Lectures, Chips, and Zebras: The Faculty of Engineering's Annual Conference

Just before the start of the academic year, the Faculty of Engineering held its annual conference at the Dan Accadia Hotel in Herzliya. "The conference is an opportunity for faculty members and students to get to know each other, mingle, laern about research in the faculty, initiate research collaborations, and bond," said Dr. Hila Chalutz Ben-Gal, one of the conference organizers. "This conference combines both academia and fun, and provides an opportunity for faculty members and graduate students to mingle, which is something I find wonderful."

Alongside Dr. Chalutz Ben-Gal, the organizing committee included Dr. Nisan Ozana, Dr. Yatir Sadia, doctoral student Yuval Tamir, and faculty office coordinator Shimrit Ben Aharon. The conference's first day was dedicated primarily to the academic side of things. It featured three lecture sessions, poster blitz and poster presentation events, as well as an external lecture about an initiative by ultra-Orthodox women in a dedicated chip company. But there was still room for fun: the evening event was organized by students Alex Glick from Dr. Shahar Alon's group and Shir Hartman from Dr. Yaara Erez's group. Conference attendees were divided into tables, each table received a tray of items, and the groups were asked to use these items to create a product that addresses a research question. Among the inventions: a device that tested whether a zebra is white with black stripes or black with white stripes incorporating AI technology; research that tested energy and alternative energy on animals fed sweets, including a whole animal model and cellular model, with a sensor in the animal's head that responds to food and scents; a protective device against elephants in Thailand; and even an attempt to build a device to track down the Louvre jewelry thieves. First place went to the group that examined the electrical response of zebras to trance music. "It was a collaboration that might create future partnerships," said Faculty Dean Prof. Orit Shefi with a smile."

The following day started with fun: after breakfast, conference attendees could choose from several pre-planned activities, including a movement workshop led by Prof. Moti Fridman. Later in the day, three additional lecture sessions were held. Faculty Dean Prof. Orit Shefi delivered a short presentation on the faculty's vision, its development, and its future. At the day's end, the conference's outstanding posters were announced and prizes were presented to the winners: Michal Poplinger from Prof. Doron Naveh's lab; Michal Katan from Prof. Dror Fixler's lab; Shir Hartman from Dr. Yaara Erez's lab; and Hadar Eger and Yaara Karasik from Dr. Shahar Alon's lab.

"As far as I'm concerned, this event is significant for students and faculty members, especially new ones. In the past year, we welcomed eight new faculty members, and this was an opportunity for them to get to know everyone better," says Prof. Shefi. "I was very happy to see the students take the opportunity to speak, present their research, mingle at meals and social activities, and meet people outside their lab and research group. It was a meaningful bonding event."