Change of Dean Ceremony

The Change of Dean ceremony at the Faculty of Engineering was held in late October. The emotional ceremony was hosted by former BIU spokesperson, Haim Zisowitz, and first to speak was the University’s Rector, Prof. Amnon Albeck. “We have an excellent Faculty that, in a relatively short period, managed to climb the rankings. Ze’ev pushed the Faculty forward in terms of number of students, faculty members, and new programs. You have much to your credit as the person who made this the leading Faculty in Israel, and for that we owe you much gratitude. Good luck in your new role and in advancing science, as is your nature,” said Prof. Albeck to Prof. Zalevski, outgoing Dean of the Faculty of Engineering. Turning to the new Dean, Prof. Orit Shefi, he said: “These are big shoes to fill, and we are certain that you can rise to the challenge.”

Prof. Shula Michaeli, outgoing Vice President of Research, spoke on behalf of the University’s administration. “Ze’ev and I have worked together for years, I always sat beside him at the nano committee. He is among the Faculty’ founders, and is leaving after strenuous work during challenging times, with this being a time of war as well; 40% of our students are out on reserve duty. It has been a real challenge getting everyone through, and you’ve done it spectacularly,” she said to Porf. Zalevski, adding that despite the challenges, the Faculty of Engineering saw a rise in research grants over the past year. She then addressed Prof. Shefi: “Orit, I remember the first nano conference, how thrilled I was to have women engaged in nanoscience. This is a huge responsibility, a Faculty that has grown and has more growth in its future. The Faculty of Engineering is proud of its achievements, and it’s important to promote unity among faculty members.” She then added, “I always use both my heart and mind, and my advice to you is to employ both in your work.”

Next to speak was Head of the Faculty’s Administration, Dr. Yossi Talyosef. “When I ask myself, what is an engineer, I recall my daughter’s answer when she started studying electrical engineering: Engineers turn people’s dreams into a reality,” he shared. “When you have dreams to bring to life, you run into many obstacles; a door is slammed in your face and you have to find a window. But Ze’ev, when someone closes a door, he still manages to propose 3-4 other ideas, just enough to re-open that door. There is no one more suitable than him for his new role, and I wish him the very best.” Of Prof. Shefi he said: “Orit is the right woman at the right time. There is no one at the Faculty of Engineering more capable of coping with the challenges we are facing, as we continue to grow and expand without ever forgetting what matters most – research excellence, teaching, and seeing people as people, which Orit does spectacularly."

Shmuel Piemonte, first-year electrical engineering student and former trumpeter aat the IDF orchestra, played a medley of music by Ilanit. Next came a screening of a Channel 12 piece on Prof. Zalevski, The Patent Professor. Channel 12 are not the only ones to call him that; the title was also mentioned in a Ynet article about Zalevski.

Then it was time for the Patent Professor himself to take the stage. He had an open discussion onstage with Haim Zisowitz where he shared amusing anecdotes of his career. In his speech, Prof. Zalevski noted the Faculty of Engineering’s impressive achievements under his administration, including new tracks and programs, a sharp increase in student numbers, and the upcoming new building which will double the Faculty’s area. Addressing his successor, Prof. Shefi, he said: “I suggest you always keep two cups on hand – one for coffee, to have the energy and perk to deal with the things you can affect, and one for alcohol, to cope with the things you cannot.” Two of the Faculty’s newest members, Sr. Dor Atzmon and Dr. Hila Chalutz-Ben Gal, presented him with a gift on behalf of the University: a framed mockup of the new Faculty of Engineering building, signifying the Faculty’s advances during his term.

The ceremony then shifted focus to Prof. Shefi, incoming Dean, with a video review of her academic work. In her speech, Prof. Shefi mentioned the significance of interdisciplinary collaboration, mentioning Nobelists John Hopfield and Geoffrey Hinton, developers of Machine Learning. “They were inspired by the brain and neural networks, used physics models and advanced via mathematics until they reached modern ML innovations, which are already affecting us all; Machine Learning is at the core of engineering. In fact, to reach this breakthrough, they had to employ out-of-the-box thinking which, in my opinion, is the cornerstone of engineering.”

Prof. Shefi expressed her gratitude to Prof. Zalevski: “For those of you who do not know him personally, the word ‘no’ is not part his vocabulary – only ‘yes’ and ‘can’, and on behalf of all Faculty members, I want to apologize if we abused that sometimes." As for her future plans, Prof. Shefi shared: “As Dean, I am committed to continue pushing our Faculty forward, to excellence in research and teaching, while making our Faculty a home to every one of its members. I hope to increase diversity, increase community involvement, expand the human potential we have at our disposal, make us more internationally-inclined, welcome students from around the world and send our students overseas, and promote fruitful industry collaboration. I hope we can not only provide our students with the fundamentals of engineering, but also the love of thinking like an engineer, the love of the profession and research, and help them form the professional and community network moving forward.” She did not fail to thank her family, both real and academic – the students in her lab, senior and associate faculty members, the administrative staff, and Head of the Faculty’s Administration, Dr. Yossi Talyosef. She concluded with a plea for the safe return of the hostages and soldiers, the recovery of the wounded, and the return of all residents to their homes.