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History of the Technion – Israel Institute of Technology

History of the Technion – Israel Institute of Technology is a science topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand History of the Technion – Israel Institute of Technology rather than just read about it. In short: The Technion – Israel Institute of Technology is a leading technical university in Haifa, Israel, with a history dating back to the early 20th century. Overview Initiated with the help of increasing Jewish unity made possible by the new communication technologies of the Second Industrial Revolution, the Technion – Israel Institute of Technology educated the engineers and brought the expertise to lay the infrastructu…

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Reference excerpt

The Technion – Israel Institute of Technology is a leading technical university in Haifa, Israel, with a history dating back to the early 20th century.

Overview

Initiated with the help of increasing Jewish unity made possible by the new communication technologies of the Second Industrial Revolution, the Technion – Israel Institute of Technology educated the engineers and brought the expertise to lay the infrastructure for the modern Israeli state. This included the fundamental infrastructure of electricity, water supplies and roads. According to a leading British journalist, the Technion story is exemplary for other groups caught in the seemingly impossible task of creating an independent nation: "For more than two decades before the state was created, Technion (Israel Institute of Technology) helped to lay the foundations of the modern state of Israel. The identity of the country as a player in the field of science and technology can be traced to the vision of Technion." Technion would grow rapidly, becoming a global pioneer in biotechnology, satellite research, computer science, nanotechnology and energy. In 2004, Technion professors won Israel's first Nobel Prizes in science. In 2011, Distinguished Prof. Dan Shechtman became Technion's third Nobel Laureate in Chemistry, for his discovery of quasicrystals, or Shechtmanite. It celebrated its cornerstone centennial in 2012 with 12,850 students and 80 graduate programs. In 2011, Technion partnered with Cornell University to submit a winning proposal to New York City to set up the Technion Cornell Institute of Innovation (TCII) on Roosevelt Island.

First plans From the outset, the Zionist movement had a vision of the creation of a Jewish University in the historic land of Israel. Jews were often barred from technical or scientific training, and these skills and a grounded education in engineering were seen as a key to building a Zionist nation. In 1902, Theodor Herzl envisioned Haifa as "a great park....with an overhead electrical train.... a city of magnificent homes and public institutions all made possible by applied science, engineering and technology." (Altneuland) Herzl infused political Zionism with a new and practical urgency. By the fifth Zionist congress at the Stadtcasino Basel in Switzerland in 1901, the pressure was on to found a number of cultural institutions and a resolution was adopted for a "fundamental survey of the question of founding a Jewish university." A group of three young men in their twenties: Martin Buber of Vienna, student of philosophy and Zionist; Berthold Feiwel of Berlin – political writer and editor and Chaim Weizmann – formed a caucus emphasizing the need for a Jewish university with a first objective of education in technology. They produced a document pointing out the difficulties of Jewish youth who sought admission to universities where they lived. The lack of opportunities for technical studies, they wrote, was much more serious for Jewish students than in other studies. The problem was "eminiently economic and social". It meant that in Russia, the Jews were practically excluded from technical professions with the result that they were pushed into commercial occupations. The plan was to set up a preparatory Technikum, in part to train students for the university and in part to serve as an independent institution for the training of young people in technical, agricultural and similar professions. Graduates would be the basis for establishing and maintaining a Jewish industry. In 1903, 60,000 Jews of Palestine had just held elections for the first national democratic assembly, the grandfather of the present Knesset (Israel's parliament). It was called the Knessiah Rishonah (1st assembly). This gathering was special as a first grass-roots attempt to set up the structures of Jewish self-government. Zionist leader Dr. Menahem Ussishkin used the occasion to deliver a keynote address in which he expressed the urgency for an institution of higher education in Palestine. The convention supported a resolution for the establishment of a polytechnical institute in Palestine and the Technion – Israel Institute of Technology (at least on paper) was born. Paul Nathan of the Hilfsverein der deutschen Juden ("Relief Organization of German Jews"), played a central role in bringing together diverse Jewish groups under the Technikum umbrella, and in raising resources.

First funds

The Russian tea merchant Kalonymous Zeev Wissotzky left all his holdings in the family business, approximately 1 million rubles, to philanthropic causes. Among the executors was Ahad Ha-Am, the distinguished Zionist philosopher. Ahad Ha-Am was able to recruit Wissotsky's son David to the Technikum plan, and a first contribution of 100,000 rubles was made. In 1908, the American philanthropist Jacob Schiff was visiting the "holy land". Schiff was affected by the poverty and destitution he found among many of the Jews of Palestine and was inspired by the idea of an institution that would provide technical training. Back in Europe, interest in the new Technikum was kept high. In 1909 Dr. Chaim Weizmann, who would later become President of the State of Israel, reported to a Zionist conference in Manchester that things were going well with the "National Polytecnikum". Wealthy Jews from many lands were already promising generous support.

Choice of Haifa A campaign was mounted by the Jewish community in Jerusalem to host the Technikum, and a special committee was set up to put forward a case for Jerusalem. The case for Haifa proved stronger, and in the end won the day:

Haifa was destined to be the city of the future ... a great port center of industry and shipping. With the building of the Hedjaz railroad, it would be linked to Damascus and Baghdad and would become an important crossroads for land transport as well. The local Jewish community was not yet rigid in its organization and character, unlike Jerusalem, the center of Orthodoxy; or Jaffa, which was a hotbed of Jewish nationalism. The neutrality of Haifa would minimize conflicts, they argued. The local Jewish community was small, and its influence hardly felt in the city. The Technikum would give impetus to the expansion and growth of the Jewish population in the North.

1912: first cornerstone

… excerpt ends here. Continue reading the full article.

Illustrations

The Technion logo

History of the Technion – Israel Institute of Technology: Founder Jacob Schiff was determined to ensure that the Technion would maintain its independence — Founder Jacob Schiff was determined to ensure that the Technion would maintain its independence

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with History of the Technion – Israel Institute of Technology

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what History of the Technion – Israel Institute of Technology claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to History of the Technion – Israel Institute of Technology before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about History of the Technion – Israel Institute of Technology ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of History of the Technion – Israel Institute of Technology

In research: History of the Technion – Israel Institute of Technology appears in science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses History of the Technion – Israel Institute of Technology in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: History of the Technion – Israel Institute of Technology is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics History of Haifa, History of Mandatory Palestine, Science and technology during World War II, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for History of the Technion – Israel Institute of Technology outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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Frequently asked questions

What is History of the Technion – Israel Institute of Technology in simple terms?

The Technion – Israel Institute of Technology is a leading technical university in Haifa, Israel, with a history dating back to the early 20th century. Overview Initiated with the help of increasing Jewish unity made possible by the new communication technologies of the Second Industrial Revolution…

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Because it connects several science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

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Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

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