The president of the Technion: "Scientific truth won"
The Technion House celebrated last weekend with the Nobel laureate, research professor Danny Shechtman, who is going to Stockholm next week to receive the prestigious award. "Our joy is not only that one of our own has won the most prestigious award in the world, but that the scientific truth has won," said Technion President, Professor Peretz Lavi.
The Swedish ambassador in Israel, Eleanor Hammarskold, also referred in her words to Professor Shechtman's stubborn stand on his discovery, for many years against the opinion of the entire scientific community. "We appreciate not only the discovery of the quasi-periodic crystal, but your scientific path," she said to the laureate.
The Mayor of Haifa, Adv. Yona Yahav, granted Professor Shechtman honorary citizenship of the city. "The good news is that the decision was made unanimously in the city council. The less good news is that we have decided not to exempt you from paying property tax," he said to the laughter of the audience.
The winner of the 2004 Nobel Prize in Chemistry, Research Professor Aharon Chachanover from the Rapaport Faculty of Medicine at the Technion, said to Professor Danny Shechtman: "Welcome to the club. You are joining an outstanding group today." As for receiving the prize in chemistry by four Israeli scientists so far (Professors Avraham Hershko, Ada Yonat, Danny Shechtman and himself), Professor Chechanover said: "Chemistry today is a much broader concept than the narrow concept we used to know until now."
Professor Shechtman admitted to the large crowd: "Normally I don't get excited," he said. "Tonight I am excited. I feel a lot of support. I feel good next to this booth. Here I started teaching the entrepreneurship course 25 years ago, to encourage technological entrepreneurship in the State of Israel. I am a Zionist and want it to be good to live in this country. I call from here for a good education for everyone, because without a good education we will not have a revival".
He revealed that he decided with Mayor Yona Yahav to promote a science education initiative for kindergarten children in Haifa. "I will do my best to promote education in the State of Israel," he promised.
The ceremony was moderated by the Dean of the Faculty of Materials Engineering at the Technion, Professor Wayne Kaplan.
