Internationally acclaimed for its dazzling originality and high-tech accomplishments, Tel Aviv University's School of Electrical Engineering is Israel's largest and most influential.

The Jewel in the Crown

Microwave drills. Brain cells grown on microchips. Computer vision. With technologies heretofore seen only in science fiction, Tel Aviv University's electrical engineers are shaping the world’s reality -- and Israel's future. "This School is the diamond of the Israeli economy, and our graduates are among the most brilliant," says Prof. Ehud Heyman, dean of the Faculty of Engineering.

Offering 30 different laboratories, a diverse and distinguished faculty, and a location in the heart of Israeli industry and commerce, Tel Aviv University's School of Electrical Engineering is a magnet for gifted young scholars. "Our graduates are the best in Israel, and our acceptance thresholds the highest, making entrance very competitive," says Prof. Anthony Weiss, the School's head.

With the highest graduate student-to-undergrad ratio in the country, the School of Electrical Engineering encompasses subspecialties in physics and computer systems. Interdisciplinary research is encouraged. Included among the thousands of research projects the School has fostered are pioneering work in artificial intelligence, optical diagnostic microchips, and biotech devices that can "sniff" out bombs and poisons.

Forecasting Future Technology

The nano-technology laboratory.

The world might look a little different were it not for engineers from Tel Aviv University.

Free Internet telephone calls might not have been invented. Cancer-detection medical imaging devices might be less powerful. The ubiquitous flash drive might not exist. Cell phones might not be as convenient to use, and NASA's on-board solar energy systems might not have been possible.

With such an impressive track record, it isn't surprising when international industry turns to Tel Aviv University to forecast technologies of the future. In an ongoing project, Intel has asked the School of Electrical Engineering to predict what microprocessors will be able to do in the year 2020. It's this kind of vision that the American government has in mind when they invest research dollars in the School. Possessed of technical know-how, creativity and discretion, Tel Aviv University engineers are sought out by government agencies and corporations around the world.

An Economic and Social Engine

Wave research laboratory.

Israel has the world's highest percentage of engineers per capita -- 135 in 10,000 versus 85 in 10,000 in the U.S, for example. With Israel's population largely built by immigration, says Dean Heyman, engineering is an important vehicle for social mobility. In training and nurturing some of the nation's most innovative and highly skilled engineers, Tel Aviv University is providing them and their families with the tools for social advancement.

Today, the Israeli economy hinges on advances made in engineering, which are responsible for $19 billion a year in exports -- the most significant contributor to the country's GNP. Megacorporations, including IBM, GE, Microsoft and Intel, are convinced of the quality of the School of Electrical Engineering's scientists. They recruit graduates right out of the classroom -- at an exceptionally high rate -- to work in major Israel-based R&D centers, which are among the largest in the world.

"Simply put," says Prof. Heyman, "the Israeli economy is based on engineering, and electrical engineering is perhaps the most influential." The excellence of Tel Aviv University's School of Engineering can help Israel maintain its competitive edge internationally and ensure Israel's economy remains strong and continues to grow for the next 60 years.

How You Can Raise the Bar for Excellence

The echoless electro-magnetism laboratory.

To meet the demands of today's high-tech industry, an undergraduate degree in engineering is just the beginning. Additional study is essential, but out of reach for many promising engineering students. Your annual contribution of $100,000 can provide scholarships and expenses for 3 gifted post-doctoral researchers -- and help meet Israel's demand for cutting-edge scientists.

To expand opportunities for discovery, additional laboratories at the School of Electrical Engineering are of great importance. Three laboratories -- any of which can be established with a gift of $1 million -- are high on the School's list of priorities. They are a nanoelectronic devices lab, a nonlinear optics lab, and a lab to advance high frequency electronics for communications -- and each has excellent potential for expanding research profiles and creating new technologies.

A first in Israel, the School of Electrical Engineering is currently building a dedicated Center for Communication Technologies with a basic endowment from Intel. From engineering electronic devices on a nano-scale to furthering information technology, this new Center will integrate all disciplines in the field of communications, and multiply the possibilities for research. Your $2 million donation to the Center will establish the kind of innovative programs the School is known for -- programs that will have a profound impact on the future.

The School of Electrical Engineering
Alumni Say...

TZVIKA FRIEDMAN

1987 B.Sc.
1990 M.A.
Currently: CEO of Alvarion, a NASDAQ-traded WiMAXTM and wireless broadband company

"I completed my Master's degree at the School of Engineering and was already employed as an engineer at the same time," says Friedman. "The technology aspect of my studies helped me handle complex situations, notice things in advance and analyze complicated issues.

"As the only technology university in the center of Israel, Tel Aviv University can maintain rigid acceptance policies and employ the best professors. This allows them to keep and produce high-quality human capital."

When he was a student, Friedman researched an area in Electrical Engineering known as adaptive control. "This is a way to control actions, and in my case, to control parameters in a robotic arm in an adaptive way. My research involved building several digital adaptive control loops, which could later be used to get the robot to fulfill a number of tasks and complex functions accurately," he says. The research was later adopted to a practical use by an Israeli company for the Italian car industry.

Today, Friedman is working in an area far from robotics -- as the CEO of Alvarion, a publicly traded NASDAQ company that provides WiMAX and broadband network solutions.

IGAL ROTEM

1987 B.Sc.
1988 M.B.A. (Recanati School of Business Administration at TAU)
Currently: CEO of PowerDsine, a subsidiary of Microsemi in the U.S.

"Other schools in Israel pride themselves on producing engineers, but Tel Aviv University's claim to fame is that it produces scientists," says Igal Rotem, the CEO and founder of PowerDsine, a NASDAQ-traded company bought in 2007 by the semi-conductor company Microsemi.

"The strong science and research background Tel Aviv University gave me was much more than the ability and skills to design a product -- graduates leave with pure scientific tools," says Rotem, who won the 2004 Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year award.

Although Rotem started studying later than most -- during an 11-year army career in an elite technology unit -- Tel Aviv University was the only university in Israel that offered Rotem a fast-track opportunity to earn an engineering degree in only 6 consecutive semesters (instead of 8 semesters).

"I always knew I wanted to be an entrepreneur," he says, "The combination of engineering and then an M.B.A. at Tel Aviv University was the winning combination."

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