16 minute read
Standing Up to Climate Change
from TAU Review 2022
by telavivuni
TAU researchers and alumni are making significant environmental impact on the ground—now
By Julie Steigerwald-Levi
Asoftware programmer, an ecologist and a wildlife photographer enter a room. This is not the preamble to a joke. This is a normal scene in Dr. Ofir Levy’s Tel Aviv University lab, where a diverse group of scientists develop advanced tools to protect wildlife in the face of the accelerating climate crisis.
Levy is among the scores of TAU researchers who are pursuing innovative solutions under TAU’s Climate Crisis Initiative, also known as PlanNet Zero, a new nerve center uniting brainpower from all faculties—along with industry and government partners. Leveraging TAU’s interdisciplinary and entrepreneurial strengths, the Initiative aims to spearhead new technologies, models, regulations and policy recommendations for tackling the climate crisis.
“Climate records are being shattered nearly every year,” explains Levy of the
School of Zoology, Wise Faculty of Life Sciences. “It is up to us to safeguard the biodiversity critical to the planet’s ecological balance.”
Together with researchers from TAU’s new Center for Artificial Intelligence and Data Science, Levy’s lab develops AI and machine learning technologies to simulate future ecosystems. Using these models, the team can determine which animal populations are most vulnerable to climate risks and provide decision-makers with effective recommendation for protecting them. “AI is taking climate research to new frontiers,” explains Levy. “It offers a window into the future implications of climate change on the need for animals to modify their habitats because of desertification, urbanization and deforestation.”
Levy recently won competitive grants from National Geographic’s “AI for Earth” and the joint TAU-Google “AI for Social Good” programs. Mobilizing TAU’s Collective Power
Amid the growing global need to meet climate targets, TAU is redoubling efforts to lead transformative change and has made the topic an institutional priority.
“It’s now the era for scientists and academia to help find solutions to the climate situation,” says Prof. Colin Price, who heads PlanNet Zero together with the Department of Environmental Studies at TAU’s Porter School of the Environment and Earth Sciences.
Among institutional efforts, TAU rolled out plans to reduce its environmental footprint and eventually reach carbon-neutrality, a benchmark Israel and other nations pledged to meet by 2050 to mitigate global warming.
Moreover, in an effort to disentangle the climate crisis for the public, the Steinhardt Museum of Natural History at TAU unveiled the exhibition “Global Warning: The Climate, the Crisis and Us.”
“Climate change is the greatest challenge facing humanity today,” says Prof. Tamar Dayan, Chair of the Steinhardt Museum. “Alongside the exhibition, we aspire to turn our visitors into agents for change, who will carry the message beyond the Museum’s walls.”
Climate Research at TAU
TAU researchers from across campus are finding ways to mitigate climate change, among them: • Prof. Brian Rosen (Engineering) patented a technology that consumes greenhouse gases to generate clean synthetic fuels. • PhD candidate Hofit Shachar (Exact Sciences) is developing a mobile app that predicts the risk of wildfires. • Dr. Eran Tzin (Law, Legal Clinics) applies his research to ensure implementation of Israel’s climate commitments. • Prof. Colin Price (Exact Sciences) is building a nanosatellite to monitor climate conditions from space. • Dr. Ram Fishman (Social Sciences) discovered a link between violence and rising temperatures. • Sophia Igdalov, of Dr. Vered Blass’s team (Exact Sciences), evaluated the carbon footprint of materials used in Israel's housing industry, suggesting strategies to cut emissions.
Redesigning Trends in Sustainability
To push the needle on the global climate crisis, PhD candidate Meital
“When we think of the climate crisis, we think of Australian wildfires, vanishing polar bears and droughts in Syria,” she says. “The connection between these events and the clothes in our closets are usually overlooked; in fact, fashion is one of the most significant factors in dealing with the climate crisis.”
TAU: Hub for Regional Cooperation
Meital Peleg Mizrahi (center) and friends modeling sustainable fashion
Peleg Mizrachi, of TAU’s Department of Public Policy, is advocating for a fashion industry makeover.
Peleg Mizrachi, an environmental justice researcher at TAU and social entrepreneur, is a rising authority in Israel on making fashion— the world’s second-most polluting industry—sustainable.
The process of manufacturing clothing emits over 40 billion tons of textile waste and 1.2 billion tons, or 10 percent, of greenhouse gases—the main driver of global warming. At the root of the industry’s environmental footprint, Peleg Mizrahi explains, is the exploding “fast fashion” market of quickly and cheaply mass-produced garments.
Under the supervision of Knesset Member and TAU Prof. Alon Tal, Peleg Mizrachi’s research explores ways to encourage economic regulation and consumer behavior that promote sustainable fashion. Tal is one of several TAU climate experts in prominent government roles, including zoology Prof. Noga Kronfeld-Schor, Chief Scientist at Israel’s Environmental Protection Ministry.
In a recent project, Peleg Mizrachi gauged the prices at which consumers are more inclined to shop sustainably. In other studies, she demonstrated how new technologies and market behaviors spurred by COVID-19 can be transformed into climate solutions.
TAU’s location in the heart of the Middle East with proximity to Israel’s diverse ecosystems contributes to its edge in leading regional climate initiatives. For example, to address transborder water issues in the Middle East, TAU Prof. Hadas Mamane of the Fleischman Faculty of Engineering is AI is taking climate research to new frontiers... It offers a eyeing cooperation opportunities with regional partners. As floods, droughts and extreme window into the future. weather intensify due to climate change, UNICEF estimates that by 2025, half of the world’s population will live in areas with water scarcity. Meanwhile, Israel’s chronic water shortage has necessitated the development of novel solutions. Mamane heads the Water-Energy Laboratory. With the support of the Asper Clean Water Fund, her team Prof. Hadas Mamane develops efficient UV-LED lighting technologies that disinfect water using solar power, among other pursuits. The invention
TAU student David Shurman (right) conducts research on solar power in Rwanda through the NITSAN Sustainable Development Lab led by Dr. Ram Fishman and Prof. Hadas Mamane.
is suitable for use in remote areas with limited access to the chemicals and electricity used in traditional water decontamination.
Additionally, water monitoring tools developed by her lab are already used in India and Tanzania in several projects carried out with Dr. Ram Fishman of the Gordon Faculty of Social Sciences and Boris Mints Institute for Strategic Policy Solutions to Global Challenges.
“We are trying to help some of the world’s most vulnerable populations access resources that should be afforded to them as part of their basic human rights,” says Mamane.
Now, Mamane hopes to launch a project with the Palestinian Authority and the Arava Institute for Environmental Studies to purify and disinfect sewage water for unrestricted agricultural use, including crop cultivation.
In another regional partnership borne through the Abraham Accords, TAU’s Moshe Mirilashvili Institute for Applied Water Studies, headed by Prof. Dror Avisar of the Porter School of the Environment and Earth Sciences, is involved in joint Israeli-UAE water research.
Enhancing Cross-Industry Impact
“The fastest way to make an impact on climate change is to apply academic knowledge toward accelerating relevant industry capabilities,” says Prof. Tamir Tuller of the Fleischman Faculty of Engineering and the Edmond J. Safra Center for Bioinformatics.
This is the approach that Tuller, head of TAU’s Computational Systems and Synthetic Biology Laboratory, takes with his start-up Imagindairy where he is co-founder and Chief Scientific Officer. The company uses his genetic engineering techniques to produce affordable dairy products from yeast.
Imagindairy aims to generate milk that is identical in taste, aroma and texture to cow products, Tuller explains, but without the environmental damage or ethical dilemmas associated with animal husbandry.
Cattle alone are responsible for approximately 65 percent of the livestock sector’s greenhouse gas emissions, mainly from methane that cows belch out while feeding.
“This type of technology could one day replace the need for dairy cows,” he says. He adds that widespread adoption of lab-developed milk substitutes has the potential to significantly curb emissions. But how will Tuller’s team get the public on board?
“Our models can eventually lead to products that are cheaper than traditional cow’s milk,” explains Tuller, underlining that economic incentive is key to impactful consumer behavior.
He expects Imagindairy’s products to be commercially viable within a few
years. This quest was boosted with a recent $13 million investment, raised with support from Ramot – TAU’s technology transfer company. Solid Foundations for Leadership
Dozens of TAU alumni have taken leadership roles that address climate issues on the international stage. Two of them, Dr. Ido Sella and the late Dr. Shimrit Perkol-Finkel, who was
tragically killed in an accident last year, met as students at TAU.
In 2012, the pair founded sustainable concrete start-up, ECOncrete, which offers a more durable and ecological solution for coastal and marine construction than traditional concrete. The product simultaneously reduces carbon emissions and safeguards marine life. Today, the company is experiencing rapid growth, and its eco-friendly solutions are used in more than 40 sites around the world. Similarly, its technology was recently tapped to anchor US offshore wind turbines as part of the White House administration’s aims to increase energy capacity a thousand-fold by 2030.
“The concrete industry has a massive environmental footprint responsible for 8% of global carbon dioxide emissions and vast marine damage,” says Sella.
Dr. Ido Sella Monaco Bay
Tackling Environmental Challenges—in TLV and Monaco
As part of TAU’s practical work in mitigating the effects of air pollution and climate change, the Frenkel Initiative to Combat Pollution supports projects between TAU, Israeli companies and Monaco. Current initiatives include operating an accelerator for startups in clean energy, air purification and replacing plastic; introducing smart transportation solutions to Monaco officials for lowering carbon emissions; and researching problems such as urban heat stress and maritime transport emissions. Although the Initiative attempts to find technological solutions specifically for Monaco, TAU benefactor and Governor Aaron Frenkel hopes it can make an outsized contribution toward reducing environmental threats in the entire Mediterranean region and beyond. The Frenkel Initiative is affiliated with the environmental Prince Albert II of Monaco Foundation.
He explains that the demand for sustainable concrete has reached new heights as society— particularly the approximately 50% of population centers on coastlines— braces for a rise in sea levels and increased storminess due to climate change.
“ECOncrete offers a new way to reduce the CO2 footprint of working waterfronts,” he says.
Sella sees oceans of potential for bringing more applied science to commercial endeavors via academia, thus propelling climate progress.
Prof. Colin Price, too, underlines the need for all industries and sectors to work with academia to prevent catastrophic climate outcomes.
“We have big ambitions at TAU,” Price says. “We aim to have maximum impact and expand local models to regional and global scales.”
BIG IDEAS TAU Launches Mentorship Network for Women in Exact Sciences
Program cultivates female solidarity in a predominantly male discipline
By Sveta Raskin
When Oren Barzilai, a first-year math student at TAU’s Raymond and Beverly Sackler Faculty of Exact Sciences, began her studies in October she felt unprepared, discontent and lonely. “Math is a demanding subject. You need to work very hard from day one,” Barzilai says. “And even if you love it, it’s very hard to survive without support.”
Then, she heard about the Faculty’s ExactSHE Mentorship Program. “I knew I wanted to be a part of it right away; it was what I needed right then and there,” she says.
TAU launched ExactSHE in the fall of 2021 in an attempt to redress the acute underrepresentation of women in exact sciences disciplines, especially at the graduate and post-graduate levels. The Program aims to create open dialogue between female faculty members and students, enable them to share knowledge and experiences, and support each other in overcoming obstacles as they advance in their studies and careers.
By the Numbers
“Although 35% of our undergraduate students are women, we lose many along the way. Only 25% of our master’s students are female, and only 15% are in post-doctoral and faculty positions,” says Prof. Tova Milo, TAU’s current and first female dean of the Exact Sciences Faculty. “There are specific reasons this is the case, and when I became the Dean of the Faculty, I was finally in a position to change this.”
Milo enlisted research support from TAU’s Career Development Laboratory and together they formulated a survey that highlighted fears and difficulties exact sciences students might experience. “The results were predictable yet astounding, when I saw them within my own faculty,” Milo says. Findings showed that while male students were more concerned with future career opportunities and the progress of their studies, women were burdened with emotional issues—feelings of inadequacy, lack of belonging and self-doubt—the “baggage” that can eventually cause them to leave
academia and even jobs in the field, she explains. “These are subjective feelings, and this is really just a question of attitude,” Milo says. “So we decided to build a network that would introduce women to role models and provide them with tools for making positive change in their academic journeys.” “The Program Work in Progress opened a lot of doors for me.” When Barzilai attended the Program’s first monthly event—a small group mentorship meeting—she left feeling reassured and supported. “That first meeting made me very happy. We chatted away, shared our difficulties, and suddenly the weight I felt since the beginning of the semester lifted,” Barzilai explains. The meeting also helped her connect with classmates, creating a sense of belonging and shared goals. “The Program opened a lot of doors for me,” she says. “Now I feel at home here.” Gil Bar Koltun, a graduate student in theoretical math, is the mentor of Barzilai’s group, which includes two
From left: Prof. Tova Milo with students Gil Bar Koltun, Yaara David, Oren Barziali and Gali Adin
ExactSHE launch, from left: TAU President Ariel Porat, Board of Governors Chair Dafna MeitarNechmad, Prof. Tova Milo, Irith Rappaport, and Boris Krasny, Rappaport Family Foundation.
more undergraduate math students. She is also a mentee in a group led by a senior faculty member and a doctoral candidate, also from the Raymond and Beverly Sackler School of Mathematics.
“My career and academic goals are to study for a PhD and post-doc, but I foresee a lot of obstacles in my way, especially once I start a family. That’s the reason I also earned a teaching certificate—as a safety net to fall back on,” explains Koltun, who is doing her thesis in game theory. Koltun anticipates that being a scientist and a mother will be difficult and will count on her mentors’ support when she has children.
Bar Koltun and Barzilai agree that ExactShe debunks the myth of a “Wonder Woman”— one who seems to have it all, and replaces it with real role models who struggle to overcome challenges but ultimately find solutions that lead to success.
The Path to Better Science
The Program has 200 participants from all of the Faculty’s schools: mathematics, computer science, physics & astronomy, chemistry, and environmental & earth sciences.
All of the mentors receive a stipend. “If the goal is for our students to feel valuable, then we must show them that we value their time,” explains Milo.
At the intimate monthly meetings, which constitute the Program's backbone, mentors implement customized plans created in collaboration with TAU’s Career Lab.
The Program was funded with the help of TAU Governor Irith Rappaport through the Rappaport Family Foundation, which is supporting it for the next ten years, as well as by other private donors. The partnership was facilitated by Dafna Meitar-Nechmad, the first female Chairperson of TAU’ s Board of Governors.
“We see this as an excellent model for creating a strong, supportive community of female researchers,” says TAU Dean of Students Prof. Drorit Neumann, “and we are implementing similar programs at the medical faculty as well as in other units on campus.”
CHANGE-MAKERS Conquering the Wall of Fear
For Periphery Scholar Yakir Mazuz, studying at TAU is a dream come true
By Melanie Takefman
TAU student Yakir Mazuz had a decisive experience while working at a hotel as a teenager. “I was exposed to the harsh reality of Israel’s periphery there,” says Mazuz, who hails from Tzfat in Israel’s North. “I met people from the margins of society, who worked hard to earn minimum wage. Their employers exploited them. Many didn’t know how to read their pay slips, never mind know their rights.”
He decided then that if he could “break the glass ceiling” and attend a top university, he would study law to help these people.
Today, Mazuz is a third-year student at TAU’s Buchmann Faculty of Law and a participant in TAU’s Periphery Program. Aimed at outstanding students like him, the Program boosts accessibility to higher education among Israelis from disadvantaged backgrounds and outlying communities.
He explains that without the Program, he wouldn’t have been able to make the transition to pursue academic studies in Israel’s central region.
Growing up in an Orthodox community, “I was always different as a child,” he says. “I never fully subscribed to religious norms and the path that I was expected to follow: to combine army service with yeshiva study, marry young and attend a local college. I invested in my studies because I knew that they would help me move forward.”
During high school, TAU tapped him for the Periphery Program. Following graduation, Mazuz completed his army service and then enrolled at TAU.
“At the beginning, it was very, very scary,” he says. “Everyone you know is in the North. You’re on your own.”
“It’s like there’s a wall that separates Israel’s North from Tel Aviv,” says Mazuz. “Many promising young people from the periphery have potential to succeed but they can’t breach that wall without help.”
Mazuz says he is grateful to TAU and President Prof. Ariel Porat, who founded the Program when he was Dean of Law in the early 2000s. “The Program gave me an opportunity to thrive, and I jumped at the chance to fulfill my dream of studying at the best law faculty at the country’s best university.”
TAU’s Periphery Program recruits students based on their achievements relative to their classmates, rather than on standardized admissions tests that pitch them against privileged peers from the country’s wealthier central region. It provides financial, academic, emotional and social support alongside career and employment guidance. In return, students perform community service.
The Program recently received an infusion of support from the Charles Evelyne and Sandra Dolansky Periphery Scholarship Fund and a fund established by TAU Global Campaign Cabinet members Dr. Kathy Fields and Dr. Garry Rayant in honor of Campaign Chair Dr. Anita Friedman.
As he begins his last year at TAU, Mazuz says he’d like to accrue work experience in public law before returning to academia for graduate studies. “I want to put into practice what I’ve been planning for so long: to give back and effect positive social change.”
