Past Events

Mr. Benjamin Soffer joined the Technion as manager of T3, the Technion Technology Transfer office, in 2005. The T3 is the private sector's gateway to Technion innovation, and it also assists Technion researchers to bring their innovations to market through facilitation of patents and financial support. As part of his duties at T3, Mr. Soffer is responsible for the establishment of start up companies and the commercialization of technologies arising from the Technion research.

Prior to his position at the Technion, Mr. Soffer served as managing director of TopNotch Capital, one of Israel's leading life sciences investment banking boutiques, and was an investment advisor at Highbridge Capital, a $10 billion private equity fund based in New York (now owned by JP Morgan Chase). Between 1999 and 2003 he served as Israel's economic attaché in Boston. There, Mr. Soffer was responsible for enhancing economic and business relations between Israel and the US Northeast region.

A certified lawyer in Israel and in the state of New York, Mr. Soffer has interned at Israel's Supreme Court and studied law at Tel Aviv University and at Ludwig Maximilian University in Munich. (He is fluent in German).

Mr. Soffer has served on the boards of directors of numerous high growth companies including Genegraft, S.L.P Ltd, Regentis Biomaterials, EORD, Guide-X, Slender Medical. Mr. Soffer also serves in the Israel Defense Forces, holding the rank of Captain (Reserves).

Imagine air conditioning powered by the sun and genetically modified plants for more efficient biofuels. Imagine solar panels that incorporate nanotechnology and stronger, longer lasting batteries. Scientists believe that new energy sources could have a transformational effect as great as that of the industrial revolution.

Israel has a fundamental national interest in developing alternative energy resources. As one of the few non-oil producing countries in the Middle East, its security situation makes energy independence a matter of survival.

The Technion Energy Program will put Israel at the forefront of global energy research, finding solutions to the world’s energy crisis, while safeguarding Israel's security, economic prosperity and environment. This latest cutting-edge research is being done at Technion, home to Israel's Nobel scientists.

Better Place is an exciting and innovative California company working to build electric car networks powered by renewable energy, using technology available today. Its goals are sustainable transportation and freedom from oil. Founded in October 2007, Better Place has announced cooperative agreements with Israel, Denmark, Australia, and the States of Hawaii and California to transform their transportation infrastructure from oil-based to renewable energy and significantly reduce harmful emissions. Shai Agassi, Founder and President of the company, is an honors graduate of the Technion.

Eyal Levy, Oren Etzoni, Assoc. Prof. Markovitch, and Prof. Natan share their groundbreaking work and explain how it will impact the future of Washington, Israel, and people's lives worldwide.

Eyal Levy is managing partner at the venture capital fund, GTD Capital LLC. He was previously the founder and managing partner at the AIG Orion Fund and president and CEO of Pelephone Communications Ltd., Israel's first and leading cellular operator. Eyal served as vice president of personal communications products at Motorola Inc. Eyal also served as the COO of Pi Corp., a Seattle based startup that was sold to EMC. Eyal is the incoming president of the Washington-Israel Business Council.

Oren Etzioni received his bachelor's degree in Computer Science from Harvard University in June 1986, when he was the first Harvard student to "major" in computer science. Etzioni received his Ph.D. from Carnegie Mellon University in January 1991, and joined the University of Washington's faculty, where he is now professor of computer science, in February 1991. He is the founder and director of the University of Washington's Turing Center and the author of over 100 technical papers. He is a venture partner at the Madrona Venture Group, and founder of three companies including Farecast, which utilizes data mining techniques to anticipate airfare fluctuations. Farecast was acquired by Microsoft in April 2008.

Devising a way to impart computers with an encyclopedic knowledge of the world, Assoc. Professor Shaul Markovitch has developed ways to allow computers to "think" smarter and make connections between topics just as the human mind does. This soon-to-be-patented breakthrough, which utilizes the online encyclopedia Wikipedia, will help computers perform tasks such as automatic mail filtering, intelligence gathering, and web searching in a much more sophisticated manner.

How do rockets achieve the speeds they need to leave the earth's orbit? Chemicals consisting of gel propellants hold the promise of launching ever faster and more efficient rockets for space exploration and defense. Technion Professor Benny Natan is a world-renowned aerospace expert whose 12-member research team specializes in rocket propulsion.

Learn about Israel's strong business economy and discover why Israel is the best place in the world to invest"

Founded in 2004 and headquartered in New York, 21Ventures is a venture capital fund which invests in seed and early stage Israeli technology companies in the physical security, clean energy and mobile software markets. The fund’s primary geographic focus is Israel, where over half of the company’s investment capital has been deployed to date. 21Ventures is currently managing more than $100 million worth of investments in 20 companies in both Israel and the United States.

Professor Amos Guiora will give an insightful and cautionary presentation on preparing corporations for the potentially crippling impact of natural disasters and acts of terrorism. This lecture will appeal to all corporate officers, directors, and their legal counsel and financial advisors.

Mitchell Barak is CEO of Keevoon Research, Strategy & Communications Ltd. and former adviser to Prime Ministers Ariel Sharon and Benjamin Netanyahu and to Ministers of Finance Yaakov Neeman and Dan Meridor

Mr. Barak addressed many key issues concerning doing business in Israel. Topics included: Why Israeli franchises have been more successful than foreign ones; Why Subway and Starbucks failed in Israel; Who Israelis are and what they think; What cultural differences and religious issues should be considered when conducting business; Why Israel is a world leader in technology and bio-tech start-ups; Who the influential players in the Israeli economy are; Who the political leaders, personalities and parties are; Who the Russians are and how are they different from native Israelis; The affects that the "security situation" has on business; The changes have taken place in the IDF that affect the stability of Israel.

Professor Ovadia Harari, guest lecturer in the Technion Faculty of Aeronautics, is the chairman of the board of Urban Aeronautics, an Israeli company located in Yavne that has developed a revolutionary take-off and landing technology. He has almost four decades of impressive engineering and top management experience at the Israel Aircraft Industries (IAI).

A Technion alumnus, Prof. Harari received his bachelor's degree in the Faculty of Aeronautical Engineering in 1964 and, while obtaining his master’s degree from the same faculty, served as a project officer in the Israeli Air Force. In 1969, he received his first Israel National Defense Award in 1969 (and his second in 1975). In 1987, he received the Israel Prize for engineering and technology.

Prof. Harari spent almost his entire career at IAI, a company recognized globally as a leader in developing military and commercial aerospace technology. He joined the company in 1970 and went on to hold several positions in the Lavi fighter aircraft program, including Task Force Head, Program Manager and Chief Engineer between 1975 and 1987. He continued making his way up to top management as Lahav Division General Manager, which involved the development of combat aircraft major weapon system upgrades; Division General Manager of the Arrow antiballistic missile defense system; Corporate Vice President and General Manager of the Military Aircraft Group; and Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer. In November 2005, he was appointed acting CEO and served in this role until January 2006. Prof. Harari is best known for his role in the Lavi program. Four prototype aircraft were manufactured and two successfully flown before the Israeli government ended the program in 1987. Prof. Harari later helped with the development of the Arrow Weapon System, a crucial component of Israel’s defense against enemy missiles. He played a leading role in improving IAI's efficiency, implementing innovative management methodologies, and was an early advocate for the development and growth of the roles played by unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV).

Followed by a briefing on the Israeli economy by Shai Aizin, Counsel for Economic Affairs, Government of Israel Economic Mission.

The US-Israel Bi-national Industrial Research and Development (BIRD) Foundation supports joint Israeli-American development projects in various areas of technology through matchmaking and funding. BIRD assists in identifying R&D partners and provides support of up to 50% of a joint project's budget, beginning with R&D and ending with the initial stages of sales and marketing. BIRD shares the risk and does not demand that the investment be repaid if the project fails to reach sales stage. Visit www.birdf.com for more information.