi at the climate conference. (Photo: Courtesy)

Tsur Mishal, a PhD candidate at the Department of Environmental Studies, was also at the convening in Glasgow. As part of a team from TAU’s Sagol Center for Neuroscience and the Porter School of the Environment and Earth Sciences, Mishal’s research contributes to virtual reality (VR) technology for climate change awareness.

“Meeting with climate media experts and leading scientists at the conference, I was happy to see interest in our VR model, which simulates the future climate in Tel Aviv,” he mused. “VR experiences can bring us closer to the lives of the people affected by the climate crisis today to create solidarity and empathy.” He explained that the technology further aims to bridge the psychological gaps people face in understanding the gap between the climate scenario today and its implications on the future, before it’s too late to reverse damages.

 

TAU PhD candidate Tsur Mishal tests virtual reality technology at COP26

During a special live broadcast on COP26 hosted from campus, Dr. Ram Fishman, a leading researcher on sustainable development in the Department of Public Policy underlined that, “Israeli climate innovation is key to these climate efforts, many of which are borne from ideas stemming from academia.” 

Tired of The Lies?

Written by AUFTAU on . Posted in Newsroom.

TAU researchers are catching ‘liars’ at an unprecedented accuracy of 73% by measuring facial muscles’ movements.

Don’t even think of bending the truth around our campus, or we may be on to you. In a new study, Tel Aviv University researchers were able to detect lies with an accuracy of 73% – based on the contraction of facial muscles of study participants. This is a higher rate of detection than any known method. The study identified two different groups of ‘liars’: those who activate their cheek muscles when they lie, and those who activate their eyebrows. The new technology can serve as a basis for the development of cameras and software able to detect deception in many real-life scenarios, such as security and crime.

How to Spot a Liar?

The study was conducted by a team of experts from Tel Aviv University headed by Prof. Yael Hanein of the Center of Nanoscience and Nanotechnology and School of Electrical Engineering, The Iby and Aladar Fleischman Faculty of Engineering, and Prof. Dino Levy from the Coller School of Management. The team included Dr. Anastasia Shuster, Dr. Lilach Inzelberg, Dr. Uri Ossmy and PhD candidate Liz Izakon. The paper was published in the leading journal Brain and Behavior.

The new study was founded upon a groundbreaking innovation from Prof. Hanein’s laboratory: stickers printed on soft surfaces containing electrodes that monitor and measure the activity of muscles and nerves. The technology, already commercialized by X-trodes Ltd., has many applications, such as monitoring sleep at home and early diagnosis of neurological diseases. This time the researchers chose to explore its effectiveness in a different arena – lie detection.

Prof. Levy explains: “Many studies have shown that it’s almost impossible for us to tell when someone is lying to us. Even experts, such as police interrogators, do only a little better than the rest of us. Existing lie detectors are so unreliable that their results are not admissible as evidence in courts of law – because just about anyone can learn how to control their pulse and deceive the machine. Consequently, there is a great need for a more accurate deception-identifying technology. Our study is based on the assumption that facial muscles contort when we lie, and that so far no electrodes have been sensitive enough to measure these contortions.”

Unprecedented Success Rate

The researchers attached the novel stickers with their special electrodes to two groups of facial muscles: the cheek muscles close to the lips, and the muscles over the eyebrows. Participants were asked to sit in pairs facing one another, with one wearing headphones through which the words ‘line’ or ‘tree’ were transmitted. When the wearer heard ‘line’ but said ‘tree’ or vice versa he was obviously lying, and his partner’s task was to try and detect the lie. Then the two subjects switched roles.

As expected, participants were unable to detect their partners’ lies with any statistical significance. However, the electrical signals delivered by the electrodes attached to their face identified the lies at an unprecedented success rate of 73%.

Are You a Brow Liar or a Cheek Liar?

Prof. Levy: “Since this was an initial study, the lie itself was very simple. Usually when we lie in real life, we tell a longer tale which includes both deceptive and truthful components. In our study we had the advantage of knowing what the participants heard through the headsets, and therefore also knowing when they were lying. Thus, using advanced machine learning techniques, we trained our program to identify lies based on EMG (electromyography) signals coming from the electrodes. Applying this method, we achieved an accuracy of 73% – not perfect, but much better than any existing technology. Another interesting discovery was that people lie through different facial muscles: some lie with their cheek muscles and others with their eyebrows.”

The results can have dramatic implications in many spheres of our lives. In the future, the electrodes may become redundant, with video software trained to identify lies based on the actual movements of facial muscles.

Prof. Levy predicts: “In the bank, in police interrogations, at the airport, or in online job interviews, high-resolution cameras trained to identify movements of facial muscles will be able to tell truthful statements from lies. Right now, our team’s task is to complete the experimental stage, train our algorithms and do away with the electrodes. Once the technology has been perfected, we expect it to have numerous, highly diverse applications.”

How Do Bats Get Street-Smart?

Written by AUFTAU on . Posted in Newsroom.

TAU researchers find that baby fruit bats acquire their boldness from their adoptive mothers.

Tel Aviv University researchers conducted the first ever “cross-adoption” behavioral study in bats, whereby pups of urban fruit bats were adopted by rural mothers and vice versa in order to learn whether the relative boldness of city bats is a genetic or acquired trait. Prof. Yovel: “We wanted to find out whether boldness is transferred genetically or learned somehow from the mother. Our findings suggest that this trait is passed on to pups by the mothers that nurse and raise them, even when they are not their biological mothers.” Thus, the bat species’ willingness to take risks is an acquired rather than hereditary trait, passed on in some way from mother to young pup

The study was led by TAU’s Prof. Yossi Yovel, Head of the Sagol School of Neuroscience, member of the School of Zoology at The George S. Wise Faculty of Life Sciences and The Steinhardt Museum of Natural History, and recipient this year of the Blavatnik Young Scientists Award in Israel and the Kadar Family Award for Outstanding Research at TAU. It was conducted by Dr. Lee Harten, Nesim Gonceer, Michal Handel and Orit Dash from Prof. Yovel’s laboratory, in collaboration with Prof. H. Bobby Fokidis from Rollins College in Florida. The paper was published in BMC Biology.

Rural Bats More Risk Adverse

Dr. Harten explains: “While most animals do not live in an urban environment, some species thrive in it. We are trying to understand how they do this. Fruit bats are an excellent example of a species that has adapted well to the human environment of the city. Bat colonies thrive in Tel Aviv and other cities, while other colonies still live in rural areas. Research has shown that city-adapted fruit-bats tend to be bolder and take more risks than those living in the wild. We wanted to examine, under laboratory conditions, whether this trait is genetic or acquired.

In a preliminary experiment the researchers placed food inside a box that required adult bats to land and enter in order to get the food. They found that urban bats solved the problem immediately, while rural bats hesitated and took several hours to learn the trick. Prof. Yovel: “Similar results were observed in past experiments with birds: birds living in the city take more risks than birds of the same species residing in rural areas. Our study was the first to test this issue in bats.”

Bat Boldness: Genetic or Acquired?

The next step was testing whether this boldness is a hereditary trait, or a quality acquired by experience. To this end, the researchers conducted the same experiment with young bat pups, still fed by their mothers, who had never searched for food independently. They found that the urban pups, just like their parents, are bolder and learn faster than their rural counterparts.

Prof. Yovel: “These findings first led us to think that boldness is hereditary – passed on genetically from the urban parents to their pups. However, we know that young pups are still exposed to their mothers after birth. We decided to check whether pups learn from their mothers or are influenced by them in some other way.”

To answer this question, the researchers introduced a cross-adoption method: pups born to urban mothers were raised by rural mothers, and vice versa. They note that this was the first experiment of this type ever conducted in bats, and also the first ‘nature vs. nurture’ study for boldness in urban animals.

Liquid Courage?

Dr. Harten: “We found that the pups behaved like their adoptive mothers, not like their biological mothers. This means that boldness is an acquired rather than hereditary trait, passed on in some way from mother to young pup. We hypothesize that the agent may be some substance in the mother’s milk.” In an additional experiment the researchers discovered that the urban mothers’ milk contains a higher level of the hormone cortisol than the milk of rural mothers. It has not yet been ascertained, however, that this is the agent for the inter-generational transfer of boldness.

Prof. Yovel concludes: “The urban environment presents animals with more challenges and a greater variety of situations. It is therefore plausible that bats and other animals living in the city require more boldness and higher learning skills. In our study we focused on bat pups, examining whether bold behavior is the result of genetics, environment, or some combination between the two. In light of our findings, we hypothesize that the trait is passed on to pups in early stages of development, through some component of their mothers’ milk.” Dr. Harten adds: “We believe that a better understanding of the needs and behaviors of urban animals can help us protect them and adapt urban development to their needs.” 

Featured image: “Baby bat with its adoptive mother (Photo: Yuval Barkai)”

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