View source for History of the Technion – Israel Institute of Technology

[[File:Haifa, Construction of the Technion ,1912.jpg|thumb|Construction of the [[Technion]], 1912]]

The [[Technion – Israel Institute of Technology]] is a leading technical university in [[Haifa]], [[Israel]], with a history dating back to the early 20th century.

==Overview==
[[File:Technion logo.svg|120px|thumb|The historic Technion logo]]
[[File:Seattle Daily Times - big press - 1900.jpg|thumb|New means of communication with big printing presses opened new possibilities for early Zionists.]]

The extent to which technology determines history and the creation and destiny of nations is a question of historical scholarship,<ref>{{cite web|url=https://obamawhitehouse.archives.gov/the_press_office/Remarks-by-the-President-at-the-National-Academy-of-Sciences-Annual-Meeting |title=Remarks by the President at the National Academy of Sciences Annual Meeting |date=2009-04-27 |via=[[NARA|National Archives]] |work=[[whitehouse.gov]] |access-date=2015-11-11}}</ref> with the [[Technion – Israel Institute of Technology]] cited as a striking example. Initiated with the help of increasing Jewish unity made possible by the new communication technologies of the [[Second Industrial Revolution]],<ref>He who first shortened the labor of copyists by device of movable types was disbanding hired armies, and cashiering most kings and senates, and creating a whole new democratic world: he had invented the art of printing. (Thomas Carlyle, Sartor Resartus, 1833)</ref> the Technion was born 36 years before Israel declared [[Israel Independence Day|independence]]. In that time it educated the engineers and brought the expertise to literally lay the infrastructure for a modern state.<ref name="pard.technion.ac.il">{{cite web|url=http://pard.technion.ac.il/history/History.html |title=Milestones|access-date=September 24, 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090131085605/http://pard.technion.ac.il/history/History.html |archive-date=January 31, 2009 }}</ref> This included the fundamental infrastructure of electricity, water supplies and roads.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.euraxess.gov.il/UI/Services-Centres/Technion.aspx |title=EURAXESS ISRAEL: Technion |publisher=Euraxess.gov.il |access-date=2015-11-11 |archive-date=2012-04-12 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120412004351/http://www.euraxess.gov.il/UI/Services-Centres/Technion.aspx |url-status=dead }}</ref>

Throughout the century – since the laying of the first cornerstone in 1912 – Technion has had a historic task in anticipating future needs in order to ensure the survival and growth of the [[State of Israel]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://cnpublications.net/2011/06/30/israel-leads-in-high-tech-2/ |title=Israel leads in high-tech &#124; Reporting on the Middle East, Science, and Education |publisher=Cnpublications.net |date=2011-06-30 |access-date=2015-11-11}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/biz/archives/2011/06/30/2003507015 |title=Israel becoming new standard for high-tech |publisher=Taipei Times |date=2015-11-04 |access-date=2015-11-11}}</ref> According to a leading British journalist, the Technion story is exemplary for other groups caught in the seemingly impossible task of creating an independent nation: "For more than two decades before the state was created, Technion (Israel Institute of Technology) helped to lay the foundations of the modern state of Israel. The identity of the country as a player in the field of science and technology can be traced to the vision of Technion."<ref>{{cite news| url=https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/poverty-matters/2011/jul/05/juba-university-lessons-for-southern-sudan | location=London | work=The Guardian | first=Calestous | last=Juma | title=Southern Sudan has many lessons to learn from Juba University | date=July 5, 2011}}</ref>

Technion would grow rapidly, becoming a global pioneer in biotechnology,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.darkdaily.com/researchers-want-to-introduce-breath-analysis-into-clinical-pathology-laboratory-testing-90911 |title=Researchers Want to Introduce Breath Analysis into Clinical Pathology Laboratory Testing |publisher=Dark Daily |date=2011-09-09 |access-date=2015-11-11}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.haaretz.com/print-edition/news/israeli-scientist-leads-breakthrough-stem-cell-research-on-endangered-species-1.382754 |title=Israeli Scientist Leads Breakthrough Stem Cell Research on Endangered Species - Israel News - Haaretz Israeli News Source |publisher=Haaretz.com |date=2011-09-06 |access-date=2015-11-11}}</ref> satellite research,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ats.org/site/News2?page=NewsArticle&id=6961&security=1141&news_iv_ctrl=1261|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111028100231/http://www.ats.org/site/News2?page=NewsArticle&id=6961&security=1141&news_iv_ctrl=1261|archive-date=2011-10-28|title=American Society for Technion-Israel Institute of Technology: $2.16 Million for Technion Satellite Research|date=28 October 2011}}</ref> computer science,<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.cs.technion.ac.il/news/2011/462/ |title=Technion CS Ranked 15th Worldwide for the Second Time Sequentially &#124; News &#124; Computer Science Department, Technion |publisher=Cs.technion.ac.il |date=2011-08-18 |access-date=2015-11-11}}</ref> [[Russell Berrie Nanotechnology Institute|nanotechnology]] and [[Grand Technion Energy Program|energy]]. In 2004, Technion professors won Israel's first [[Nobel Prizes]] in science. In 2011, [[Dan Shechtman|Distinguished Prof. Dan Shechtman]] became Technion's third Nobel Laureate in Chemistry, for his discovery of quasicrystals, or [[Shechtmanite]]. As it celebrates its cornerstone centennial in 2012, Technion City is a thriving world center of research and teaching, with 12,850 students and 80 graduate programs.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ats.org/site/PageServer?pagename=news_presskit |title=Technion Press Kit|access-date=September 24, 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111009071745/http://www.ats.org/site/PageServer?pagename=news_presskit |archive-date=October 9, 2011 }}</ref> In 2011, Technion partnered with [[Cornell University]] to submit a winning proposal to [[New York City]] to set up the Technion Cornell Institute of Innovation (TCII) on [[Roosevelt Island]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.businessweek.com/news/2011-12-20/cornell-and-technion-chosen-by-nyc-for-engineering-campus.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120108044010/http://www.businessweek.com/news/2011-12-20/cornell-and-technion-chosen-by-nyc-for-engineering-campus.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=January 8, 2012 |title=Bloomberg Business |publisher=Businessweek.com |date=2015-11-05 |access-date=2015-11-11}}</ref>

===First plans===
From the outset, The [[Zionist]] movement had a vision of the creation of a [[Jewish]] University in the historic land of Israel.<ref>Alsberg, Avraham P. "The Hebrew Technical College," Zion (January–February 1950)</ref> Jews were often barred from technical or scientific training,<ref>[[Carl Alpert]]: Technion: the story of Israel's Institute of Technology. {{ISBN|0-87203-102-0}}: p2.</ref> and without these skills and a grounded education in engineering, the Zionist vision of creating a nation would remain just a dream.

In 1902, [[Theodor Herzl]] envisioned [[Haifa]] as "a great park....with an overhead electrical train.... a city of magnificent homes and public institutions all made possible by applied science, engineering and technology." ([[Altneuland]]) Herzl infused political Zionism with a new and practical urgency. By the [[Zionist Congress|fifth Zionist congress]] in 1901, the pressure was on to found a number of cultural institutions and a resolution was adopted for a "fundamental survey of the question of founding a Jewish university."<ref name="autogenerated1902">Buber Martin, Berthold Feiwel and Chaim Weizmann: Bet Sefer Gavoa Yehudi: Geneva-Lausanne, 1902.</ref>

A group of three young men in their twenties: [[Martin Buber]] of Vienna, student of philosophy and Zionist; Berthold Feiwel of Berlin – political writer and editor and [[Chaim Weizmann]] – formed a caucus emphasizing the need for a Jewish university with a first objective of education in technology. They produced a document<ref name="autogenerated1902"/> pointing out the difficulties of Jewish youth who sought admission to universities where they lived. The lack of opportunities for technical studies, they wrote, was much more serious for Jewish students than in other studies. The problem was "eminiently economic and social". It meant that in Russia, the Jews were practically excluded from technical professions with the result that they were pushed into commercial occupations.

The plan was to set up a preparatory Technikum, in part to train students for the university and in part to serve as an independent institution for the training of young people in technical, agricultural and similar professions. Graduates would be the basis for establishing and maintaining a Jewish industry.<ref>Zeev Sadmon: ''Die Gründung des Technions in Haifa im Lichte deutscher Politik, 1907–1920''. Saur, München 1994, {{ISBN|3-598-23222-5}}, p. 63–66.</ref>

In 1903, 60,000 Jews of [[Palestine (region)|Palestine]] had just held elections for the first national democratic assembly, the grandfather of the present [[Knesset]] (Israel's parliament). It was called the Knessiah Rishonah (1st assembly). This gathering was special as a first grass-roots attempt to set up the structures of Jewish self-government. Zionist leader [[Menahem Ussishkin|Dr. Menahem Ussishkin]] used the occasion to deliver a keynote address in which he expressed the urgency for an institution of higher education in Palestine. The convention supported a resolution for the establishment of a polytechnical institute in Palestine and the Technion – Israel Institute of Technology (at least on paper) was born.<ref name=Alpert>{{cite book |last= Alpert |first= Carl |title= Technion: The Story of Israel's Institute of Technology |publisher= American Technion Society |year= 1982 |isbn= 0-87203-102-0 |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=-XZRAAAAMAAJ |access-date=11 November 2020}}</ref>

Paul Nathan of the Hilfsverein der deutschen Juden ("Relief Organization of German Jews"), played a central role in bringing together diverse Jewish groups under the Technikum umbrella, and in raising resources.<ref>Carl Alpert: Technion: the story of Israel's Institute of Technology. {{ISBN|0-87203-102-0}}. p7</ref>

===First funds===
[[File:JacobSchiff.jpg|thumb|upright|left|Founder [[Jacob Schiff]] was determined to ensure that the [[Technion]] would maintain its independence]]
The Russian tea merchant [[Wissotzky Tea|Kalonymous Zeev Wissotzky]] left all his holdings in the family business, approximately 1 million rubles, to philanthropic causes.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.haaretz.com/jewish/this-day-in-jewish-history/.premium-1.729532|title=This Day In Jewish History 1824: A Man Whose Name Makes Israelis Think of 'Tea' Is Born|first=David B.|last=Green|date=8 July 2016|newspaper=Haaretz}}</ref> Among the executors was [[Ahad Ha-Am]],<ref>Ahad Ha-Am. Essays, Letters, Memoirs. Translated from Hebrew. Ed. [[Leon Simon (Zionist)|Leon Simon]]. Oxford, 1946.</ref> the distinguished Zionist philosopher. Ahad Ha-Am was able to recruit Wissotsky's son David to the Technikum plan, and a first contribution of 100,000 rubles was made.

In 1908, the American philanthropist [[Jacob Schiff]] was visiting the "holy land".<ref>Adler, Cyrus. Jacob H. Schiff: His Life and Letters.Vol. II. New York, 1929.</ref> Schiff was affected by the poverty and destitution he found among many of the Jews of Palestine and was inspired by the idea of an institution that would provide technical training.

Back in Europe, interest in the new Technikum was kept high. In 1909 Dr. Chaim Weizmann, who would later become [[President of the State of Israel]], reported to a Zionist conference in Manchester that things were going well with the "National Polytecnikum".<ref>Carl Alpert: Technion: the story of Israel's Institute of Technology. {{ISBN|0-87203-102-0}} Chapter 2.</ref> Wealthy Jews from many lands were already promising generous support.
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===Choice of Haifa===
A campaign was mounted by the Jewish community in [[Jerusalem]] to host the Technikum, and a special committee was set up to put forward a strong, Jerusalem case. The case for [[Haifa]] proved stronger, and in the end won the day:<ref>Carl Alpert: Technion: the story of Israel's Institute of Technology. {{ISBN|0-87203-102-0}} p-13</ref>

* Haifa was destined to be the city of the future ... a great port center of industry and shipping. With the building of the [[Hejaz Railway|Hedjaz railroad]], it would be linked to Damascus and Baghdad and would become an important crossroads for land transport as well.
* The local Jewish community was not yet rigid in its organization and character, unlike Jerusalem, the center of [[Orthodox Judaism|Orthodoxy]]; or Jaffa, which was a hotbed of Jewish nationalism. The neutrality of Haifa would minimize conflicts, they argued.
* The local Jewish community was small, and its influence hardly felt in the city. The Technikum would give impetus to the expansion and growth of the Jewish population in the North.

==1912: first cornerstone==
[[File:Advocating Hebrew (Technion).jpg|thumb|Flyer advocates the use of Hebrew]]
[[File:Technion sketching class.jpg|thumb|Architecture students at Technion (1920s)]]

In October 1909, [[Kingdom of Prussia|Prussian]] Jewish architect [[Alexander Baerwald]] was asked to come up with a first plan for the new building. This architect – who used to play cello in a string quartet with [[Albert Einstein]] – was inspired by the idea of blending European form with Eastern elements. His outstanding design was approved by the Kuratorium, and in August 1910, Baerwald was awarded the assignment to draw up the detailed plans and supervise the execution. Aside from the stone, most of the other building material came from abroad. The lime was from France, the cement from Germany. Plumbing installations and various fixtures also came from Europe and to this day, visitors at the historic building can read the German manufacturers' inscriptions on floor plates and elsewhere in the building.<ref name=Alpert/>

Digging of the well also created problems. First attempts could only reach 40 meters, at which point work was suspended due to a lack of skilled labor. A special permit to import the required dynamite was acquired, but it was only when a foreign expert was brought in that work on the well could finally be resumed and water was finally struck at 93 meters. The well was deepened to a 100 meters. The existence of a water source on the upper slopes of Mount Carmel would transform Haifa, becoming an elemental center for the sustenance of life for the following decades and for three invading armies. The well and its water would also become a vital source of income for the young, impoverished Technikum.<ref name=Alpert/>

In the year of the sinking of the ''[[Titanic]]'', and a rare, [[total solar eclipse]], the cornerstone of the new Technikum was finally laid. On April 11, 1912, 36 years before Israel declared independence, under the auspices of the occupying [[Ottoman Empire]] the local Jewish community turned out in full to witness the first physical implementation of a dream that had lasted for decades.

===War of the languages===
[[File:Haifa, Construction of the Technion ,1912.jpg|thumb|Construction of the [[Technion]], 1912]]

An ongoing ideological conflict between the Hilfsverein – a global educational organization led by [[Jews of Germany|Jews from Germany]] – and the [[Zionist movement]], escalated into an intense conflict over the planned language of instruction, known as the [[War of the Languages]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.jewishhistory.org.il/history.php?search=Haifa&dosearch.x=9&dosearch.y=9&dosearch=Search |title=Jewish History |publisher=Jewish History |access-date=2015-11-11 |archive-date=2016-06-18 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160618200329/http://www.jewishhistory.org.il/history.php?search=Haifa&dosearch.x=9&dosearch.y=9&dosearch=Search |url-status=dead }}</ref> [[Modern Hebrew]] was still in its infancy, and technical education was non-existent in the [[biblical]] tongue. A strong case was put forward for the Technikum to be run in German. A compromise of English was offered. Only the outcome of [[World War I]] and the diminished German influence in Palestine would finally resolve that Hebrew would be the official language of the Technion, and later the [[State of Israel]].<ref>Carl Alpert: Technion: the story of Israel's Institute of Technology. {{ISBN|0-87203-102-0}} Chapter two: The War of the Languages.</ref>

===Albert Einstein and other supporters===
[[File:Einstein technion.jpg|thumb|[[Albert Einstein]] at the Technion, c.1923]]

The development of technical and scientific opportunities for the Jewish people and at the new Technikum in Palestine in particular was an issue [[Albert Einstein|Prof. Albert Einstein]] felt worth his investment. "The development of Palestine is of real tremendous importance for all of Jewry," he said at a testimonial dinner with the American Technion Society.<ref>At a 1940 testimonial dinner to Einstein, given by the friends of the Haifa Technion, Institute of Technology, quoted in Abraham Pais, Einstein Lived Here, Clarendon Press, Oxford U Press, 1994, pg 248</ref> 
In 1923, Einstein visited the Technion.<ref>{{YouTube|BfntnnkYUj8}}</ref> During his visit, he planted a now-famous first palm tree. The tree still stands today in front of the old Technion building in Hadar. Einstein returned to Germany to set up the first Technion Society, and served as its Chairman. He was later to tour America to raise funds for higher-education in Palestine,<ref>''Einstein: A Centenary Volume'', A. P. French, [[Harvard University Press]] (1979), p. 203</ref> an issue he said he held "close to his heart".<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.zionism-israel.com/Albert_Einstein/Albert_Einstein_zionism.htm |title=Albert Einstein and Zionism |publisher=Zionism-israel.com |access-date=2015-11-11}}</ref> Einstein's motivation was not nationalistic, but humanistic. "I do what I can to help those in my tribe who are treated so badly everywhere," he said.<ref>Ronald W Clark, ''Einstein: The Life and Times'', p. 383, William Morrow, {{ISBN|978-0061351846}}</ref>

===First classes===
[[File:Haifa, Technion, Stairway in front-door lobby (approximately 1920 to 1933) 030.jpg|thumb|upright|Technion students in the main lobby (1930s)]]

[[Arthur Blok]], an [[electrical engineer]], was the school's first President, assuming the position in 1924 until 1925.<ref name="technionil">{{cite web|url=https://www.technion.ac.il/en/former-presidents/ |title=President &#124; Technion - Israel Institute of Technology |date=9 August 2015 |publisher=Technion |access-date=2020-02-16}}</ref> The Technion enrolled its first students in 1924, and its official opening ceremony took place in 1925. Its first class had 17 students, including one woman, who majored in [[civil engineering]] and [[architecture]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.isracast.com/article.aspx?id=885 |title=The Technion |publisher=IsraCast |access-date=2015-11-11 |archive-date=2016-02-02 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160202170116/http://www.isracast.com/article.aspx?id=885 |url-status=dead }}</ref> Blok was succeeded as president by [[civil engineer]] [[Max Hecker]] (1925–27), [[Shmuel Pewsner]] (1927–29), [[Aharon Tcherniavsky]] (1927–29), and [[Joseph Breuer (academic)|Joseph Breuer]] (1930–31).<ref name="technionil"/>

==World War II==
[[File:Zoltan Kluger. Hebrew Technical Institute, Haifa.jpg|thumb|The Technion, 1937]]
[[File:הטכניון בחיפה-JNF006957.jpeg|thumb|The Technion, 1945]]
[[File:Buchenwald concentration camp survivors sailing to Haifa, June 1945.jpg|thumb|upright|Refugees from the [[Holocaust]] arriving in Haifa]]

[[Shlomo Kaplansky]] was the President of the university from 1931 to 1950.<ref name="technionil"/> In the 1930s, the Institute absorbed large numbers of Jewish students and distinguished scholars from Poland, Germany, and Austria, who were fleeing the [[Nazi]] regime. In the midst of immense financial difficulties, Technion staff voted to work temporarily without pay to ensure the Technion's economic survival.<ref name="pard.technion.ac.il"/> In 1934, the Faculty of Industrial Technology was established covering broad fields. By the late 1930s the demand for technical university graduates had increased, and many Technion students volunteered to fight with the British against the [[Third Reich]]. Enrollment exceeded 400 students, and the University had expanded to include a degree in [[industrial engineering]], 11 labs, and a [[nautical]] school. In time, fields of study taught at the Faculty of Industrial Technology were made into independent faculties.

In the years preceding the establishment of the State, Technion was an active center for the Jewish underground – notably the [[Hagannah]] – and a source of technological defense solutions crucial to the struggle for independence.<ref name=Alpert/>

==Israel independence==
[[File:Yaakov Dori2.jpg|thumb|[[Yaakov Dori]], first [[Chief of the General Staff (Israel)|Chief of the General Staff]] of the [[Israel Defense Forces]] and 7th president of the Techion]]
[[File:Technion stamp 1956.jpg|thumb|upright|[[Technion]] national stamp, 1956]]

In 1948, with a student body of 680, Technion celebrated [[Israel Independence Day|Israel's Declaration of Independence.]] The developing state created new demands on the veteran university. To meet these needs, Technion launched a variety of ambitious projects. In 1948, the Faculty of Electrical Engineering<ref>{{cite web|url=http://webee.technion.ac.il/ |title=Technion - Electrical Engineering Faculty |publisher=Webee.technion.ac.il |date=2019-05-15 |access-date=2020-02-16}}</ref> and the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering<ref>{{cite web|url=http://meeng.technion.ac.il/en/|title=Endo-Atmospheric Vector Guidance - Mechanical Engineering Faculty|website=meeng.technion.ac.il}}</ref> were set up. The Department of Aeronautical Engineering<ref>{{cite web |url=http://ae-www.technion.ac.il/ |title=Archived copy |access-date=2011-09-23 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110928041040/http://ae-www.technion.ac.il/ |archive-date=2011-09-28 |url-status=dead }}</ref> was established in 1949, and it claims to have laid the foundation for Israel's successful aerospace industries and Air Force.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://ae-www.technion.ac.il/ |title=Faculty of Aerospace Engineering &#124; Technion – Israel Institute of Technology |publisher=Ae-www.technion.ac.il |access-date=2015-11-11 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110928041040/http://ae-www.technion.ac.il/ |archive-date=2011-09-28 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

==Rapid expansion and a new campus==
[[Yaakov Dori]], formerly the first [[Chief of General Staff (Israel)|Chief of Staff]] of the [[Israel Defense Forces]], was President of the university from 1951 to 1965.<ref name="technionil"/> By 1951, undergraduate enrollment had grown to 966 students. As the original campus in central Haifa had become too small, Prime Minister [[David Ben-Gurion]] selected a 300-acre site on Mount Carmel for a new campus. In 1953, the Institute began its move to Technion City on Mount Carmel.

In the 1950s the following Faculties were founded:
*Department of Aeronautical Engineering<ref>{{cite web|url=http://ae-www.technion.ac.il/;%20%20 |title=Faculty of Aerospace Engineering &#124; Technion – Israel Institute of Technology |publisher=Ae-www.technion.ac.il |access-date=2020-02-16}}</ref> (1953) (renamed Faculty of Aerospace Engineering); 
*Faculty of Agricultural Engineering (1953); 
*Faculty of Chemical Engineering<ref>{{cite web|url=http://chemeng.technion.ac.il/|title=Home - הפקולטה להנדסה כימית|website=הפקולטה להנדסה כימית}}</ref> (1954);
*Faculty of Chemistry<ref>{{cite web |url=http://chemistry.technion.ac.il/ |title=שוליך – הפקולטה לכימיה |publisher=Chemistry.technion.ac.il |access-date=2020-02-16 |archive-date=2011-10-09 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111009103309/http://chemistry.technion.ac.il/ |url-status=dead }}</ref> (1958);
*General Studies (1958) (renamed Department of Humanities and Arts);<ref>{{cite web|url=http://humanities.technion.ac.il/|title=דף הבית - Humanities and Arts|website=Humanities and Arts}}</ref>
*Faculty of Industrial Engineering and Management<ref>{{cite web|url=http://ie.technion.ac.il/|title=Home - הנדסת תעשייה וניהול בטכניון|website=ie.technion.ac.il|access-date=2011-09-23|archive-date=2015-09-12|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150912010110/http://ie.technion.ac.il/|url-status=dead}}</ref> (1958).

==Decades of war and peace==
During the 1960s, the Technion opened its doors to hundreds of students from the [[developing countries]] of Africa and Asia. Scores of Technion faculty members provided technological assistance to various countries worldwide, often under the auspices of [[United Nations]] agencies. Recognizing the growing trend in interdisciplinary activity, Technion established several new departments, including Biomedical Engineering,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.bm.technion.ac.il/Pages/Default.aspx|title=Faculty of Biomedical Engineering|website=www.bm.technion.ac.il|access-date=2011-09-23|archive-date=2011-09-23|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110923014630/http://www.bm.technion.ac.il/Pages/default.aspx|url-status=dead}}</ref> Computer Science,<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.cs.technion.ac.il/|title=Computer Science Department, Technion|website=www.cs.technion.ac.il}}</ref> Applied Mathematics,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.math.technion.ac.il |title=Department of Mathematics - Home Page |publisher=Math.technion.ac.il |access-date=2020-02-16}}</ref> and the Solid State Institute.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://physics.technion.ac.il/eng/ |title=Technion, Physics Department |website=physics.technion.ac.il |access-date=17 January 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101026165625/http://physics.technion.ac.il/eng/ |archive-date=26 October 2010 |url-status=dead}}</ref> [[Alexander Goldberg (chemical engineer)|Alexander Goldberg]], a [[chemical engineer]], was President of the university from 1965 to 1973.<ref name="technionil"/> In 1969, Technion established the Faculty of Medicine,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://md.technion.ac.il/|title=The Ruth and Bruce Rappaport Faculty of Medicine |website=md.technion.ac.il}}</ref> one of the few medical schools worldwide to be affiliated with an institute of technology.
The 1970s in Israel were marked by extremes – from the trauma and tragedy of the [[Yom Kippur War]] to the optimism and hope of Israel's [[Camp David Accords|peace agreement with Egypt]]. Throughout the upheaval and change, Technion remained at the forefront of the nation's activities – from producing technologies for guaranteeing Israel's future security, to planning cooperative regional research projects in subjects such as desalination and nuclear energy.<ref name=Alpert/>
The establishment of the [[Samuel Neaman Institute for Advanced Studies in Science and Technology]] at the Technion in 1978 further encouraged the interaction of academia, industry and government.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.neaman.org.il/Neaman/about/about.asp |title=About Us|access-date=September 24, 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110907205456/http://www.neaman.org.il/Neaman/about/about.asp |archive-date=September 7, 2011 }}</ref> In 1971 the Faculty of Biology was established. [[Amos Horev]], an [[Israeli Defense Forces]] Major-General and nuclear scientist, was President of the university from 1973 to 1982.<ref name="technionil"/>

==The birth of Israeli high tech==
In the 1980s, Technion-based research and its high number of graduates is said to have paved the way for the rapid expansion of Israel's high-tech industries.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ats.org/site/DocServer/logo_final_3LabtoMarketFINALAPPROVED091511.pdf?docID=784 |title=From Lab to Marketplace: The Technion's Role|access-date=September 24, 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111028075212/http://www.ats.org/site/DocServer/logo_final_3LabtoMarketFINALAPPROVED091511.pdf?docID=784 |archive-date=October 28, 2011 }}</ref> From the birth of [[fiber optics]] and the development of [[optoelectronics]], Technion graduates were seen to be at the local forefront of technological innovation of the time. [[Josef Singer]], an [[aeronautical engineer]], was President of the university from 1982 to 1986, and [[Max Reis]], a chemical engineer, from 1986 to 1990.<ref name="technionil"/>

In the early 1990s, massive immigration from the former [[Soviet Union]] boosted the student population from 9,000 to 10,500. As well as absorbing a significant flow of high quality scientists and engineers from the former Soviet Union, Technion established technological incubator companies and structures to ensure that the new talent could be put to use.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.neaman.org.il/publications/publication_item.asp?fid=601&parent_fid=0&iid=2079 |title=Absorption of Soviet Immigrants at the Technion|access-date=September 24, 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071018233845/http://www.neaman.org.il/publications/publication_item.asp?fid=601&parent_fid=0&iid=2079 |archive-date=October 18, 2007 }}</ref> [[Zehev Tadmor]], a chemical engineer, was President of the university from 1990 to 1998.<ref name="technionil"/>

Multidisciplinary centers of excellence were established,<ref>{{Cite journal |title=Engineering Education in Israel 1992 – In Search of a New Paradigm |first=Z. |last=Tadmor |journal=International Journal of Engineering Education |volume=9 |issue=1 |pages=71–75 |year=1993 |issn=0949-149X }}</ref> ties with industry were strengthened, new academic programs were developed, and a massive campus expansion program was launched, including construction of The [[Henry Taub|Henry and Marilyn Taub and Family Science and Technology Center]], which houses the western world's largest computer science faculty.

In 1998, Technion's [[Asher Space Research Institute (ASRI)]] successfully launched the "Gurwin TechSat II" microsatellite, making Technion one of five universities with a student program that designs, builds, and launches its own satellite. [[Amos Lapidot]], the tenth Commander of the [[Israeli Air Force]], was President of the university from 1998 to 2001, and [[Yitzhak Apeloig]], a pioneer in the computational chemistry field, from 2001 to 2009.<ref name="technionil"/>

In 2007, the Technion's historic role in technology transfer in Israel was streamlined globally with the launch of its [[T3 ~ Technion Technology Transfer|T3 Technion Technology Transfer]] office. [[Peretz Lavie]], an expert in the [[psychophysiology]] of [[sleep disorders|sleep and sleep disorders]], was President of the university from 2009 to 2019.<ref name="technionil"/>

Technion has an active multidisciplinary center in [[Grand Technion Energy Program|Energy Research]], to strengthen Israel as the globe reaches [[peak oil]]. It also has campus-wide programs in [[Russell Berrie Nanotechnology Institute|Nanotechnology and Science]], and Life Science and Engineering.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://lokey.technion.ac.il/|title=Lokey Center Technion|website=lokey.technion.ac.il}}</ref> [[Uri Sivan]], a [[physicist]], has been President of the university since 2019.<ref name="technionil"/>

==First Nobel prizes in science==
In 2004, two Technion scientists became the first Israelis to bring home the [[Nobel Prize|Nobel Prize in Science]]. 
[[Avram Hershko]], [[Aaron Ciechanover]] – together with colleague [[Irwin Rose]] – unraveled how the cell functions as a highly efficient checking station where proteins are built up and broken down. The degradation is not indiscriminate but takes place through a process that is controlled in detail so that the proteins to be broken down at any given moment are given a molecular label. The labelled proteins are then fed into the cells' "waste disposers", or [[proteasomes]], where they are chopped into small pieces and destroyed.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/chemistry/laureates/2004/ |title=The Nobel Prize in Chemistry 2004 |publisher=Nobelprize.org |access-date=2015-11-11}}</ref>

The label consists of a [[molecule]] called [[ubiquitin]]. This fastens to the protein to be destroyed, accompanies it to the proteasome where it is recognised as the key in a lock, and signals that a protein is on the way for disassembly. Shortly before the protein is squeezed into the proteasome, its ubiquitin label is disconnected for re-use. Examples of processes governed by ubiquitin-mediated protein degradation are cell division, DNA repair, quality control of newly produced proteins, and important parts of the immune defence.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.biomeds.eu/cms/show_article/310002.html |access-date=September 24, 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120402214938/http://www.biomeds.eu/cms/show_article/310002.html |archive-date=April 2, 2012 |title=Message info - Biomeds, lectures & podcasts for biomedicine students }}</ref>

In 2011, the [[Nobel Prize for chemistry]] was awarded to [[Dan Shechtman|Prof. Dan Shechtman]], for his discovery of [[Quasicrystal|quasiperiodic crystals]], or "Shechtmanite".

==Historic Technion achievements==
* Technion is one of only five universities in the world with a [[Asher Space Research Institute (ASRI)|student program]] to design and build satellites (the first launch attempt in 1995 failed, success launch of the identical copy was in 1998).<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.astronautix.com/craft/gurwin.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20020221160017/http://www.astronautix.com/craft/gurwin.htm |url-status=dead |archive-date=February 21, 2002 |title=Gurwin |publisher=Astronautix.com |date=1995-03-28 |access-date=2015-11-11}}</ref>
* DNA strands were used for the first time to assemble a conductive wire 1,000 times thinner than a human hair.<ref>{{Google books |title=Nanotechnology Demystified |id=Dq9vZC8nB1IC |page=172 }}</ref>
* The origin of a new [[Azilect|anti-Parkinson's drug]] that is sold worldwide.<ref>{{YouTube |title=Prof. Moussa Youdim discusses the origin of Azilect |id=GIW19gEfZpo }} (Technion YouTube Channel)</ref>
* The home of the [[Dan Shechtman|Shechtmanite]] and Quasiperiodic Crystals – a new class of materials.<ref>{{YouTube |title=Quasicrystals: a new form of matter |id=EZRTzOMHQ4s }}</ref> The discovery earned [[Dan Shechtman|Prof. Dan Shechtman]] the [[Nobel Prize for Chemistry]] in 2011.
* The [[Lempel-Ziv|Lempel-Ziv algorithm]] that has become an international standard for data compression, and an IEEE Milestone.<ref>{{YouTube |title=Interview with Prof. Jacob Ziv |id=BHZLL8TbB2k }}</ref>
* Co-authoring the first paper revealing that embryonic stem cells can be cultivated for medical application.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://ats.convio.net/site/PageServer?pagename=about_research_stemcell |title=Stem Cell Research at the Technion - The American Technion Society |publisher=Ats.convio.net |access-date=2015-11-11 |archive-date=2012-04-02 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120402214949/http://ats.convio.net/site/PageServer?pagename=about_research_stemcell |url-status=dead }}</ref>
* More than 70% of founders and managers in the Israeli high tech industry are Technion graduates.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://pard.technion.ac.il/fastfacts/FramsFactsH.asp?myret=main |title=PARD Site |publisher=technion.ac.il |access-date=September 8, 2011}}</ref>
* A group of Technion graduates created [[PHP]] (versions 3 through 5), a web programming language installed on more than 80% of web servers worldwide.
{{Clear}}

==See also==
*[[Science and technology in Israel]]

==References==
{{Reflist|colwidth=30em}}

==External links==
* {{YouTube|user=Technion}}
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20120709005032/http://www1.technion.ac.il/en Technion website] {{in lang|en}}
* [http://pard.technion.ac.il/TechnionLive/ TechnionLIVE E-Newsletter] {{Webarchive|url=https://archive.today/20121218114236/http://pard.technion.ac.il/TechnionLive/ |date=2012-12-18 }}
* {{YouTube|id=GzilbrH3CcA |title=Centennial film about Technion history }}
* [http://technionlive.blogspot.com/ TechnionLIVE Blog of International News on Technion]

{{Technion |state=expanded}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:History of the Technion - Israel Institute of Technology}}
[[Category:Technion – Israel Institute of Technology]]
[[Category:Science and technology in Israel]]
[[Category:Science and technology during World War II]]
[[Category:History of Mandatory Palestine|Technion]]
[[Category:History of Haifa|Technion]]