Israel Active

A team of international physicists, including Ben Gurion University Professor Yigal Meir, have been awarded a $16 million European Research Council Synergy grant. It will allow them to study quantum thermodynamic properties (especially entropy) of electrons and parts of electrons.

The Centre for Science and Technology Studies (CWTS) of Leiden University in the Netherlands ranked Israel’s Weizmann Institute number 8 in the world for the quality of its research. Weizmann was the top institution outside of the US. The ranking measured impact of science papers.

The first joint symposium between New Jersey’s Rutgers University and Tel Aviv University importantly focused on the most pressing matter of our time: innovations and discoveries around Covid-19.

Scientists at Israel’s Technion Institute have developed a new, cheap method of producing radiation.  They sent electron beams through 2D (single-atom thick) materials to generate X-rays in a controlled manner. It has huge implications for chemical analysis, medical imaging and security screening.

Over three thousand five hundred people die every year because of texting while driving. Israel’s SaverOne saves a driver from the temptation to text. The app plus sensors are installed into the car system, making only GPS apps and phone calls available to the driver.

The technology transfer company of Israel’s Ben Gurion University has announced a research collaboration with ECOIBÉRIA, a Portuguese plastic waste recycling company. The research will focus on bacterial biodegradation of Polyethylene terephthalate (PET) for the purpose of plastic recycling.

Israel’s UBQ (reported previously) is to use its bio-based thermoplastic from recycled trash to improve sustainability in the fashion industry. UBQ is partnering US Mainetti Group, which makes clothes hangers for retail chains globally. Billions of hangers are produced globally each year.

Israel’s Inspecto (reported previously) has developed a nanotechnology device to detect contaminated food. It has partnered with food producing giant Strauss but it is also useful to farmers, supermarkets and regulators. Co-founder Yair Moneta explained further on I24 News.

Israeli startup AirEye protects company networks from threats via the airspace surrounding an organization’s infrastructure. AirEye’s sensors detect airborne threats from nearby unprotected devices or local cyber cafes, from which wireless attacks can be launched on the network.

Can you be in two places at the same time?  Yes, if you attended Israel Technion’s Quantum computing summer school. 220 students took the 6-day course. It introduced them to the foundations of quantum computing theory and to practical programming on the IBM quantum minicomputer.