Bar-Ilan University (BIU) prides itself on its innovative research and groundbreaking ideas that emanate from the various faculties, professors, and students. Many of our professors and researchers are recognized nationally and internationally for their work. Add to this all the news coming out of the university and there is much to read. In each issue of our newsletter, we write about the highlights of what’s happening at or about BIU. News from BIU’s International School can be found in our International School News section. You can read about general news and ongoing research on BIU’s main website.
Some highlights from 2024:
November-December
Read about PhD candidate Hanan Abu Hassan’s inspiring journey at BIU. Find out how 16 violinists revealed the truth about human crisis response and how BIU’s SPHERE achieves a 40% reduction in diabetes progression. Discover how a €22 million grant will revolutionize treatment adherence in cardio-metabolic diseases. Watch where faith and history converge in BIU’s brand new free online course and explore other free BIU courses. See why Prof. Omry Koren is among the “World’s Most Cited Researchers” and how Prof. Moshe Bar is breaking the depression cycle – through gaming.
September-October
The past year has been a challenging year for everyone in Israel. Watch this video to find out about Bar-Ilan University’s year of social and scientific resilience. Read about BIU researchers who’ve secured NIS 23 million in ISF grants over the past year and find out why Israel is a lighthouse in the research of aging. Laboratory Steaks? Learn about BIU’s contribution to a more sustainable and ethical future and discover how antibiotics may be weakening your inner defense. Finally, find out about BIU’s new AI-based learning assistant for students being piloted as part of the university’s investment in artificial intelligence.
July-August
BIU welcomes dozens of new researchers while a soldier submits his research proposal from his tank, winning an Azrieli scholarship, and a new graduate proves it’s never too late to study further and change careers. Read about The Jekyll and Hyde of AI and a new universal law uncovered by BIU researchers. Collaborations are in the air with BIU being part of a consortium that won an EU grant for fighting crime and the university’s anthropologists participating in a joint discovery in Judean Desert caves, and finally, an American philanthropist gives $1M gift to BIU to help English Speakers.
April-June
An incredibly generous gift of $260 million will enable BIU to focus on deep tech, just one area on which this year’s President’s Report, On All Fronts, focuses. You can also find out about new technology to determine the best-tailored cancer treatment; Opmed.ai, the startup developed through BIU’s Unbox Ventures, which raised $15M; the winners of the Rector’s Award for Scientific Innovation 2024; a behavioral experiment that requires intergenerational cooperation; how the use of worms instead of rats can be used to model human muscle diseases; and if the UN is against peace.
January-March
The word “artificial” seems to have come up a lot in BIU research recently with Dr. Nitzan Gonen, who has produced artificial testicles that could revolutionize the study of male fertility and sexual disorders; Prof. Ido Kanter, who found that the human brain performs complex tasks as effectively as artificial intelligence (AI); and other researchers who have revealed the mechanism underlying successful machine learning in AI.
On a different note, researchers from BIU’s Begin-Sadat Center for Strategic Studies (The BESA Center) have focused on the current war between Israel and Hamas with various articles including Beyond Humanitarian Aid: A Plan for Gazan Civilians Is a Strategic Necessity for Israel; What Would “Total Victory” Mean in Gaza?; Port of No Return: The US Plan for Aid Relief in Gaza.
Prof. Eytan Gilboa from the Department of Communications received a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Israel Association of International Studies while Prof. Lior Klein from the Department of Physics and a group of global researchers won a European Innovation Council grant. BIU and Mivtach Shamir Holdings are launching a new venture to form startup companies based on the university’s research, and Prof. Dov Ber Kotlerman from the Faculty of Jewish Studies recently published a Yiddish book of prose, Koydervelsh. Meanwhile, Nir Reuven, a researcher at BIU’s BESA Center answers the question, “Is Israel the ‘Start-Up Nation’ because of its unique security situation?”
