Engineering & Exact Sciences
Providing a Window into Electron Glass
MA candidate Ariel Eisenbach is examining a phenomenon that has long eluded condensed matter physicists: the slow, internal dynamics of electron glass. He seeks to elucidate why electrons in these highly disordered systems behave so differently – and at a far more sluggish pace – than their counterparts in crystals. Full Article>>
Mathematics Meets – and Beats – Cyber-Terror
In the modern world, computers are indispensible for keeping track of the data too complicated to manage with brain-power alone. But there’s a hitch: the interconnectedness of today’s computer systems exposes sensitive data in ways never before possible. According to Dr. Osnat Keren, in the age of cyber-attacks and credit card fraud over the Internet, there is another “Achilles heel” that we overlook at our peril: the vulnerability of our hardware devices.
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A Decade of Discovery at the Gonda (Goldschmied) Multidisciplinary Brain Research Center
On July 25, 1989, President George Bush signed a resolution declaring the 1990s to be “The Decade of the Brain,” signaling America’s commitment to neuroscience research. In another event that was a decade in the making, Bar-Ilan now celebrates the tenth anniversary of one of its flagship institutions: the University’s Leslie and Susan Gonda (Goldschmied) Multidisciplinary Brain Research Center. Full Article>>
Lilach Hedvati: Developing Better Drugs through Molecular Chemistry
As the Director of Chemical Research and Development for the Israeli pharmaceutical giant Teva, Bar-Ilan alumna Lilach Hedvati has worked on some of the most important generic drugs in the world. These include medications to treat high blood pressure, neuropathic pains and HIV. During her seven years at Teva, she has worked her way up the corporate ladder and now all of the generic drug units in the chemical R&D group report to her. Full Article>>
The Research of PhD Candidate Ron Adany
What do electric vehicles, shipping containers, and a day’s television broadcast have in common? If you’re Ron Adany, a fourth year PhD student in BIU’s Department of Computer Science, all three represent puzzles, best approached through a computational discipline known as optimization.
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Brain Communication
Reading helps us make connections between words and ideas. But what are the connections forged in our brain through the act of reading itself? This question is the basis of the work of Dr. Michal Ben-Shachar, as she explores how the acquisition of reading skills affects neural structures associated with language processing. Full Article>>
Engineering a Wireless World
When Italian physicist Guglielmo Marconi sent the first radio transmission across the Atlantic Ocean in 1901, it created an international sensation. But today, wireless communication is a given, with cell-phones and other electronic devices making it easy to talk to anyone, anywhere, and providing instant access to all the riches of the online world. Full Article>>
New Technology Lets you “See” Sound
“Your head is like the sound box of a guitar,” says Bar-Ilan Prof. Zeev Zalevsky. “When you talk, it vibrates according to the frequency of your speech.” That playful analogy belies a astonishing invention: Zalevsky and colleague Javier Garcia at the University of Valencia in Spain, working with PhD research done by Yevgeny Beiderman at Bar-Ilan, have created a laser-based device that can “see” sound. Full Article>>
Finding Space in the Crowded Airwaves
The need for wireless spectrum today is increasing at a relentless and often times alarming pace. New devices are all demanding access, so much so that the available spectrum is rapidly becoming a scarce - and expensive - resource. But, as Dr. Aniela Somekh-Baruch, of the Bar-Ilan University School of Engineering reports, that spectrum is far from being used optimally. Full Article>>
Speeding up the Next Generation of Computing
In 1965, Intel co-founder Gordon Moore postulated that the number of transistors that can be put on an integrated circuit would double every 18 months. This rule, dubbed “
Algorithms to Improve Hearing
Have you ever been at a party, maybe with loud music, and you just couldn’t hear the person to whom you were speaking? You nod your head and hope the conversation will end soon. The agony is only exacerbated when you’re trying to converse with more than one person at a time. A new technology by Prof. Sharon Gannot, an associate professor in the
Operator, My Cell Phone Has a Virus
Prof. Shlomo Havlin, recipient of the Tel-Aviv 2009 Chaim Weizmann Prize for Exact Sciences, researches the dynamics of complex, non-homogeneous, networks like the Internet and cellular telephone networks. He’s created a mathematical model for understanding the phenomena that occur in these networks, particularly those that behave like viruses, and spread like influenza or other pathogens. Full Article>>
What is the Connection Between Random Numbers and Lasers?
Random number generation doesn’t sound like anything too important or difficult, but it has great relevance in many scientific fields, especially data encryption. Bar-Ilan University Professors Ido Kanter and Michael Rosenbluh, along with their students Igor Reidler, Yaara Aviad, and Elad Cohen, published an article in the January 2010 issue of Nature Photonics about their successful creation of a reliable, ultrafast random number generator — using, curiously,laser beams. Full Article>>
Quiet after the Storm
The challenge of processing speech signals has intrigued Prof. Sharon Gannot of the Bar-Ilan University School of Engineering ever since he was a Master’s candidate. Currently, he, his students, and colleagues from abroad are developing algorithms that improve speech reception in various complex environments, ranging from a single speaker surrounded by loud noise, to several moving speakers with lots of background sounds. Full Article>>
Building a Better (Medical) Molecule
When it comes to the study of disease, experimentalists depend on models to test their theories. Some models are in vitro – a term describing work with cells or tissues that can be manipulated in a test tube. Other models are in vivo – a term describing experiments involving living organisms. But in the laboratory of Dr. Shai Rahimipour, a new recruit to the Department of Chemistry, who came to Bar-Ilan in 2007 after completing post-doctoral research at The Scripps Research Institute in
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Gunning for Good Neuroscience
When they appear together, the words “gun” and “laser” make most people think of science fiction. But in the hands of Dr. Orit Shefi, a recently recruited faculty member at Bar-Ilan’s
Prof. Yehuda Lindell: The Art of Sharing Secrets
The Internet makes connecting with others easy – so easy, in fact, that security minded surfers often go to great lengths to protect their privacy. But according to Prof. Yehuda Lindell of Bar-Ilan’s Department of Computer Science, true Internet anonymity involves more than making careful use of credit cards during online shopping sprees. In fact, says the 38 year old, Melbourne-born cryptologist, whenever we’re online we reveal an enormous amount of information we never meant to share.
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Enlisting Robots for Guard Duty
What is the optimal way to deploy a robot patrol squad along a security fence or around an army base? Profs. Gal Kaminka and Sarit Kraus, and their crack BIU computer science research team are investigating how to achieve successful "robotic guarding". Their findings bode well for Israeli defense and are triggering the formation of the world's first robot border patrol. Full Article>>
High-Tech Justice for All
Two Bar-Ilan University researchers, Professors Ruth Kannai and Uri Schild, have created a unique "Criminal Justice Decision Support System" that helps judges properly assess a defendant's criminal history when handing down a sentence.
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