100 years of achievements
100 years of contribution to Israel

OVERVIEW

Welcome

Welcome to the Technion Centennial website, dedicated to celebrating the first 100 years of one of the world’s premier academic institutions in science and technology. Established in 1924, the Technion endeavors to develop knowledge and human capital for the benefit of the State of Israel and all of humanity. With 18 academic departments, 52 research centers, and over 13,000 students, the Technion stands at the forefront of groundbreaking research in a variety of fields; included among them are AI, energy, nanotechnology, and the life sciences.

The Technion has played a decisive role in shaping generations of engineers and scientists, and the achievements of its researchers and graduates have led to countless technological breakthroughs that have positively impacted the well-being of humanity.

Join us as we celebrate the Technion's remarkable legacy and exciting future.

MILESTONES

Milestones

1912

Cornerstone laying ceremony, 24th of Nissan, 5682 (April 25, 1922), for the Technikum building (later known as the Technion) in the Hadar neighborhood.

1923

During his only visit to the Land of Israel, on February 11th, 1923, Prof. Albert Einstein toured the Technikum and the Reali school. He planted two palm trees in front of the main building. Upon his return to Germany, he established the first Friends of the Technicum Association.

1925

On the 15th of Shvat, 5685 (February 9, 1925), the ceremony marking the official opening took place in the presence of two leaders of the Zionist administration: Sir Alfred Mond (Lord Melchett), the honorary president of the Technion; and Menachem Ussishkin.

1928

Seventeen students, including one woman completed their studies at the Technion. This first graduating class included ten engineers and seven were architects. Over the course of its 100-year existence, the Technion has graduated over 95,000 alumni from 18 faculties.

1935

Technion welcomed professors and scientists who immigrated from Germany. They founded the Technological Department which later became the faculties of Mechanical Engineering, Electrical Engineering and Chemical Engineering.

1951

The Technion logo, which continues to serve the institute to this day, was unveiled.

1953

The cornerstone of the Faculty of Aerospace Engineering was laid on April 21st,1953. This event marked the establishment of the Technion campus in Neve Sha’anan.

1958

The Winston Churchill Auditorium was inaugurated on the Technion’s main campus.

1962

The Technion awarded Prime Minister David Ben-Gurion an honorary doctorate of Architecture for his role as a prime mover in creation of the State of Israel.

1969

Founding of the medical school, later to become the Ruth and Bruce Rapport Faculty of Medicine.

1974

Establishment of the Microelectronics Center - A team of researchers led by Prof. Yitzhak Kidron developed detectors for night vision systems. This innovation was crucially important to the development of electro-optics in Israel.

1977

The Lempel-Ziv Algorithm - The first version of the algorithm that constituted a basis for vital data compression technologies – such as ZIP, PNG, TIFF and GIF – and served a major role in the PDF format (for documents) and the MP-3 format (for music).

1985

Rasagiline, known commercially as Azilect – a therapeutic drug for Parkinson's, was developed by Prof. John Finberg and Prof. Moussa Youdim working jointly with Teva Pharmaceuticals. It was approved by the FDA in 2005.

1990

The Technion absorbed into its ranks a large number of immigrants from the former Soviet Union– as students, academic, and administrative staff members. The effect on research since then is marked.

1998

Microsatellite - The Gurwin II TechSat was launched into space in July 1998 and it performed varied tasks in space for more than ten years.

2001

Founding of Mazor Robotics Ltd. Prof. Moshe Shoham developed a robotic system for surgical tool navigation in spinal cord surgery.

2004

The 2004 Nobel Prize in Chemistry was awarded to Distinguished Professors Avram Hershko and Aaron Ciechanover and their colleague Prof. Irwin Rose, for their discovery of the ubiquitin system which is responsible for protein degradation in living organisms.

2005

Inauguration of the Sarah and Moshe Zisapel Nanoelectronics Center with an overall investment of 100 million USD – a multidisciplinary, interfaculty institute that transformed the field of nanotechnology in Israel.

2009

Iron Dome in operational use - This system, developed by a group of Technion graduates working at Rafael Advanced Defence Systems Ltd. was created to counter the threat of rocket fire on southern Israel.

2011

Distinguished Professor Dan Shechtman received the 2011 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for the discovery of a crystal with fivefold rotational symmetry – a phenomenon that, for nearly 70 years, was thought to be impossible.

2011

Founding of Jacobs Technion-Cornell Institute - Technion and Cornell University won a City of New York competition to build an Applied Sciences graduate center in the city. 2017 – inauguration of the new campus on Roosevelt Island in the heart of New York.

2013

Guangdong Technion - Israel Institute of Technology (GTIIT) - A historic joint enterprise between the Li Ka Shing Foundation, the Guangdong Provincial Government, the Shantou Municipality Government and the Technion. The campus was inaugurated in 2017.

2014

Israel Prize winner for research in chemistry and physics was awarded to Distinguished Professor Moti Segev for his groundbreaking work in the field of optics and lasers.

2017

A breakthrough in the manufacture of cultured meat by Prof. Shulamit Levenberg, a tissue engineering researcher, led to the establishment of Aleph Farms Ltd. and to the fabrication of the first lab-grown entrecote steak cut in history.

2019

Founding of H2Pro Ltd. Production of green hydrogen, the fuel of the future - The company is grounded on technology developed at the Technion by members of the Grand Technion Energy Program (GTEP): Prof. Gideon Grader, Prof. Avner Rothschild.

2020

Quantum Physics - first observation of the flow of light in materials by Prof. Ido Kaminer.

TIMELINE

Technion Digital Timeline

This digital platform will reveal a series of photos and documents taken from significant Technion events, developments, and milestones over the last 100 years. Technion students, faculty, staff, retirees, and alumni are be invited to share their stories and contribute to this shared timeline.

Access the timeline