Back to school daze

October 21, 2009 - 11:10 AM by David · 1 Comment
Filed under: A New Reality, General, Life 

hu280,000 students started attending classes this week at universities and colleges throughout Israel. No strikes this year, which comes as a pleasant surprise.

An article in Yediot Aharonot over the weekend offered some interesting facts and stats about the the face of Israeli higher education which might be eye-opening for some, such as…

– There are 66 institutions of higher learning in the country, including 34 academic colleges (or junior colleges as they’re called Stateside) and 24 vocational schools.

– Tel Aviv University boast the biggest student body of the nation’s eight universities with 25,800 students, followed by Hebrew University with 23,000, Bar-Ilan University with 22,00, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev with 20,600, University of Haifa with 18,000, the Technion with 13,000, Ariel College with 11,000 and the IDC in Herzilya with 5,200 students. Evidently the Weizmann Institute – the home of recent Israeli Nobel prize winner Ada Yonath is considered a ‘research institute’ and not listed as one of the country’s universities.

– Out of the 221,000 students studying for a bachelor’s degree, 55% are women, and out of those studying for a master’s, 57% are women.

– Onto more important matters, the university cafeteria with the least expensive sandwiches for sale is Tel Aviv University, with a basic sandwich going for only 3 shekels (not sure what’s in that one, maybe just two slices of bread. While the most costly cafeteria sandwich is found at the Technion for 12 shekels (must be organic brain food).

– For a full meal, Bar-Ilan University tips the scales as the most expensive at 27 shekels ($7) with the University of Haifa trailing the field by offering some entrees at 15 shekels.

– Prices of dormitories also fluctuate with Hebrew University costing the most (between 900-1,300 shekels a month) and the Technion being the cheapest at 360-790 shekels.

With tuition becoming more costly each year, students and their parents are sure to be looking at these extra costs in deciding which institution to apply for. My daughter joined the ranks of the 280,000 students as she began classes this week at the instructional college Muzik, a Tel Aviv-based music school. I know that we’ll be urging her to eat meals in her apartment as much as possible.

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Foto Friday – Solar UFOs Over Haifa

June 27, 2008 - 6:27 AM by Rachel Neiman · Leave a Comment
Filed under: Environment, Foto Friday, General, Pop Culture, Technology 

Haifa is Israel’s home to UFO activity but these objects, although flying, aren’t unidentified. They’re prototypes for the SunHopes project, a breakthrough solar energy product developed by Dr. Pini Gurfil and Dr. Joseph Cory of the Technion, Israel Institute of Technology.
Joseph Cory - SunHopes
According to the project website, “Lightweight, thin-film photovoltaic cells are attached to the exterior surface of large helium balloons levitating at altitudes ranging from a few meters to a few hundred meters. The electricity generated by the cells is then conducted to the ground using electrical cables…” In other words, higly sophisticated balloon-on-a-string technology!
Joseph Cory - SunHopes
These magnificent photos document the project’s successful 2007 pilot, in which 50 watts of power were generated. That’s enough juice for only a single dim light bulb, but hey!, that’s what pilots are for. The project is seeking funding for the R&D phase for an upgraded prototype, capable of providing 1 kilowatt of power, and then, as my dad used to say, we’ll be cookin’ with gas.
Joseph Cory - SunHopes
A word about flying saucers and Haifa. In March 1950, Reuters reported that, “Flying saucers… have been reported skittering in all directions across the heavens above the Mediterranean. In Haifa today, reports circulated that they had been seen over northern Israel.” Throughout the 1980s, tales of mysterious flashing lights were periodically reported by local Haifa rag “Kol Haifa”. A quick flick through Google Hebrew reveals that UFO activity – at least on the part of those actively seeking UFOs – is alive and well. After all, wouldn’t seeing something like this floating over your home one bright day make a true believer out of you?
Joseph Cory - SunHopes

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Weird Wednesday

June 25, 2008 - 3:32 PM by Rachel Neiman · 1 Comment
Filed under: General 

The medical-oenological world was all aflutter this week. A story hit that researchers at the Technion, the Israeli Institute of Technology have developed a white wine with the same health benefits as red wine by boosting the anti-oxidant properties of your favorite chardonnay.

The ISRAEL21c news desk was equally thrilled at reporting another Israeli contribution to the betterment of society, until we discovered that we’d already run the story in 2002.

At that time, researcher Professor Michael Aviram was asked about the difficulty in finding age-appropriate human test subjects and answered, “For $200 a student will drink or eat anything… But what I need to do is look at the effect on arteries”. This time around, Aviram – clearly a man with a gift for the memorable sound bite – is quoted as saying: “There has been an incredible response from those that have heard about the research, with many thinking of taking up drinking white wine more seriously.”

Now, serious drinking of white wine is indeed the sort of story that should be reported on regularly and championed by organizations like Society of Medical Friends of Wine. However, the Technion spokesman assures us that no new research developments have happened. What is news is that Binymina Wineries, which cooperated on the development, is reportedly going to launch the new product in the US later this year.

No word yet on whether the headache I get after drinking white wine has also been eliminated by the new technology.

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