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...

Israel is well-positioned to ride out a potential global economic recession powered by the strength of its high-tech industry and abundant Mediterranean gas reserves… “The Israeli economy is stronger than in other countries, due to good fiscal and monetary policy, and to the gas we have,” said Prof. Elise Brezis, head of the Aharon Meir Center for Banking and Economic Policy at Bar-Ilan University. Read More.

Dr. Ayal Hendel, of Bar-Ilan University’s Mina and Everard Goodman Faculty of Life Sciences and Institute of Nanotechnology and Advanced Materials, is part of a European consortium that has been awarded a grant of more than €6 million to assess the efficacy and safety of genome editing approaches for sickle cell disease. Read More.

Dr. Ofir Lindenbaum from Bar-Ilan University’s Faculty of Engineering explores the field of machine learning and develops algorithms that can improve scientific research in almost every area – from the discovery of new cancer drugs to predicting floods. Read More.

On the morning of June 30, 1908, an asteroid hit the banks of the Tunguska River in the forests of eastern Siberia. The blast released 1,000 times more energy than the atom bomb that destroyed Hiroshima, flattening trees within a 25-kilometer radius. Fortunately, the human casualties were few, as the area was uninhabited. International Asteroid Day marks the anniversary of that huge impact event. Dr. Ofek Birnholtz, of Bar-Ilan’s Department of Physics, writes about celestial bodies that may be headed our way. Read More.

The selfie burst into our lives with the launch of the two-camera mobile phones. Prof. Chaim Noy of BIU’s School of Communication writes about the phenomenon to mark International Selfie Day on June 21. Read More.

Dr. Dvir Raviv, an archaeologist with Israel’s Bar-Ilan University, spoke with i24NEWS on the history of the Tekoa Valley in the West Bank and the area’s ties to an ancient Jewish revolt. Raviv and his colleagues surveyed a collection of caves in the area back in 2019 and uncovered relics from the Bar Kokhba revolt – an ancient Jewish uprising against the Roman Empire. Read More.

Bar-Ilan University announced this week the launch of its new campus research facility, the Center for Energy and Sustainability, and its Multidisciplinary School for Sustainability and the Environment in the presence of Energy Minister Karine Elharrar, and officials from the Israel Electric Company (IEC) and the Doral Group. The university will invest hundreds of millions of shekels over the next ten years into training and technological research projects in and outside of Israel. Read More.

BIU’s Azrieli Faculty of Medicine complex in Tzfat was transformed into a mock hospital, with X-ray rooms, blood-test facilities, an ambulance, a cardiac room, and more. The annual communal-educational activity aims to alleviate the anxiety that children may experience towards medical professionals, medical care, and hospitalization. Read More.

Signing the Convention will bring Israel a major step closer to eradicating gender violence and will protect thousands of women and children. This opinion piece was written by Ruth Halperin-Kaddari, founding academic director of Bar-Ilan University’s Rackman Center for the Advancement of the Status of Women, and Leah Goeppinger-Levy, a staff member at the center. Read More.