Newsroom – Page 44 – Australian Friends of Tel Aviv University

TAU’s Tisch Film School Among Global Best

Written by AUFTAU on 30 November 2021. Posted in Newsroom.

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 30 November 2021. Posted in Alumni News, Newsroom.

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 8^th in the world and 1^st 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 20^th for TAU’s female undergraduate alumni and ranking 14^th 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 13^th 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

Written by AUFTAU on 27 November 2021. Posted in Newsroom.

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 24 November 2021. Posted in Newsroom.

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 24 November 2021. Posted in Newsroom.

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)”

TAU: First Israeli University to Launch Online MBA

Written by AUFTAU on 18 November 2021. Posted in Newsroom.

Would you like to study at a competitive international MBA program while traveling through Latin America or keeping a busy full-time job? Israel’s Council for Higher Education recently approved the Tel Aviv Online MBA program at the Coller School of Management at Tel Aviv University, marking the first time an Israeli university will offer this prestigious, in-demand format. The degree is freshly launched and requires no on-campus presence. Applications for the program’s first semester this spring are already accepted.

The Online MBA degree will be taught in English and target outstanding students from all over the globe who wish to enhance their education and professionalism in business management within the entrepreneurial context – a field in which the Coller School is a world leader (ranked 13th in the world by PitchBook in the category of producing entrepreneurs!). The program offers two specializations—one in technology & information management, another in marketing management, both with a focus on entrepreneurship.

A Global Arena for Israeli Academia

The Coller Online MBA is an important step in promoting online learning and enhancing the competitive standing of Israeli academia worldwide. “The program will make Israel’s academic knowledge accessible to the world. The Coller School’s strong international reputation enables us to compete globally with the world’s best business schools and will attract the finest foreign management talents to be trained here. In addition, we believe that the past year and a half, during which we all had to learn how to work remotely, will increase the demand for this form of teaching,” the Coller School of Management said in a statement.

All the residential MBA programs at the Coller School of Management are accredited by the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB), placing it among the top 9% of business schools worldwide. The Coller School is the first business school in Israel to be awarded Eduniversal’s 5 Palmes of Excellence, a prestigious ranking.

“We are very pleased that the program has been approved. It is a product of a strategic move that began two years ago, in which we gave a great deal of thought and effort to formulate the right ways for teaching our innovative content, while maintaining the high academic standards of the School’s existing programs,” said Prof. Dan Amiram, Vice Dean of the Coller School of Management.

“Via this program we wish to expand our global activities, adapting ourselves to the changing world and the dynamic, fast-developing job market. We identify a similar trend in the world’s leading universities, and aim to bring the quality and the knowledge of our outstanding researchers to the forefront of the international stage,” he said.

What’s the Deal?

The Online MBA is a two-year program, and students will be required to meet the Coller School’s high academic standards. Students will have the flexibility to study from anywhere in the world and earn their MBA while maintaining their current work schedule.

Students will be taught via high-quality digital courses produced according to top global standards, and developed using best practices in learning design and through strong collaboration between faculty lecturers, experts in modern technology and instructional designers. The learning experience will be interactive in nature, and includes video lectures, presentations, animations, discussion boards and other online elements. Lecturers will be available for questions and will hold synchronous lessons to monitor students’ progress and the learning process.

Those who are interested in getting to know Israel closely, will have the opportunity to join an optional 1.5-week campus residency, to experience the dynamic start-up nation and gain firsthand knowledge of the Israeli entrepreneurial ecosystem.

Apply for the Tel Aviv Online MBA here >>

Hitting Rock Bottom?

Written by AUFTAU on 14 November 2021. Posted in Newsroom.

As has been heavily discussed at the recent the UN Climate Change Conference (COP26) in Glasgow, our entire planet has been warming in recent decades. This process has been particularly marked in the Mediterranean Sea, where the average water temperature rises by one degree every thirty years, and the rate is only accelerating. One of the urgent questions that must be asked is how, if at all, the various species living in the Mediterranean will adapt to this sudden warming.

In recent years, evidence has accumulated that some species have deepened their habitats in order to adapt to global warming, while other studies have found that species are limited in their ability to deepen into cooler water. A new TAU study shows that there are species of marine animals such as fish, crustaceans and mollusks (for example squid) that change their habitats and deepen an average of 55 meters across the climatic gradient of the Mediterranean (spanning a range of 6⁰ C) to live in cooler waters.

The Mediterranean – An Ideal Test Case

“It should be remembered that the Mediterranean was hot in the first place, and now we are reaching the limit of many species’ capacity,” explains Prof. Jonathan Belmaker from the School of Zoology in The George S. Wise Faculty of Life Sciences. “Moreover, the temperature range in the Mediterranean is extreme – cold in the northwest and very hot in the southeast. Both of these factors make the Mediterranean an ideal test case for species’ adaptation to global warming.”

The groundbreaking study was led by PhD student Shahar Chaikin under the supervision of Prof. Jonathan Belmaker, and along with researchers Shahar Dubiner, all from the School of Zoology in The George S. Wise Faculty of Life Sciences and The Steinhardt Museum of Natural History at Tel Aviv University. The results of the study were published in the journal Global Ecology and Biogeography, and have far-reaching implications for both fishing and future marine nature reserves.

Life at the Bottom

Cause for Preparation

The results of the study have many implications for the future, in the Mediterranean and in general, given that the response of each species to rising temperatures can be predicted according to its traits, such as temperature preference. This, for the first time, offers researchers the opportunity to forecast changes in the composition of the marine community, as well as for the public the opportunity to prepare for these changes accordingly.

“Our research clearly shows that species do respond to climate change by changing their depth distribution,” Chaikin concludes, “and when we think about the future, decision-makers will have to prepare in advance for the deepening of species. For example, future marine nature reserves will need to be defined so that they can also provide shelter to species that have migrated to greater depths. And on the other hand, fishing in the future will involve fishing the same fish at greater depths, which means sailing further into the sea and burning more fuel.”

So, How Deep is Our Love?

In the framework of the study, the Tel Aviv University researchers conducted a meta-analysis of data on the depth distribution of 236 marine species collected in previous bottom-trawl surveys. The data collected revealed for the first time that species deepen their minimum depth limits in parallel with warming seawater temperatures, from the west to the east Mediterranean, and on average deepen 55 meters across the Mediterranean (a range of 6⁰ C).

However, the pattern of deepening is not uniform between species: cold-water species were found to deepen significantly more than warm-water species, species that live along a narrow depth range deepen less than species that live along a wide depth gradient, and species that can function within in a wider temperature range deepen more than those who can function only within a narrow temperature range.

“Various studies collect fishing data from trawling – that is, a boat that drags a net along the seabed and collects various species – and these studies often also measure the depth at which the species were caught in the net,” says Shahar Chaikin. “We cross-referenced these data with water temperature data, and by analyzing 236 different species we came to a broad and compelling conclusion: there has been a deepening of the depth limits of species’ habitats. The minimum depths for species in the Mediterranean are getting deeper, while the maximum depths remain stable. The deepening effect was found to be more significant among cold-water species. In contrast, there are species that function within a narrow temperature range and at a certain depth that deepen much less, probably because they cannot survive in deeper water.”

“Even if species deepen to escape the warm waters and this rapid adaptation helps them, there is still a limit – and that limit is the seabed,” adds Prof. Belmaker. “We are already seeing deep-sea fish like cod whose numbers are declining, probably because they had nowhere deeper to go.”

Feeling at Home in Tanzania

Written by AUFTAU on 13 November 2021. Posted in Newsroom.

Six TAU students who volunteer with Engineers Without Borders tell us about their project in Tanzania, where they are working to provide clean drinking water for local communities.

TAU students Yaeli Benovich, Shir Halevi, Sharon Berkovich, Dvir Ginzburg, Offir Inbar and Shir Aviram volunteer with the Engineers Without Borders – Tel Aviv (EWB-TA) chapter, and recently returned to Israel after a three-week delegation to Tanzania. The EWB team has been working for eight years at the Babati district in northern Tanzania, helping the locals develop sustainable solutions for making drinking water accessible to the local communities.

The students have installed unique low-cost rainwater harvesting systems in eight regional schools. The systems purify and conserve rain water during dry seasons and provide drinking water for thousands of students annually. During the recent trip, the group returned to two elementary schools and one high school to do maintenance and upgrades on existing systems. They also met with local authorities to discuss further development and expansion plans.

– How did this specific project within the EWB organization come into existence?

“The Tanzania project started after an Israeli traveler was exposed to the medical problems and daily difficulties facing children and residents in the villages. In the Northern part of Tanzania, drinking water is scarce, and, when found, contains an extremely high concentration of fluoride. High fluoride concentration in drinking water causes severe medical issues, especially in children, such as skeletal deformities, dental problems, and more,” explains Dvir, a PhD student from Tel Aviv University’s Faculty of Egineering and a long-time program volunteer.

– What solution(s) did you come up with?

“We developed a unique low-tech rainwater harvesting system that can be easily installed and implemented in regional schools, providing clean drinking water for more than 3,000 children. The solution is simple and sustainable. With proper use, the school’s roof can store enough water to meet the needs of the children and staff throughout the dry season. Filters and chlorine tablets ensure that the children drink clean water,” shares Dvir.

The EWB team also partnered with the local Arusha Technical College engineering department to perform quarterly water quality testing and maintenance of the systems. During the last visit, the team returned to the College to discuss current collaborations, the College’s projects and further cooperation and directions for joint research.

In addition to developing the water purification systems, EWB students put a lot of effort into educating schoolchildren about the importance of consuming clean water. “We come to the schools and build the systems together with teachers and students. Our vision is that the principal and staff will be responsible for maintaining the system. For this purpose, we have written a system manual in English and Swahili and performed technical training for the staff,” says Sharon, a BSc student of TAU’s Faculty of Exact Sciences and Faculty of Engineering.

The team builds the water systems together with the schools’ staff and students

The group also presented the schoolchildren with a colorful book that explains the importance of clean water and shows how to maintain the installed water systems. The students wrote the book themselves and had it translated into Swahili. At each school they visited, the team presented the teachers with the book, and organized an educational activity with the children, reading together and discussing the importance of clean drinking water in the tanks.

The team teaches local students about the importance of drinking clean water

What’s Next?

The team held dozens of meetings with village leaders, district heads, local water authorities and members of the parliament. “We want to cooperate with the water authorities to reach the areas with the most significant water challenges. The water engineers have told us which areas lack large water projects. We hope that we’ll have the resources and that’s where we’ll be heading next,” says Sharon.

“We’re determined to expand our activity, and are already preparing our next journey. Our recent trip to Tanzania highlighted the great impact that our projects have for the locals. In our upcoming delegation, we’ll upgrade the water systems in selected areas and execute additional projects in other areas where people are suffering from a lack of access to clean water,” concludes Dvir.

The students have warm feelings about the country and its people: “We feel at home in Tanzania. Over the past few years, we have built close friendships with the community. We stay in touch via phone calls and messages, even when we’re back in Israel,” says Sharon with a smile.

Meeting with the directors of the water authorities

Companies and people interested in contributing and partnering with the project are invited to contact the team: [email protected]

Website: www.ewbta.com

LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/afria-engineers-without-borders-tel-aviv

Featured image: Dr. Musa Chacha, Rector of Arusha Technical College, visits the water projects

TAU Initiates Model for Carbon Neutrality

Written by AUFTAU on 12 November 2021. Posted in Newsroom.

Against the backdrop of the UN Climate Change Conference (COP26) in Glasgow, and following a comprehensive series of tests, TAU prepares to formulate a strategic plan for significantly reducing greenhouse gas emissions generated by its activities and promoting more efficient use of resources and renewable energy. The university places great importance on reducing its environmental footprint by using sustainable energy, recycling water and materials, reducing use of paper, introducing green purchasing procedures and other activities designed to reduce the campus’ carbon footprint, and eventually attain carbon neutrality.

Inspecting Footprints

To this end, a team of academic and administrative experts appointed by TAU’s Green Campus Committee headed by TAU President Prof. Ariel Porat, launched a comprehensive inspection to assess the overall carbon footprint (in terms of CO₂ equivalent) and water footprint of all TAU activities both on and off campus. The analysis, which began approximately a year ago, included assessment of the following:

energy consumption from various sources on campus
water consumption
transportation to and on campus
construction inputs
pruning and gardening
waste production and food consumption
serving utensils and packaging at cafes and kiosks on campus, and more

The team will soon complete their mission and submit their findings to the Green Campus Committee and TAU’s senior management. Based on their report, TAU will formulate a strategic plan for reducing greenhouse gas emissions on campus and reaching carbon neutrality.

“It Can Be Done, And We Will Do It”

TAU President Prof. Ariel Porat: “As a leading academic research and teaching institution in the fields of ecology and environmental science, committed to addressing the climate crisis, TAU established an ‘initiative for carbon neutrality’ about a year ago – the first of its kind at an Israeli university. Currently we are completing the initial inspection, and its findings will serve as a foundation for a strategic plan that will significantly reduce the campus’ carbon footprint, and eventually bring us as close as possible to carbon neutrality. As a leading public university, it is our duty to lead the efforts for addressing the climate crisis on and beyond our campus. We hope that other institutions will join us. Time is running out and we must act immediately.”

“It is our duty to lead the efforts for addressing the climate crisis on and beyond our campus,” says TAU President Prof. Ariel Porat.

Prof. Marcelo Sternberg of the School of Plant Sciences and Food Security at The George S. Wise Faculty of Life Sciences, co-leader of TAU’s carbon neutrality initiative, added: “I am proud to be part of the team leading an historical move toward reducing TAU’s carbon footprint and turning it into a sustainable institution. The current climate crisis leaves no room for inaction. As a teaching and research institution, we can show the government and society the way to reducing the environmental footprint and ensuring a better world for future generations. It can be done, and we will do it.

Lior Hazan, Chair of TAU’s Student Union, added: “The climate crisis is spreading and intensifying, causing great concern. It is no longer something occurring far away, it is happening right here and now. We, the young people, have the power to change and work for a better future, in face of the gravest crisis of the 21^st century, and academia is an excellent place to begin. Students must become leading ambassadors of this cause, since they are the future of society, industry, and leadership, and to this end, we must change and introduce change for the benefit of our planet. The Student Union takes an active part in TAU’s plan to attain carbon neutrality and continues to work for the rapid reduction of environmental damage.”

Ofer Lugassi, Vice President for Construction & Maintenance at TAU emphasized that the mapping of the university’s carbon and water footprints was carried out by a specialized external company, which made a great effort to include all activities on campus.

Featured image: Students enjoying a moment on the increasingly greener TAU campus (Photo: Rafael Ben-Menashe)

Revisiting the Tel Aviv Zoo

Written by AUFTAU on 12 November 2021. Posted in Magazine, Newsroom.

Two TAU students developed an app that recreates the mythological zoo in the heart of the city.

For many years, there was a zoo right in the center of Tel Aviv. Residents of nearby streets used to wake up to roars of tigers and monkeys’ chatter. In 1980, the zoo and its residents were relocated to a large complex in neighboring Ramat Gan, but seasoned Tel Avivians still think of it fondly. Maya Shekel and Yuval Kela, two talented students in the digital media track at The Steve Tisch School of Film and Television, wanted to see it with their own eyes, and developed the TAZOO app that enables this.

Throughout the four years of their studies, they designed and created the unique widget, based on stories and memories of the local community. The animals were created by help of augmented reality technology, and in order to experience the project in full, all you need to do is to download the app on your phone, make your way to Tel Aviv’s City Garden and look for the orange signs that are scattered in the garden.

This new attraction, which will soon be launched in a festive ceremony, has already warmed the hearts of several Tel Aviv residents who inspired the creation of the project and the stories, as well as Tel Aviv Mayor, Mr. Ron Huldai, who still recalls the exact wording on the garden signs.

The Next-door Neighbor

What brings two students, both born long after the zoo was closed, to recreate Tel Aviv’s animalistic past? “I’ve been living on Tel Aviv’s Hadassah Street all my life, right opposite where the zoo used to be,” says Maya Shekel. “Whenever people hear where I live, they ask me, ‘Did you know that there used to be a zoo there?’,” Therefore, after hearing the recurring questions for years, she decided to investigate the subject further together with Yuval Kela, who is also her life partner.

“After some online research, we discovered amazing photos of elephants and lions in the middle of Tel Aviv. We realized that the place used to be a cultural center for the residents of the city. We decided to start a Facebook group which we called ‘Tel Aviv Zoo Community’. Gradually, people would join the group and share photos, memories and stories about the zoo. This way, we got confirmation that there was a nostalgic need to revive the lost zoo, and to share its story with those who visit the place today, unaware of its history.”

“An elephant is about to join us,” Maya Shekel demonstrates to Tel Aviv Mayor Ron Huldai how the TAZOO app works

Reviving Animals in Augmented Reality

Unlike many apps that allow you to sit in your living room and feel like you’re somewhere else, Maya and Yuval chose to encourage their users to venture to the real site where the zoo was once located. “It was important for us to create an experience where people actually had to physically experience the sights and the feelings, while reviving the lost place,” explains Yuval.

Their main challenge was to adapt the app for two different target audiences: the older residents, who wish to reminisce, and to the younger target audience (such as the elderly residents’ children and grandchildren). “We overcame this hurdle by adding layers to the app, like short films about the zoo staff and additional information where you can choose to delve deeper and read more about each station. We also added some games that are more suitable for children,” he adds.

For big and for small. The virtual zoo in the Hadassah Garden

Storytelling and Technology

During their studies, Maya and Yuval learned the importance of storytelling on platforms of this type. They made sure to study the technology thoroughly to get a good grasp of both its advantages and limitations.

Throughout their work on the app, more and more ideas for future projects were born. “We’re constantly thinking of how we can take the idea and expand on it to include more destinations in the city, in Israel and in the world. There’s no shortage on ‘lost’ places that have left memories and history that can be revived by help of technology, allowing for people to experience and learn about them,” says Maya.

“The technology is constantly evolving. We hope to continue to create significant impact by combining storytelling and innovative technology. Our dream is to constantly create mainly projects that are accessible to the general public,” she concludes. On the question of which animal she would not want us to miss on the TAZOO app, she says “We would not want you to miss out on our hippos, Paula and Jacob! They jump into the water and really blend in with the physical space.”

Paula and Jacob with friends

The project was supported by the Tel Aviv-Yafo Municipality, which cooperated and placed the signs throughout the park, as well as The New Fund for Cinema and TV, which supported and assisted with funding.

Download the app on iOS- https://apps.apple.com/ch/app/tazoo/id1548925102

Download the app on Android- https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.tazoo.tazoo

*Maya and Yuval hope to create an English version of the app in the very near future, as part of the existing one.

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