In this amazing video, see how and HU doctor is helping to push the boundaries of technology to help people see….

Japan is being introduced to Israeli high school students in a unique program run by Japanese Studies students at the Department of East Asian Studies at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.

The program, which aims to introduce Japanese society and culture to new layers of Israeli society, was developed with the support of the Embassy of Japan in Israel and is being coordinated by third year student Hadas Kushelevich.

”We hope to invigorate the interest of high school students to learn more about Japan through interactive presentations given by outstanding university students from the Department of East Asian Studies,” says Dr. Nissim Otzmazgin, director of the program.

”We in Israel tend to look only to the West as a source of learning. But there are some good things to learn from East Asia,” says Dr. Otzmazgin, on the importance of teaching about Japan in Israel. ”Japan and China are, after all, the world’s biggest economies following the U.S., and I think that in an age of globalization we will see more and more from them and increasingly feel their presence – not only their economic impact but also their cultural and political impacts.”

The program, which has been implemented in seven high schools in Jerusalem for more than 450 students, includes information about Japan’s history, geography, traditional and popular culture, and Japanese language, and is taught using visual presentations and videos.

One of the student teachers in the program, Daniel Prag, believes it is important to teach high school students about Japan because it allows them a peek into a culture, about which their knowledge is usually superficial and stereotypical, and introduces the students to the academic world.

”I believe Israelis are very exposed to Asian culture. But most of their knowledge about Japan concerns sushi, martial arts, and auto-manufacturing companies. I couldn’t help but notice that in many schools, students used the names ‘China’ and ‘Japan’ interchangeably,” he says. ”This program is very important in promoting slightly deeper cultural understanding and exchange, deepening awareness of Asia among Israelis, and ultimately contributing to the betterment of Israeli-Asian relations.”

”The response I got from the students was very positive,” says another of the student teachers,” Alexandra Rabinovich. ”I hope with the younger generation’s increasing knowledge of Japan and other countries in Asia, that a better and more fruitful relationship might be formed, since today’s children are tomorrow’s leaders.”

The coordinators hope to expand this program in the future to include more high schools and junior high schools in Jerusalem, as well as youth movements, youth organizations and community centers.

Is it really a wise and ethically acceptable strategy to burn food rather than eat it?  This is one of the key questions to be addressed by Prof. Hans Werner Sinn, President of the Ifo Institute for Economic Research, who will speak at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem next week on ‘Table or Tank: The Rivalry between Biofuels, Fossil Fuels and Nutrition’.

Oil pressed from rapeseed can be used as diesel fuel, and maize or sugar beets can yield ethanol to replace gasoline. The UN and many countries officially share the view that bio-fuel is one option in fighting climate change. The Kyoto Protocol allows countries to meet their target reductions of CO2 emissions by substituting bio-fuels for fossil fuels.

However, Prof. Sinn says, “If we allow food to be used to produce bio-fuels, food prices will be linked to the oil price. Indeed, food prices are currently increasing in Europe, because more and more farmland is being used for bio-fuels instead of for food production. This is not sustainable”

“The problem is that advocates of reducing the greenhouse effect by promoting bio-fuels production have not made clear where the land will come from.”

This, explains, Prof. Sinn, means that taking land for the production of bio-fuels from forests means speeding up global warming, because bio-fuel crops store much less carbon than trees. Prof. Sinn, who is also the Director of the Center for Economic Studies at the University of Munich, has published numerous studies on the theory of economic cycles, environmental economics, foreign trade issues, and on the micro foundations of a model of temporary general equilibrium.

The D. B. Doran Lecture on Population, Resources and Development, which is being coordinated by the Faculty of Social Sciences, will take place at 6 p.m., Tuesday, May 4, Room 503, Maiersdorf Faculty Club, Mount Scopus campus.

The annual D. B. Doran Lecture was established three years ago. The lecture series is aimed at a better understanding of the complex relationships between demographic processes, limited natural resources and economic development, and at stimulating research in this area.

Regarded as the State of Israel’s highest honor, the prize is traditionally awarded every year on Independence Day in the presence of the President, the Prime Minister, the Knesset chairperson and the Supreme Court president.

This year, the three Hebrew University recipients are:

Prof. Avishai Margalit
Prof. Margalit is the 2010 recipient of the Israel Prize in philosophy. The Israel Prize committee described him as ”one of the most important philosophers in the State of Israel and one of the most valued in the world today.”

Prof. Margalit majored in economics and philosophy at the Hebrew University. He earned his B.A. in 1963 and his M.A in philosophy in 1965. He received a Ph.D. summa cum laude in 1970 from the Hebrew University. He then returned to the Hebrew University as a lecturer in the department of philosophy, and in 1998, was appointed as the Shulman Professor of Philosophy. He retired from the Hebrew University as a professor emeritus in 2006.

Prof. Yehoshua Kolodny
Prof. Yehoshua Kolodny of the Fredy and Nadine Herrmann Institute of Earth Sciences is the 2010 recipient of the Israel Prize in earth sciences.

The Israel Prize committee selected him for his work in the area of geochemistry and for his outstanding international achievements in his field. He was also cited for his educational activities and for developing a generation of researchers who today can be found in leading academic institutions and research institutes in Israel.

Prof. Kolodny received his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in geology at the Hebrew University and earned a doctorate from the University of California, Los Angeles, in 1969. Following his return to Israel he served in a number of roles at the Hebrew University.

Prof. Aryeh Levin
Prof. Aryeh Levin from the department for Arabic language and literature is the 2010 recipient of the Israel Prize in linguistics.

Prof. Levin was recognized by the Israel Prize committee for his research into medieval Arabic, especially the writings of Sibawayhi, as well as into Arabic dialects and the heritage of literary and spoken Arabic in different official national frameworks.

Prof. Levin received his Ph.D. from Hebrew University in Arabic language and literature and then held several teaching positions. Over the years, Prof. Levin has held a number of senior positions at the university, including head of the department for Arabic language and literature, head of the Institute of Asian and African Studies, Chair of the Advanced Studies Committee of the Faculty of Humanities, and the Henya Sharef Professor Emeritus in Humanities. He was also a member of the Arabic dialects of the Land of Israel research group.

Five graduates of the Hebrew University will also be receiving the Israel Prize this year. They are: Hanoch Bertov for his contribution to literature; Prof. Avraham Tal for his contribution to the Hebrew language; Aharon Yadlin for his contribution to society and the State of Israel; Prof. Avraham Nitzan for his contribution to chemistry; and Arie Sivan for his contribution to poetry.

Over the Pesach break I had the chance to travel with family to Eilat for a few days. It was good times, enjoying the hot weather, relaxing on the beach and working on the tan. When in Eilat I recommend visiting the under water observatory which houses some of the most exotic and beautiful sea life.

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To start off the Passover break the students of Rothberg got the amazing opportunity to hike through the Galilee for 4 days. We began our journey in the westernmost part, the Mediterranean sea and headed eastward. After a full day of hiking we spent the night at a hostel, high up in mount Miron. In the morning we continued eastward arriving to the city of Tzfat right for Shabbat. We toured the old city during the day. Tzfat is an amazing city known for being the place where Kabbalah mysticism flourished and developed during mid evil times. On the 4th day we made our final stretch of the hike, finishing at almost the easternmost part of the Galilee, the Kinneret. Amazing experience, the scenery in the Galilee leaves you speechless. This trip is highly recommended.

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In part 2 of our interview with Dina, we ask what might stop interested students from applying to the Rothberg International School.

Q: Does the lack of being able to speak, read or understand Hebrew confront prospective students ?
A: It might, but it absolutely should not, because the courses are taught in English and, yes, HU wants to advance the study of Hebrew so it offers an  ‘Ulpan’ course (which is a Hebrew word meaning ‘Hebrew as a 2nd language’), and the Ulpan courses on offer from HU are amongst the best in the country, because the program is offered as a stand-alone program prior to the beginning of your HU schooling. You do need to achieve a certain minimum level before being accepted into the Rothberg program, but I have yet to meet a student who has not achieved it, because it’s done in such a professional way – they know how to teach Hebrew as a 2nd language and have been doing it for many, many years. So if someone were to come to me today and say that they only wanted to study Hebrew as a 2nd language, what do you recommend, I would reply that one of the best  places in the country is at Mount Scopus at HU.

The Israeli public feels that science and scientific research are a prime source of national pride, a survey undertaken by the Hebrew University of Jerusalem has shown.

The survey, aimed at determining the public’s attitude towards science and scientific researchers, also revealed that a substantial portion of the public feels that more resources should be allocated to science and research.

The survey was conducted on March 2 among a sampling of 500 people in Israel by the MarketWatch company.

The results showed that a university researcher was seen by the public as one of the most prestigious professional positions, just below that of a physician and ahead of business people, accountants, lawyers and military personnel.

The least highly regarded professions in the eyes of those surveyed were bankers, members of Knesset, and communications and religious figures. Among those surveyed who had children, 16% chose university researcher as their most desired aspiration for them, second only to physician (19%). Nearly 60% of all of those surveyed said that science and research were for them a source of national pride. Only the fields of high-tech at 65% and medicine 62% scored higher in this regard. Other results on the scale of national pride included security forces (57%), sports (22%), the arts (17%), education (11%) and government (2%). About 50% of those questioned thought that the state of Israel does not invest enough resources in research and science or does not invest in them at all. Only 19% thought that the government invested enough or even a good deal of resources in this regard. Most of the other respondents felt the support was so-so.

When asked about the issue of “brain drain” from Israel, 41% thought that this phenomenon was due to lower salaries in academia than abroad, 17% thought the main reason was a lack of available positions, 14% thought that scientists held a higher position in society abroad than in Israel, and 11% thought the scientific infrastructure in Israel was at a lower level than elsewhere. Interestingly, only 8% thought that the reason was a higher standard of living abroad. When asked if they could identify Israeli Nobel Prize winners, 58% successfully identified at least one prize winner, while 65% could identify the name of at least one participant in the popular TV show Big Brother. Only a few could identify more than one Israeli Nobel winner. Fifty-eight percent said they believe that a university researcher works ten hours or more per day.

Hebrew University President Prof.Menahem Ben-Sasson said that the findings of the survey show that the greater public appreciates the contribution of science to society. “The findings raise hopes that the framers of public policy will be attentive and establish a national policy scale in line with the expressions in this survey,” he said. According to Ben-Sasson, “This understanding of the public about science is a refreshing message on National Science Day, both for the Hebrew University and for higher education in Israel generally.

But one has to note that despite the public conceptions about the economic reasons for the Israeli ‘brain drain,’ the real reason is the superior scientific infrastructure that exists abroad as compared to Israel.”

The original full manuscript of Albert Einstein’s groundbreaking theory of relativity has gone on display in its entirety for the first time. The 46-page handwritten manuscript was bequeathed by Einstein to the Hebrew University – which he was a founder of, when it was founded in 1925.  The University is lending it to  the Israel Academy of Sciences and Humanities in Jerusalem as part of its 50th anniversary celebration.

This is the greatest document in physics and it’s exciting news (even to someone like me who finds most equations challenging). Based on what I hear – the display is made easy to comprehend and people are lining up to read it. The display shows the manuscript in the context of the theories presented – giving the difficult concepts a point of relativity – so the viewers can connect at any level.

Whether its black holes, the Big Bang or the famous equation of E=MC² – Einstein’s manuscripts will amaze as they demonstrate an expanding universe and show how gravity can bend space and time.

As Hanoch Gutfreund (former president of Hebrew University and chair of its academic committee for the Albert Einstein archives) says, ” This changed our understanding of space, time, gravitation, and really the entire universe.”

Rothberg International School Science Train

What were Einstein’s breakthroughs? Who developed cherry tomatoes? Can a spinning top rotate in the air?

To mark National Science Day (and Einstein’s Birthday) on March 14, the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and Israel Railways are organizing a ‘Science Train’ traversing Israel from Beer Sheva to Haifa, as part of the monthly ‘Scientists on the Trains’ lecture series.

Commuters on the train will be treated to lectures on the contribution of Albert Einstein to humanity; will meet one of the scientists who developed cherry tomatoes and learn how a scientist develops an invention; and will witness physics experiments during their train journey.

Prof. Hanoch Gutfreund, physicist and former president of the Hebrew University, will talk about Albert Einstein’s contribution to science, whose birthday on March 14 is marked by National Science Day. “In Einstein’s life, there were two years during which he made scientific breakthroughs that changed our outlook on the world forever and influenced not only modern physics but also our daily lives,” says Prof. Gutfreund. “Thanks to his understanding of the essence of light and its interaction with matter, many technologies have been developed – from the elevator door to ballistic missiles.”

Prof. Haim Rabinowitch, former rector of the Hebrew University, will talk about the development process of cherry tomatoes, which he developed with Prof. Nachum Kedar. “We were looking for a way to slow down the quick ripening of regular tomatoes, a phenomenon that is typical for large tomatoes in hot countries. After a great deal of work over many months, in 1973 we succeeded in identifying the appropriate genetic combination to slow down maturation, and developed a way to exploit the genes to enhance the tomatoes,” explains Prof. Rabinowitch.

Cherry tomatoes will be distributed to passengers on the train during the lecture.

Yehonadav Bekenstein, physicist and instructor in the Hebrew University’s youth science courses, will be demonstrating experiments to passengers that deal with the questions: What do mountain trains, nuclear submarines and riding bikes have in common? Why doesn’t a car turn over when it takes a sharp turn? And how is this related to planetary orbits around the sun? Can a spinning top rotate in the air? Newton’s law, angular momentum, centripetal force, centripetal acceleration, coriolis affect, inertia principal and movement without friction.

The first lecture by Prof. Gutfreund will take place on the train departing from Beer Sheva Central at 10:27 a.m., and the physics experiments will take place on the same line at 11:15 a.m. The lecture by Prof. Rabinowitch will take place when the train departs from Tel Aviv University towards Haifa at 12:20 p.m. At 1:28 p.m., Prof. Rabinowitch will give another lecture on the train leaving Haifa Hof HaCarmel to Tel Aviv.