News from the Academia

במכתב המשותף הן מצהירות על המחויבות שלהן להמשך השמירה על חופש הביטוי במוסדות האקדמיים.
במכתב נאמר כי מלחמת אוקטובר יצרה שיח מקטב בחברה הישראלית שמתאפיין בקושי להכיל דעות שאינן מתיישבות עם הנרטיב הציבורי הרווח, וכי שיח זה בא לידי ביטוי גם באקדמיה. המכתב קורא למוסדות האקדמיים, שרבים מהם נתקלו בניסיונות למשטר את השיח, לעמוד באופן בלתי מתפשר על עקרון חופש הביטוי והחופש האקדמי, וזאת במסגרת הדין האוסר על התבטאויות שיש בהן הסתה לאלימות, קריאות גזעניות ותמיכה בטרור.

החוקרות שזכו במענק הן: פרופ' מיכל אירני, דיקנית הפקולטה למתמטיקה ומדעי המחשב במכון ויצמן למדע (וחברה בוועדה המייעצת של אפיק באקדמיה); פרופ' אירית דינור, חוקרת במחלקה למדעי המחשב ומתמטיקה שימושית במכון ויצמן למדע; פרופ' ג'קי שילר מהפקולטה לרפואה ע"ש רפפורט בטכניון; ופרופ' מארן ניהוף, חוקרת בחוג למחשבת ישראל בפקולטה למדעי הרוח באוניברסיטה העברית.

לראשונה מאז הקמת הפקולטה לניהול ב-1965 עומדת כעת אישה בראשה. פרופ' שטיינהרט, שתחליף את פרופ' דן עמירם, כיהנה בשנתיים האחרונות כסגנית הדיקן. פרופ' שטיינהרט היא חוקרת בתחום השיווק ומומחית להתנהגות צרכנים ומופקדת על הקתדרה לאתיקה בעסקים על שם אירווין וג'ויס אברמוביץ.
ברכות!

פרופ' ציגלר, פרופסורית מן המניין במכון איינשטיין למתמטיקה באוניברסיטה העברית בירושלים, זכתה בפרס רוטשילד על פרסומים מקוריים וחשובים במתמטיקה.
פרס רוטשילד הוא פרס מיסודה של קרן יד הנדיב, אשר יוסד במטרה לתמוך, לעודד ולקדם את המדעים ואת מדעי הרוח בישראל. הפרסים מוענקים כאות הוקרה על פרסומים מקוריים וחשובים במגוון תחומי ידע.

סראב אבורביעה-קוידר, הפרופסורית הראשונה בחברה הבדואית, וסגנית נשיא למגוון והכלה באוני' בן גוריון ושייפא אלסאנע-אלהוזייל, הסטודנטית הבדואית הראשונה באונ' בן גוריון, פעילה חברתית ומנהלת שירותי רווחה בלקייה - נפגשו לדבר על חופש, הקרבה והגשמה בחברה פטריאכלית ומסורתית

On the occasion of International Women's Day, Times Higher Education checked the list of the top 200 universities in the world and found that 50 of them are headed by women. This is an increase compared to last year when only 48 institutions were headed by women. And what is happening in Israel? Since the retirement of Prof. Mimi Eisenstadt from the position of president of the Open University, there has not been a single woman at the head of the universities.

Prof. Dana Ron Goldreich from the Faculty of Computer Science at Tel Aviv University was accepted as a fellow of the association, which is considered one of the leading associations in the field of computer science research in the world, thanks to her research in the field of algorithm research.
Prof. Goldreich is an esteemed researcher with a world reputation in the fields of engineering and computer science who founded the field of property testing. She deals with the design and analysis of sub-linear approximation algorithms.

Orli Sade is a professor of finance at the School of Business Administration at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and head of the Albertson-Waltuch Chair of Business Administration. Prof. Sade's main research areas are behavioral and experimental finance, financial market structure, fintech and crowdfunding. Prof. Sade has won many research grants and awards for her research, including the National Science Foundation, Coller Senior Award winner, the Hebrew University President's Abe Gray Award, research grants from the National Insurance, research grants from the Pension Research Council/TIAA Institute from Think Forward Initiative and Yissum-Fintech grant and more.

הניגוד הבוטה בין היחס שקיבל ברס מעמיתיו לפני ואחרי שהתחיל להזדהות כגבר עשוי להסביר למה נשים כה מעטות מגיעות למשרות בכירות בעולם המדע

שתי חוקרות בכירות מופיעות ברשימת "מובילות 2024" של עיתון כלכליסט. העיתון הרכיב רשימה של נשים מתחומים שונים המשנות את ישראל. פרופ' רות הלפרין־קדרי, ראשת מרכז רקמן לקידום מעמד האשה באוניברסיטת בר אילן, מופיעה ברשימה בזכות חלקה המשמעותי בהכרה של העולם בפשעי המין שביצע חמאס ב-7 באוקטובר.
פרופ' שולמית לבנברג, ראש המעבדה לתאי גזע והנדסת רקמות בפקולטה להנדסה ביו־רפואית בטכניון, נכנסה לרשימה בשל היותה מייסדת "אלף פארמס", שהפכה לחברה הראשונה בעולם שמקבלת אישור לשווק בקר מתורבת.

Prof. Bat Sheva Kerem, a member of the Executive Committee of Afik in the Academy and a faculty member in the Faculty of Life Sciences at the Hebrew University, received Honorary membership for long life contribution to genetics and genomic research on behalf of the Israel Society of Genetics. Prof. Kerem received the title at the annual conference of the Israeli Genetics Society, where there was an impressive female representation of female researchers - 7 out of 13 presenters.

Prof. Dudowitz joined the physics faculty at the Weizmann Institute in 2007 as a senior researcher. Prof. Dudovitz's research group investigates ultrafast phenomena in nature. In the past she won the Michael Bruno Prize, the Krill Prize, the Weizmann Prize for Exact Sciences and more.

On January 1, Prof. Daniela Reva became the first dean in the history of the Faculty of Aeronautics and Space Engineering at the Technion. Prof. Reva, a graduate of the faculty, completed her studies at the faculty with honors, completed her master's degree and doctorate. Prof. Reva deals with aeroelastics - the interface between aerodynamic forces and flexible structures

The award, which is given to researchers under the age of 50, was awarded to Prof. Dafna Langot, head of the laboratory for archaeobotanics and the study of the ancient environment at Tel Aviv University, Prof. Tali Kristal from the department of sociology and humanities at the University of Haifa and Prof. Iran Halperin, professor of social and political psychology in the department of psychology at the Hebrew University.

11 Israeli researchers won grants designed to prove the feasibility and promote the translation of academic research into application and commercialization. The winning researchers are: Dr. Einat Segev from the Weizmann Institute of Science, Prof. Rachela Popovtzer from Bar Ilan University and Prof. Vared Fedler-Karvani from Tel Aviv University.

The announcement of Prof. Levenberg's election will take place at the annual conference of the American National Academy of Inventors - NAI - which will be held in June 2024 in North Carolina.
Prof. Levenberg, from the Faculty of Biomedical Engineering at the Technion, is a world-renowned researcher in tissue engineering, who developed technologies for creating tissue for transplantation in damaged areas of the muscle, heart, bone and spinal cord. Over the years, Prof. Levenberg won many awards, including the Bruno Prize and the Rapaport Prize, registered dozens of patents and founded several start-up companies. She was the president of the Israeli Society for Stem Cells and until recently the dean of the Faculty of Biomedical Engineering. This year she was selected as a fellow of the American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering (AIMBE).

Prof. Hagit Messer Yaron, from the Fleishman Faculty of Engineering at Tel Aviv University, won the IEEE (Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers) medal for exceptional achievements in the application of technologies to improve the environment and public safety. The medal was awarded to Prof. Messer Yaron for her contribution to environmental mapping and sensing by using wireless communication networks.

The winners of the grant are: Prof. Ilanit Gordon from the Department of Psychology at Bar Ilan University, Prof. Michal Lasaks from the Department of Molecular Chemistry and Materials Science, Faculty of Chemistry at the Weizmann Institute of Science, Prof. Katrina Ligat from the School of Engineering and Computer Science at the Hebrew University and Prof. Sigal Zalkha-Mano from the Department of Psychology at the University Haifa.
Congratulations!

Prof. Bar Asher Siegel will replace Prof. Limor Ahernson-Daniel who will finish her term at the end of the calendar year. Prof. Bar Asher Siegel is a Talmud scholar, a faculty member in the Goldstein-Goren Israel Thought Department at Ben-Gurion.
Prof. Ahernson-Daniel has held the position for the past five years and during her tenure the international activity developed significantly and the number of international students at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev almost doubled. Prof. Ahernson-Daniel will return to head the Center for the Study of Preparedness and Response to Emergencies and Disasters, which she established at the university in 2010.

The award will be given to Prof. Goldin, Professor of Economics at Harvard University, for her contribution to knowledge about women in the labor market. "Understanding the role of women in the labor market is important for society. Thanks to Prof. Goldin's groundbreaking research, we now know much more about the underlying factors and what barriers may need to be addressed in the future," stated the reasons for the selection.

Prof. Yonina Elder from the Weizmann Institute of Science is among the winners of the Landau Arts and Sciences Lottery Prize for 2023. The prize is given as a token of recognition and appreciation to scientists, academics and cultural figures for their excellence, contribution and influence on research, science, art and cultural life in Israel.
Prof. Elder won an award in the field of mathematics research. Prof. Elder is a professor of electrical engineering in the Faculty of Mathematics and Computer Science at the Weizmann Institute of Science, and is one of the most prominent researchers in the world in the field of signal sampling. Prof. Elder is the head of the committee for gender fairness of the MLA, one of the initiatives of the "Equator" program of the HTA and a member of the Israel Academy of Sciences.

The representatives of the academy in the ranking are: Prof. Tova Milo from Tel Aviv University, Prof. Michal Schwartz from the Weizmann Institute of Science, Prof. Mona Maron from the University of Haifa, Prof. Irit Sagi from the Weizmann Institute of Science and Dr. Karma Ben Yohanan from the Hebrew University

The report attaches importance to the place of women in promotion committees in academic institutions - and especially to their presence in the position of chairperson of the committees - in the context of promoting gender equality in academia. According to the data presented in the report for the years 2017-2018-2018-2019, the average proportion of women among the chairmen of the promotion committees in the academy was 25%, and in the field of agriculture there was not a single non-chairwoman at the head Promotion Committee.

Prof. Yael HaShiloni-Dolev, a member of the faculty of the Department of Sociology and Anthropology at Ben Gurion University of the Negev, replaces Prof. Hilleli Pinson who held the position of consultant for over two years, and ended a successful term full of action.

Prof. Ilana Gozes is a full professor of clinical biochemistry, head of the Lilly and Abraham Gildor Chair for Tumor Factor Research, head of the Elton Laboratory for Molecular Neuroendocrinology, member of the Department of Human Molecular Genetics and Biochemistry at the Faculty of Medicine and the Segol School of Neuroscience at Tel Aviv University. In the past, she served as the head of the Adams Center for Brain Research at Tel Aviv University and as the president of the Israeli Association for Brain Research.
Prof. Guzes' research deals with the molecular structure of the brain, with an emphasis on finding biological markers and finding a cure for autism, Alzheimer's disease and schizophrenia.
Recently, Prof. Gozes was profiled in the prestigious European Journal of Neuroscience.

Prof. Efrat Shadmi and Prof. Anna Zisberg from the Department of Nursing in the Faculty of Welfare and Health Sciences at the University of Haifa are part of a research group of 22 partner organizations from 12 countries, which received funding as part of the European grant program HORIZON HEALTH 2023. The research promoted by the group aims to help reduce chronic illness among the elderly .
As part of the research, Prof. Shadami and Prof. Zisberg will map the policies, laws, and practices that exist today that reduce the phenomenon of aging with multiple morbidity in European countries and health and welfare systems. Based on this mapping, the researchers will lead the process of creating recommendations for a European-wide policy regarding how health technologies should be developed and integrated and the infrastructures and treatment processes adjusted so that they support reducing the impact of the accumulation of morbidity throughout life.

Prof. Carmit Levy, Department of Human Genetics and Biochemistry at the Faculty of Medicine at Tel Aviv University, won the ERC grant.
Prof. Levy is engaged in multidisciplinary research that focuses on the interactions between cancer cells and the microenvironment and the discovery of new targeting molecules that may interfere with the interaction between the host and the tumor. In her current research, for which she won a grant, Prof. Levy identified new factors that are secreted by the cancer and constitute a physical disturbance to the efficiency of the cells of the immune system during the tumor attack.
Since establishing her research team, Levy has received the ERC Consolidator Award, the Rector's and Dean's Teaching Excellence Awards, and the International Young Melanoma Researcher Award of the World Association for Melanoma Research.

Prof. Mona Khoury-Kasabri from the Hebrew University is among the recipients of the "President's Decoration" on the occasion of the 75th year of Israel's independence. The president of the country, Yitzhak Herzog, will award the decoration to 13 people who "made an extraordinary contribution to the country and the Jewish people" in a special text to be held in September.

Three new societies were added to the Israeli National Academy of Sciences, which now numbers 149 societies and members. The General Assembly of the Academy elected 8 new members and members, among them: Prof. Michal Irani, Dean of the Faculty of Mathematics and Computer Science at the Weizmann Institute of Science and from the founding committee of Afik in the Academy; Prof. Leona Toker, emeritus professor at the Faculty of Humanities at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and Prof. Sarah Stromza, emeritus professor at the Department of Arabic Language and Literature and the Department of Israeli Thought at the Hebrew University.

Professor Orna Sashon-Levi, Advisor to the President for Gender Fairness at Bar-Ilan University, was appointed Commissioner for Gender and Diversity at the University. Prof. Sashon-Levi, full professor at Bar-Ilan, lecturer in the department of sociology and anthropology and in the gender studies program at Bar-Ilan University, serves as the president's advisor for gender fairness from 2020.