Technion Trailblazers: Philanthropy & Israel’s Academic Future

During my time with the American Technion Society (ATS), I have always been blown away by how we have cultivated a united community from different areas of the country to support the Technion – Israel Institute of Technology and the State of Israel. As a testament of that commitment, we are excited to announce the incredible milestone of having raised more than $1 billion over the last decade. Regardless of our backgrounds, each and every member has made a distinct impact on the future of the Technion, thereby ensuring the future of Israel itself.

Philanthropy is an essential tool, not only for the Technion, but also for the resiliency and longevity of the Jewish community around the world and the State of Israel. For anyone who wishes to see a strong, safe, and adaptable Israel, philanthropic support for academia is an incredibly effective way to secure this future. Philanthropy does not merely provide ancillary support to the Technion. It has a tangible and direct impact on the lives of students, faculty, and staff that allows the university to stand apart as a global leader in scientific research and innovation.

To celebrate this milestone and uncover the impact of the last decade of support from our community in creating a better world, I spoke with Professor Lihi Zelnik-Manor, Technion Executive Vice President for Innovation and Industry Relations.

Michael: The Technion has always been a leader in Israel, but it has made incredible strides in the last decade to differentiate itself as a global trailblazer. Keeping the university competitive against its peers everywhere is essential for supporting the future of Israel, but requires significant investment in facilities, programs, and other benefits for students and faculty.

Lihi: Absolutely, and the ultimate key to success is the people who make up our amazing community. Our world-class faculty are the foundation to building the Technion’s excellence, and philanthropy is a major component of attracting pioneering faculty members. Like every university, endowed chairs and professorships are very compelling for new potential faculty, but for the Technion especially, foundational research funding certainly attracts faculty who have the choice between the Technion and a university elsewhere in the world.

Salaries are regulated in Israel for university faculty, so if we can close the gap in other forms of support like funding to launch ambitious research projects with brilliant research teams, the Technion stands out among peer institutions. Coupled with our location within the “Start-Up Nation,” the collective national culture of innovation and progress makes an ideal environment for faculty who are hoping to establish themselves as leaders in their fields and as entrepreneurs.

Michael: I know the Technion’s primary identity is as an educational institution, but hearing about all the start-ups that spin out of the university from faculty helps bring into view the real-world impact of state-of-the-art labs, facilities, and other resources. H2OLL, a start-up bringing safe drinking water to drought-stricken areas, uses technology crafted by Professors David Broday and Eran Friedler; and Aleph Farms is at the forefront of the cultivated meat revolution based on technology developed by Professor Shulamit Levenberg.

Lihi: One of the greatest joys in my position is empowering these faculty and students alike to take their ideas from the lab and scale them into full-fledged businesses. The Technion’s advantages for faculty, however, go beyond investing in outside-of-the-box innovation. We also work to connect Technion researchers and students to industry partnerships in the area, like Google and Intel, who have chosen Haifa as a hub for their work precisely because of the resources and talent at the Technion. Likewise, many students and faculty find the Technion attractive because of its direct relationship with tech giants.

There are many factors behind the scenes that play a role in launching these start-ups and industry partnerships well before they file a patent or recruit angel investors. Keeping the university infrastructure and research facilities one step ahead of the curve to ensure that we’re meeting the demands of the future is essential not only for attracting and retaining key faculty – but for the greater global good. It ensures that the Technion will have a hand in shaping the future.

Michael: It’s so exciting to see the projects that are currently in progress on campus. I know that the Technion Resnick Sustainability Center for Catalysis will be essential for transforming global production processes. It also happens to serve as a great example of the power and necessity of philanthropy in enabling the Technion to be a leader in a greener future.

Lihi: We also have a new High Performance Computing Center currently under construction on campus that was made possible by the generous philanthropic support of the Rosman family. The Center will serve as a hub of supercomputing for faculty and students across departments and will have profound impact on the Technion’s ability to support greater efforts in Israel, from refining the best security technology at a time when it’s needed most to simulating chemical and biological systems for drug discovery and development.

Michael: Collaboration has always been a core tenet of the Technion, but in the last decade especially, I’ve noticed a greater shift toward interdisciplinary partnership as the campus establishes these new research centers. Why has the Technion decided to invest so heavily in this collaboration?

Lihi: We’ve always viewed collaboration as an essential component to progress. We’re better when we come together rather than keeping our hypotheses and discoveries to ourselves. With every new investment in the university, we want to ensure that almost everyone on campus, regardless of discipline, can take advantage of the resources. At Professor Shai Shen-Orr’s iTechAge, for example, researchers developing AI models to predict healthcare outcomes and faculty crafting tailored nutritional solutions for aging populations can work under the same roof despite their seemingly separate specialties in data science and medicine. This commitment to cross-disciplinary research sits at the Technion’s core.

Aside from the obvious scientific advantage to working together, it is an essential tactic to maintaining the Technion’s status as a competitive institution within Israel and globally. If we’re able to establish a research center or institute with a very specific niche, we become a go-to university for researchers in those fields. These donor-supported centers are a vital way for us to do just that.

Michael: I see a snowball effect that comes with investing in state-of-the-art facilities and research centers, starting with attracting and retaining excellent faculty. They then attract and retain the brightest students, who go on to make breakthrough discoveries or build start-ups that have a profound impact on the Israeli economy and global progress.

Lihi: Keeping the Technion competitive goes beyond attracting the best talent to develop the best technology. It has a real impact on the longevity of Israel as a whole and the broader brain drain challenge. We know that we have the talent to go toe-to-toe with any country in the world, and philanthropy helps us retain top-tier students and faculty in Israel.

It is also worth noting that the support from ATS and other Technion societies around the world has been instrumental in ensuring we are keeping our community safe right now. In the immediate aftermath of October 7^th, the outpouring of support allowed us to extend housing, tuition support, basic supplies, and food assistance to victims’ families and families fleeing the north of Israel. In the months since, we’ve been doing everything we can to ensure our student reservists stay on track in school through virtual options, afford their accommodation, and feel safe knowing the Technion’s security protocol is ironclad.

Michael: The conflict has certainly underscored the importance of academia – and the Technion in particular – in supporting the past, present, and future of Israel. From constantly innovating the most modern security and defense technology, to tackling climate challenges, eradicating diseases, forging the AI future, and more, the Technion’s impact goes beyond the classroom and is made possible by support from its inspiring community around the world. We are looking forward to supporting decades of discovery to come.